My Life at Seattle Pilates

Ballet Barre - faster is definitely not better

2012-01-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

"There is no bad movement, there is only movement done badly" - Ron Fletcher - Pilates Master.

I just finished taking a Ballet Barre class locally and came away very frustrated as well as tired. It was a hard class and the exercises were generally good, valuable, hard, fatiguing and doable. Mostly. I took ballet as an adult years ago so I had some experience to fall back on to say nothing of my Pilates experience which teaches AWARENESS and PRECISION. However, in this class there was so much to work on in order to get all the pieces moving together in a coordinated fashion with sacrificing technique.

And when the teacher said 'And now double time' - I knew there was no way I could keep it all together so I just kept going at the same pace - mostly. But all of the girls (6 in the class) gamely tried to do the double time. And FAILED - 100% of them. It irritated me that the teacher didn't look around the room and say, "Wow, they're not getting it - they look like shit doing this. Maybe I should just go at the old tempo and work on technique". But no. Choreography is everything so she just kept forging ahead.

"There is no bad movement. There is only movement done badly." This has been the theme for this week. It is also one of the foundational principles of my teaching.

Pilates is all about getting it right and getting it right at the beginning - as much as possible. True ballet starts with Barre work so the student can get the movement correctly and slowly before starting to move faster so that when the student gets to floor work, they know what they should be doing and where they should feel it and what it should look like. Not so in Ballet Barre.

I know how hard I was working to get it right. It was doable but hard. There was nothing wrong with the exercises, except for the speed and the inability of the students to do them. My rule for teaching is that if more than 85% (or so) can't do the exercise, there is something wrong with my teaching (communication or demonstration) or there is something wrong with the exercise. Too damn fast!!

At what point will these girls get it right? If they keep coming, will they get strong enough or flexible enough to make the correction? Not if they have been practicing the movement pattern incorrectly, with the wrong muscle. Either make the movement less complex or slow it down so the brain has a chance to learn and catch up.

It's fine that they all felt tired and worked out (as did I) at the end of class. But wouldn't it be better if they learned about their bodies as well as worked them? If they learned where turn out came from? If they learned that knee and toe alignment are important for knee health? If they learned where their spine was in these various positions? If they learned how to STABILIZE their spine and core while moving their limbs rather than shaking around like an aspen tree?

This Ballet Barre class was both better than I expected - not too many repetitions, decent variations, good movements and as bad as I expected - lack of technique, lack of correction, too much speed with too little stabilization. I'll go back - because I know what I need to work on and I am still hoping to get to the splits sometime in my lifetime. But I will only 'double time' it when I know that my technique won't completely fall apart. Because that is how I'll get better. If I keep repeating a movement badly I will become very proficient at moving badly. Not pretty. And not helpful.

Hot Ears! Hydration.

2011-09-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

For years, I would never sweat when I worked out. I always assumed it was because I was thin and cooled down quickly. Even so, my ears would get really, really hot - they almost felt like they would burn up and fall off. Several of my friends said I needed to drink more water and I dismissed it because I did drink some water and ate fruit and vegetables and usually had a bunch of milk every day.

But I decided to read up on dehydration and did a google search; the sheer number of hits was astounding especially on the topic of 'chronic dehydration'. Several sites suggested that a large percentage of the population were chronically dehydrated. They also suggested that to reset the body's hydration meter would take a few weeks. I decided to give it a try.

At first it was hard to force myself to drink water often. I often added some lemon to make it more interesting. But as I kept at it, I did notice several changes.

I started sweating. During my harder workouts (especially Crossfit) I would start to more than glisten - I would actually sweat!
I started feeling thirsty. I think I reset my thirst reaction and wanted to drink more water
I think my moods evened out. This of course is subjective but it really does seem to correlate; I find myself much more even tempered (unless I get too hungry of course).
I think my skin is a little smoother although I am not as sure about that one

So, drink your water. Force yourself to drink several glasses a day. What could be an easier cure for so many ills?

Plantar Fasciitis

2011-08-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

2 days ago, my right foot started hurting in a way that I am sure is exactly the dreaded Plantar Fasciitis - an inflammation in the fascia of the bottom of the foot that can make walking painful with lots of pain on the heel. Inflammation would usually indicate some icing and rest and maybe some stretching. But I'm stubborn. And curious.

