Is it possible I feel stronger already? Realistic, perhaps that’s what I really mean, because yes, after just my second private session at Atlas Pilates I leave feeling stronger, more engaged.
This is not that kind of gym workout muscle strength—you know, where you feel like you could suddenly out-bench your high school gym teacher along with her 40 pound glasses and shoes? No, this is all in the core. It’s as if my stomach muscles—from the top of my hip bones to the bottom of my sternum—have finally decided to stand up and take notice. They’re pulling in, engaging. It’s a bit like flexing a muscle and keeping it flexed, with just a little conscious effort and yet without fatigue.
I’ve done a little Pilates in the past: I took a mat class through the UW Women’s Center several years back. This, though, is different. At Atlas my instructor, Danae, is introducing me to machine work. The resistance is all spring driven and I’m constantly being reminded to pull my stomach muscles up and in, or told to drive a stomach muscle down deep, as if I’m trying to connect it to the bench below me. This, I know, will serve to make my stomach stronger and therein protect my back.
My first day at Atlas was somewhat introductory. Danae and I learned about each other and she evaluated my capabilities. I had a good workout even on the first day, but on the second she really began shaping the exercises for me. Every Pilates practice, Danae tells me, is based around a stable of exercises, but from that base the instructor customizes the exercises for the individual client. For me, there are poses that force me to really work hip and gluteus muscles that seem to have given up on me a while ago. This, Danae explains, is likely why the right leg adductors—that long muscle that runs roughly from the groin area to the inside of the knee—are always so sore. Those adductors are constantly doing the work other muscles are slacking on. We want to change that. And so, Danae is building a repertoire exclusively for me.
And already my stomach feels empowered. I walk around like this for most of the day: Conscious of keeping my stomach muscles engaged; aware of the power I seem to hold in my core. I squat to pick up the paper; I activate my obliques when I reach for the dish soap. Of course, by the end of the day I’m lazy and slip back into my old habits and bend over for my shoes; let my stomach sag into its familiar shape. Lazy me, perhaps. I plan to be get better with time. Still, at less than a week in I already feeling stronger. I can’t wait to see where this goes.
