Pilates system not just another workout
■ Joseph Pilates designed
his workout plan while
imprisoned in England
during World War I
By Sara Jarrett
Oregon Daily Emerald
“In 10 sessions, you’ll feel a dif
ference; in 20 sessions, you’ll see
a difference, and in 30 sessions,
you’ll have a whole new body.”
Joseph Pilates definitely be
lieved in his body refining system.
The Pilates Method of Body
Conditioning has been around for
nearly 80 years, but it has just re
cently become one of the highest
fashion movie star fitness trends
around. Such glamour magazines
as Cosmopolitan and Vogue run
how-to articles on the technique.
Fully developed during WWII,
Pilates blends both East and West
philosophies of staying fit by pro
viding a complete body/mind ex
perience. Born in Germany in
1880, Pilates had serious health
problems as a child. But instead
of succumbing to a frail life, he
grew determined to improve his
health. It was either that or get re
peatedly beat up in numerous
schoolyard fights.
As an adult, he studied almost
every type of movement he could
get his hands on, including gym
nastics, boxing, skiing, diving and
circus performing, as well as yoga
and karate. The knowledge he
culminated from the total of these
experiences directed the forma
tion of Pilates’ theories.
Then, after he left Germany in
1912 to train as a professional box
er in England, World War I broke
out; Pilates was
imprisoned as
an “enemy
alien.” But this
surprise intern
ment period
worked to his
advantage
when “Pilates
further evolved
his theories ...
to instruct fel
low internees
in self defense
and body build
ing. Later, trans
ferred to the
Isle of Man, he
worked as a
nurse, applying
his knowledge
to help rehabil
itate war-in
jured and dis
eased intern
ees,” Maria
Kevin Calame Emerald
Graduate student Laura Wren works up a sweat while practicing pilates.
Thorne-Smith
to name a few.
However,
Laura Wren, a
graduate stu
dent in dance
at the Univer
sity and the
only certified
Pilates instruc
tor from Okla
homa, warns
that though Pi
lates is ex
tremely popu
lar right now,
many who
claim to be
teaching Pi
lates are actu
ally modifying
the technique.
“Make sure
[your teacher]
is a certified
instructor or
Junco wrote in Dance Teacher
Now in 1998.
After the war, Pilates moved
back to Germany to train the Ham
burg police force but soon grew to
distrust the political climate of his
country. In 1923, Pilates moved to
America and founded the Pilates
studio in New York, where the
headquarters remain to this day.
Upon his death in 1967, Pilates left
the studio to Ramana Kryzanows
ki who still oversees the certifica
tion process.
Careful preservation of the theo
retical base of Pilates’ work is one
of the reasons the system is not
well known, Junoc writes. But be
cause of an influx of celebrity en
dorsements, Pilates seems to be
moving into the mainstream.
Jamie Lee Curtis says, “The Pilates
workout is the only program that
has truly changed my body and
made me feel great.” While Vanes
sa Williams claims “Pilates is the
best workout for me because it’s
non-stressful on the back. You
don’t build bulk; you streamline
your muscles in a way you can’t
with any other form of exercise.”
Part of this mainstream success
has to be credited to Mari Winsor,
who is a certified Pilates instruc
tor, professional dancer and
teacher who owns and operates
two Pilates studios in the Los An
geles area. Winsor has worked
with such stars as Patrick Swayze,
Danny Glover and Courtney
you could end up getting hurt,”
she says.
What makes Pilates different
from aerobics and weight lifting is
that it works from the inside out;
every sequence treats the body as a
complete unit rather than separat
ed parts. The mover is forced to use
his or her deepest muscles. Your
muscles become lean and long,
which are three times stronger than
short muscles, Wren says.
“Pilates made me so incredibly
strong,” Wren raves. “Before, I’d
lift weights, but I wasn’t defined.
Pilates has increased the strength
in my upper body and abdomi
nals. It has also increased my
awareness of what my body is do
ing: alignment and control.”
There are more than 600 exer
cises in the technique with basic,
intermediate and advanced levels.
