This post is part of my 2017 New Year’s Resolution to try every group fitness class offered at my gym, The Equinox in Chestnut Hill. See the full list of reviews here.
Today’s Class: Pilates with Cheryl Bentsen
Class length: 1 hour
Description from the Equinox: An innovative system of mind-body exercise evolved from the principles of Joseph Pilates. Pilates teaches body awareness & good posture while increasing core strength, flexibility, & mobility.
What Class Was Like
Dynamic standing warm-up to get the joints moving prior to mat work.
Mat work utilized the weight of the body and legs, a circle, ball, and light weights (briefly) to work on core flexibility and strength. While the legs and arms were occasionally engaged, their purpose in this class was mostly to assist with working the core.
Great for feeling parts of your abs you didn’t realize existed.
Cheryl is an incredible instructor. I’ve written about her and what makes her so wonderful before in my Vinyasa Yoga and Pilates Fusion reviews. In short, her expertise, very precise instruction, form corrections, and modifications. I learn a lot about fitness every time I take a class from her, which is reflected by the length of the review below. It’s good stuff and I want to remember it.
Pilates and Neck Pain
Pilates shouldn’t be a pain in the neck. I used to avoid pilates because holding my head up to do exercises like the hundred created more stiffness and soreness in my neck than was worth it. Cheryl explained that beginners often compensate for a lack of abdominal control by using their neck muscles when they shouldn’t. With time and proper technique, a pilates participant will get better at correctly engaging the core muscles to do the work, easing the strain on their neck.
In the meantime, it’s helpful to modify by placing a block under the head when necessary.
Also, try bringing your shoulders further off the ground which helps make your core do the work and reduces the angle (and therefore neck strain) of the head by bringing it a bit more upright.
Pull your belly button to the floor & focus on form, form form
Joseph Pilates called his exercises “contrology” because of the emphasis on control during the movements and the isolation of target muscle groups. That makes correct form critical. Having a good instructor, listening carefully, and being open to corrections is helpful for getting the most out of the experience (and avoiding neck pain).
That said, it was impressive how quickly you would feel an exercise exactly where you were supposed to feel it. As Cheryl joked, it’s a great place to discover your weaknesses and which muscle groups you try to use to compensate for them.
Why Pilates?
Good core strength helps with everything else. Stability while on your bike or swimming? Core strength.
Our body is so beautifully complicated and connected. One thing I’ve realized by working my body so many different ways is how unbalanced we can become when we love one sport and don’t cross train.
Yes, the best exercise is the one you’ll do which is the one you love.
But it’s humbling to be in a pilates class and have proof that despite being on my 16th unique gym class and a regular exerciser there were times when I physically could not engage a specific core muscle appropriately to complete the exercise and was negatively compensating with another muscle. If you are overusing certain muscles repetitively because another muscle isn’t as strong, say when you’re swimming, or every time you pick up groceries… well is it any wonder that a lot of us have occasional pain that flares up in a back or shoulder or knee?
Maybe pilates isn’t for you, but finding ways to increase and balance out your strength, flexibility and mobility are important.
I know a lot of people who have had an ache or pain get chronic and then benefited enormously from physical therapy. What if we strengthened our muscles before the injury instead? Pilates, yoga, strength training… could these be types of preventative therapy?
Who would love it?
People who would like to know which muscles they clench while merging onto Route 9.
Oh, and anyone looking for an intense core workout. I say intense because it is intense, but it was also low impact and could be modified. I would recommend trying Pilates Fusion first if you’re relatively new to fitness. This is one of those classes that gets easier to do effectively with time as your form improves and your abdominal muscles develop.
Would I go back?
I need to stop putting this question in my reviews because it’s stressing me out. Yes, I would go back. I would love to do this twice a week for six months and see the improvement and what it could do for my swimming, running, biking and posture.
Remember how much neck pain I used to get biking? Cheryl showed me after class that I tense up my traps and frequently over-use them. Could pilates get me to relax my shoulders and ride comfortably in a lower position?
Why is there not more time in a week?
How did I get this obsessed with exercise?
It’s the benefits. That’s what it is. I’m greedy for pain reduction and the ability to bike for hours without neck stiffness or go for a long run in the morning and still enjoy throwing my kids around in the pool that afternoon. As I look to my future and how I’ll plan my workouts after this project is complete, I’ll be trying to choose wisely which classes will increase my ability to do the things I love longer, better, and more comfortably. And sometimes I’ll just have to throw in some kick-boxing for stress relief 😉
Know before you go
- Participants were barefoot
- Required props may change on a class by class basis, but if you’re new ask the instructor before class if there are additional props that might be helpful to modify exercises for beginners
- Ask if something hurts during class, especially if it’s your lower back or neck
- Equinox cleans their mats after every class, so pile them in the corner when you leave rather than rolling them and putting them away
And then there was pizza… another day of conferences at preschool so it was a gym play-space morning for this guy and then pizza at Oath! Love them because they have clearly labeled vegan options and the crust is uniquely delicious. I had tomato sauce, kalamata olives, white beans and sliced potato on mine. It was superior to Andrew’s. Andrew does not read my blog.