When you explore the Physical Culture Movement of the late 1800’s-early 1900’s you can start to develop a picture of some of Joseph Pilates influences. One influence of particular interest is Strongman Physical Culturist Eugen Sandow. Eugen Sandow (1867-1925) Born Friedreich Müller in Konigsburg, Prussia (Germany) in 1867, Sandow is considered the, ‘Father of modern …read more

Pilates gave us his wonderful method of physical and mental conditioning, however some of his ideas were informed by the times and the Physical Culture Movement represents those times. The Physical Culture Movement followed a timeline that started in Europe, moved on to England and expanded in to the United States; Pilates life followed a …read more

Squats, lunges etc can be the standard exercises used to prepare the lower body for skiing. The Pilates exercise standing footwork from the 2×4 series is a twist on the squat movement and is closely related to footwork on the reformer. Pilates standing footwork is a whole-body exercise that strengthens the feet, ankles, knees and …read more

As someone who walks the line of multiple movement based disciplines I often find the evidence driven Exercise Physiology part of my professional make-up trying to unpack what is happening with some of the Pilates exercises. At times Pilates exercises may not seem all that functional and there can be limited levels of progressive overload. …read more

In my own experience the common perception of what an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) does is prepare exercise programming. This is certainly a big part of an AEP’s skill set; however a common response of mine is, “An AEP can prepare the best, most clinically appropriate exercise program, but does it get done”. In situations …read more

As an Exercise Physiologist I’m required to stay up-to-date with the appropriate scientific literature and use this to apply best practice treatment for clients. A piece of literature I find myself using a lot when working with shoulders (and particularly the shoulder blades) was undertaken by Cools et al. (2007). The goal of this study …read more

What is Pilates? A popular belief I encounter fairly regularly regarding this question seems to be; ‘Pilates is that stretchy, core thing’. In an Exercise Physiology/Physical Therapy/Rehab setting Pilates based exercises are often used as an exercise treatment for back injuries. I feel there’s a bit more to Pilates so here goes: Pilates was a …read more