So I didn't ice (which I do think would help) but no rest although I wore shoes more carefully and tried to not irritate my heel more. And I started stretching. Exploratory stretching - always trying to feel what made it felt better. Logically, I would think some tight calf muscles or arches would help. They did - a bit.

But over the years, I have learned that the body is a fascinating puzzle that has its own understanding. My job is to try to decipher my own or other people's bodies' organization. Years ago, I had just a touch of Plantar Fasciitis and surprisingly it went away when I did exactly the wrong things: I started jump roping at Crossfit more. And I started running the stairs more. My theory is that constant controlled stretch on the foot helped the fascia loosen up. Maybe. But you can't argue with results and my foot pain disappeared.

So I've been stretching. Calf tightness? Yes. Arch tightness? Yes. (BTW, I am doing the stretch on the unaffected leg to compare. If my right is tighter than my left, I conclude that on some level it has to be contributing to the foot pain.) But surprisingly, glute stretches - figure 4 and pigeon and especially intense hamstring stretches have made the most difference. It almost completely disappears after some hamstring stretches. Maybe the fascia down my entire leg is a little stuck and the stretches are helping loosen that up. I'm not sure but it is working.

Lesson learned? The most obvious is NOT always the right answer and to keep looking around my body - asking and learning what I need to do to heal myself. I need to become my own diagnostician. It's fascinating to learn the language of the body. And that knowledge might then possibly (but not always) be applicable to another of my clients.

It's great to have a career that fascinates even after 16 years.

A New Look at Pilates

2011-08-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some major overhauling of my studio, my business and thinking a lot about Pilates in general. It still surprises me that this work called Pilates continues to intrigue, challenge and inspire me still some 18 years after I started. I think it is also interesting that defining what Pilates is continues to be difficult.

For sure, it is the exercises; that classically, very clearly defined repertoire on the 'Universal Reformer', 'Cadillac', 'Wunda Chair' and of course Matwork. I know the classical repertoire. My main teacher, Cary Regan, taught in the New York studio for many years. She hammered home all of the repertoire. I, for myself, have logged hundreds of hours for myself on these exercises, trying to understand and glean more from this work. And I think I have.

I've been looking at a bunch of youtube videos lately as part of my 're-evaluation'. We may have some small differences in 'choreography', but when I see the mess that is passed off as classical repertoire, I can't believe it. Now I feel completely free to reinvent, reinterpret and create completely new exercises. But if you're going to do the classical repertoire, do it well - with Control (it was called Contrology after all), with intention, with precision.

Maybe these teachers didn't have the benefit of the kind of precise teaching that I had. Maybe they haven't continued to work on the repertoire to 'get more' out it. And to be sure there are youtube videos that certainly inspire me. Oh how I wish I had that kind of flexibility and grace. That is what I work on when I do my own Pilates workout.

But I also firmly believe that Pilates is more than the exercises. It is a way of thinking about the body and how it moves. It is learning how movements feel through every range of motion. It is letting the Mind teach the Body but also letting the Body inform the Mind. It is paying attention to what works when. It is discovering the core in every, every movement. And very importantly, it is learning to move the limbs without compromising the spine.

I've been doing the level 5 workout again more recently (the most advanced repertoire on the reformer). Even though it is a hard workout, I have rediscovered how much of a restorative it is - bringing balance and flexibility to my body after my hard Crossfit workouts.

And the last time I did the level 5, I also did some of the advanced Cadillac work like the walk overs and the other upside down work. But I was very, very happy to find that I was able to do the 'Flying Squirrel' - the holy Grail of the Pilates repertoire. There is only 1 video of the flying squirrel on youtube at Romana's NY studio. Most teachers don't even know what it is. Once again, my teacher, Cary taught it to us although none of us were able to really do it. Until now. I'll be posting my own youtube video soon - of the 'Flying Squirrel'.

Don't forget to breathe

2011-08-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

Breathing. We all do it if we're alive. But because it is so fundamental, it is only natural that breath patterns. philosophies and rules have developed over the millennia. Pilates has breath philosophies as well - the most famous quote being "you have to 'out' the air before you can 'in' the air." (Makes more sense in German where the word for breathing out is 'ausatmen' but you put the 'aus' (out) part right at the end of the sentence).

