Starting out with Pilates

I am starting a pilates workout from tomorrow... Any pointers?

are you going to a class or you're doing it on your own? Make sure you have a good mat! I've been doing it since a year or so now twice a week and I really enjoy it! so the best pointer: HAVE FUN DOING IT!

i love pilates!  make sure you're following the instructor, and ask questions about form if you are confused- ill performed pilates can cause back pain and injury.  have fun!

It will transform your body . I have been taking classes since november and i don't think i could live without it  ; )

I am going to start doing it too. Have you ladies gained pounds from doing it or kept losing? Like if I do pilates every other day, and jog/walk every other day and eating healthy. Do you think I will still see the scale move? How does it transform your body?

pilates is definitely helping me on my road to my goal weight.  something i thought yesterday after going to two classes a week for the past 6-8 weeks was how amazed i am with how much stronger i've become!  i am able to hold myself balanced using my abs much more easily than when i started, and now i can use weights for an entire weight pilates class instead of just half.  you'll love what it does for you as long as you push yourself to your limit.

Anyone notice waist changes when doing pilates within the first couple days? I think I have lost a 1/2 inch but I only dont pilates for two days so far. I have been doing cardio and eating healthy and that might be part of it. I really want to get my waist smaller and love handles :]

I'll state my biases right up front - I'm a certified pilates instructor and personal trainer. You'll see a lot of threads on these boards that are anti-pilates and are critical of the claims that pilates marketing materials make.

Don't let that discourage you, but be realistic about your expectations. Here's what I mean:

Pilates is not an efficient weight loss strategy, on its own. I have lots of people ask me this - will I lose weight doing pilates? I always say that it does burn calories, but it's not a cardio or true weight-bearing workout program. But its a great tool as part of a weight loss strategy involving nutrition, cardio and resistance workouts.

Why is it a great tool? Many of us are "deconditioned" in the core - your foundation muscles in your stomach, sides, back, shoulder girdle. Weak muscles and poor posture and our "flexion" society (hunched forward over a computer or watching TV or chasing around little people) results in a lot of sore backs, necks, shoulders, etc. Pilates can help give you a sense of posture and strengthen the postural muscles that are important in helping you do what you want to do every day.

Pilates doesn't have the market cornered on core strength. There are a lot of ways to strengthen the core, but it's a method that a lot of people enjoy and find challenging, particularly the coordination and mind/body aspects.

I've worked with a lot of athletes who have improved their game (golf, tennis, hockey) or in their sport (motorcycle racing, motocross, mountain biking) with eight to ten weeks of pilates. Even conditioned athletes sometimes can improve the required strength and flexibility in their spine or shoulder girdle that they need to improve in thier sports.

When setting expectations, be realistic with your visions of how you're going to "look" with pilates as part of your program. I think pilates is a great functional training method for core strength. I also think that marketing material showing willowy dancers in a full teaser with "long muscles" is playing a bit on our hopes and dreams. I'm 5'2" and I'll never look like that in a teaser! But I'm strong and I execute with great form.

I encourage people to work within their own bodies - you don't have to look like the poster or video to get a benefit - one of the great things that I think gets lost in the marketing hoo-ha is how modifiable pilates is for different body types. You should be doing what YOUR body does - if you don't bend as much, arch as high, lay as flat, extend as much - BIG DEAL. That's one of the advantages of an instructor over a DVD; you should be encouraged to do things that are customized and safe for you.

I've found that for many people pilates can be a great way to start out on a fitness program. It's low impact, it can be quite challenging, it's very safe when your form is monitored by a qualified instructor. You will see gains in strength and endurance. You will feel better as you go about your daily activities - I stopped getting a sore low back from shovelling snow (I live in Canada!). And all of that will make you want to do other things, too.

If your goal is to lose weight and/or improve your overall health, I encourage including other aspects of a well-rounded strategy such as nutrition, resistance, and cardio work.

Probably more blah blah than you were looking for, but I like to see positive posts about pilates....

I've been doing pilates for two years at a studio. I love it. I'm not sure if it changed the way my body looks, but it sure made me feel better when doing other things, as finnsal said. And I like the whole "concentrate on using these muscles, then these" sort of sequencing work. I guess that's what they mean by mind/body. It gets me thinking a lot differently about my workout than when I'm doing weights or something else. I like it for variety.

Thanks so much for this.  A good perspective!!!