joseph pilates

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By Carol Bartram



Joseph Pilates

Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born in Germany in 1880. As a child he suffered from asthyma, rickets and rheumatism. He was skinny and frail and spent much of his childhood thinking about how he could become physically stronger.

He began studying the human body and took up gymnastics and bodybuilding to help him in his quest to become stronger. By the age of 14 he was posing for anatomical charts!

In 1912 he moved to the UK to further his boxing career and became a circus performer. At the outbreak of WWI he was interned along with other German nationals. Here he taught self defence and began to devise his system of exercises which was later to be called "Controllogy". He was moved to another camp were he became a nurse to many of the interns who were suffering with disease and injury. He began to design equipment from beds and springs which could be used to help rehabilitate his charges.

At the end of the war he returned to Germany to train the police in self-defence but became unhappy with his countries politics and decided to leave.

In 1925 at the age of 45 he moved to the USA. It was on the way that Joseph met Clara his second wife.

When he arrived in the USA he and his wife Clara opened a gym near several dance and rehearsal studios. His gym featured the apparatus he invented whilst interned during the war. It soon became popular with the dancers who used it to improve their technique and help them recover from injuries.

He published two books "Your Health" in 1932 and "Return to Controllogy" in 1945.

Joseph Pilates died aged 87 from emphysema - caused by smoking cigars!

Since his death his original students Romana Kyranowska, Ron Fletcher, Kathy Grant,Eve Gentry, Bruce King, Mary Bowen and Carol Trier have formed their own Pilates studios. They slowly changed his original method to better help their clients. For over 50 years Pilates has been handed down from one generation to another and has been transformed along the way.

In the 80's Pilates started to become popular as the media started to get interested in it. Today many celebrities have taken to doing Pilates and the following are some of the Hollywood stars who practice Pilates.

Stefanie Powers, Jennifer Aniston, Joan Collins, Cindy Crawford, Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny Glover, Hugh Grant, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Patrick Swayze and Uma Therman.

Joseph Pilates was many years ahead of his time and to quote:

"My work is 50 years ahead of its time"

Joseph Hubertus Pilates

If you would like to learn more about how pilates can benefit you please visit my free-pilates-exercises website.

All the best,

Carol


Pilates DVD's

STOTT PILATES: The Secret to Toned Arms, Buns, & Thighs STOTT PILATES: The Secret to Toned Arms, Buns, & Thighs
Price: $9.41
List Price: $14.95
STOTT PILATES: Strong & Streamlined STOTT PILATES: Strong & Streamlined
Price: $13.49
List Price: $14.95
STOTT PILATES: Basic Pilates 2nd Edition STOTT PILATES: Basic Pilates 2nd Edition
Price: $8.46
List Price: $14.95
STOTT PILATES: Amazing Tone STOTT PILATES: Amazing Tone
Price: $9.50
List Price: $14.95
STOTT PILATES: The Secret To Flat Abs STOTT PILATES: The Secret To Flat Abs
Price: $7.75
List Price: $14.95

Pilates At Home

  • Pilates Power Gym Review

    Are you tired of working out on a family gym that does not fit your body-type or fitness level? Tired of having your workout equipment take up most of the space in your home? Are you looking for an exercise regime that fits your lifestyle? It's now possible to solve all those hassles once and for all. Try the Pilates Power Gym. Multiple resistance levels provide for a more intense and effective workout. This means that anyone can use it regardless of age, strength level, or body-type. In minutes, you can adjust the Pilates Power Gym so that it turns into your individual strength-training machine, crafted to perfection to suit your demands. Pilates is the perfect way to attain that perfectly toned shape you've always wanted, and now it's accessible to you in the comfort of your home. Pilates can easily be made into any exercise regime that you already pursue, for a extensive workout. You can concentrate on a special problem area, and work at achieving perfectly toned abdomen, arms, legs, back etc. without increasing muscle mass. The Pilates power gyms strong carbon steel frame can bear up to 16 stone of weight. The machine also comes with multiple incline levels and various resistance cords in order to allow alterations, according to the needs of the user. It is built to provide absolute comfort, with padded handles, and comfortable foot straps. It allows for the slow movements that are necessary for Pilates to strengthen muscles, and the spine. The Pilates power gym comes with an instruction DVD, which shows and explains the many unique exercise options available to you with the machine, you can use this DVD guide to try many unique workout routines, and to design your own system. Unlike most other exercises, Pilates is suitable for people of almost all ages and physical condition, because it is a low-impact method, targeted at achieving the best results. Pilates is also the best solution for problems such as arthritis, lower-back pain, and bad posture. It deals with muscle related problems by strengthening the core postural muscles and adjusting body alignment. Doing a variety of Pilates exercises, improves muscle control, muscle strength and improves joint mobility. Although Pilates works best and returns better results if they are used together with other more vigorous exercises including jogging or fast walking. The Pilates power gym is light and can be stashed away easily, saving you space, while supplying you with all the benefits any regular Pilates machine does, and much more. Switch to the Pilates power gym and experience a complete full-body workout, in the comfort and privacy of your living room. For more reviews on At Home Workout Equipment please visit my Blog.