On the other hand, when I am lifting weights at Crossfit and I am doing a deadlift, for example, of 275 lbs. I definitely NEED and MUST HOLD MY BREATH. Why is this? And isn't that antithetical to the Pilates 'breath'? In Pilates, we don't put the kind of loads on our bodies that Crossfit or other weight training does and so we can continue to breathe through the exercise and train the breathing mechanism to work steadily and efficiently.

However, the Pilates breathing in many circles has now run amok. Breathing for every little movement isn't logical or necessary. I also believe if you are focusing on the choreography and trying to find the correct muscles working in a coordinated fashion, giving a breath pattern is one variable too many to try to track. Some general breathing patterns can be helpful - 'exhale on the effort'. Just breathe! And don't worry too much about it.

There was a study I read about a few years ago that asked is it better to move on the exhale or inhale. Their conclusion? Neither was better than the other. Except to actually breathe.

One last thought. When I do any house painting, I rarely tape off for the trim. I have a very steady hand. But I have found that when I am painting the trim, if I consciously breathe steadily and regularly my trim line is even straighter. Conclusion? Keep breathing.

Crossfit Seattle

2011-08-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

A few Pilates Pullups. Strength exercise worthy of Crossfit.

Jude and I went back to Crossfit Seattle today for the 1st time in a year and a half. We've been going to Crossfit 206 with Fran because it's closer and 206 feels like our crossfit home. But I was reflecting on how long I have been doing Crossfit. I know I started at least in 2007 if not slightly before. Crossfit Seattle was then Crossfit North and was out in one of the hangars at Magnuson Park. It was definitely a funky space with a porta-potty outside.

I was only going 1x a week (maybe) and wasn't sure about the intensity of the workout. Definitely an ass-kicker but I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. But while I was not particularly regular Crossfit has definitely been in my thinking if not in my body for a good long time.

As a small person, I have always wanted to be and feel stronger. Crossfit definitely fills that for me. I didn't really like weight training because it felt too segmented with too much muscle isolation. Crossfit is definitely a full form functional movement system although they have very little rotational work and a large percentage of the workout is in neutral spine (a good thing considering the heavy loads one is working with).

But I think one of the best things about Crossfit is their metrics or assessment tools. Everyone keeps a book or log of how much weight they are lifting on the various lifts: Back squat, Front Squat, Deadlift, Overhead Squat, etc. as well as their recording of the various set workouts. These workouts, as I have referred to before, are often named with womens names: Fran, Chelsea, Grace, Elizabeth, Helen, etc. Each workout has a proscribed weight to be used. Most of us will modify but we all know that we are working towards the Rx workout.

The ability to compare my 'Cindy' time (As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes of 5 pullups, 10 pushups and 15 squats) from a year ago or a couple of months ago and see how I have improved feels really great. (I think I have gone from 16 rounds to 21 rounds BTW). And then I can compare myself to others at my gym or any other Crossfit gym and see how 'stack up'.

Pilates needs these assessment tools. We measure our progress by a. less pain in an injured area, b. better feeling in our body (very subjective) c. how we look in our clothes. But all of these are more or less subjective. I have tried to inject some assessments at our studio but we haven't really continued to check in with them. I need to create more Pilates metrics. While we could use the classic 'levels', that doesn't always work for everyone based on some injury. But in the next couple months, I am going to figure out some metrics that work very specifically for Pilates. I think so many of my clients have no idea how strong they have gotten. I need to take more pictures of my clients arms (mostly women) so they can see how sculpted and beautiful they have gotten. More importantly, how much more functional their fitness level is for their everyday lives when their gardening or lifting kids, traveling and having to lift carry ons in the stow bins. And strength in the gym will translate to less likely for injury elsewhere.

Frog in the air.

2011-08-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Frog in the Air

This is one of the exercises from the L5 Workout. The shoulders are working like crazy to keep your body up as high as possible while your abs are working equally hard to keep the spine in as straight a line as possible. Ultimately. you are able to take the body out at a 45 or so degree angle without collapsing in the lumbar spine. However, if you aren't careful about the low back neutral spine, you can really do a number on your back. Oh yes, your inner thighs, glutes and quads are also working plenty hard for the 'plie' in the air in order to maintain the turnout throughout the bend and straighten of the knee. Contrology (the original name for Pilates) at its best!

