10/8/15, by Jess Davies
I have now officially taken the first steps into the world of pilates classes. And I survived!
Having passed the first assessment at Wisdom Physiotherapy and been classified as one of those ‘extension bias’ types, I attended my first pilates group class at the studio.
After my initial assessment, I continued to be aware of my new found butt and groin muscles for a few days, whimpering slightly and complaining somewhat loudly to my friends/colleagues/family members/who ever was around. It was that good kind of pain that reminds you that you have actually done some exercise. I had completed my homework stretches like a good girl and tried to remember to keep my knees ‘soft’ whenever standing still. I was ready for this class and whatever it might bring.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I am training for a marathon and I am hoping Clinical Pilates will help to make it a slightly more pleasant experience. On Saturday, I went on a 32 kilometre training run, coinciding with the day the sky chose to drop large amounts of water from the sky.
As I hobbled in to the class, I hoped Jeremy would put me on a stretching rack to remove the tightness in my shoulders and hamstrings. While reformer machines aren’t quite as scary as medieval torture racks, they have a lot of similarities.
My previous experiences with group classes have usually involved many participants following one instructor to complete the same movements, stretches and exercises at the same time. In these situations I often feel unsure about whether or not I was doing the right thing and when something starts to hurt I am never sure if I am doing something wrong.
My first pilates class at Wisdom was completely different – classes sizes are limited to four people so you feel as if you’re receiving one-on-one attention. I was lucky to start with a class with only one other participant and Jeremy moved aptly between us, providing us with completely different exercises based on our own personal requirements.
My previous experiences with group classes have usually involved many participants following one instructor to complete the same movements… My first pilates class at Wisdom was completely different.
Throughout the session, I stretched, pushed, pulled and twisted my way through a series of exercises working key muscles that Jeremy has targeted as needing attention. By the end of the hour, I felt like the muscles in my body had realigned, I was more stable and most of the aches and pains from my run had lifted.
But not only this, I also felt like I had actually done a work out – something I had been doubting about pilates from the beginning. I have never considered pilates to be a strenuous enough activity to be classified as ‘exercise’, however by the end of my session with Jeremy I could point out new found muscles that had suddenly been used and were definitely feeling it.
The biggest surprise was waking up this morning to feel no pain.
The biggest surprise was waking up this morning to feel no pain. That’s right – zero pain. I managed to go for a 7 kilometre run feeling strong in areas of my body that I had never noticed before. Perhaps it is just some sort of placebo response, but I have high hopes for the next three weeks of training with Jeremy to see what other muscle miracles he can perform.
If you would like to try Clinical Pilates, click here to book in your Initial Assessment with one of our Physios – Jeremy, Jane or Sandrine.
