Toned muscles, a strong core; cardiovascular fitness for health, stress relief or endurance for sports and recreation: Whatever your reason for working out, it’s results you want. If you exercise regularly and maintain the habit, you’ll begin to see and feel results in weeks. Here’s how.
Strength Training, Including Pilates:
If you’re a beginner: For the most rapid change, beginners should do Pilates twice a week. “Pilates is a new physical language that you have to learn,” says Susan Moran, senior vice president of Power Pilates, an APOGEE Wellness company. Beginners will get results if they practice twice a week for an hour. “Just two hours a week—it will change your life!” says Susan.
Beginners can also strength train—with weights or other types of resistance—twice a week, says Jane Nielsen, APOGEE’s Fitness Manager. “It just takes 20 minutes,” says Jane. “You don’t need hours and hours.”
If you’re already active: Schedule in three weekly Pilates sessions and increase the frequency of your strength training to three or four times a week, says Jane. To allow your muscles a day to recover, don’t do the same exercises two days in a row, she says. “You might do lunges one day and work on inner and outer thighs the next,” says Jane. Ask an APOGEE trainer to create a list of exercises that challenge different muscles, reducing your risk of injury while working all of your muscle groups.
The exception: “You can work your abs every day,” says Jane.
Cardiovascular Training
Running, walking, cycling, striding on the elliptical, and indoor rowing build cardiovascular fitness, ease stress, reduce risk of chronic disease and help you maintain or lose weight.
If you’re a beginner: Schedule 30 to 45 minutes of cardio three to five times a week, says Jane. Start with a goal that you are sure to accomplish; it’s better to be conservative and meet your goal than be ambitious and set yourself up for failure. “People say they want to workout six or seven days a week but that’s almost impossible,” says Jane. Both APOGEE White Plains and Bedford Hills have a wide selection of group cardio classes to motivate you.
If you’re already active: Maintain a habit of 45 minutes of cardio five times a week. Ask an APOGEE trainer about making one or two of your workouts longer or more intense. Try a Spinning or Indo-Row class; there are challenges built into every session!
“Do cardio, Pilates and strength training every week and eat a healthy diet and you’ll look great,” says Jane. “Why wouldn’t you?”
When you train with Pilates instructors at APOGEE White Plains and Bedford Hills or Power Pilates in New York (both APOGEE Wellness companies), you’re experiencing the teaching of Susan Moran. In 1995, Susan and Howard Sichel started Power Pilates, which quickly grew to include teacher education as well as individual and group client training. Now, Power Pilates is the leading educator of classical Pilates in the world. All of the Pilates instructors at APOGEE are trained in Power Pilates; in all, 7,000 Pilates instructors around the world are trained graduates. Susan continues to teach weekly classes in Manhattan, as well as lead workshops and instruct at industry events.
Pilates is a trend that never goes away. Why is it so enduring?
Susan: People begin taking classes because Pilates will give them the flat abs, improved posture and increased flexibility that they want. But they keep coming because of the way Pilates makes them feel: I say 30 days of Pilates will change your life because it heals you from the inside out—from a cellular level. People are happier because they feel better—they have more energy and are healthier. Feeling good will never go out of style!
Pilates is known for developing core strength, so why is the motto at Power Pilates “Movement Heals”?
Susan: Pilates exercises build core strength, yes, but primarily Pilates improves the health of the spine. In my early years of teaching I saw people’s health improve because of Pilates. When I was 23 I had a client with a lung disease. After practicing Pilates she went to the doctor and her lung function had increased 20 to 30 percent. Now I know why: The nerves that enervate the muscles and organ systems come from your spine. When you improve the health of your spine, every body system benefits. People breathe better, have improved digestion, endocrine function and more. It’s just like Joseph Pilates said: We have the power to heal ourselves!
As a Power Pilates instructor I developed amazing tools to help clients reach their potential. Power Pilates offers such clarity and understanding towards how to truly progress clients. I completed the program with tremendous confidence in teaching clients at all levels. In addition, as a Power Pilates instructor I am inspired by the teacher trainers to continually study and add to the wealth of knowledge I’ve developed from the certification program.
In the previous blog post, APOGEE instructor Lauren Karr explained how one Pilates exericse–The Hundred–can help you look better in a bathing suit. Actually, because this simple exercise brings awareness and strength to your entire torso, you’ll look better in anything you wear!
There’s no getting around it: It’s summer and you’re making appearances in a bathing suit. Whether you’re at the pool, beach, river or lake, there’s no hiding in this hot weather.
We asked APOGEE Bedford Hills Power Pilates instructor Lauren Karr what you can do to look your best when you’re barely dressed. “You want to relax and square your shoulders,“ Lauren says. “Your abs need to support your upper body.” With your head, neck and shoulders in alignment and supported by your abs, you will look taller, more elegant and graceful. The way to do this, says Lauren, is by practicing one basic Pilates move: The Hundred.
If you think you already know this exercise, take a minute to review it and be aware when you’re on the mat. Then, bring that same mental focus to your posture when you’re standing.
Position: Lie flat, arms relaxed at your sides, knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Feel where your shoulder blades are on the floor—how far from your ears are your shoulders, for example. As you engage your abs, glide your shoulder blades down your back, “as if you’re tucking them into the back pockets of your jeans,” says Lauren.
Lift: Lift your feet so your knees are over your hips and bent at 90 degrees; extend to 45 degrees. As you lift your head off the floor to look into your core, be certain the lower tips of your shoulder blades remain on the floor and your shoulders are square. “You should be folding up from the bra line,” says Lauren. “Don’t throw your neck off the spine.”
Move: When you begin to pump your arms and breathe, initiate the movement from your back, says Lauren. “Your abs are your powerhouse, but your shoulder blades must work to stabilize your upper torso,” says Lauren. “Your upper back is a secondary powerhouse.” Pump your arms up and down vigorously, inhaling for 5 counts and exhaling for 5 counts, until you reach 100 counts.
When your upper back and abs are working together, as they are during The Hundred, your trapezius and upper back will relax. Not only will you look taller, but you’ll appear calmer as well. Calm and relaxed? Now that looks good in a bathing suit!
A place for the growing APOGEE Pilates & Wellness Centers community of teachers, members, experts and staff to share their passion for wellness and healthy living.
Toned muscles, a strong core; cardiovascular fitness for health, stress relief or endurance for sports and recreation: Whatever your reason for working out, it’s results you want. If you exercise regularly and maintain the habit, you’ll begin to see and feel results in weeks. Here’s how.
