The Wall Spring System at Mind and Body - we really were the first!

In 1998, I came back from living (and teaching Pilates) in Hamburg, Germany.  I was teaching Pilates at Velocity dance studio and my teacher, Cary Regan, had invited me to join her at her private studio at Velocity.  But I also started teaching over in West Seattle on Saturdays in an Iyengar Yoga Studio.

At this particular studio, they had this beautiful wall system of hooks and straps designed for helping students of Iyengar Yoga get more out of the class.  But while I was teaching a regular mat class there, I realized that I could attach the springs from the Cadillac (or Trapeze table) to the Iyengar straps.  And so it began in 1999.  I ordered some extra springs from Balanced Body and we started doing a lot of the classic Pilates Cadillac work in a class setting.

It worked out really well.  The studio was small so I had 6 sets of springs and half the clients would be doing some matwork and half would do the Springs and then they would switch.  This continued for a few years until I opened up my studio here at 21st and Union in 2001.

When I opened up my studio, I simply screwed 4 inch screw eyes into the studs and away we went.  Except this time I added the 'yoga straps' which are actually 'foot straps' from the Universal Reformer.  And we have never looked back.  We, of course, have added other exercises to the classic repertoire and developed new exercises to fit our unique Wall system.  And we are still using the Wall system in new ways.

When the TRX first came out, I was very interested and looked into this piece of equipment.  But I was amazed to discover how many of the TRX exercises that we were already doing:  pushups, pullups, rows, abs, etc.

Today, the manufacturer of Pilates equipment - Balanced Body - has their own version of my wall system (designed and created with a teacher in California) but Mind and Body Pilates' Wall System predates that too.  And while many Seattle Pilates studios have incorporated the 'Springboard' into their studios, I am proud to say that we are the 'originals'.

Especially because of this Wall System, I think Mind and Body clients are much stronger in their upper bodies than most other Pilates studio clients.

Farm Stories - #2 - Spring Field Work

It is the beginning of April in Seattle and while it is wet and cold, there are sure signs of life around us.  And on the warmest of these days, when I want to get out into my garden and dig around, I am nostalgic for Spring planting in Minnesota.

You never really know when spring has really sprung in the midwest.  It could be late or early but almost always (except perhaps for this year so I hear) it involves a lot of mud.  As the snow melts and spring rains come on, our part of Minnesota becomes slick with heavy clay.  Even today, I can almost feel the weight of my boots as every step collected more mud until finally the mud won and my foot nearly slid out of my boot completely.  You become very adept at sensing that and stopping immediately lest you really step out and step into the mud in your socks.  Unless of course you have on your special plastic protectors over your socks - i.e. - a bread bag.  (I'm serious).

We often had gravel hauled in to spread on the driveways and farmyard to minimize the mud but that clay seemed to absorb whatever you put into it.  So going from the farmhouse out to the shop to work on the machinery was an ordeal in itself.  Once in the shop though it was fairly pleasant.

Our shop was no ordinary little shop.  Since my Dad was an industrial arts teacher, he got lots of decommissioned equipment:  drill presses and welders, grinders and hacksaws and lots and lots of tools.  And we used it all.  When I was young, the shop was in the old pump house (about the size of a single car garage) and it was so filled with tools there was barely any room to move.  Later, the new shop was much larger and everything had a place (even if it didn't get back in place every time).

Spring time on our farm meant machinery repair time.  There never was a spring when we didn't spend a large amount of time fixing something or other.  All 3 of us boys and my Dad would work at various tasks in the shop.The disc (lots and lots of sharp steel frisbees stacked on edge and laid out in rows) would often need the broken blades replaced.  The 'shovels' on the cultivator needed to be changed over.  The planter always needed attention since it was the most complicated of the spring machines.    Over the years I have done it all - taking apart and putting back together, greasing, fixing -  even rebuilding the engine on the combine.

But when the mud dried up enough and the weather turned nice enough we headed for the fields.  Since we were there only on the weekends we really had to get it all done so that we could get the crops in the field in a timely manner.  And it is all a matter of time.  If you get the crops in too late, you start worrying that you won't have a long enough growing season.  If, by chance, you get the crops in too early, you risk it raining heavy enough that that Minnesota clay just seals in the seeds so they rot and never germinate.   And then you have to plant again.

So into the fields we went.  My older brother would be on one of our Case tractors and I would be on the other, each of us pulling either the disc, field cultivator or harrow on it.  Sometimes we would be in the same field but more often than not, he would be one field ahead of me.  Maybe he was plowing one field while I was discing the one he had just finished.  And I would go over and over that field diagonally across the plowing to even out the furrows and make the field as smooth as possible.

