With all the fads, trends, and the explosion in athletic wear, first time clients and seasoned veterans alike often ask me–what the heck should I wear to my Pilates session?
Though it’s definitely no fashion contest, there are some guidelines I like to provide so that you can get the most out of your Pilates class: Wear form fitting, comfortable clothing that you can move in Let’s start with the most basic one: the actual clothes that you wear! You’ll want to come to your class in something form fitting that doesn’t restrict your movement too much. I say form fitting because you don’t want to worry about whether when you bend this way or that, your shirt is going to fall down around your neck. Also, sometimes loose clothing can bunch in uncomfortable ways and/or get caught in the equipment. But, perhaps most importantly, you will want your instructor to have a good view of your spine and joints to ensure you get the most out of your session. So go for something that is snug enough to stay out of the way, but not too tight that it restricts your movement. Next you’ll want to make sure your clothing feels comfortable against the skin and when you move. The comfort factor is a matter of choice, but again- it’s more about not being distracting while you’re working out. This means avoiding anything with zippers or buttons, or shirts that tie in the back (you’ll be laying on that tie, which might be uncomfortable or mess with your alignment!) Some women swear by compression leggings and the like because they feel held in, and I’m all for that, as long as your breathing and movement is not restricted during your workout. Ladies: Invest in a sports bra you feel good in Did you know that researchers found that, contrary to popular belief, going without a bra doesn’t actually make your breasts sag more over time? So my recommendation here isn’t about health or esthetics, it’s more that a comfortable, well-fitting sports bra that just FEELS better when you’re working out. With so many new and different brands out there these days, my recommendation is to be open to sizing and styles: you might be one size in one brand and a whole other size in another brand. Cups should contain the breasts evenly, without creating spillage or cutting into your sides or the top part of your chest. Gaping means you may need a different cup size or a smaller band size. Baggy or wrinkled cups are a sign that a bra is too big. Spilling over the top and sides means a cup is too small. So try different sizes and styles to see how best you’ll feel supported, and what makes you feel good. Gents: Wear form fitting shorts Loose baggy shorts might be good for the gym or basketball, but for Pilates, guys will want to wear form fitting shorts- either on their own, or under a pair of slightly looser shorts. This is sort of the male equivalent to women not wearing see-through leggings. Remember - many Pilates exercises have your legs up in the air. Best to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions during class! Leave the jewelry at home Not only can jewelry get in the way while working out (rings can affect your weight bearing, and necklaces can fall into your face during inversions), they’re also dangerous for the equipment! Sharp jewelry can scratch or even puncture the vinyl, a very expensive repair to remedy. So leave the jewelry at home. Go with minimal makeup and frangrance free While I love a good body lotion and quick 5 minute makeup touchup, it’s best to come au naturale to your Pilates class. Not only does this make for some awesome #nofilter moments, the dyes and chemicals in your lotions and makeup can leave marks on the equipment and many are actually really difficult to clean out! With makeup as well, I can see that women get distracted, wondering if their mascara is running or if their lipstick has smudged. Save your lotions and potions for AFTER your Pilates class! To sock or not to sock The pilates sock can be very divisive! Some people are in the “no way” camp, feeling like socks interfere with the foot connection and don’t allow for proper ‘foot work’, which jeopardizes the whole Pilates system. Others argue- hey- they keep you from slipping all over the studio, they keep you from spreading foot germs on the shared equipment, and (bonus) they keep your toes warm in winter! I think there’s a place for both and it’s a matter of personal preference. If you decide to go sock free, what I would say is that it’s best to clean your feet before class. During a typical Pilates session, you’ll have your feet touched, stretched, and cued by the instructor. Clean feet are always appreciated, not just by the instructor, but to keep the equipment at its best as well. Tie back your hair Wearing your hair loose and free flowing might look nice, but it’s definitely a safety hazard. It can easily get caught in the springs or hinges of the equipment or fall in your face during inopportune times meaning you’re constantly needing to stop what you do to fix it. Best to tie it back and forget about it. Hopefully these guidelines for what to wear to get the most out of your Pilates sessions are helpful and take some of the guesswork out for you!
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Your Pilates instructor really can make or break your session, and I want our clients to have the very best! For this reason, we are proud to host the BASI Pilates Teacher Training Certificate Course, a world-wide leader in quality Pilates education. I’m super excited to introduce you all to our new apprentice instructors: Deven, Chris, and Amy.
