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Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s not all about feeling the burn when you practice Pilates!

Tired of fitness fads and the industry’s relentless pursuit of making you “feel the burn” or burning yourself out when you work out? There is another way, and that is the Pilates way. 

Pilates instructor Marie Beckett insists that one of Pilates’ greatest lessons to devotees and newcomers alike is that you don’t have to feel the burn to get a world of benefits from Pilates.

Marie says, “in Pilates when we’re working our postural muscles—the ones that hold us up, burning them out isn’t possible. If we are working them, you don’t feel the burn. If we could burn out postural muscles, we’d be in agony throughout the day with all the standing and sitting we do. If we’re employing our Pilates movements correctly, you will feel no burn, but you are still providing that muscle group with a very hard workout.”

Marie doesn’t treat her Reformer classes as just the chance to exercise.  For her, it’s a chance to improve form, mobility, strength and posture.  It’s not just moving for the sake of moving as is often the case in burn-bent workouts.

Pilates is slower and more deliberate, allowing for Marie to make corrections to her client’s alignment and technique during the class, and she also works with clients who come to her with injuries even in a group situation because a Pilates workout is smaller, bespoke and ultimately allows for the differences in our physiologies in ways that a burnout workout cannot.

In a Pilates workout, you’ll also find yourself contracting muscles from your core to your glutes for longer periods of time, also known as isometric holds, and putting them through difficult and unfamiliar ranges of motion, Marie notes. 

These moves are where the benefits of these low-impact workouts can be found. They help you develop muscle endurance, have better control of your body and improve overall mobility and flexibility.  

If you haven’t taken one of these classes, the best gym equivalent might be holding a plank for 60 seconds or doing a two-minute wall sit. The exercises don’t involve much in the way of movement, but they are great for building strength without risking injury to your joints as there is no jumping, running or pounding involved.  

Marie adds, “think of Pilates movements as a chance to improve your life: not just how you perform your Pilates exercises, but also how you perform in everyday life, i.e. how you mobilise your spine and hips to avoid back pain, strengthen those harder to target muscles and weaker muscles, such as glutes and hamstrings. 

These muscle groups are much easier to target on a Reformer. It’s my mission to help you strengthen your body as a whole to get fitter whilst avoiding injury”.

As Joseph Pilates once said, “Change happens through movement and movement heals.” Why not try a workout that heals and provides solutions rather than one that burns you out and may make problems for you down the road? 

Interested in trying one of Maria’s Pure Reformer classes? Book now and feel fitter without flaming out.