Kathleen Stanford Grant used to express dissatisfaction in how the masculinity of Pilates is not as prevalent in the work today as it has been in the past. Pilates was created by Joseph H. Pilates, a man – and there was a masculinity and beauty in the work. In recent years Pilates has been used by dancers and as many dancers have found their place as a Pilates Teacher it has greatly influenced the work.

Originally called Contrology, Pilates has been a training tool and secret weapon for elite athletes, both men and women. Many of my own clients are professional athletes – Basketball, Cycling and Olympic medalists. Pilates often gives the athlete that extra edge to win their competition – often where a fraction of a second matters.

Why does Pilates work? We have to look at the 6 core principles of Pilates: Centering, Concentration, Control, Precision, Breath and Flow. So long as these principles are present in every session the workout will be very relevant for a Men’s Fitness Programs. These core principles once practiced, and learned also become second nature to the client, they will find that these principles apply in their sport as well as daily activates. I will talk about my view of the principles in another article.

Using the equipment as well as mat Pilates, even for someone who is not well versed in intermediate or advanced work a pace can be maintained. As much as some of the more “dancy” movements can be a joy to perform it is also easy to adapt the equipment for a more masculine / stronger workout which will have the same affects on the body as working out in the gym. For example, Prone Pull Ups with the Long Box using the risers at the end of the reformer. Supine Pull Ups with the Infinity Bar moved up the reformer, as well as some of the more classical exercises – Kneeling Arms Side Series, Forward Lunges on the Wunda Chair, Planks and Push Ups. More and more I find myself playing on the equipment to find new ways to challenge these exercises.

So guys, I hope this takes some of the preconception that Pilates is for women. Once you lower your golf score or start to get ahead of your running mates you will just have to confess that Pilates is what helped with the improvement.

All this talk about Pilates for men - it is time for my own workout.

Larry Hall
The Center Studio
300 Sanchez Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
415-861-3932

I begin every session with this “Song” I learned from Kathleen Stanford Grant. For those of you that don’t know who she is - Kathy is someone who studied with Joe Pilates and continues to teach in New York. At 87 years old she maintains a full schedule that I have no question would tire me out. Many of my student teachers ask about this song again and again so I thought I would blog about it today. Remember that you can still apply this entire principle in any position but for the Pilates Session I will start you on your back.

Lay flat on your back, knees bent, heels in line with your sits bones, feet and knees hip with apart. While you are on your back take a few moments to check in with your body and your breath. Don’t correct, just be there. Take a moment and establish your neutral pelvis - finding the points where the pubic bone and the hip bones are all in the same plane. Your tail should feel heavy in the ground and you should feel a small space behind your lower back, your upper back should rest into the floor and you should have a small space behind the neck, your head should feel heavy in the floor. Make sure your feet have firm contact with the floor and the knees are neither nocking together or spread wide.

The Song:
Think of pulling up a zipper from the pubic bone up the front of the body - don’t worry how far, you will know.
     Hold in the Zipper as you inhale
On the next exhale pull your navel in and down toward the back of the hip - like a nail going into a wall at an angle to hang a picture
     Hold the Zipper and the nail in as you inhale
On the next exhale feel like you are pulling on a belt - I like to refer to high waisted pants that women wear with this image.
     Hold it all in as you inhale
On the next exhale get a lifting feeling in the chest like you are wearing a vest or a waist coat. Here I also like to think about the shoulders going down the back.
     Hold it all in place as you inhale
On the next exhale pull gently in underneath your bust line - As Kathy Grant says - “Like you are being measured for a dress” I also like to think of a bra strap - guys I am sure you can figure out where this is!
     Hold it all in as you inhale
This I added - On the next exhale pull the lower ribs down into the floor so you have the feeling of suspenders down your sides. 
     Hold it all in as you inhale
Now you should be in touch with your core and a very stable abdomen. When you in hale you should feel the breath go more into your rib cage, your abdominals should remain engaged. Depending on your teacher there are a number of ways to describe this feeling. Once set you should be able to move on to your next exercise in the fundamental series.

This blog is coming together in a bit of a puzzle, but we have already talked about several fundamental exercises. I would start here then go to the “Pelvic Curl” - Spine Twist Supine - Chest Lift or Perfect Crunch - Chest Lift with Rotation - then leg lifts and leg changes. A great warm up for pilates or any other activity for that matter.

Enjoy.