Advanced Pilates

2011-08-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

I did the level 5 Reformer workout this afternoon. Of course there are some variations from studio to studio but generally this would be the accepted highest, most advanced Reformer exercises. I used to do the L5 every week but have been mixing it up a lot for the last year or so.

I was very pleased to see that:
a. I remembered all of the springs and set up for each exercises,
b. I was able to do all of the exercises and all of the transitions (more or less on the transitions),
c. my strength gains from Crossfit and other workouts have really helped with this workout and,
d. my flexibility had not really diminished that much.

The level 5 eventually becomes a body 'rebalancing' for range of motion and flexibility. It keeps moving through the 60 some exercises with few reps and lots of different movement patterns. It doesn't really isolate any muscle groups but everything is working fairly hard.

Made me think that I would like more of my clients to work towards a L5 workout ability. Maybe we'll just start with the classic L1, 2, 3, and 4 and see where some of my clients are at. We'll call it the "Level 5 Project"

I wonder how sore I'll be from the stretching tomorrow.

Technique or Intensity

2011-08-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some excerpts from an Article written by Dallas Hartwig - a Physical Therapist and Crossfit instructor (@ Whole9life.com). He makes some very good points about how much technique should be allowed to degrade in an intense workout (whether it be Crossfit or Pilates or some other hardcore class).

Food for thought and I must say, I think he is right. I have often told myself to really focus on technique when I get into these intense workouts. It weird that some silly sense of competition would trick me into doing myself harm but it happens. And more than once I have caught myself degrading to 60% technique in order to get finished faster. Mea culpa.

He writes:
Performing exercises properly and paying attention to the subtleties of the movement will determine whether my client sees an increase in physical capacity, or is plagued by injury (now, or in the future) as the result of the reinforcement of incorrect and unsafe motor patterns. . . . But given my professional experience, I’d rather err on the side of exceptional technique than prioritize maximal intensity at the expense ofquality of movement.

According to a Crossfit certification seminar on intensity, “Unsafe is unacceptable, but so is perfect form.” The instructor explained, “If you’re doing high-rep deadlifts and your back starts to round, that’s unsafe and unacceptable. But if you’re doing that same set of deadlifts with perfect form on every rep, that’s also unacceptable. You’ve either gone too light (in weight), or you’re not working hard enough.”   This ideal is referred to as ‘CrossFit slop’.”  The ‘slop’ ideal is often cited within the CrossFit community as 20% form degradation (compared to 100% perfect form). According to CrossFit theory, that’s the optimal balance of effort and safety. “That’s where intensity lives. Technique has to be good enough to increase intensity, but you should never strive for perfect form.”

Hartwig writes:
And here’s where I take issue with this concept of “intensity is king.”  In my experience, the 20% ‘slop’ advocated by CrossFit often devolves into a 50% slop in practical application, especially with longer length, high-rep met-cons. (Lighter movements, like those usually prescribed in a chipper workout, can almost always be completed any which way, even with form that makes your eyes bleed.) I’ve seen patellar tendonitis from high-volume air squats, strained shoulders from shoddy thruster technique, and tweaked lumbar spines from high rep deadlifts pulled with careless form, all driven by the pursuit of “intensity”.

At the Whole9, 20% slop isn’t good enough. You don’t get to move up in weight – or go faster – unless your form is really, truly solid. (I use my “A-minus” grade as a subjective criteria – not perfect, but pretty darn good). In addition, your “max effort” pulls will not count here if they’re hideous. And don’t give me the “in the real world, it doesn’t have to look pretty” argument, either.   Sure, I’ve seen 500 pound deadlifts PRs that look like question marks… but those strong dudes didn’t get that way by training with that technique. That degradation in form is acceptable when it matters, like lifting a fallen tree off a family member, carrying an injured comrade out of harm’s way, or even non-emergency, one-time situations like competing in a lifting meet. But folks, your everyday CrossFit workout is not that time.  Imperfect form in the desperation of an emergency or during a real-world, functional “test” does not justify that level of form degradation during your training.
When we train, our goal is to build the strength, practice good technique, and reinforce only proper movement patterns. And despite what your ego may be telling you (go heavier, tough it out, rip it up), I assure you that our approach will serve you well when it’s time to pull a max effort clean, some fast met-con deadlifts or give Grace a go. Your technique will be solid, your times will improve and you’ll walk away from the gym stronger and fitter, instead of broken and hurting. Still choose to operate with that 20% margin of “CrossFit slop”? You can certainly work harder, produce more power, and maybe even be fitter than me with that approach. But you’re sure as hell going to be injured more often too. I have yet to hear a patient tell me, “Well, my shoulder has been hurting pretty bad for the last 3 weeks, but I sure am glad I cut 7 seconds off my Fran time.” How hard can you train when you’re All Banged Up? I’ll answer that for you, from personal experience – not hard enough to maintain the well-rounded fitness we seek.

