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Before you start ask Pilates instructor course about their training, and know that well-known fitness training organizations. Let me start out by saying that I am an average young professional girl: active, intelligent, mid thirties and frustrated with aging signs in my body. Knowing I needed to kick up my exercise routine a notch – in order to keep the body I have & lose some weight – I set out to find my perfect fitness routine.

If you are like me, going to the gym with sweaty people you do not know, or feeling tortured on some training program for a race you do not want to run, is a last resort. I knew that home exercise videos, although convenient, didn’t keep me motivated or feeling truly worked after it was finished. Fed up by my choices, I decided to mix it up and try things I had never done before.

My first adventure was pilates reformer class. I started going three times a week and never felt more worn out and and strong after the classes. I had completely stopped doing any cardio after being told by my teacher (with a to-die-for body) that all she did was pilates. Within four months I started feeling better than I ever had about my muscle tone, but I was not slimming down. In the past, running had been the thing that kept me slim, but I hated it, and wanted to avoid going back to my typical four mile runs, three times a week.

There was no question that I needed something more than pilates. With some creative brainstorming, I decided I always wished I had taken dance, but as an adult I felt intimidated about starting. That is when I found pole dance fitness. This was a blast! I added this in with my pilates twice a week, so was taking a total of five classes a week. Six more months passed and I was strong and having fun with exercise for the first time ever. The problem was – I was spending $260 a month, and not slimming down. The pole fitness felt like it was doing very similar things for my body as pilates was.

It was time to try something else and I knew cardio would have to be a big part of that. I went back to running, but added two days a week of a twenty minute strength training routine. I was bored, but I was also getting better results – still not the results I wished for. There had to be some better way to keep motivated, I thought, and get the body I was determined to have.

Once again I bailed on the running and started something new, yoga. I had done a few few classes here and there, but never stayed consistent. I started going three times a week and doing a couple small runs a week. Yoga ended up being a something that changed my way of thinking about fitness. It was encompassing of all health. I started to notice and ask new questions. How are my internal organs feeling? How is my mind set today? Does my energy feel blocked? It presented a broader vision for me, but I missed moving and panting. Even though my legs were getting more shapely, and those small details that are enviable in stars bodies were starting to appear, I needed to burn more calories and move more to get what I thought my body needed. I was not losing weight.

Again I went on to another approach. I finally felt that I had a good base of exercises I was either good at or liked. Why not incorporate all of these things and come up with a routine that worked for my body and mind. If I mixed it all up and did certain things on certain days it would just confuse me, so I had to make a routine that had it all. I purchased some weights, bands, blocks, an exercise bike (another element incorporated because of a knee injury), treadmill, balls, you name, it I got it. Once I had all of my exercise supplies, I sat down and mapped out my routine. It would have to combine running, biking, yoga, pilates, and some strength training.

I can honestly tell you that I have found my perfect mix and match of exercises in routine I have been doing for four months, and have never looked or felt better. I had read in a couple of fitness resources, that doing cardio intervals for twenty minutes (one minute of hard running and 2 minutes of mild) gave better results for slimming than forty minutes of consistent running did. Also, dividing your cardio into two segments with a break in between (20 minute – or an hour if you are still working out) was supposed to give you better results. The other factor I put into my routine had to do with another important tip I learned in my experiments – doing cardio after strength training allows your body to burn more fat.

So after two years of trying new exercises and broadening my skills, I will share the routine that has done wonders for me:

Ali’s Routine: (3 or 4 time a week – sometimes I’ll play tennis, hike, do a long run or a regular yoga class as well, but I consider them bonus exercise.)

-20 minutes of cardio intervals (bike or run – 1 minute hard, 2 minutes mild) with a 5 minute gentle warm up before

40 minutes of mixed yoga, pilates and strength training (if you like videos, I have found Yogalosophy is a great hybrid that does just that, and will go through each muscle group). I try to change it a little each time and incorporate new things to trick my body.

-20 minute cool down cardio – run or bike with intervals of gentle and mild exertion.

I hope this routine works as well for you as it has worked for me, & thank you for letting me share.

