The Truth About Pilates

It’s gotten to the point where pilates studios are becoming as plentiful as Starbucks. In order to best understand this mind/body phenomenon, it’s helpful to look at the story of Joseph Pilates and how his methods evolved and spread to the masses.

Born in Germany in 1880, Joseph Pilates grew up as a sickly child. His father was a gymnast, his mother a naturopath and young Joseph embarked on a self-styled campaign of fitness and wellness. He studied anatomy, Eastern and Western forms of exercise, yoga, zen, boxing, gymnastics, skiing and diving. Anecdotal stories report that he performed in the circus and taught wrestling and self-defense.

During World War I, since he was a German national, he was sent to an internment camp where he developed exercises for the sick and injured, utilizing the springs of the hospital beds. These first machines were the
precursors of the expensive pilates equipment you see today.

He met his wife, Clara, on the boat when Pilates came to the United States. He opened a studio in New York City where he hoped to teach his fitness techniques he called “Contrology” to boxers and athletes. However, his studio was located next to several dance studios and rehearsal spaces and the majority of his clients were dancers, ranging from Martha Graham, George Balanchine, Ted Shawn, Ruth St. Denis and their many acolytes.

The “disciples” of Joseph Pilates were all dancers. Even though they each had their own style and emphasis, the growth and dissemination of pilates technique has come through the “dancers prism.” This seems somewhat ironic if you study old footage of Joseph Pilates. You can see him move into a handstand, throw martial arts punches, hold one-legged yoga balances and run rapidly in place with plyometric precision. When I first saw the footage, I shouted, “Hey! Joseph Pilates is doing Flashpoint Fitness™!”

Joseph Pilates himself was more athletic and dynamic and explosive than the system that has become so carefully concretized, certified and disseminated. Modern day pilates is certainly an excellent system. The
machines work extremely well to rehabilate injuries, increase strength and flexibility and allow people with limited mobility to train.

The super-popular mat pilates systems are even more exacting when done properly. HOWEVER, pilates as it is taught today is a complementary system. For complete fitness you need to get off your butt or back or side and get on your feet!

Pilates will enhance and support yoga, martial arts, dance and any sport. But all by itself, it isn’t enough if you want comprehensive fitness. Also, Joseph Pilates himself intended it to be a mind/body/spirit system. As taught today, pilates is truly an excellent mind/body system. For the “spirit” element, add in yoga, tai chi or martial arts.

Joseph Pilates passed away in 1967, years before the techniques that bear his name became known worldwide. One can’t help but wonder what pilates would have been like today if his initial clients and disciples were gymnasts, martial artists, athletes and yoga masters. For those of you who are learning Flashpoint Fitness™, you may have the answer.

To your health and happiness.

Jerry Colker
www.flashpointfitness.com
310-270-6248

How to Avoid Injury

You’ve finally made the commitment to a fitness regimen and BOOM! you get knocked out of commission by an injury.

OR

You’ve always wanted to try yoga or martial arts but you were afraid you’d get hurt.

OR

No matter what you do, you always seem to get overly sore or sidelined by knick-knack injuries that take the pleasure out of getting in shape leaving you with pain and no gain.

WHY? And how can this be prevented?

In the course of multiple physical pursuits I’ve sustained many injuries before I understood the keys to prevention.

In gymnastics: I broke my thumb, ripped out both hamstrings, tore a shoulder twice, severely sprained both wrists, jammed my ankles and severely strained my abdominals.

In martial arts: I suffered a dislocated jaw, broken hand, bruised instep, severely sprained back three times, dislocated shoulder, foot contusions several times.

In dance: I severely tore my groin, had acute knee tendinitis, concussion and compressed cervical neck injury.

In yoga: I strained my lower back, aggravated a disc in my middle back, strained a shoulder, pulled a hamstring, neck strain and mild concussion.

Lifting weights: Severely strained my shoulders.

Running: Sore knees, hips, back.

From overwhelming stress and lack of exercise: Herniated Disc.

From doing Flashpoint Fitness™ … drumroll please ……….. NO INJURIES.

Looking back I can clearly see that all of my injuries fell within three categories.

A) “I’m just gonna do one more…”
B) “Ego ego and more ego
C) “Who cares about technique, I’m just going for it.”

How to prevent A) “The One More Syndrome”

In any workout or fitness regimen we usually determine ahead of time how many times we’re going to do a particular activity. Sometimes, we try to challenge ourselves so we’re optimistic about the number of minutes, laps or reps or sets of kicks, punches or poses. The mind sets up the structure and the body follows.

And in the course of pursuing our workout goals, our bodies constantly send us a stream of signals. One clear-cut signal that we often hear but sometimes ignore is: “That’s enough.”

It’s good to challenge yourself. But it’s even better to “live to work-out another day.” Think about improving one hair a time, one breath at a time.

In fitness there is sometimes a fine line between “build up” and “tear down.” Connecting the mind and body is a two way street. The mind tells the body what to do and the body tells the mind exactly how it feels about it. It should be an ongoing dialogue of communication. Problems occur when the mind becomes dictatorial and makes a decision regardless of how the body feels. That “one more time” could be the last time for quite a while.

However, if your body signals that you’ve got enough in the tank for “one more time” then focus clearly on technique and do it. But when that instinctive voice inside says “that’s enough,” take a deep breath, and appreciate the value of the work you’ve already done.

How to prevent B) “The Ego Problem”

If you find yourself trying to keep up with someone who is at a more advanced level, check yourself, stay within your own capabilities and push to improve gradually. If you feel the impulse to “show off” without warming up, resist the impulse and prepare yourself. Once all systems are go, you can put on a show.