Elongating your muscles

2011-08-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

Everywhere people talk about how Pilates builds long lean muscles and you will be taller as if Pilates worked on the body in some unique manner. There is only partial truth to that statement. Muscles can essentially ONLY contract and release. They cannot somehow grow longer or expand their length. However, if our muscles are tight and 'held' in a shortened position, the stretching and full range of motion that Pilates provides will help release those tight muscles allowing the muscle tissue to go to their full natural length.

In addition, as I understand it, our bodies have fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fiber. Fast twitch is sprint and explosive power muscle. Those muscle cells are shorter and fatter and therefore bulkier. They tire quickly but can produce lots of power.

Slow twitch fiber, which tends to be the kind of muscle fiber that Pilates taps into, are thinner longer muscle tissue. They are endurance muscle (think of the muscles of a marathon runner versus a sprinter). They don't have nearly as much power capacity but they can keep going forever (well not literally). In Pilates, because we do exercises in a slow, controlled fashion and because we are not putting our bodies under the kind of loads that weight training does, Pilates does tap into that slow twitch fiber.

The upside of Pilates is the control over the full range of motion of the body. Those slow twitch fibers do make for a leaner look. The downside is that when trying to generate power - whether explosive or under heavy load, Pilates bodies are generally found to be WEAK! So if you are training for an explosive sport (most sports are explosive) from soccer to tennis to, of course, football and hockey, Pilates will help with control throughout ranges of motion, but it will unlikely make you stronger unless you put the body under heavy load or train explosive movements.

When I started Crossfit many years ago, I found I had very good form and technique even on unfamiliar exercises. But I quickly fatigued and my Crossfit teacher bluntly told me that I was weak. He was right. Now with both Crossfit training and Pilates in my exercise routine, I feel I am getting the best of both worlds. And by the way, while I may be somewhat bigger, my genetics are such that I will never be huge.

At Mind and Body, as a result of that experience, we include explosive movement in our workouts and try to put the body under heavier loads than you would find in other Pilates studios. No, not to make people bulkier but to help them train for their particular sport and to train explosive movement in a controlled fashion. And we always stay true to our Pilates roots of controlling all movement patterns without sacrificing technique for speed. We also always incorporate larger than usual ranges of motion to keep our muscle tissues from tightening up and staying short.

Long and lean - probably. But stronger and more stable - for sure!

"There is no balance, there is only Strength"

2011-08-07T15:38:00.000-07:00

Many clients want to, or are told to, work on their balance as if it is some mysterious aspect of fitness that can be improved by closing your eyes and standing on one leg and repeating this as often as possible. My experience and my belief is that this is a total waste of time and an exercise in frustration. If you want to improve your balance, you must improve your STRENGTH!

All of those little muscles in our feet and calves to say nothing of the bigger muscles in our upper thighs and especially our glutes (aka 'ASS') need strengthening, fine tuning and training to improve balance. If you can't stand on one leg on the floor, for heaven's sake don't go stand on a BOSU ball or any wobble board. Those Toys are for people who want more challenge - who are bored standing around on one leg like a flamingo. If your body is just randomly firing muscles so that you don't fall down, your balance won't improve. BUT, if you find exercises that tire out your leg and foot muscles, your body will get stronger and your balance will improve.

In our studio, we regularly do one legged squats to help build that strength. Some people use the wall to help them balance, some people don't. Some people do it on a foam roller and some people hold weights in their hand. But they all feel muscular fatigue. And muscular fatigue means muscle strength and muscular strength means better balance

Sore Again

2009-02-08T07:51:00.000-08:00

Jude and I did Crossfit on Friday noon and then again on Saturday morning. I was not too sore from earlier in the week but Jude was pretty sore from CF on Thursday night and then Cardio Pilates on Friday Morning.

