Before this lockdown, I visited a studio neighbourhood to try my hand at this Pilates class in Singapore. Originally used for rehab work, today Pilates is more advanced and even involves cardio, like the one I took before this pandemic.
It was great actually, it helped me with my neck and knee pain. But let us back up. First of all, what exactly is Pilates?
It is a form of exercise, apparently named after Joseph Pilates, who created the practice in the 1920s. Pilates is a system of over five hundred controlled exercises that engage the mind and condition the total body. It is a balanced blend of strength and flexibility training that improves posture, reduces stress and creates long, lean muscles without bulking up. Pilates works for several muscle groups simultaneously through smooth, continuous motion, with a particular concentration on strengthening and stabilising the core the abdomen, back and pelvic girdle region sometimes referred to as the “powerhouse”.
I learned that it is kind of different from yoga because the moves are repetitive and mostly involve lying down. Yet, it is also in the mind/body realm. The main benefits of Pilates for me include increased core strength and overall increased muscular endurance. It is something that I consider as a neck pain treatment in Singapore too. I’d only ever taken one Pilates-inspired class before, so was pretty much new to the whole scene when Core Fitness Physiotherapy.
I always show up about twenty minutes before class and even beat everyone in the class. Once the friendly receptionist (who is also an instructor at the studio) arrived, she welcomed me inside. As I could see from the window, the entire studio includes a lobby, a handful of Pilates machines, a small dance-room and a bathroom. You can see the whole place from the front door.
It was decorated straight from a feminine mint-coloured Pinterest board. It was a true “private studio” experience, in that there was no one else in the place except for those of us taking class, and the receptionist took the class too. I loved this aspect of it because it felt so laid back and comfortable. As someone who spends my full-time fitness career in huge corporate gyms, it is a nice change to see the boutique side of fitness, which also has its value. It is personal
It had some cardio in the beginning, then moved into muscle strength endurance. It started with us standing next to the machine doing a full-body roll-up and ended that way too. The fifty minutes of work in-between was done entirely on the Pilates Reformer machine.
We began with about five minutes of jumping continuously off the jump-board while laying on our backs and moving the carriage back and forth away from the board with our feet. While it seemed easy at first, it began to burn. We did double-leg and single-leg jumping which had my quads completely on fire (not to mention, they were already sore from the previous days' heavy weight-lifting session).
Then we went into some crunches, then we picked up a two-pound weighted ball, which we used with our arms extended for some light arm work. We also pulled on the reformer machine’s handles for some rowing motions also for knee pain treatment. The class incorporated several props, including the small weighted ball, a small Pilates ball, as well as a box, which we placed on top of the reformer machine and put our chest on for some back extension work.
There was some light music playing in the background and the instructor was pretty clear with us what was coming up next and how many reps we had to do for each side. She walked around the three participants and continued to correct our form. She used our names and connected with us very well.
It was a totally different workout-treatment than I am used to. Not only had I never been on a Pilates class, but I had never really done a full Pilates class either. I had to continually readjust my body to make sure my form was right because the movements were foreign to me. The small movements, isometric holds and repetitions of every little move definitely make your muscles burn. However, it’s different from a heavy-weight training burn. Outside of the leg-jumping portion, in the beginning, I didn’t feel truly exerted throughout the class, as I do in my own workouts or classes. Yet I knew I was working and benefiting my body.
Pilates is known to give people long and lean physiques, which is probably why it’s so popular for celebrities and models to work on the Reformer machine. It’s not designed to build big muscles, merely provide length and tone to a body. It’s definitely not gruelling and intense but offers a challenge.
The session and treatment went by quickly and without breaking a sweat, I felt good at the end. I highly recommend Core Fitness if you are looking for a Pilates pain specialist in Singapore.
