I admit it, I’m no good at Pilates. For someone who grew up being above average in most sports with very little effort, I find this a bitter pill to swallow.
My core is not strong, and although I don’t really even know what that means, I can’t think of anything I need to do more now than to strengthen it – but I imagine that’s the competitive teen in me talking, rather than the crazed, irrational dieting part of my brain.
I’ve now been to a few Pilates classes with Pilates Squared‘s instructor Hakan, who’s studio lives in South-West London. However, it would be incorrect of me to label the classes as classic Pilates as these, I’m told, are High Intensity Interval Pilates (HIIP) classes because they use reformer machines.
What are reformer machines? Initially looking at one of these beds riddled with straps, chains and rubber balls, you could be mistaken for thinking they look a little like they belong in a torture chamber or a sex dungeon. But hey, if the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Dita Von Teese can incorporate them into their exercise routines, then so can I.
The classes themselves involve doing a variety of different exercises in quick succession on the reformer machine during the one hour provided. The classes are designed to be intense so that you break a major sweat – and trust me, you do. HIIP combines the principles of Tabata, Classical Pilates, military type exercises and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).
Every session I’ve been to so far has been physically and mentally exhausting as each muscle is manipulated, twisted and pulsed. It’s tough, there’s absolutely no question about that. But I find myself going back week after week regardless. Why?
Any form of Pilates is a discipline that can benefit the body in ways beyond what you might even realise, or more accurately, more than I had realised. I had naively lumped Pilates into the pile of other ‘non-exercises’ I’d all tarred with a patronising brush along with hula-hooping and chess…how wrong I was.
So how, more exactly and scientifically, can Pilates help the body? The instructors tell me that Pilates has commonly been celebrated for years for improving posture, flexibility and range of motion. During one of my classes, Hakan tells me that it is a great sporting supplement to the likes of professional boxers for its ability to strengthen the body.
Those who regularly do Pilates don’t typically walk around with bulging muscles and veins. The primary aim of Pilates is to improve how you feel, move and hold yourself rather than to alter how you look. Upon my arrival at one of my sessions I watched as the previous customer’s class wound down to an end as he stretched off his impressively toned body. Hakan later told me that, although the guy looked physically strong and that he was a regular cross-fitter, he had to cut his Pilates lesson short as he just wasn’t up to the task – or series of small tasks in quick succession.
The HIIP combines Pilates with cardio – and one of the Pilates Squared instructors Caron explains to me: “Muscles function best with cardio, strength and stretching. At the cellular level, actin and myocin cross over each other like fingers loosely intertwined. When we strengthen our muscles, we break down this connection so it can build back stronger. When we stretch this connection, we give the entire muscle greater flexibility.”
Any form of exercise that has the ability to strengthen my body, mind and confidence to me is surely worth the effort and aching glutes. I’ll also be the first to admit that I rather enjoy flailing around on my back with my legs hoisted up in a pair of stirrups.