To finish off the week, we did 'the stairs' on Capitol Hill. Seattle has lots of outdoor stairs because we have so many hills. And these particular stairs are popular for getting a workout. Actually there is a pair of stairs a block apart each going up about 13 flights although I am not sure what that actually elevation change is.

Anyway, we are training for the Columbia Tower stair climb (Bigclimb.org) in March. It is 69 floors and it ends up being mostly a sprint. I did it 2 years ago with a 12 minute time. My goal is to cut that down to at least 10 minutes. So I have been sprinting up the Capitol hill steps for the past few weeks getting back into shape. Yesterday, I did 12 'laps' - some sprinting, some walking but all taking 2 steps at a time. It is a great workout!

Today, I am not sore in my legs but my triceps and upper body is a bit sore from Crossfit yesterday. I'll stretch it out when I do my Pilates workout with a couple of clients.

Long Time Coming

2009-02-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

It's been several months since my last entry. You can just assume a combination of busy-ness, laziness and neglect. But I have not been idle in that time.

I have continued my Crossfit workouts and have really started to see and feel changes in my strength. But as I was telling a Pilates client yesterday, "If you really want to make changes in your body, you have to really work hard. I mean the kind of workout that leaves either laying on the floor panting or crying."

Other workouts, Pilates included, are going to change one's body but just not as fast. Our bodies crave stasis to conserve energy and as such they will try to sabotage our efforts to make changes. I feel a bit of anxiety every time I go to Crossfit because I know that I am going to be wiped out. But the rewards of having done something you didn't think you were capable of are great.

And lately, because of Crossfit, I am finding Pilates so incredibly valuable for its complexity, flexibility, range of motion and requirement for a complete body integration. After all Joe Pilates worked a lot with dancers in NYC; a dancer already has a level of fitness and strength so the classical advanced Pilates reformer work can be viewed almost as a restorative - getting the body back in balance with itself.

Precision versus Speed?

2008-04-05T09:27:00.001-07:00

I just came back from Crossfit where, as usual, we had an intense workout: 8 rounds of 20 second intervals(with a 20 second rest in between each exercise) of: Deadlift high pulls, Push-ups and v-ups (teasers by Pilates terminology). Doesn't sound like much but I was grunting and swearing up a storm. During my rest intervals, I was observing the other Crossfitters especially the really strong power boys. I realize that Crossfit tends to choose power and speed over technique and precision where Pilates emphasizes just the opposite. Is it better to choose one over the other? I don't honestly know. Because I teach Pilates, the technique choice makes more sense to me in the long run.

During the push-up sequence, I was really paying attention to my technique because when I was working with my trainer at Athletic Engineering, we discovered that the lower fibers of my right Serratus anterior (kind of the armpit muscle) are not engaging which makes my right shoulder 'wing out' and have started causing some impingement problems. So I was really getting to full extension on my pushups and really focusing on my armpit area. It made the work so much harder and I think once I get over being sore in the next few days, it will make my shoulders function so much better.

Clearly, power and speed and precision and technique are all critical. My hypothesis is that by doing both Pilates and Crossfit and Yoga and Functional training, I will continue to work on my body in all of the ways necessary to keep me healthy and functional and strong and flexible as I age. 'Cause I ain't getting any younger!

Workout Myth #1- Recovery time?

2008-04-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

It's Friday and I woke up feeling pretty good. I usually am a little muscle sore from my various workouts and it feels good - makes me feel alive and like I am working towards something. Yesterday ended up being a 3 workout day: 2 Pilates workouts and a Crossfit workout.

Now I know a bunch of people get alarmed when you tell them you workout everyday and more than an hour a day. That doesn't make sense to me. Any Olympic athlete, gymnast, ballet dancer or any professional athlete didn't get to where they are on one hour a day 5 days a week. They push themselves. Even Madonna or an actor training for a physical role will workout like crazy to get ready.

But don't you need a day to recover? My response is: If your legs or arms or glutes are fried then yes you need some time to recover but that is just logical and listening to your body. Abs can be cranked on every day because there is so much blood running through them to help with recovery.

So some days I wake up and discover that my hamstrings or glutes or arms are super sore so I give them some time to recover. I also try to get a little extra sleep to help with that process. And then I go at it again. And again, and again.

