The Complete Guide to The Pilates Method

Allan Menezes

The Big News in the Pilates Community is the release of the bestselling Pilates book which is also being used as an instructors' manual worldwide:

"The COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE PILATES METHOD - From Lower Back Pain to Muscle Conditioning." by ALLAN MENEZES

The basis of the Body Control Pilates Method is art of Contrology(R) (Contrology is a registered trademark in Australia). The Pilates Institute's definition of this term is: The effective and efficient use of a body's balanced musculo-skeletal structure to enjoy any activity with minimal stress to the joints, while providing an ease of movement without conscious effort.

Josef Humbertus Pilates was born in 1880 near Dusseldorf, Germany. He grew up suffering rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever. Like so many who have gone on to excel in the area of physical achievement and innovation, Pilates became obsessed with the frailties of the body and was determined to overcome his own afflictions. As a teenager he became skilled in gymnastics, skiing and skin-diving. His determination and application to work his body to better health meant that at 14 he was not only studying the musculature of the body, he was also able to pose for anatomical drawings. He studies also included Eastern forms of exercise and merging these with his Western physical studies the Pilates Method was born.

In 1912 Joe went to England where he became a boxer, circus performer and a self-defense instructor. When World War I erupted he was incarcerated in Lancaster and on the Isle of Man,with other German nationals, as "enemy aliens". During this time, many of his compatriots, following his exercise regime, emerged unscathed by an influenza epidemic that had swept the nation killing thousands.

Those in the camp who were disabled by other wartime diseases soon discovered the benefits of having Joe within their midst. His innovative style helped him devise the forerunner of today's equipment. Joe would remove the bedsprings from beneath the beds and attach them to the walls above the patients bed. In this manner they were able to exercise while lying down. Not only could his 'patients' remain stable, despite whatever injuries they may have had, they were also able to mobilize themselves, strengthen their muscles and emerge fitter and healthier than if these simple procedures were not available to them.

Have you ever wished for MORE stamina for playing longer with the children or grandchildren, completing the daily household duties or even playing that extra game of tennis without becoming over fatigued? Have you ever wished for MORE energy at the end of each day, rather than feeling drained? Have you ever wondered why people accept the back pain with which they live?

Why do we act and move the way we do? Why do we sometimes feel the same aches and pains as our parents do? Why do we develop new ones which our parents didn't have? Will we acquire the same maladies with which elderly people become afflicted?

When commencing or performing any exercise program, it is necessary to follow some basic guidelines. This is especially true when beginning an exercise which is totally new to your body. New exercise programs generally require more concentration and movements to which the body may have never been subject.

For instance, track and field athletes who may have never attempted a yoga class before. The new positions require a great deal of thought and focus. Muscles are being subjected to new positions and forcing these movement can cause injury, especially as they are held for some period of time. Such athletes may not spend an hour stretching. It is always important to keep in mind that any new routine for the body must be approached with caution.

Because athletes are quite fit compared to the general population, they also approach physical challenges more readily and sometimes do throw themselves into new 'sports'.

The muscles, however, have memorized only certain movements as a result of countless hours of repeating those movements over many years. This muscle memory is known as an engram. Once the body, and mind, have approached an routine a certain manner it is difficult to change that pattern without changes to the result. These changes may initially be adverse, such as slower times or not jumping as far, until the muscles accept their new regime as the new basis upon which to progress.

Our bodies will invariably take the easy way out. They will perform movements which require less effort and concentration. When we are not focused, our bodies will cheat on us! For example, lie on your back with your arms extended to the ceiling above your chest. This may be done with or without hand weights. Make sure your arms are not above the face or neck, but directly above the chest in line with the shoulders. Keeping the arms in line with the shoulders, slowly open the arm out to the sides (floor) and close to the ceiling again. Repeat this half a dozen times. Notice that as you do more, the arms slowly start to move above the face when in the air and in line with the head when open to the floor. This has the effect of the shoulders being gradually raised (hunched) so more anterior deltoid and trapezius become engaged and less pectoralis major and latissimus used.

Imagine the effect when the exercise is repeated hundreds of times!

To work specific muscles groups requires concentration and effort. To maintain an almost perfect regime of such movements, until they form the required engram so the movement becomes automatic, requires a pattern for muscular development and perfection for that movement.

For this to be accomplished, a routine needs to be established. Once this is achieved, then any new movements to the body, such as the athlete attempting yoga, can be approached safely. The participant can perform their own 'self-check' as to the requirements, benefits, limits and dangers that their body will undergo.

At Body Control Pilates a formula has been developed in the approach to performing an exercise to the best of one's physical ability.

When following the formula it may at first seem difficult to approach all the points at the same time. However, by systematically covering each aspect sequentially, and maintaining that aspect before the next is undertaken, would be an ideal way of perfecting the exercise and developing good technique.

The formula has been designed to make the most out of each movement or series of movements. A gradual approach to new routines will establish a solid foundation to use as a springboard to developing the movement or routine for greater speed or range.

The formula follows the acronym P A B B E E Q.

It has been found that if this formula is adhered to, it is almost impossible to perform a routine incorrectly, or for an instructor to devise an incorrect movement.

• P - Posture
• A - Alignment
• B - Back
• B - Breathimg
• E - Exercise
• E - Elongation
• Q - Questions

Examples and explanations in detail in the book

a) Lie on your back, legs vertically to the ceiling, turned out and feet pointed. Arms above the head, elbows bent and pressed into the mat, hands slightly wider than shoulder distance

b) Keeping the feet together, BO as your legs go over to the left in line with your hips, the right hip lifting off the floor.

c) Keep the shoulder blades and elbows pressed into the mat

d) Draw the hips to the ribs and BI as you roll the anterior rib cage back onto the mat, and then the rest of the spine until the right hip presses into the mat

e) Keep moving to the other side without stopping

f) Turn the head in the opposite direction to the legs

a) Keep the legs turned, especially when returning to the vertical posi

b) Release the pectoral muscle to allow the shoulder to stay on the mat.

c) If there is too much pressure on the arms to raise the legs back to the vertical position, then the legs have gone over too far

d) To keep the abdominals connected and stop the back from arching, as the legs extend over to the sides, draw them up lightly to then elbow.

e) Keep the toes in line with the navel and the hips pressed into the mat

f) As more control is developed, take the legs further over to the sides to several centimeters off the floor!

ONE set, 10 each side alternating

BO to the side, BI to the centre

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