Pilates on Fifth Video Podcast A free weekly Pilates online video program to train your core muscles!

The use of a Pilates Exercise Band in your mat Pilates class can not only add variety, but also introduce Pilates reformer exercises that can be done in a Pilates mat class. A Pilates instructor can introduce reformer Pilates into his/her mat Pilates class without having to invest in a costly Pilates machine. In our Pilates in Ten: Arms video, we use the Pilates Exercise Band to simulate many Pilates Reformer Class moves to create long, lean and sculpted arms. By hooking the Pilates exercise band on your feet or behind your back, you can simulate the tension that a Pilates machine would create, and do many reformer Pilates moves.

At our Pilates training program, The Pilates Academy International, when we teach a person to become a Pilates instructor, we include in our Pilates training how to use Pilates props such as the Pilates Exercise Band. Thus any Pilates instructor from our Pilates training program knows how to create Pilates reformer exercises using the Pilates Exercise band, bringing reformer Pilates to any Pilates mat class that they teach. For clients and Pilates fans who want to use a Pilates machine like the Pilates reformer but aren’t able to, the reformer Pilates exercises using the Pilates exercise band enable them to tone their legs, butt and arms even more than they would in a traditional Pilates mat class. If you are a Pilates instructor or a Pilates enthusiast and would like more ways to incorporate the Pilates exercise band into your mat Pilates class, visit www.ultimatepilatesworkouts.com and select “Stretch Band” from the Workout Library.

 Windows Media [10:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 Flash Video [11:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 QuickTime Movie [10:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 Podcast Video [10:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Get more out of your Pilates, yoga or any fitness regime by learning more about the abdominal muscles and how they work to support your lower back and mobilize the spine. This week’s tip explains the four layers of the abdominals and how one can use this information to work out smarter, not harder! Visit www.PilatesOnFifth.com for more info.

 Windows Media [2:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 Flash Video [2:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 QuickTime Movie [2:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 Podcast Video [2:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

While we hope you enjoy the Pilates exercises we bring you weekly, we want to be sure that Pilates beginners and advanced Pilates practitioners alike know as much as possible about their abdominal muscles! Knowing more about these important muscles that support the spine and low back can help you perform Pilates exercises more effectively and get the most out of your Pilates workout.

All true Pilates exercises should engage all 4 layers of the abdominal muscles as much as possible. The key to core strength and thus the most effective Pilates workout is engaging the deepest layer of the abdominal muscles, the transversus abdominus, at all times. Even advanced Pilates practitioners will not see the results they could if they neglect the deepest abdominal muscle! So if you are a Pilates beginner, it is best to set yourself up with excellent Pilates exercise habits now so that you can enjoy efficient and effective Pilates workouts.

Pilates yoga enthusiasts can use this knowledge to make simple exercises much more difficult. For instance, Pilates beginners who feel that the Pilates exercises they do are too easy, but the more advanced Pilates exercises are too hard, can focus on drawing their belly buttons to their spines and narrowing their waists as much as possible while executing their Pilates workout. Pilates yoga practitioners can apply this knowledge to yoga exercises, Pilates exercises and all workouts for that matter! The more you practice engaging all four layers of the abdominal muscles in your Pilates workout as well as all your workouts, the more it will become a habit – a good habit! Your Pilates yoga workouts will be more efficient and effective!

 Windows Media [1:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 Flash Video [1:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 QuickTime Movie [1:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 Podcast Video [1:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When can we Pilate again? When can we Pilate again?”A client of ours at our NYC Pilates studio, Pilates on Fifth, shared this amusing story with us the other day. Apparently, her three year old watched her doing a Pilates DVD and developed a love for one of the favorite Pilates mat exercises, Rolling Like a Ball. Anyone who’s seen this trademark Pilates move, even a Pilates beginner, would know why a three year old would gravitate to it, but many may not know its benefits, or the benefits of Pilates in general.

The benefits of Pilates, or, more specifically, the benefits of the Pilates mat exercise Rolling Like a Ball are many. First of all, you are contracting the full range of your abdominal muscles to hold the C-curve shape of the spine, and, on top of that, using your abdominal muscles to control speed and accuracy as you roll. A Pilates beginner might find this a little tricky at first, even more so than the three year old who likes to “Pilate!” But Rolling Like a Ball, practiced along with many other Pilates mat exercises will both tone your abdominal muscles as well as increase the flexibility of your spine. Joseph Pilates believed that a flexible spine was key to a healthy life and longevity. He also believed that the benefits of Pilates also included never being injured and never needing aspirin!

Even if you are a Pilates beginner and taking a Pilates class or trying a Pilates DVD for the first time, you will surely do Rolling Like a Ball. Simply remember to pull your abs in tight as you roll, without using momentum, and you are sure to experience the many benefits of Pilates. Whether you “Pilate” or do Pilates mat exercises, your abs will surely thank you. For more information on the benefits of Pilates or for a full library of Pilates mat exercises, visit our NYC Pilates studio, Pilates on Fifth, or log on to our Pilates online website, www.ultimatepilatesworkouts.com.

 Windows Media [1:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 QuickTime Movie [1:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 Podcast Video [1:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 Flash Video [1:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Golfers, take note! Spine Twist is of the best Pilates exercises you can do to increase the flexibility and strength of your spine in rotation and improve your Pilates for golf practice. This will help you improve the power of your swing safely and effectively. Pilates beginners and advanced Pilates practitioners alike benefit greatly from the simplicity of this exercise. In true Pilates exercises, spinal rotation is the least represented spinal motion, so Spine Twist must be part of your Pilates workout and your Pilates for golf regime!

Unlike other Pilates exercises that involve rotation, in the Spine Twist, you must keep your pelvis (or hips) completely still and focus on using your oblique abdominal muscles – not momentum – to create spinal rotation. (Though momentum is never intended to be part of a Pilates workout, because some true Pilates exercises like Rolling Like a Ball and Open Leg Rocker utilize gravity, momentum can be something your working against!) Pilates beginners should take care not to use force when performing this Pilates exercise: the three inhales are intended for you to explore increased range of motion safely, not ballistically! Using the oblique abdominal muscles in this way helps to shrink your waistline and strengthen all the inner muscles that surround the spine, making this an important exercise in a Pilates for golf practice. Because strengthening the spine in rotation is important before combining other spinal motions with rotation, Pilates beginners should master the Spine Twist before moving on to other true Pilates exercises like “Saw” and really advanced Pilates exercises like “Corkscrew” and “Twist.”

Keep in mind that because there are many more Pilates exercises that involve flexion of the spine, balancing your Pilates workouts by including spinal rotation is important even for advanced Pilates practitioners!

 Windows Media [2:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 QuickTime Movie [2:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 Podcast Video [2:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download