Today will probably be a no workout day unless I run the stairs because I am going to the ballet tonight to see those athletes work their bodies in amazing ways. BTW, it's Midsummer Night's Dream

Grape Cake, Really!

2008-04-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

One of my clients had a bunch of grapes leftover when her granddaughter was visiting and gave them to me. I had the perfect use for them. Grape cake. I had made this cake once before for a small supper club when the theme was French. It sounds odd but the cake tastes really great. the grapes soften and taste a little bit like cherries. It's not too sweet (unless you serve it with a bunch of whipped cream) and is pretty fast and easy to make. Here's the recipe:

Gâteau de Beaumes-de-Venise aux Raisins (Beaumes-de-Venise Cake with Grapes)

This is a recipe from the Bon Appétit Provence special edition. It is a very happy dessert. The grapes sink into the batter while it cooks. Beaumes-de-Venise is a town in the Vaucluse that produces Muscat wine. I have used domestic Muscat which is actually a nice, fruity dessert wine.

Olive oil
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
6 T + 2 T butter (1 stick), at room temperature
3 tablespoons olive oil, not just vegetable oil.
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla1 cup Beaumes-de-Venise or other Muscat wine
1-1/2 cups red seedless grapes

Preheat the oven to 400°. Brush a 10 inch diameter springform pan with olive oil. Line the bottom with parchment and brush the parchment with olive oil. (using the cooking spray works just fine) Sift the flour and the next 3 ingredients into a bowl. Whisk 3/4 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons butter, and 3 tablespoons of oil in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, both peels, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with wine in 3 additions each, whisking just until smooth after each addition. Transfer batter to the prepared pan. Smooth the top and sprinkle the grapes over the batter. Bake the cake until the top is set, about 20 minutes. Dot the top of the cake with 2 tablespoons of butter. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over top. Bake until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 more minutes. cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Release the pan sides and serve warm or at room temperature.

The last time I made it, I increased the zest by double which was great as well as used way more grapes (I had all those grapes to use up). I packed the top with as many grapes as would fit. The other thing was I didn't have any muscat wine on hand so I used a combination of alcohol: grand marnier, crown royal, white wine and water. It still tasted great although a little boozy because of the higher alcohol content of the Grand Marnier and the Crown Royal. The grand marnier had the sweetness for the muscat. So i think any sweet fortified wine would probably work that didn't have too much alcohol in it. I haven't tried it with a non alcohol fruit juice so don't know how that would be but I am sure some tart fruit juice would work - maybe a combo of orange and apple?

Dana

Pilates Meets Crossfit

2008-03-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

I started going to Crossfit (see the link on this page) at the recommendation of a client. Crossfit has a point of view different than any other gym/circuit style workout out there. For one thing, it kicks my ass in 15-20 minutes and I think I am in relatively good shape. It also has assessment tools for measuring one's progress. There are 4 levels and 20 or so exercises on each level that get get progressively harder. I am still somewhere between level 1 and 2. (In level 1, the pull up requirement is 3. Level 2 is 20. I am stuck at 9-12 reps.)

THE other thing that Crossfit has is the 10 aspects of fitness: Cardiovascular and Respiratory Endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Agility, Coordination, Balance and Accuracy. I think Pilates does well with flexibility, accuracy (extremely so), coordination and some stamina. At Mind and Body we also are much more strength oriented than other Pilates studios.

WHAT we don't do well is Power and Speed which than translates into lack of stamina in just a few short minutes. I felt that I needed to do Crossfit regularly because it seems logical that Power and Speed are basic requirements for any athletic endeavor.

SO I've been doing Crossfit for a year or so with a fair bit of regularity. I don't think it substitutes in the least for my Pilates, yoga, swimming or functional training work (although many 'crossfitters' would beg to differ). Naturally, I have incorporated some aspects of Crossfit into my own teaching: more circuits and reps (although I did some of that before crossfit), Tabata intervals (more on that later), more squats (which are so functional and everyone hates to do), etc.