Even asthma sufferers are benefit
ed because Pilates wrings out the
lungs, Wren explains. Every move
ment has a corresponding breath
ing pattern. Because it’s more con
trolled — percussive inhaling and
exhaling — it’s very beneficial to
constricted breathers.
Joseph Pilates devised the
method as a series of movements
on a mat, but Pilates can also be
done on a machine called a re
former. Designed from scraps of
material he found in prison, the
machine was first a crude assem
bly of bed springs and chair legs.
The mat work, however, is the
core of the technique, Wren con
cedes. The benefits of the re
former, though, is that it has
spring resistance to act as a
strength builder, she says.
Wren is so committed to Pilates
she is devoting her master’s thesis
to the subject.
“There is not enough literature
on the effects of Pilates,” she says.
Specifically as a rehabilitation
technique, it is remarkable in that
there is not a lot of compression on
the body. Because you lie in a
supine position, there is not a lot of
weight bearing or incorrect align
ment, and when using the reformer,
you can adjust and adapt the
springs to your injury.
Only those experienced in the
technique should do it alone, be
cause one-on-one instruction en
sures proper technique. There are
no private studios in Eugene, but
the University offers a Pilates class
through the dance department.
Tone up: How to make that New Year's resolution a reality
■ The University offers*a
wide range of options for
students to become
physically active
Bennett Lacy
for the Emerald
So how is your annual New
Year’s resolution going? You know,
the one where you proclaim that
this is the year you finally get
toned enough to parade around
your boardwalk of choice during
spring break like you’re the latest
“Baywatch” cast member.
Although Eugene’s climate may
not be comparable to that of
Venice Beach, numbers this term
have shown that thousands of
University students are fighting
the dreadful winter with tread
mills and weight machines.
“I try to run outside as much as
possible,” says Brian Niles, a jun
ior environmental studies major.
“When the weather is bad, I go to
the Recreation Center to lift some
weights or run the treadmill and
do what I can.”
When Ducks decide they are
ready to bite the bullet and begin
an exercise regiment instead of bit
ing another slice of pizza, winter
term seems to be the time when
turnstiles begin to spin a little
faster at the Student Recreation
Center at Esslinger Hall.
Whether students at the Univer
sity ski, run or swim, the renova
tion of Esslinger Hall this past year
has instigated hundreds of stu
dents to exercise indoors.
Molly Kennedy, assistant direc
tor of Physical Activity and Recre
ational Services, reports that the
average number of people working
out at Esslinger has skyrocketed
between 140 and 162 percent
since winter term 1999.
Kennedy also reports that the
number of students who frequent
the recreation center has seen an
increase between 22 and 43 per
cent, dependent on the week,
since last term. Brent Harrison,
recreational sports director at the
center, states, “On average, 1,500
to 2,500 people come through [the
center] daily.”
Students have also taken advan
tage of several classes and intra
mural sports offered by the recent
ly renovated and nearly completed
Student Recreation Center.
“We currently have 200 to 250
people in our rec sports aerobic
workout programs,” Harrison says.
If aerobics is not your cup of tea,
the Student Recreation Center has
many intramural sports available
this term and throughout the year.
“We have anything from indoor
soccer and badminton to floor
hockey and flag football,” Harrison
says. “We also have over 100
teams for intramural basketball.”
The eclectic mix of options for
student fitness that the University
has to offer is what makes students
such as Niles pleased with the dif
ferent ways to bum fat.
“I have also looked into the
Outdoor Program,” he says. “I
ski competitively and also teach
[skiing]. It’s nice to see schools
that offer a ski team and things
other than the basics of football
and basketball.”
If the threat of being graded
based on how well you feel the
burn is something you need to
jumpstart your exercise program, a
physical education class may do
the trick.
“We also offer over 100 P.E.
classes ranging from traditional ac
tivities such as basketball and
swimming to things such as tram
poline and juggling,” Harrison
says.
Regardless of your excuse this
time around, there is no denying
that the University is trying to
meet the needs of students who
are fitness-minded.
So until you get that “Bay
watch” role, keep in mind that the
resources to finally keep your reso
lution are right here on campus.
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