Pilates

I enjoy fusion Pilates and hybrid workouts -- so long as they are clearly labeled as such. I know that not everyone wants to be, or can be, a full-on Pilates practitioner. Lately, the fusion workouts that have caught my attention, and seem to be making amicable inroads into Pilates studios, are the various types of barre workouts -- The Bar Method, Pure Barre, Booty Barre and so forth.

A "barre" is the bar ballet dancers hold onto when they do their warm up and indeed, most barre workouts are done to music and have a lot of dance influence in them. They use the barre for stability, and to stretch with. At home, a chair back takes the place of an official barre. Intense, strength and sculpt oriented, barre workouts do work the whole body, though they often focus a lot on butt lifting and thigh shaping exercises -- the promise of which accounts for a lot of the barre workout popularity.

My experience has been that barre workouts depend on a tremendous amount of leg lifting at various angles and directions to get that leg and butt sculpting effect. For me this is one of those differences with Pilates that is hard to get past, even though I studied ballet for years. I have only so much patience for the hydrant, or "batment" to carry on the ballet theme. I am reminded how much I appreciate that we do not have do a lot of repetitions of any one exercise in Pilates in order to get good effects.

Nevertheless, as Carrie Dorr, founder of Pure Barre, said to me: As we get older, we tend to spread east to west like a pancake. And that does put me in mind to do some focused butt and thigh work! Even Joseph Pilates recommended extra attention to areas that need it. Like other barre workouts, Dorr, who has over 10 barre DVDs, says Pure Barre works from the core and strives for mindfulness, like Pilates.

Barre workouts actually aren't all that new. The first "barre workouts" were developed by Lotte Berk who combined a rehabilitative approach to movement with ballet and opened a studio in London to teach her method in 1959. Her students brought the Lotte Berk Method to the United States. One of them, Burr Leonard, went on to develop the work into one of the most well known of the barre workout styles, The Bar Method (History of the Bar Method).

Now it seems there are barre workouts in every major city, and lots of DVDs to choose from. There are many barre workout franchises as well. Pure Barre for example, has over 100 locations. Each style has a slightly different spin, so if you are interested in trying them out, one barre workout isn't necessarily the same as the next. Experiment and find what you like.

A barre workout that has been noticeable in the Pilates world lately is Booty Barre. Founder Tracey Mallett is a fitness expert and Pilates instructor who even brought Booty Barre to the 2012 PMA conference as a pre-conference workshop. As part of my experiential research, I tried a Booty Barre class online at Pilates Anytime and I can vouch that in addition to it being a yes on sculpting, Tracey's enthusiasm will have you thinking doing a leg lift on the other side is a new adventure.

I did a short interview with Tracey Mallett about the Booty Barre so you could get a better sense of what that particular barre workout is like. Of course my first question had to be: Is it all booty?
Please see: What is Booty Barre?

Have you tried a barre workout? Tell us about your experience. Comments are welcome.

Related Reading:

Why Few Repetitions Work in Pilates

Get in Shape with Pilates

The medicine ball is definitely not a traditional piece of Pilates equipment. However, exercise balls in general have been embraced by much of the Pilates community as fun, adjunct ways to add challenge to exercises -- in keeping with the Pilates focus on stability and balance.

Here we take the Pilates shoulder bridge mat exercise and add a little extra work for the legs and powerhouse by putting the feet up on a medicine ball. If you don't have a medicine ball, you might also use weighted toning balls.

Do Shoulder Bridge with Medicine Ball

Or Do Shoulder Bridge on the Mat,  a very effective classic Pilates exercise.

Have the Exercise of the Week along with more great Pilates info sent directly to you each week in the Free Pilates Newsletter.

_{Photo courtesy of Simon Trangmar}

Not long ago I wrote a blog titled Why a Pilates Conference Should Be on Your Horizon. In it I talked about the pleasures and benefits of attending a Pilates conference. I also listed several of the conferences that had made their way onto my radar this year.

But what became obvious immediately after I published my "short list" was that there were many other fabulous Pilates conferences coming up that I either hadn't remembered, heard about, or had room for. Also, the international community chimed in, and rightfully so, asking for leads on conferences in Australia and Europe, and I'm sure there was interest in other places as well.

In response, I've created a free submission form that will result in an ongoing, international, reference list for Pilates conferences. The listings will include the vital info such as date, time, and place as well as details such as the theme of the conference and who will be teaching.

So, if you are marketing a Pilates conference, please list your conference. If you know someone or a Pilates company that should hear about this opportunity, please forward this blog or the link to the submission form along to them.  Keep in mind the listing is for conferences, not workshops. You can see the criteria on the submission form.