BUT I don't want to lose sight of what is Pilates and the heart of that work. After all, Mind and
Body is a Pilates studio. I don't believe though, as many Pilates teachers do, that Pilates is defined by its choreography. I keep trying to nail down a specific philosophy that is distinct from other forms of fitness. I keep narrowing down to :

Training the ability to move the limbs without compromising the stability of the core. Others talk about it but we train for it. Arms and legs in any combination moving away from center while the core including the spine maintains (mostly) a single position.
Obviously training the core over and over. However, Pilates needs to train the core for larger loads being placed on it not just for endurance.
Larger ranges of motion to increase strength and flexibility at the outer ends of our movement patterns
Awareness of the body in space. With this ability, the Pilates student will always be able to self-correct more than other athletes. I found that while I was weak by Crossfit standards, I rarely had to be corrected on form because I knew where I was in space even if the movement patterns were new.

Guess that's enough for now.

SO today is a day to incorporate something of yesterday's Crossfit workout into the Sunday class. We'll use the principles of continuous work, 5 exercises and 3 rounds with a 1 minute rest in between each round. But I want to use Pilates or Pilates evolved exercises.

Mountain Climber on the chair
Moses squats on the Reformer
Wall or floor pushups
Some form of teaser
Bread board raises
(if I have more than 15 people) - Blanket knee stretches or shoulder blade drags.

IT should be fun and hard. BTW, here is the Crossfit 'Fight gone Bad workout':

Three rounds of:Wall-ball, 20 pound ball, 10 ft target (Reps)
Sumo deadlift high-pull, 75 pounds (Reps)
Box Jump, 20" box (Reps)
Push-press, 75 pounds (Reps)
Row (Calories)

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute.The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of "rotate", the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Happy Sunday

My first post - a summary from the last week

2008-03-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

Easter.

I usually do an Easter dinner. Not that I am particularly Christian these days but at the very least I recognize that these holidays are a chance for friends and family to come together to reconnect and maybe even reflect.

I always do an art project at my dinner parties. Christmas was making paper snowflakes; Easter was going to be Panoramic Easter eggs. My mom had one when I was a kid and it was so magical to look into the little hole of that sugar egg and see the scene inside. If you're trying to imagine what I am talking about, here's a visual:

With a quick Google search, I found the recipe and directions on the Internet. Here's the link: http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2007/03/sugar-easter-eggs.html.

Making the molds was a bit messy but not too arduous. And I had such a great time watching everyone make their own egg creation.

First, you create your 'scene' inside the bottom half but to my surprise many of my guests decorated the ceilings too - starry, starry night on a vaulted ceiling. I couldn't find any tiny toys on short notice so I ended up with pigs, trains and airplanes.

The royal icing is for decorating and for gluing the 2 halves together. After the egg is glued together, the egg is decorated.

I never dreamed it would be so fun. And we hadn't even started on the food. The menu was based on a color theme of springtime yellow and green and fresh spring ingredients of asparagus and herbs like tarragon and parsley. After all it was the vernal equinox too

Appetizer: Curried deviled eggs and edamame hummus
Amuse bouche: Asparagus lasagna

First course: Chilled pea and tarragon soup

Main course: Make your pot pies, salad and roasted asparagus.

Dessert: Lemon Curd layer cake

Everyone helped contribute with ingredients and wine and champagne and one of my friends making the fabulous cake. Here are the link to the recipes:

Edamame hummus: http://www.mealsmatter.org/recipes-meals/recipe/37317

Asparagus Lasagna: http://www.completerecipes.com/4963.htm

Chilled pea and tarragon soup: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/1812

Make your own pot pies: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_79887_PRINT-RECIPE-FULL-PAGE,00.html.

With a couple vegetarians among my friends, I decided to assemble the ingredients separately and let everyone put their own together. 1. frozen peas, thawed. 2. carrots, small dice. 3. roughly using Nigella's recipe, I sauteed the chicken pieces separately and made the gravy with the broth. 4. I skipped the bacon and sauteed some onion and garlic, added the flour and then vegetable broth and some white wine. We cut out the puff pastry (no the same as phyllo dough, btw) to fit the top of the cutest little footed soup bowls that I found at Crate and Barrel. It's all in the presentation:

By the way, when I do a dinner party, I usually try to set the table a day or 2 before. It gets me in the mood and I feel like if the table is set, no matter what has happened in the kitchen, it still appears you're ready to entertain. In keeping with the yellow and green theme, there's nothing fresher looking than a granny smith apple. I love that color.