Pilates

Inner thigh lift

A friend asks about Pilates the other day. Seribadan does not offer Pilates per se but it is taught as part of ABT class where Pilates is paired with cardio exercises. Or sometimes in Bodyworks session but only a tiny bit.

So what actually is Pilates?

Pilates is a body conditioning routine that seeks to build flexibility, strength, endurance, and coordination without adding muscle bulk. In addition, pilates increases circulation and helps to sculpt the body and strengthen the body's "core" (torso).

Pilates (pronounced: puh-lah-tez) improves your mental and physical well-being, increases flexibility, and strengthens muscles. Pilates uses controlled movements in the form of mat exercises or equipment to tone and strengthen the body. It was originally used to rehabilitate bedridden or immobile patients during World War I.

Joseph H. Pilates, the founder of the pilates exercise method, was born in Germany. As a child he was frail, living with asthma in addition to other childhood conditions. To build his body and grow stronger, he took up several different sports, eventually becoming an accomplished athlete. As a nurse in Great Britain during World War I, he designed exercise methods and equipment for immobilized patients and soldiers. In addition to his equipment, Pilates developed a series of mat exercises that focus on the torso. He based these on various exercise methods from around the world, among them the mind-body formats of yoga and Chinese martial arts.

There are two ways to exercise in pilates. Today, most people focus on the mat exercises, which require only a floor mat and training. These exercises are designed so that your body uses its own weight as resistance. The other method of pilates uses a variety of machines to tone and strengthen the body, again using the principle of resistance. At Seribadan, only mat exercises is offered.

April 2007 Schedule

Here is the latest schedule. I made some minor changes, which actually was reverting back to last year's schedule.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pINuE-9_b7dlKBoYJiSekMw

Tween Fit starts tomorrow

March Schedule

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pINuE-9_b7dng3kyFV4QYGQ&output=html&gid=0&single=true


Here is March Schedule. Not much difference

Belly Dance Workshop (II)

The myth about sweat

What’s the Sweat?

MYTH ONE : If you’re not sweating, you’re not working out.

There are a lot of misconceptions about sweat. Hear this fact: Sweat has only one purpose — to cool the body. When your body temperature rises as a result of the energy production required by exercise (or the heat of the day), a couple of responses are triggered. First, the heart beats faster to move blood around the organs more quickly to absorb heat. At the same time, capillaries just under the skin dilate so blood can be closer to the skin surface, which is usually cooler than body temperature. If these cooling mechanisms aren’t enough, your sweating reflex kicks in — something like a built-in shower. Water from the blood moves to the skin surface through a network of more than 2.5 million ducts, or sweat glands, in the skin. When this “sweat” — which is composed of 99% water and 1% salt and other protein and fat-based metabolites — evaporates, it cools the body and leaves a salty-tasting residue on your skin.You’ll notice the sweat if you live in a humid climate that deters evaporation. You may never think you sweat in a dry climate, where the same workout, at the same temperature, produces the same amount of sweat, but is not noticed because it evaporates so quickly.Although sweat has no odor itself, when it is combined with bacteria on the body, it’s time to roll out the deodorant to combat the unpleasant odor associated with sweat.

MYTH TWO : Sweating helps you lose fat.Some people still come to the gym wearing sweater suits designed to make them sweat profusely. If asked why they are using this gear, they often respond, “To sweat off fat.” Had they said, “To lose weight,” they would be accurate but misguided. Any post-workout decrease in weight is water-based sweat, not fat. Fluid replacement returns the scale to a pre-workout reading. The danger in this thermal approach to weight management is that any sweat produced cannot evaporate and cool the body.

MYTH THREE : Sweating rids the body of toxins.There are no toxins in sweat. Toxins are removed by a healthy kidney and liver working full time to counter all we do to abuse our bodies with poor exercise, eating, and lifestyle habits. The body isn’t detoxified when it sweats. It’s overheated.Sweating dehydrates the body. A dehydrated body is prone to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Lost fluid must be replaced. Drinking water is a good place to start. A cup of water before and after your workout and sipping your water during exercise will suffice..

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The best exercise combination

For many people, variety is the key to a successful program, so don't limit yourself to the same aerobics video or walking trail day after day if you don't want to. Your prescription may include exercises from each of the following groups.

Aerobic exercises.

Aerobic exercises use low- to moderate-intensity continuous motion to increase your breathing and heart rate and improve your cardiovascular fitness — the health of your heart, lungs and circulatory system. Aerobic activities cover a range of exercises, including walking, biking, swimming, hiking and aerobic dancing.

Strength exercises.

Strength (resistance) exercises build your muscle strength and endurance, which in turn help improve your posture, balance and coordination. These exercises involve working with resistance (pulling or pushing against a force) to increase muscle force-generating capabilities. These exercises can also help build muscle size and improve muscle definition. Activities include lifting free weights, using weight machines, working with resistance bands and using your body weight in exercises like push-ups.

Core stability exercises.

A subset of strength exercises, core stability exercises strengthen and stabilize your trunk muscles. Building strength in these muscles supports your spine, improves posture and balance, promotes better sports performance and may help prevent back injury. Examples of this type of activity include Pilates and using a fitness ball.

Flexibility exercises.

Flexibility exercises increase your range of motion, make your muscles more limber and may help reduce the risk of injury. They also improve your posture and aid in your body's recovery from vigorous activity or exercise sessions. Activities which improve flexibility range from simple stretching exercises to yoga.

Balance exercises.

Balance exercises help you maintain balance, reducing your risk of falls and injury. They also help improve performance. Activities include tai chi, yoga, weight shift and single-leg balance reach exercises. Many strength exercises can be modified to improve balance.