Thank you for participating and I hope to have the beginnings of the listing resource available to all soon!

Related Listings and Forms:

Pilates Instructor Training Program Published Listings
Pilates Instructor Training Program Submission Form

Online Pilates Studio Published Listings
Online Pilates Studio Tour Submission Form

I like this intermediate level Pilates ball sequence. I like it because for a short workout, it is very well balanced. It keeps the core working as it moves from exercises emphasizing the front body to the back and on to the arms and shoulders, hips and legs. This is a great ball workout to call on as part of your Summer body shape up.

Do a Pilates Workout on the Ball

Have the Exercise of the Week along with more great Pilates info sent directly to you each week in the Free Pilates Newsletter.

Sometimes I wake up in the morning, Mondays in particular, and think to myself: I don't need to dress, I don't need to go to my office or to the studio to workout. I'll just stay here in bed and elves will bring me breakfast. Can you relate?

I might be a little delirious about the elves or working in bed but the fact is, Pilates can definitely be done in bed.  I'm not saying one is going to get all the benefits of Pilates by doing a few exercises in bed -- not by a long shot -- but Pilates and beds do have a long history together. We talk about that, and look at some Pilates exercises that can be done in bed in the newest Pilates exercise set here, 6 Pilates Exercises You Can Do in Bed, which features exercises special guest instructor Siri Galliano has put together for us.

Siri Galliano is a long-time Pilates instructor and teacher of teachers, who travels internationally teaching at workshops and conferences. She is the founder of the Big Bear Pilates Festival (next one is August 9 - 11) and maintains a Pilates studio in Big Bear, California as well.
Please see: 6 Pilates Exercises You Can Do in Bed

Related Reading:
Better Sleep Tips from Joseph Pilates
"Don't Worry. We Fix", Joseph Pilates

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Here in Colorado it's freezing cold and pouring snow today. But I'm pretty sure that outside my little zone of the world folks are out digging, weeding, hauling, lifting, and in short doing all kinds of spring-things that are famous for putting pressure on the back -- the low back in particular. I hope  that won't be your story.

There are plenty of exercises you can do to give extra attention to the internal support and flexibility you need to keep your back in good shape this spring and beyond.

Start with Pilates Exercises for the Back

More for a better back:

• How Pilates Helps Back Pain
• 5 Back Extension Exercises
• What is Neutral Spine?
• Tucked vs Neutral Pelvis

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Wouldn't we all love to have time to do a full workout whenever we want? Well, we don't. But that's no reason to skip it entirely. This short but thorough workout made of classic Pilates mat exercises has both strength and stretch exercises and makes an excellent quick tone-up.

Do a Quick Pilates Workout

Have the Exercise of the Week along with more great Pilates info sent directly to you each week in the Free Pilates Newsletter.

_{image: courtesy of Kolesar Studios}

Happy Earth Day!
It seems to me that people who are into fitness would naturally be into caring for the earth, and I know many are. After all, the health of our planet is ultimately inseparable from our own. So, in honor of Earth Day 2013, I thought I'd put together a short list, just as a reminder, of things we as fitness folk can do to help the environment: Read More...

You can count on Pilates exercises to engage your whole body, especially your core. Side-lying leg press is also particularly good for toning those inner thigh muscles. We like that. Plus I added a bonus inner thigh move to the end of these instructions, just to amp it up a little for spring.

Learn Side-Lying Leg Press with Magic Circle

No magic circle? Try Inner Thigh Lifts

Have the Exercise of the Week along with more great Pilates info sent directly to you each week in the Free Pilates Newsletter.

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April is stress awareness month, and today, April 16, is stress awareness day.  Stress awareness is important because stress can be sneaky.  It builds up over time and can be very harmful to our health and well-being, particularly if we are unaware of how bad it's getting or in denial about needing to deal with it. Too much stress can impair your thinking, lower immunity, give you headaches and body aches and lead to heart disease as well as many other ill-health conditions. So don't ignore stress, please. Learn to reduce it.

Elizabeth Scott, our guide to stress management has compiled two powerful documents that will give you targeted resources from all around the About.com Health channel for coping with and reducing stress. Please see:

• Multi-Expert Stress Relief - stress management techniques including tips from Pilates from yours truly.
• Stress and Your Health - learn about stress from different perspectives and how to cope with it as it relates to various health conditions.

As for me, exercise has always been a first line of defense against stress. I go to a Pilates class, do a Pilates workout at home or just get outside and garden or walk. There are also stress reducing exercises I like to use on a regular basis. Here are some of my favorites:

• Easy Stress Relief Exercises
• Diaphragmatic Breathing (deep breathing)
• Constructive Rest