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Why You Need Pilates Over 40
Posted on Apr 20th 2010 1:00PM by Holly St. LiferFiled Under: Fitness, Fit After 40
Recently, I've developed this posture that one trainer dubbed "a jutted forward lean." It's more than a round-shouldered slouch. My head and neck protrude and it's wreaking havoc on my upper back, neck and jaw. I found out this is a common over-40 condition, another by-product of gravity's pull and the accumulation of years of angling forward. "We lean forward when we're pregnant, sitting at a keyboard for too long, carrying heavy shoulder bags and children or even texting. Eventually, this all takes its toll on our posture," said Los Angeles-based Pilates guru Karen Schwalbe-Jones. "Over time, chest muscles shorten and back muscles get elongated to accommodate this forward flexion." Translation: Ignore it, and before you know it you've got chronic pain or worse: You've entered pre-Dowager's Hump territory.
Perfect posture and Pilates go hand-in-hand, so since I sit for a living and don't have time to squeeze Pilates classes into my fitness schedule, I asked Schwalbe-Jones to give me three exercises that I could do throughout my workday. These moves open up the chest and tighten and strengthen the back. And of course, since it's Pilates, I expect sleeker abs.
- Swan: Lie face down on a mat, legs extended, hands under shoulders, elbows touching sides, head facing forward. Be aware that your shoulders are relaxed and down, not hunched up by ears. Engage your abdominal muscles, lifting your belly button up and away from the mat. Keep your ab muscles lifted throughout the exercise. Inhale and lengthen your spine, while engaging pelvic floor, inner thighs, hamstrings and glutes. (Not only does this tone, it helps support your lower back.) Press your forearms and hands into the mat and raise your torso into a long upward arch, keeping hips grounded. Elbows are close to the body, head stays in line with spine by keeping your chin an apple's width from chest. Protect your lower back by sending your tail bone down toward the mat. Exhale, but keep your abdominals lifted as you release the arch returning your torso to start in this sequence: Low-belly, mid-belly, low-ribs, chest and shoulders. Repeat three to five times using an even, flowing breath to support the movements.
- Back Support: Sit tall with legs extended, hands directly under shoulders, palms flat on floor, fingers pointing front. Relax your shoulders by rotating them back and down. Feel how that opens your chest. Inhale. On the exhale, lift your pelvis and create a long line from ankle to head. Aim to do this by activating your glutes, abs and back extensors to open hips and stabilize. Pause briefly at the top of the move. Notice the openness of your chest and hips, and the supported length of your body. Inhale to fold just at the hip joint and place your butt back on the floor, keeping shoulders down as you do. Repeat six to eight times.
- Swimmer: Lie facedown, legs together. Stretch arms forward, keeping shoulders away from ears. Pull abs in so that you lift your bellybutton up and away from floor while keeping pubic bone down. Lift head and lengthen neck as you extend your arms and legs so far in opposite directions that they naturally come off floor (Superman position). Continue to reach your arms and legs out very long from your center as you quickly pulse up and down alternate right arm and left leg, then left arm and right leg. Coordinate your breath with the movement so that you are breathing for a count of five pulses in and then five pulses out. Rest then repeat two more times.
Want more? Discover other moves you can add to your workout routine to blast that slouch.
