by Jonathan Urla, MFA, CPT-PMA

It seems that I hear about a “new” fitness term or trend every week. These words usually come from the scientific community, but they often take on new meanings when the media and general public start using them. I started noticing that most of these words could be used to describe Pilates exercise, so I decided to dig a little deeper.

I compiled a list of the terms that are currently in fashion in the fitness world and media and looked at the relevance that each has to Pilates training. I hope the result is as illuminating to you as it was to me. This exercise reiterated to me that the techniques of Joseph and Clara Pilates are still proving to be years ahead of their time. As instructors in the health and wellness field, it is important for us to be aware of these trends and be able to explain to students how they relate to Pilates.

1. Functional
Definition & Popular Use: “Functional” has several definitions, some relating to medicine, algebra and linguistics, but the most relevant for fitness would be to indicate a practical use: “having or serving a utilitarian purpose.” “Functional” is definitely the go-to term of late for fitness articles and seminars. Numerous fitness experts are labeling exercises as functional and claim they have a practical application in everyday life. The truth is we do all kinds of movements in everyday life, and one could make an argument for any exercise as having a practical application. Giving the term some credit, “functional,” when it comes to exercise, could be applied to exercises that help strengthen muscles that atrophy over time, and stretch or release shortened muscles that impinge everyday movement and reduce ROM. One could argue that this is a clear distinction from sports training in that the goal is simply to maintain a healthy working body as opposed to improved athletic performance.

Pilates Relevance: If the meaning of functional exercise is to maintain a healthy working body, then Pilates is a synonym for functional exercise and goes way beyond what the newest exercises and techniques are designed to do. Think of all the functional aspects of living that Pilates training benefits: breathing, awareness, spinal articulation and elongation, core strength and stability, coordination, balance, etc. No system of exercise is more about improving everyday function then Pilates. Quite often, I see exercises from Pilates being co-opted by fitness instructors into regular workouts. However, not knowing the technique behind the exercise, they leave out the instructions for the breath and how to achieve proper shoulder, ribcage and pelvis alignment integrity. The point is that an exercise alone doesn’t give someone all the training they need to maintain healthy function. Pilates goes to the next level by teaching people to be more aware of their neutral alignment, and by then providing a detailed system of movements that will make them more body intelligent—and that is the best function: mind and body integration!

2. Corrective
Definition & Popular Use: “Corrective” is defined as “tending to correct or rectify; remedial.” It is used to refer to an exercise that tries to compensate for postural imbalances in the body. The exercises are usually simple and isolate body parts for specific movements or stretches. Most of the time, the term is used in a way that is synonymous with “postural exercise,” which for me seems more specifically accurate. However, the term could also apply to exercises that counter repetitive movements from work or recreational sports, and thus be more about balancing out muscular development.

Pilates Relevance: Since all Pilates exercises are postural exercises, meaning ideal posture is constantly observed and strived for, Pilates is the ultimate in corrective exercise. Moreover, Pilates doesn’t just isolate body parts when it comes to posture. For example, a misalignment in the neck or shoulder is related to the alignment of the feet and pelvis. In Pilates we look at the foundation first (the feet) and assess all the areas of the body for “alignment enhancement” (sounds better than “correction”). The Pilates practitioner receives constant remedy with every session as modifications are given to specifically address their individual muscular and postural imbalances. In addition, by nature of the whole-body integration of Pilates training, the practitioner is (re)formed mentally and physically into better overall ideal alignment and muscular balance in everyday life and in work or recreational performance.

3: Multi-planar or Tri-planar (movement)
Definition & Popular Use: Ok, the first is a made-up technical term of two words: multiple and planes. It has no official dictionary definition, but is taken to mean movement done on two or three of the planes of movement as defined in kinesiology (transverse, sagittal and frontal). Tri-planar clearly refers to the three planes of movement. All movement occurs on these planes and use of these terms is primarily to make the practitioner more aware of the frequency of movement in each plane. Most traditional exercise is done on the sagittal plane, meaning forward or back, e.g. walking, biceps curls, sit-ups, squats, etc. Fitness professionals who advocate tri-planar movements include more rotational (transverse) or lateral movement (frontal) in exercise routines for more complete movement proficiency so people are not thrown off when made to move in different directions, which can lead to falls and injury.

Pilates Relevance: Working in all three planes of movement is important to developing greater movement skill and increased lateral or rotational ability. This will also decrease the possibility of injury when doing recreational or task activities that require lateral or rotational movements or compensational stability. In any case, Pilates repertoire has built-in tri-planar exercises. The Short Box series is just one example of movements practiced on all three planes. More than most any other exercise system, Pilates has many lateral and rotational movements that develop better stability in the body. This greatly enhances proprioception (body awareness) and reduces the risk of falls and injury from sudden changes of direction.

4: Progressive Exercise
Definition & Popular Use: In exercise, “progressive” means to progress step by step, moving forward with continuous improvement. Sometimes it refers to simply a series of exercises done one after the other (basically a routine or regimen), and other times it seems to mean a routine of exercises that increase in difficulty or intensity.

Pilates Relevance: A connected series of exercises that increase in difficulty? Hmmm, you mean like Pilates? Once again, the fitness community has seen that an aspect of Pilates training can be isolated out of context and generically phrased into the fitness rhetoric. Anyone who looks at the routines of Pilates exercises on the different apparatus instantly recognizes that Pilates is about progressive exercise, but what you really need to know is why this is so beneficial. First, the flow of Pilates routines are designed to prepare the body in a methodical way, beginning with smaller movements to develop greater control and teaching how to move from the center (or powerhouse). In addition, they also are designed to work all areas of the body in a balanced way, working one area for strength while at the same time stretching another, and then reversing the focus on the next exercise. Lastly, teaching a series of exercises all linked together as we do in Pilates challenges memory and focus thus training the mind as well as the body.

It is truly marvelous to describe just how efficiently Pilates manages to do all the things it does to help people attain better fitness, health and wellness, and it speaks to just how important it is for a Pilates instructor to be comprehensively educated in the Pilates method so they master this unique system.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jonathan Urla, MFA, PMA and Power Pilates Certified Pilates Teacher and ACE Certified LWMC, has been a leader the fields of Pilates, yoga and movement sciences for more than 20 years. Author of Yogilates: Integrating Yoga and Pilates for Complete Fitness, Strength and Flexibility, he is an international presenter and frequently featured as a mind/body fitness expert on TV and in magazines including Newsweek, Self, Shape and Vogue. Integrating disciplines while remaining true to the spirit of Joseph Pilates, Jonathan focuses on movement and lifestyle choices that enhance our ability for higher performance and extended healthy living. In addition to his programs available on DVD, he has produced a TV pilot on lifestyle and fitness, and blogs at hotbodycoolmind.blogspot.com. Jonathan teaches Pilates and Yogilates at SportsClub/LA and Reebok in New York City, and Nyack Fitness in Nyack, NY.

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