If you find yourself trying to prove you can do something you did ten years ago, remind yourself you have nothing to prove. But with patience, you can incrementally build with technique and alignment to be able to do what you’ve done in the past and more.

If you are not physically ready to do something but you want to please an instructor or trainer, stop, remind yourself it is their job to please you. I’m not saying be timid or fearful, just maintain your body-mind dialogue and if you are trying something new or are being pushed, think breath, technique, alignment and step by step growth. Once you try to impress someone else, you often lose yourself.

Your ego can be a motor that takes you where you want to go if it is in control. Self-pride in proportion is valuable and worth cultivating. However, when the ego becomes dominant and is the prime motivating factor for action, take a deep breath, look inward for your true intentions and connect them to your true abilities. Think of fitness as a process and not a final destination. A process is always developing, always evolving. You don’t need to rush too fast or push too hard or take giant steps.

Grow a little each day and the ego can still be fed.

How to prevent C) “Technique Shmechnique I’m Going For It”

“Going for it” has become not only the test of manhood and womanhood, but the great separator between winners and losers. The concept of throwing aside all fear and going for it is liberating, empowering and often necessary. It’s the “mindless” going for it that causes a problem for the body that suddenly finds itself flying without a pilot.

The easiest way to clarify this is to use gymnastics. To just go for a back-flip is insane. But if you’ve worked with someone who is spotting you and you’ve broken down the technique, you have a strong chance of success. The interior monologue might be something like this: Focus, arms up, down, jump, knees, tuck tight, open! Practicing exactly when to tuck, how to rotate, when and how to open and land is critical. The spotter starts with a heavy spot (meaning actually holding and helping), then a light spot (light touching on a strategic area), then a free spot (standing there to instill confidence without touching), then you try it alone.

The first time you try a free standing back-flip alone is definitely a “go for it” moment. But you don’t throw technique out the window. You ride it to success.

Obviously, unless you’re a gymnast, your “go for it moment” won’t be a back-flip. But we mindlessly go for stuff all the time. It can be hiking to the top of a mountain before you’re ready or picking up a heavy box, or trying to touch your toes even though your hands are a foot away from the floor. Listen to the body, resist an unnecessary “one more time” control the ego, and pick “go for it” moments following the proper preparation. And technique will give you the best chance to come out the other side unscathed.

To your health and happiness.

Jerry Colker
www.flashpointfitness.com
310-270-6248

Competition

“What is best in life? To crush your enemies. To see them driven before you. And to hear the lamentations of their women…”
— Conan the Barbarian

Okay, maybe this is taking competition a little too far.

Here’s a take from another angle:

“There are two kinds of people: Those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group because there is less competition there.”
–Indira Ghandi

Indira’s subtle dig notwithstanding, is competition necessarily a bad thing? Western culture thrives on it. Capitalism is based on it. Many childhood traumas and adolescent humiliations are the result of it. And yet, if we take competition completely out of the picture, what are we left with? It’s hard to say because, human nature is essentially competitive. Show me someone who says they aren’t competitive and already they’re competing with others who say they aren’t competitive either.

Rather than regale you with easily recognizable examples of the evils of competition, let’s look at two instances where competition is a good thing.

1) Secretly competing against someone you admire to push yourself up to another level.

We all need role models, or at least inspiration. It was commonly accepted that the mile could not be run in under four minutes. On May 6, 1954 Roger Bannister ran the mile in 3:59.4. Shortly after several others ran sub four minute miles.

Or lets put it on a simpler more personal level. Have you ever lost contact with a friend or relative for a while and then when you next saw them, you couldn’t believe how incredible they looked? Maybe they lost weight, gained muscle, or found the path to nirvana. That little competitive bug inside you set you off on a path to lose weight, gain muscle, and achieve nirvana too.

2) Competing against yourself for the challenge and joy of seeing what you are truly capable of doing.

We can certainly be inspired by great athletes, but after watching them we sometimes feel too intimidated or self-conscious to get out there and see what we can do. However, there is always somebody we have a good chance of beating… ourself.

I’m not talking about challenging your former 21 year old self to a hundred yard dash. I’m talking about setting an age appropriate bar for yourself and soaring over it.

On the treadmill? Add an extra five minutes or another level of incline. Taking a yoga class? Add a push up to the vinyasa or hold your one legged poses for two additional breaths. You know what you can do. Whatever your activity, bump it up and leave yourself in the dust. There are few things more satisfying than kicking your own butt and then looking in the mirror and saying, “In My Face!”

And of course, there’s that inner satisfaction of knowing that even though we are getting older… we are getting better.

To your health and happiness:

Jerry Colker
www.flashpointfitness.com
310-270-6248

Five Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

“Metabolism” is the name of the bodily system that converts food calories to energy needed to perform various tasks, like pumping oxygen to muscles during a long walk. Many variables contribute to your metabolism, including heredity, gender and age. But you can quicken yours; here’s how.

Exercise more. When you walk, run, or lift weights, you increase the energy required of your body, which raises your metabolism then, and for hours afterward.

“It’s not a huge spike, but it makes a difference,” says Gary Miller, PhD, associate professor of health and exercise science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Read more

10 Best Foods for Your Heart

Simple food choices go a long way when it comes to your heart’s health. Focusing on fresh foods full of heart-healthy fats and antioxidants can decrease your risk of developing heart disease and cut your chances of a heart attack. These 10 foods will help keep your ticker in top shape.

Oatmeal
Start your day with a steaming bowl of oats, which are full of omega-3 fatty acids, folate, and potassium. This fiber-rich superfood can lower levels of LDL (or bad) cholesterol and help keep arteries clear.

Opt for coarse or steel-cut oats over instant varieties — the coarse and steel-cut contain more fiber — and top your bowl off with a banana for another four grams of fiber.

Read more