It used to be that you tried to work a field until it was almost as smooth as cement.  Once, twice, thrice and more - over the field we'd go with various pieces of equipment.  When we were done it definitely looked amazing and perfect.  (We have since learned that too smooth a field is a waste of time, fuel and money and it can even inhibit germination and create a hard-packed soil during the growing season making it difficult for water to penetrate that, yes - Minnesota clay.)

But when I was growing up, my older brother would have plowed the field and then I would come and disc it at least twice.  And then one of us would often use the field cultivator (with sharp teeth) to dig up or break up any large lumps or pieces of sod.  Sometimes, we'd even have to re-disc a field yet again if there were too many lumps.  Finally, we would harrow the field at least twice if not three times to get the smoothest surface possible for the planter.  (A harrow is a large flat 'bed' with rows of 6 inch teeth set about 6 inches apart to smooth out the soil).

When you are going over a field 5 or 6 times, you spend a lot of time sitting and thinking.  Or in my case, singing.  My brother had those great big earphones from the 70s to listen to the radio but I hated how hot they made my ears.  So it was just me and the sound of the tractor.  I thought a lot but more often than not, I would sing my way over the fields.  Quite often it was Christian songs that I knew and liked the most so I would sing to my heart's content.  In order to hear yourself above the sound of the tractor you have to sing loud.  Song after song, I'd make my way across the field back and forth 12 to 16 feet at a time until I'd started getting sleepy.  More than once I dozed my way over a field waking just enough to turn around and make the next pass.  In our part of the country, there is a lot of low ground which means swamps and 'potholes'.  You want to get the largest part of the field planted for the greatest possible yield so you inch your way closer and closer to a low point and hope you don't get stuck.  There is a real trick to edging your way in and then starting to lift up the disc off the ground a bit at a time so that it doesn't drag you down.  If you do it right, you can sense when you've pushed the outside limit.  If you do it wrong, you end up stuck.

Getting stuck was such a common occurrence that we became quite adept at getting unstuck.   The first step was to raise up the disc or piece of machinery so the tractor could spin its way through.  If you blew the first step and the disc was already stuck and you were sinking fast with your spinning tires, you had to stop, unhook the disc and hopefully drive the tractor out and then hook a chain to the disc and drag it out and then of course you had to re-hook up the disc.  All of this of course was a terrible time waster.  This version of getting stuck could take 15 minutes to half an hour before you were once again back on track.

On the other hand, if you got the disc so stuck that you couldn't get it unhooked AND if the tractor got bogged down enough that it just kept spinning its wheels then you were in for it.  You could try to rock forward and back but that was unlikely to work.  If you were lucky, there was another tractor sitting in the field for just such an emergency (or your brother was in the same field working as well) and you could hook it up to the tractor and drag it out.  If that was not the case, you had to walk.   And walking took time and it also meant you were not a talented enough farmer not to get stuck.  So going home to get help was necessary but also meant you were a loser.  Fortunately, every farmer has his own stories of getting stuck and some of them are doozies.  (A few years ago in the fall, my brother had to get a backhoe to pull his giant combine pulled out of the mud).

Finally it's a race against Nature to get the field planted before it rains.  If it rains hard after you've worked the field to perfection but you didn't get it planted, you will probably have to go out one more time to loosen up the packed soil.  I have vivid memories of being on the grain/fertilizer wagon with the seed to make sure the planter stayed full while my brother or Dad raced against the gathering storm clouds to get the seed in the ground.  Back and forth, back and forth creating straight planted rows, dust billowing behind and huge dark blue/black clouds coming up from the Southwest for a real downpour.

Seeing a field ready is very satisfying.  But seeing a field planted is fantastic.  And planting is an art.  These days the planters can plant huge number of rows at a time.  When I was a kid we were planting 4 rows at a time, each row 30" apart.  A planter would put out both fertilizer from one bin and then the seed (corn or soybeans) from another bin.  You needed the rows as straight as possible for the least waste and for the ease of cultivation but also as a matter of pride and beauty.

To plant we went around the perimeter of the field a few times in order to create enough turning radius to turn the tractor and planter around.  Then we started at one end of the field and sighted down the tractor on to some point in the distance and drove.  We never took your eyes off that sight line lest we create a wavy row.  Wavy rows were definitely not a sign of a good farmer.  Rows as straight as possible were de rigeur.  And later in the year when we drove by the rows of corn, it was mesmerizing to see those straights rows flicker past your eyes.