Allie Kay – Creative Fitness Experiments

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Dynamic Pilates Manly take your workout to the next level by providing additional resistance to your normal routine, on top of the same or similar techniques found in traditional Pilates, rapidly increasing tone, strength and flexibility. What You Need to Know about the Rolling Like a Ball Exercise. This quintessential exercise stretches and massages your entire spine, strengthens your core, and helps you breathe deeply as you move through the mat-work series, notice that the order of the exercises requires you to change positions frequently, keeping your entire body active and moving-flexing, stretching, twisting, turning over, sitting up, lying on your back, then on your stomach, then your side-just as you do in life.

Joseph Pilates purposefully designed the mat-work series to support and strengthen natural human movements. For instance, when you do the Single Leg Circle, you keep your spine straight and stable throughout the exercise. Consequently, this follow-up exercise requires you to flex and roll your spine, so your muscles continue to grow stronger and more flexible without tightening or bulking up.

As part of your warmup, you work your body in these first Pilates exercises much the same way a baker kneads bread dough. By flexing, stretching, and warming your muscles, expanding your breathing, and boosting your circulation, you prepare your body for all of the action that lies ahead-both in the Pilates studio and in your daily activities.

What Is the Rolling Like a Ball?

Performing the basic Rolling Like a Ball movement involves sitting up, bending your knees to your chest, holding your lower shins with both hands, and curling your spine and head up and over your knees until you feel round like a ball. In this position, you roll backward and forward, up and down your spine, in order to massage your back on the mat. As you roll, your spine is fully curled and your eyes remain focused on your belly

What the Rolling Like a Ball Exercise Does

Rolling Like a Ball is a great exercise for articulating and strengthening your spine, but its benefits go well beyond that important function. This exercise is an excellent way to develop deep, healthy Pilates breathing. As you roll back, the movement pulls air into your lungs, causing your back to inflate and your vertebrae and ribcage to expand and decompress. Your forward rolling movement pushes the air from your lungs in a deep, healthy exhalation. Each repetition strengthens your belly as you squeeze your abdominals to push the air from your lungs. The massaging action of the rolling encourages healthy circulation as it elongates the muscles in your back, hips, and shoulders. Here are some other benefits of this amazing exercise:

o A stronger integration between your Powerhouse and pelvis (gluteals, pelvic floor, inner thighs, hamstrings, and back muscles). o Better shoulder girdle stabilization and integration skills. o Improved balance and coordination. o Better full-body integration to facilitate a strong mind/body connection.

The Basic Rolling Like a Ball Exercise

The steps in the following section outline the basic procedure for performing the Rolling Like a Ball exercise at an intermediate level. Again, this exercise can be very difficult, and many people find the backward-rolling movement a bit disorienting, so take your time and play with the exercise to get comfortable with it. And never fear-this exercise can be modified in a number of ways. You’ll find modifications for beginners and advanced Pilates students following the presentation of the basic steps.

Step by Step Through the Basic Exercise

To transition from the Single Leg Circle, inhale to bend your left knee and squeeze it into your chest with both hands, then, as you exhale, keep both hands on your left shin and curl your head, shoulders, and upper body forward as you roll your spine up off the mat, vertebra by vertebra, to a sitting position. Inhale as you bend your right knee into your chest and hold both lower shins; your knees are shoulder-width apart, heels are touching, and your elbows are high and wide. Exhale to curl your spine even more, pulling your belly deep into and up along the front of your spine as you curl your head between your knees, eyes on your belly Imagine that your belly is massaging your internal organs and spine. Carefully rock back onto your tailbone just far enough to balance; your softly pointed toes should be hovering slightly above the mat. Now, follow these steps to perform the basic intermediate Rolling Like a Ball exercise:

1. Inhale, letting your breath lengthen your spine up and over like a wave curling over a surfer, as you curl your tail under you and roll your spine backward, one vertebra at a time; roll with a smooth, flowing motion down the mat, until you’re on your spine between your shoulder blades. Suspend your hips as high above you as you can without rolling onto your neck.

2. Exhale to roll back down your spine, returning to your original balancing position on your tailbone with your toes just off the mat. As you roll forward use your arms to pull your legs in to you to further strengthen and challenge your belly and to help you exhale. Keep elbows lifted and wide.

3. Repeat steps I and 2, five to eight times.

If you feel any strain or discomfort in your neck, mid-back, or lower back during Rolling Like a Ball, stop and assess your movements. Perhaps you’re rolling up too far, putting pressure on your head or neck. Or perhaps you need to modify the exercise to make it more accessible for your current condition. Modify as necessary but don’t work through the pain!

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