January seems a perfect time to think about ‘beginnings and endings.’ From a Pilates’ perspective there’s a lot packed in that phrase. You might imagine how you begin and end the lesson overall. Plus, you can look at the start and finish of each exercise. Let’s explore a little closer both of those aspects, the lesson and the exercise.
Everything considered in this post can apply to home workouts, whether a newbie or devotee. It might even spice up your routine and bring in renewed vigor. Play around with it.
The Lesson
In dance there’s a saying or rather desire, that the performance gets off on the right foot. That the opening sequences of movement or text are smooth. Remember a wish of good luck in the theater is “break a leg.” Obviously, the statement is a complete opposite of what you wish on the artist, but its’ intention is, have a smashing performance.
A Pilates’ lesson and or a personal training session, if constructed well, will include a real beginning and a solid ending. As in the performance, a positive start helps build the atmosphere to carry-on throughout the session, be it a studio, gym and or home setting.
Here’s just a sample of ways to construct lessons that incorporate beginnings and endings.
- Themes
- ABCD Framework
- Bring It Full Circle ™
- Enhance the Spirit
A theme can be based on a client’s personal goal. Say someone really wants to learn a good push-up, a New Year’s goal. Within the Classical Pilates’ apparatus and repertoire, you have a host of exercises and tools to incorporate proper learning, guiding them toward their goal.
This means understanding the complexity of the shoulder girdle and what it needs in terms of mobility, flexibility and strength to safely construct a proper training protocol for the client. One must assess the client’s weaknesses and strengths pertaining to achieving the goal and take the time necessary to learn in a safe and progressive manner.
A theme could be a component of physical fitness, such as balance. As we can see in the literature, falls and fractures are one of the most frequent problems in aging adults. By weaving this concept from start to finish in a lesson, the client has multiple opportunities to embrace the work and it feels doable.
If you are training yourself or trying to enhance your home workouts, choosing a theme can be fun. It can give you a purpose and create flow to workouts by choosing something ahead of time, today the whole lesson is about flow. Can I move smoothly from start to finish, no interruptions, no telephone and no distraction for the whole session.
ABCD
Building a lesson within a format of ABCD, comes from the traditional or classical approach to Pilates. This stems from the idea of you begin with usually the reformer A, then to the mat part B and the C component is called the individual needs and D is the ending. C part reflects specifically to what will enhance the person in overall body efficiency of movement.
Of course, there are MANY variations on that concept. You can begin with B then A then C. Or you might begin with a D strategy, say wall ending and progress onward. Yes, you can mix and match. If utilizing other apparatus such as the Wunda Chair this format would be altered because there is less of a formal approach to the exercise order.
Bring It Full Circle ™
I’ve humorously attached the trademark sign to BIFC ™ as this is something, I’m particularly passionate about. Probably is a reflection of hearing our Dad’s voice as a very successful coach for decades, Pilates’ instructors who have inspired me like Bob Liekens and Jay Grimes, and my own quirky self-discipline to love to wrap things up! I’m a fanatic list maker.
Whether I’m teaching or working out myself, I make a conscious effort to be quiet before I work out for a couple minutes and do the same at the end. Thus, bring it full circle. It has an exhilarating effect on your focus, clarity in movement and overall appreciation for the joy in exercise. If you don’t love it, don’t do it. If you don’t have time, don’t do it.
Enhance the Spirit
Awhile back I had the lovely opportunity to meet Elaine LaLanne. Yes, you’ve probably all heard of Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru. Elaine is herself a force to be reckoned with. She had just published her latest book on how to defy the aging process. Her spirit, vivaciousness and love for movement is palpable.
How does one translate spirit into a training? Well, you walk the walk, listen to your clients and come prepared. From the Pilates’/Training perspective you do that by creating a disciplined, energetic atmosphere from start to finish. You are not sitting on the sidelines drinking coffee, looking on your iPhone and counting the minutes till the end.
There is a plan to create spirit, breath and energy to the lesson. It doesn’t mean you are not strict. As most of my clients will profess, I’m tough. What counts is the spirit is there for the duration, from start to finish.
The Exercise
If you think about the structure of a sentence, there must always be punctuation. These marks of period, question or exclamation mark.?! are grammatical endings. Imagine applying that to your workout, today I end with an exclamation mark! Your sentence beginnings, on the other hand, have endless possibilities. With of course plenty of content in between.
Apply that grammar thinking to each specific exercise in Pilates, there should always be a beginning, middle and end. If you’re practicing on your own, try it as an experiment, that you consciously pay attention to where you start and how you end. It’s a great way to connect to the essence of the movement and discipline yourself towards finishing what you began, not simply fading away.
Each piece of apparatus (even if you’re just lifting weights) offers an opportunity to strive for complete sentences in your workouts. A perfect example of not finishing an exercise in Pilates, is that the carriage (on the reformer) comes banging in to close. Thus, the springs finished the exercise not you.
Or in the gym, an individual just lets the weights fall crashing to the floor. They did not finish the exercise by completing the repetition to the end part and placing the weights on the floor. Many would say its’ lazy or the grammar police would say sloppy.
Some Pilates’ exercises are more challenging in making the endings “tidy” but it is part of the real work. Remember Pilates started out as the “Art of Contrology,” control should be visible throughout each exercise individually and as a session completely.
Knee stretches, knees off is a good example of paying attention to how you start and how you finish. Like a dance, lift the knees off with control (the start), execute the in and out of the carriage with control (the middle), park the carriage in place still in position and then place the knees gently down on the carriage, the end. Like one complete story.
At the end of the day, movement is life. The more ways you can find to passionately enjoy the incredible possibilities of the body the better.
“Beginning in itself has no value, it is an end which makes beginning meaningful, we must end what we begun.”
― Amit Kalantri