When all goes well, spring field work is very, very enjoyable.  Work, yes.  But hour after hour on the tractor, the disc or cultivator turning over the soil, sun shining down, birds reeling and diving for upturned worms - it is all so satisfying.  My brother and Dad always wore hats but I hated hats so my nose would always be totally sunburnt.  No shirt or hat, I'd end up covered in dust.  Mom would bring dinner (that is at noon on the farm) out to the field and we'd sit there, talking, eating and looking at the field and the birds.  Yes, spring planting can be one of the most satisfying experiences of one's life.

To Live is to Squat

Last Saturday, I was at our relatives for a 50th Birthday Celebration.  During the course of the evening, fitness and injuries came up as one of the topics.  My ears of course immediately zoomed in on this conversation during which I mentioned my phrase - "to live is to squat."

I have had clients tell me that they are not supposed to squat past 90 degrees or that the human knee was not designed to bend that deeply.  My response has either been a. "Well, clearly 80% of the world's population has not gotten that memo because a deep squat is a way of life in most parts of the world" or b. "And how do you get off the toilet, out of a chair, out of the car, off the sofa?"

I firmly believe that we must continue to work on our ability to squat if we want to continue to have a functional life as we age.  In many cases that has meant learning how to squat correctly maybe for the first time in one's life.  What are the parts of a squat?

1. Butt back - you have to get back on the toilet.
2. Knees in line with the 2nd/3rd toe - not letting the knees 'dump together' as they bend.
3. Keeping a neutral spine - so that back maintains its natural curve and doesn't go into a rounded back position.  

My knees are in much better shape since I have been doing deep squats and heavy lifting in Crossfit and Pilates.  I will definitely not be adding the handicap bars in my bathroom as I age.  I will keep my glute and knee strength so I can do a comfortable squat my entire life.  

Back at the family gathering, we ended up having a little 'squat fest' to practice.  The pics are not great but it was a lot of fun.  

Another Rant - Hot whatever.

There's a new trend to do all your exercise in a hot room.  First it was the Hot Yoga.  Now it's everything from Pilates to Weight training to Whatever.  Use your head.  What's coming out of your pores is not some toxic waste dump - it's just sweat.  And don't fool yourself; just because you're sweating doesn't mean you're working hard.  You're just sweating.

Maybe a warm room helps your muscles warm up.  But that is what a warm up is for - to get your blood from the inside circulating in your muscle cells so they are ready to work.  Maybe you can warm up a little faster in a warm room and are able to stretch a little better at the end because you are warm.  But please, think for a moment.

If you were to do your same workout in a regular room temperature and you find you are not sweating, it's because YOUR WORKOUT ISN'T HARD ENOUGH.  No Crossfitter would ever request a hot room - they'd be throwing up because their workouts are hard enough without any added heat.  They don't need an artificial way of creating the false illusion that they are working hard.  And my Sunday morning Level 2 clients are constantly requesting doors and windows open - even in winter to keep from overheating.

The one other thing I wonder about this heat thing:  What happens to your muscles when you go from 100 degrees into the freezing cold?  It seems to me that they would tighten up dramatically and then where's the benefit?

I may end up eating my words but it seems crazy to me.  Can't we just get a good, hard, sweaty workout and leave it as it is?

I'll step down off my soapbox now.

Farm Stories - #1

Most of my clients and friends have heard me tell stories of growing up on a farm in Minnesota.  I think they are amused by the image of me tromping around in workboots, covered in dust, hands dirty and greasy hands from working on the machinery.  Or the vision of a grain bin so filled with dust and chaff that you can't see that there's actually someone inside until I come out - the only part recognizable is my ever sunburnt nose.

The life on the farm made me who I am.  The ability to problem solve and think outside the box are essential for a farmer.  Working hard and seeing the rewards of your own labor too are part of the farmer's life.  These and more are part of the fabric of farm life.  These stories are part of my heritage and I hope to share them with you.

Truth be told though, I am not an authentic farm boy.  While we did indeed farm full-time we actually did it part-time - which means we had to work even harder to get everything done.  Let me explain.