All of our apprentice instructors have been through extensive training in the original work of Joseph Pilates, and fully trained on all apparatus. They also learn how to teach for all levels of fitness and how to challenge and inspire their students. They model the BASI values of excellence, passion, and compassion. We cannot wait for you to meet them! You can book private sessions with them for only $45 for a limited time! Meet Deven Deven knows first hand the benefits of total body wellness. As a licensed massage therapist with over 14 years of experience, she is excited to offer the benefits of Pilates & total body movement. Deven began her journey into Pilates, while looking for a way to improve her overall wellness. After many of her massage clients had touted the benefits they’ve felt from Pilates, Deven too wanted to discover the benefits of Pilates & total body movement. It didn’t take long for Deven to decide to pursue Pilates Instruction Certification as a compliment to her love of massage therapy. Deven & her husband Alan are always looking for fun ways to stay active while keeping in mind good form & function of the body. Deven is excited to utilize her knowledge of the body to skillfully guide her clients and help them feel all the benefits of Pilates and total body wellness. Meet Chris Although not a native Texan, Fort Worth has served as home to Christina for 35 years. She is married to her husband, Carlos, has two children, Casey and Caitlyn, and a grandson named Mateo. Being with family and friends, working out in the yard, and practicing Pilates are her favorite things in life! Christina is working on her BASI Pilates Comprehensive Certification and Balanced Body’s Reformer and Mat Certifications. Teaching Pilates has brought Christina “out of her box” and working with people is always a lot of fun! Christina was introduced into the world of Pilates five years ago, and fell in love with the practice. She hopes to pass on her passion and inspire her clients to discover the connections they can have to their own bodies and enjoy the difference it can make in their lives Meet Amy Amy Bonnett is a native Texan and has lived in Weatherford for over 18 years. She has always loved being active and initially discovered Pilates as a way to rehabilitate a neck injury she suffered while wake surfing. Amy was blown away at how well Pilates helped her heal her neck while also strengthening and balancing her entire body in a strong functional way. Right away she knew that Pilates was a gift she wanted to share with her friends and family and enrolled in the BASI Pilates Comprehensive Program. Amy is excited to start her career as a Pilates instructor and show her clients how strong their bodies can become. Book your private apprentice session here! We live and breathe Pilates here at The Pilates Center Fort Worth, but there are a lot of misconceptions out there about the practice of Pilates! Digging into his history and use today, I came across these fun facts that help shed light on what Pilates is all about:
If you know me, you know a high emphasis is placed on quality instruction in our studio. Which means we tend to have higher than average credential standards for our instructors.
What does this mean? It means that ALL the Pilates instructors at The Pilates Center have completed at least a 500+ hour, comprehensive and 3rd-party certified teacher training program. They are fully educated on all apparatus and repertoire fundamental to advanced level. Why is this important? In the Pilates industry, there are no governing requirements to call yourself a Pilates Instructor which results in varying degrees of quality instruction studio to studio. And working out on a reformer doesn't necessarily mean you are doing Pilates. For the client, working with a highly trained instructor translates to not only a SAFER experience, but a better experience. So, I’m particularly excited to announce a new face you’ll be seeing in the studio. Meet Grace O’Gara! Grace had a love for movement and fitness from a young age, and grew up taking karate and kickboxing classes, as well as dancing at Atlanta Ballet. However, it was not until she entered Texas Christian University School of Classical and Contemporary Dance and was required to take Pilates for her BFA that Grace found a love for Pilates and the functional understanding of her body and movement it offers. TCU’s School for Classical & Contemporary Dance is an extremely competitive program. It’s more than 650 hours long, limited to ten participants per cohort, and is by application only. The program's comprehensive training includes history, philosophy, ethics, functional anatomy, and physical practice. Grace is comprehensively trained in Mat, Reformer, Chair, Cadillac/Tower, Ladder Barrel, and various other props. She is well versed in both Contemporary and Classical systems, and has been highly trained in how to manage physical conditions or injuries that require modifications or deletions from practice. Grace is graduating in May of 2023 with her BFA in Ballet, BA in Political Science, and Pilates Teaching Certificate, and is so excited to be starting her professional Pilates journey with The Pilates Center. Plant Powered Pilates
Whether you made a new year’s resolution to eat healthier or not, we could ALL do with adding more vegetables in our diet! In 2022, the CDC revealed that only 9% of Americans eat the recommended amount of vegetables per day–which is a measly 2.5 cups for women, and 3.5 cups for men. WOW. This means that 91% of Americans are missing out on the AMAZINGNESS that is the humble vegetable. Seriously. Check out the known benefits of eating vegetables:
Vegetables just don’t get enough good press these days. Farmers don’t exactly have budgets to market vegetables as superfoods, but honestly EVERY VEGETABLE is a superfood! And usually at a fraction of the cost of things marketed as superfoods (hello acai bowl, I’m looking at you). In my opinion, every vegetable in the produce section should have it's own advertisements! Okay okay, I’ll get off my soap box. I know it can be hard for people to incorporate vegetables, especially if you don’t know how to use them. Many of us grew up being fed boiled vegetables, which is one of the least tasty ways to enjoy them. But the preparation options are limitless! In my own nutrition journey, I aim to make vegetables the MAIN course of every meal, not just a side item. Try filling your plate with 70% vegetables with a side of protein and complex carbohydrate like quinoa or sweet potatoes. I promise, your body will thank you! So this month I’m sharing a recipe with you, based on the very tasty Mexican casserole, but in a veggie-full version that even the kids should enjoy. Check it out here, and let me know what you think! Do you have a favorite veggie-packed recipe? I’d like to hear it! Somewhere along the way, Reformer Pilates has earned a reputation as the gold standard of Pilates. While the reformer is an incredibly versatile and effective piece of equipment, the real work begins and ends on the Mat.
