Pilates - or 'What the bleep are these muscles here?'

It's in fashion, so I've resisted it.
Hell, I did Pilates 20 years ago in London before anyone knew about it.
But then... "... and what with your core not being what it should be"... came an off-hand remark by my technical advisor, world class coach Bobby McGee (www.bobbymcgee.com)... which decided me I had to do something about it.

So, off to Pilates of Boulder fror asession with Richard Rossiter. I picked Richard because a) he's a man, b) he is not a dancer and c) he has a rich life that includes climbing, running, bike-riding and much else. He has also used his own Pilates practice to rehab himself back from the brink of wheel-chairdom after a front tyre blow-out on his road bike.

Today I am wondering what the bleep are these muscles at the back of my knees -- and why I have never used them before! Yeah, I may have thought Pilates was all about flavour-of-the-month core strengthening, but no, it is about much more than that.

After one session on the Reformer, a sort of rowing machine for the legs, I know I am going to see some sensational results in my running as the routine re-activates and strengthens muscles I have hardly been using.

When it came to the wunder-chair, a spring-loaded step-up device, I nearly couldn't finish the reps -- and my quads are toughened by MANY hill reps. Besides all that, the breathing technique is different - and I'll report back on what that's doing to my oxygsn uptake. "No belly breathing here", is Richard's take-home message.


* Pilates of Boulder