As my Grandpa (Dad's Dad) was phasing out of farming, my Dad started taking over the farm a little bit at a time.  We lived in a northern suburb of Minneapolis.  My Dad was teaching Industrial Arts in the Public Schools while my Mom taught Home Ec.  Grandpa's Farm was just 50 miles away but a very modest farm (that is another story) for that part of the country.  In fact he he had mostly farmed with mules. So on the weekends, my older brother and younger sister and brother went with Dad and Mom up to Grandpa's mostly to visit but of course Dad was helping out on the farm that he grew up on.  

At some point in my early childhood though, our visits to Grandpa's farm (Grandma had died when I was 3 or 4) became more frequent and at some point we were not visiting but going - not to Grandpa's farm but to the farm.  I don't remember how it happened but the next thing you know we were farming that farm.  I remember riding with Dad on the tractor (by then had 2 small Ford tractors).  When Dad would plow the field with a little 2 bottom plow, I would sometimes run behind in the furrow (the 12" trough that the plow made as it turned over the soil) looking at worms and how smooth and cool that clay soil appeared as the plow turned it over.

I remember riding along in as we combined the soybeans or oats.  (Is there anything as satisfying as seeing a wagon fill up with grain?  It is a feeling of abundance and security and grace).  The next thing you know, I was driving the tractor myself, bouncing over the plowed fields as we got them ready for planting.  I really don't remember how old I was - 10? - except that I had to hold on to the steering wheel to keep from falling off.  My older brother must have been on the other tractor in another field and maybe my Dad was busy getting the planter ready.  I don't exactly remember what age we all were but on the farm, everyone starts young.  Everyone had a job according to their ability.  Weed pulling starts very young.

By the time, I was in 5th or 6th grade (we went to school in 'the cities'), we had horses which meant we were baling hay.  I also think we had 3 tractors by then - including a larger Case tractor.  And at some point, our whole summer was spent on the farm as well as every weekend and holiday in the spring and fall.  And by the time I was in Junior High School we had bought more land and could be considered a small full time farm.  Years later when we started calculating the time spent on the farm versus our time in the city, it really was half time in each location.   Sometimes we would even head up to the farm right after school to check on the horses and pigs and then come back that same night since it was only an hour commute each way.

Every Friday, right after school, we got in the car and drove to the farm where we unloaded the car and went right to work until Mom called us in for supper.  Saturday morning started early since we essentially had to cram a weeks worth of field work into 2 days.  My Dad, older brother and I would go out to the shop to get ready or work on some piece of machinery before breakfast.  Saturday morning breakfast was almost always cornbread with butter and syrup and lots of milk from the farmers next door.  And then out to the field or the shop to work.

Because my Dad is a talented mechanic, he bought used and often broken down machinery which he then fixed up.  Sometimes it did seem that we spent more time fixing than using.  But the life of any farmer is not for the faint of heart.  Any romantic notion of daintily gathering eggs is quickly squashed when a tractor gets stuck in the Minnesota spring mud and you've tried to rock back and forth to get the tractor out only to sink deeper into the ruts.  Then you have to unhook the piece of machinery you're using and you slip and fall down in the mud and your hands are covered in mud because the hitch is down in the mud.  And still you're stuck.  So you have to walk home through that mud as it sticks to your boots which get heavier and heavier and it's starting to rain.  That's farming.

There were many, many times I hated that farm.  I wanted to be doing what other kids at school did in the summer.  I wanted to go to summer school and work on art projects or build something or just play.  I wanted to not have to work.  I wanted to sit around and read.  And yet.  And yet here in my middle ages, I tell people that I grew up on the farm when that is only partially true.  And the stories I tell are the stories from the farm.  I remember school of course but I actually have very few recollections of the city outside of school.

My memories are of working the fields, singing to the horses, baling hay and harvesting the soybeans or oats.  There are vivid images of my sister and I pulling mustard and thistle from the oats field.  We had lots and lots of big elm and cottonwood on the farmstead itself.  But we often had dinner - which is at noon on the farm by the way - under this big basswood tree right near the house.  These are memories of a whole family working together in both strife and harmony.  All of these are rich and rare memories that made me who I am today.   The varied and ever changing life of the farm was hard and hard work.  But I wouldn't change it now for anything.  The uniqueness of that life is maybe more striking today since I'm a 'big city boy' now but it is a story of a lifestyle that really is mostly gone.  And I feel lucky to have been so close to the earth, the seasons, that cycle of life and the hard work that becomes the life of a farmer.

What's wrong with a Bicep Curl?

For years I have not done Bicep Curls.  You know - the dumbbells in the hands as you bring them up to your shoulders, either alternating arms or both arms at the same time. They are not part of the Pilates repertoire and Crossfitters definitely make fun of them saying they are not functional movements and silly. And for years I said the same thing.