You see, Joseph Pilates invented the machines and equipment to support people in building the strength and flexibility necessary to achieve the ultimate goal of performing the Advanced Mat work unassisted. That’s right–the reformer was an intro to the more advanced work- mat work! The ultimate test in strength is pushing and pulling your own body weight around unassisted, which is exactly what we do on the mat. So where exactly did mat Pilates come from? Origin of Pilates Classical Pilates as we know it today was invented by Joseph Pilates. Joseph grew up in Dusseldorf, Germany with a naturopath mother and a gymnast father. As a child, he suffered from rheumatic fever, rickets and asthma which saw him bullied by other children. As a result, he became very dedicated to fitness, yoga, bodybuilding and gymnastics. At the outbreak of WWI, Joseph volunteered to be a hospital attendant at a camp in the Isle of Man. It was there that what we know as the modern day reformer and affiliate pilates equipment was spawned. He used bed springs to provide resistance to enable bed bound patients the ability to exercise. Around the year 1925, Pilates migrated to New York where he set up his own Pilates studio with his wife Clara. In New York he refined his pilates methods and concepts and started bringing the whole focus to “contrology”, or ‘using the mind to control the muscles.’ He paid special attention to the core postural muscles that keep the body balanced and provide support for the spine. He also started teaching an awareness of breath in exercise and how to use the breath while in movement to keep the body stable and balanced. He taught well into the 1960’s and had a strong following consisting mostly of ballerinas and dancers. March Matness Romana Kryzanowska, Joseph Pilates’ infamous protege, once said in an interview with Washington Post in 2003: “The apparatus are good, but the mat work is everything. If you can do the mat work perfectly, you don't need the apparatus. But people love toys.” While we all love the Pilates apparatus with its endless versatility for challenge, in March we honor where it all started… on the mat. Follow us on social media for March Matness, where we’ll post a video of a Pilates mat exercise every day for the entire month! What do the Elephant, Crab, Swan, and Snake all have in common?
Yes they’re all animals. But they are also exercises from the Pilates Repertoire! Joseph Pilates, the guy who created Pilates before it was Pilates, was SO ahead of his time. Without the benefit of technology or the world wide web, he developed a whole system of movement. He took inspiration from modalities such as Zen Buddhism, the ancient Greeks, martial arts and, of course, the study of animals. He says in his book ‘Return To Life’, that “true rhythm and control is observed both in domestic pets and wild animals – without exception.” The beauty of animal movement is something that every one of us has surely admired in some way at some point. Whether it is the gait of a dog chasing a truck, the rhythm of a dolphin speeding through the water, or the precision of a bird flying through the sky, marveling in the movements of animals is not new to us. However, being open to the notion that we are animals too, and imagining that we can move with the very same agility, precision, and stealth of our graceful animal friends is an interesting way to explore movement. There is indeed something majestic and graceful about watching animals flow and move through their natural habitats. The sense of confidence and ease they embody when they move their bodies is a beautiful thing. And it’s that beauty that Joseph Pilates wanted to bring back to the human experience of movement. He did say: “Your body will be as supple as a cat’s.” The problem is, over time, we as humans (as opposed to our animal friends) have struggled more and more to move with ease, flow, and strength. What happened? Civilization, that’s what. I’m not saying the civilized world is bad. But with every step forward, something has to be sacrificed. Take cell phones, for example. Such an AMAZING invention! But as a result of this invention, we hunch over more, we move our bodies less, we call a colleague instead of walk to their desk, our posture suffers, and our brains suffer as we try to multitask. We start to lose some of our body’s natural alignment, we lose flexibility, we lose functionality of our joints…we get stiffer, more stressed out, and sicker. The antidote? Pilates. Pilates brings our body BACK into its natural movement patterns. It helps us remember how we used to move– as babies, as animals, as nature intended. And it does so for every body. Whether you’ve worked out for years or not at all, whether you’re pregnant or post menopausal, male or female, young or old, Pilates caters to you. So when you’re ready to move with more agility and ease, give us a call to get started. We can’t wait to meet you. It’s February (can you believe it!?). While this is the month most people think about the ones they love, I want to take this opportunity to talk about something else– SELF love. It can be tempting to search for external ways to find a sense of self-worth and happiness. It might sound cliche, but it’s not “out there” that we’ll find it, it’s “in here,”.
