Readers Respond: Your Scary Pilates Story

I've been doing Pilates on and off for over 20 years and I still come up with nerves, if not fear, now and again. I distinctly remember being scared about my first class - actually my first few. One look at a reformer or tower (some people still call it a guillotine) and any beginner would feel scared.

Are you a Pilates beginner? Share your concerns here. If you have been doing Pilates a while, maybe you have concerns or fears? How about when you started? Let's air these things!

jack knife on the ball

I have tried to do the jack knife on an exercise ball and did not have the core control to do it. I have been adding ab exercises to my regular workout routines and it must be helping because recently I tried it again and was so surprised when I actually managed to lift my hips above the vertical plane that I over balanced forward and wound up landing on my shoulder and knee. My knee still is a bit touchy, but since no one witnessed my fall my pride recovered nicely!

—rbrubacker60

Scarey Chair

I have a very slim client who was doing the teaser ab exercise on the chair and slid backwards and finished up wedged between the pedal and the chair with her body completely folded in half. Luckily she wasn`t hurt and it DID look very funny

—Guest Jenny

Mastering the Roll-Up

As an instructor I think the roll up is one of the most challenging exercises for beginners - it can be very humbling and frustrating! I have several suggestions: 1. Believe it is possible! So often we get embarrassed and so self-defeated that we cannot move past it. It may sound corny, but you really have to believe you can do it. 2. Find a qualified private instructor to work with for a few sessions (at least). They can provide you with specific guidance/modifications and exercises that will help you master the roll-up 3. Take an equipment class. These classes can help support your mat practice as well as add extra challenge in areas where you are stronger. 4. Modify! Either by place a small folded towel at the top of the sacrum (provides a fulcrum) or by slightly bending the knees (maintain deep spinal flexion) and placing the hands behind the thighs for a bit of leverage. Keep in mind that the goal is to eventually not use the modification.

—Guest ashleyceleste

Flew off reformer in my first teaser!

Years ago....guess I had on slippery pants, but I slid right off the box in my first reformer teaser! Thankfully, no injuries...and those grippy sheaths gave me back my security!

—Guest Stephanie

Scary story

I, too, have had scary experiences with the chair. I am a 69 y/o female and we now working on balance using the chair. I have a tendency to watch my feet and therein lies the problem. When I focus on an object on the wall I don't seem to be as unstable and unable to maintain balance. We have only been doing this for a couple of weeks, the first time I tried I thought was going to fall sideways. Which is frightening. But I still have problems with balance but each session I see improvement. I have been working at Pilates for 6 months now. I asked my instructor yesterday if see honestly believed I would stick it out. No sugar coating. She answered honestly and said she didn't think I would complete the first 20 lessons I signed up for. But never ceases to be amazed at the progress I have made and said I have made her a better instructor. HA!

—2oldforit

Slipping on Pilates Chair

One night I forgot to take my socks off before doing an advanced exercise on the Pilates chair. I did a side pike and slipped between the chair and the footbar. The footbar flew up and whacked me in the shin. I got a big bruise and a big reminder that slippy socks are not the way to go in Pilates. I have to say that of all the Pilates equipment, the chair is the piece I've had the most near misses with.

—Guest OMPilates

roll up

why is it you just cant do a roll up, seems that women with big breast and short necks find it impossible is there an explanation or help to do it ??

—Guest Debs

knees

The mermaid pose is very unnatural for men due to narrow hips. It stresses my knees. I can feel them 'crack' when trying to stretch to side.

—Guest john

Queasy

I first took a Pilates class at our gym at work. From the first five minutes I was queasy, and I spent each class fighting nausea. Needless to say, I didn't work very hard at the moves when I was trying not to throw up the whole time. A year later, I got a personal trainer. He included Pilates moves in my workout and I never had a problem with nausea. I am left not knowing what the problem was with the first class -- the exercises, the smell of the mat, etc.

—Guest WB

Focus on your own sensations

I recently listened to a Power Yoga podcast by Dave Farmar. He was talking about up-dog and down-dog, and how when his dog does his up-dog and down-dog he doesn't look to see what Dave is doing, he just does it. This is what I would hope for people to feel in Pilates. It's about where you are relative to yourself, not compared with someone else. This may even vary from one day to the next. Whether or not you can do teaser says nothing about your value as a human being.

—Guest mewfrance

scary pilates

just started on pilates two months ago and cant seem to do the roll up...so frustrating,,is my core muscle so weak, what must i do to overcome this exercise feel so embarassed when i cant seem to get down slowly and get up with ribbons too. Appreciate you sharing the techniques, thanks sharon from malaysia

—Guest sharon

roll-ups

I have been doing Pilates for over 2 years but still cannot master the roll-up. What am I doing wrong.

—Guest eae38

nervous about dizziness

this is gonna sound weird, but I seem to have a motion-related form of vertigo. When I tried yoga, I nearly threw up. Next I tried pilates: same deal! Not quite sure how to get past it... Lisa

—LJRudy

Am I Good Enough?

I recently started taking class from some new instructors and at different studios. The same fears came up for me now as did many years ago: will I be good enough? Of course it always works out, but I still get this little voice that is afraid to try something new... maybe I'll be judged or something. It doesn't happen. I have a great time, but there it is anyway, my ego!

—Guest OMPilates