Not so any more.  It started when I realized that in spite of my Pilates and Crossfit workouts, I was not building the kind of body I wanted.  I admit it, I am shallow enough to say I wanted pecs and biceps.  And it wasn't happening.  So I thought, "Screw it, I am going to go back to old school bicep curls to pump up my arms".  And so I started with 15#ers and worked my way up.

Naturally, I brought my Pilates brain to the exercise.  So I made sure that I wasn't swinging my body around to do the exercise.  I kept my body in good alignment and didn't let my elbows either brace against my rib cage nor move from their starting position.  And what did I discover (to my chagrin)?  The shoulder stabilization that takes place during a correct (in my opinion) bicep curl is amazing and incredibly valuable.

Most of us in our modern world are pulled forward too much in our shoulders so our rotator cuff muscles and the shoulder blade stabilizers are weak because they are in a too-lengthened position for them to work effectively.  But if you stand up straight, pull your abs in and, without moving your at your elbows, do a bicep curl, your shoulder stabilizers will be the muscles that fail first.  The rhomboids, traps, rear deltoids as well as rotator cuff muscles will get a terrific workout.  Triceps will also work.

If I allow my body to swing around and use momentum to do the curls, I could probably use 45# dumbbells.  But doing them correctly?  I am back at 25# in order to do a set of 8 or so (per arm).  They are hard!  I can feel all of this terrific shoulder blade stabilization that is so important for good posture.  Yes, my biceps fatigue and they are getting a workout but how amazing to feel my back working so well and so right.  Yes!  it feels right -  like this is the way my upper body is supposed to function.  

And so bicep curls are back.  For me and for my clients.  We work hard at shoulder stabilization in all planes of movement.  And if you think this stabilization is not functional, think again.  When my clients are lifting up their babies (or holding anything out in front of you for that matter), those exact shoulder stabilizers must 'kick in'.  When carrying a laundry basket full of laundry, those muscles need to work.  If you're carrying anything heavy out in front of you - whether a sofa or  a load of lumber,  the stabilizers must work.

Lesson learned.  Try it.  Feel it. Analyze those feelings. Question your previous assumptions and understandings.  And then evaluate.  I found that bicep curls are not nearly as silly as I thought.  On the other hand, "there is no bad movement, there is only movement done badly." (Ron Fletcher - original Pilates master teacher)

Putting your Brain in your Body

At Mind and Body, naturally, we continually strive to 'put your brain in your body'.   Joseph Pilates' famous quote is of course -  "It is the mind that builds the body."  This is more than an abstract concept.  It really is at the very heart of a. getting the most out of every exercise,  b. feeling and understanding what your body is doing and c. becoming your own teacher as you dialogue between body and mind to improve your body.

When I am taking a class or doing my own workout, I strive to see what I am doing by watching my alignment either for myself (why mirrors in a workout space are so valuable) or by what my teachers may observe.  But I also ask myself. "What am I feeling?  Am I feeling what the teacher is saying and if not why not?" and "How could I improve this exercise for me (and in turn, for my clients)?"  I have had many experiences where what the teacher was saying was not what I was feeling.  In many cases, it is because the teacher themselves had not asked that question of themselves when they were being taught.

And I have learned from it.  Exercises that I had previously dismissed as being counter productive or even contra-indicated for many clients have come back into my repertoire because I found a new understanding of the exercise because of what I started feeling on my own body and not what any teacher had said about it (unfortunately).  It is hard when you have been taught that an exercise is bad or dangerous to try the exercise with an open mind.  And fitness trainers of all ilks are guilty of dismissing exercises out of hand.

One of my clients yesterday used the phrase 'using a Zen/Yoga mind to do an exercise':

• What do I feel
• Where do I feel it
• Is my alignment correct
• Does it make sense
• Does it fit with my understanding of the body

Maybe this is too much to think about when all you want to do is get a good workout.

BUT THIS IS HOW YOU WILL GET A GOOD WORKOUT.  If you can put your brain in your body, your workouts will be more efficient because you will get more out of every exercise.  When you put your brain in your body, the movement pattern in the exercise can then translate more easily to your other activities athletic or just in daily living.  When you put your brain in your body, you body will work harder, more efficiently and get injured less because you are bringing awareness to real, actual functional training.  And putting your brain in your body is the only way to truly transform your body.

Ballet Barre - faster is definitely not better

"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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.