  • Pilates Instruction And The Hidden Secrets

    When we think of Pilates Instruction we imagine people holding and moving through various poses; working their bodies through a well-balanced sequence of exercises. Most people are well aware of all the physical benefits regular Pilates training can bring, but often forget (or aren't aware) of some of the other, hidden, benefits which are just as important.Joseph Pilates always intended that his exercise system was to be holistic and was to work not only the body but the mind as well.If Pilates exercises are to be done well they require smooth and controlled movement, great concentration and synchronisation between movement and breath. All these aspects require you to become "mindful"; not by mistake has Pilates been called the "Thinking Person's Exercise". You cannot do Pilates well if you just throw your body about like you would in an aerobics class. You need to concentrate on what is going on within your body so that you can first learn to activate and then control your deep stabilising muscles.This deep concentration has another hidden side effect that good Pilates instructors are well aware of. If you are concentrating very deeply to execute a Pilates exercise in perfect form there can be no room in your mind for anything else. Your mind is forced to cease its endless chatter as it focuses on the challenge at hand. This in turn causes your mind to relax and to "forget" (for a short time) about all the other things that were stressing you before the class started like "Did I lock the front door?", "Is my boss going to fire me?", "Does my bum look big in this tracksuit?". You get the idea.Most people have lost the ability to relax their minds, even for a few seconds .Even when they are sleeping, the stresses of the day, week or year seep through causing them to sleep restlessly, toss and turn, have nightmares, and wake up feeling more tired than they did when they went to bed! This in turn has a knock-on effect the following day as more and more stress is piled upon them.I soon became aware of this sometimes hidden benefit when my clients started to tell me that the night after a Pilates class they slept like babies and woke up refreshed the following morning.The Pilates class was not only exercising the body, but was allowing the mind to relax and "vent" some of the stress that had been building up during the day. When we consider how many people stress kills every year, anything that can help you to reduce your stress levels (even if it's only for an hour) has to be a good thing.I'm discovering over time more and more hidden benefits to regular Pilates training and I'm grateful to the man whose genius invented this fantastic exercise system.Thank you Joseph Hubertus Pilates.Imagine living life with a body that is free of aches and pains a body that is straight and strong, that's the promise of doing regular Pilates exercise. I'll show you how Pilates has made me stronger, fitter and more flexible than when I was much younger and how it could do the same for you.If you would like to learn more about the hidden secrets of Pilates then visit my Free Pilates Exercises website and make a start towards that new you today.Robert E Bartram is a qualified Pilates Instructor.Pilates InstructionTechnorati Tags: pilates instruction, free pilates exercises, pilates training, joseph hubertus pilates

  • The dangers of teaching Pilates!

    Hi, I just have to blog on this one! Bob is teaching the Pilates class tonight while I keep house, feed the Ravening Hordes, do the company accounts (bleahh!) and supposedly write an ezine article. That's the cunning plan, anyway. But he's just phoned from the gym, spluttering with indignation, and when I stop shrieking with laughter I'll explain why:- He goes straight from working to the gym - he's such a good little sausage. Every day I pack his bag with a full set of clean gym gear to teach in (matching of course; he's such a fop. Asks his classes if his bum looks big in this set of togs; it's a good job they're used to him!) In the UK you can buy boxer shorts for both men and women; it solves our age-old girly problem of VPL without having to resort to the torture of wearing a thong. You can guess what's coming, can't you? In the early morning rush of getting ready, I'd packed him the wrong boxers. He hadn't realised until he tried to put them on in a changing room full of blokes! My girl-boxers have scalloped legs and cute little buttons on the front - and they're one hell of a lot smaller than his boy-boxers. I leave the visual to you…but can you imagine the looks he got from the other blokes?! Well, I'm afraid that instead of being apologetic, I fell off my chair laughing and dared him to tell his Pilates class that he was teaching wearing his wife's knickers. He was not amused. Oops :) All the best, Carol J Bartram Technorati Tags: pilates, exercise, boxers

  • I eat like a bird - honestly! - Part Two

    Hi, Here's some ideas for you about how to sort out your food problems:Try keeping a food diary for 3 days, including a weekend day. Everything you eat and drink - EVERYTHING - goes on that list, together with the quantity and the time of day. If you would like to read the rest of this article about I eat like a bird - honestly! Part Two please click the link. All the best, Carol Technorati Tags: pilates, fitness, health

  • I eat like a bird - honestly! - Part One

    Hi, "I eat like a bird - honestly!" This is what many of my weight-loss clients tell me, while looking at me all wide-eyed and innocent. " I've no idea how I've put on so much weight. I must have a slow metabolism, surely. It's not my fault." Well, ok, I'm a reasonable human being (although not according to some of my clients and my daughter). If you would like to read the rest of this article about I eat like a bird - honestly! please click the link. All the best, Carol Technorati Tags: pilates, weight loss tips, diet

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