You can call it a lot of things- self love, self esteem, confidence- but whatever you call it, it’s how we really feel about ourselves deep down. Do you LOVE yourself- imperfections and all? Or do you feel like you won’t be happy (with yourself or your life) until you’re ___ (fill in the blank: thinner, prettier, fitter, wealthier, partnered…etc etc!)? Think about how you talk to your best friend. You might say things like:
Now think about some of the things we say to ourselves:
Can you imagine saying those things to your best friend? It sounds terrible, doesn’t it? Because those things aren’t loving. They aren’t supportive. They aren’t helpful. They won’t get someone through the storms of life, and they won’t make someone shine. We want to support and encourage the people we love, rather than beating them down. So this February, try treating yourself like you would your best friend. Especially in your thoughts and words, but also in your actions. Make yourself a priority, the way you make a date with your best friend a priority. Nurture yourself with wholesome food that supports your goals. Move your body- with or without friends! Let this month be about the love you have for YOU. Join us on Saturday, Feb 11th for a Galentine's Mat Class and some bubbly after. Sign up through our website or the Mindbody app. How to Actually Keep Your New Year's Resolutions
I’ve got nothing against new year's resolutions. I think setting intentions any time of year is a good thing. Intentions help us be mindful and thoughtful about the things that are important to us, they allow us to put our inner dreams and wishes out into the world and work to make them a reality. So why do so many abandon their resolutions come March? Take a look at my top 3 tips for setting and keeping your resolutions all year long:
TAKEAWAY: Make sure your resolutions are about YOU.
TAKEAWAY: Share your resolution with someone you love and trust.
TAKEAWAY: Support your resolution with things/people/environments/thoughts that SUPPORT your progress instead of detract from it. What about you? What are your resolutions this year, and how will YOU work to keep them? It might be the holiday season, but that doesn’t mean we throw our nutrition goals out the window! I love being on the lookout for healthier, plant based alternatives to some of my family's favorite dishes, and this one was a true standout. It’s beautifully red and green for the holiday season, it’s plant based, and it requires NO baking!
Try it and let me know what you think. Vegan No Bake Matcha Cheesecake, from Running on Real Food If you’re a matcha-lover or have some matcha powder you don’t know what to do with, this matcha cheesecake is such a fun way to use it! You can use ceremonial or culinary grade matcha but you’ll get the best color with a bright green powder, usually what you’d find in a good quality ceremonial grade matcha. This simple cake is gorgeous, perfectly zesty, and lightly sweetened with a hint of earthy matcha flavor. It’s like a matcha latte in cheesecake form! Enjoy this beautiful dessert for a special occasion this holiday season or–let’s be honest– store it in the freezer so you can pull a slice or two anytime you need one! INGREDIENTS For the Crust 1 cup almond flour (112 g) 1 cup pecans (100 g) 4 tablespoons of maple syrup (70 g) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) For the Cream Filling 1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 6–12 hours) (200 g ) 1/3 cup of melted coconut oil (50 g) 1 cup of coconut cream (215 g) 1/2 cup maple syrup (115 g) ⅓ cup lemon juice (50 g) 2 tbsp matcha powder 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon soy lecithin (optional, for better emulsion. Buy online or in well stocked grocery stores) INSTRUCTIONS
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Heather GradkeI'm a BASI Certified Pilates Instructor by day, somewhat competent housewife by night. I used to have hobbies but then CHILDRENS. I am married to the love of my life and somewhat charismatic Rustin Gradke. I have 4 kids that are wonderful sometimes but mostly they just eat a lot. I'm a lover of God and movement and the occasional bowl of queso. Archives
April 2024
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