Extract from Extreme Fitness Forum

I'm a little embarrased to say so but I do it three times a week at home. I can't bring myself to go into a club and do it but I bought the Ana Caban pilates videos a year ago because I heard it was good for general fitness on a rainy day. I started it and now I'm hooked. It's not too good for any kind of cardio but I've found It's great for stretching and it works my back and stomach so I have better posture. The guy who started it did it as for a rehab routine for soldiers returning from WWI. It worked so well for them that he expanded it and made it a full workout routine. These days it's been sissified by all the soccer moms so I can't be seen doing it in a class environment.

Long story short. I would recommend it if you want good stretching and good muscle maintenance.

thanks for asking, davelacb!

i think a lot of guys think it's for sissies... let them call me that to my face! :thumb:

i like doing them since they provide a good core workout with range of motion. like g_samsa, i do them in the privacy of my own home since i can do them in the evening a couple hours before bed. besides, my wife gets a kick out of watching me do them with her! :eek:

i noticed a difference with my wife after a month of her doing them, so i gave them a try, and i was impressed. buy a dvd & toss it in, and give it a try! :thumb:

WOW, Im surprised either of you have done it and liked it. I was expecting comments like "no, it doesnt do anything", "I tried it and it sucks" or "that stuff is for girls and wimpy celebs", but I didnt get those, man whenever I can afford it maybe I will try it, thanks.

Cut Out the Middle, Man
To shrink your gut and build a six-pack, awaken your inner abs
by Matt Fitzgerald

Sucking in your gut doesn't fool anyone--not her, not you, not your tailor. So start using the natural corset you were born with: the transversus abdominis. It's the horizontal layer of muscle beneath your six-pack, and it can make your waist thinner. This 15-minute Pilates workout (no, Pilates is not just for girls--try it, and be ready to hurt) from Terrence Carey, a trainer in New York City, works both your transversus abdominis (for a smaller waist) and your rectus abdominis (for bigger abs).

The key to working that transverse layer is to pull your belly button toward your spine and hold it there for the duration of each exercise. Do each one slowly, and breathe slowly. Perform five repetitions of the rollback and eight of the toe tap and pushup.

ROLLBACK
Sit with your knees bent and your heels on the floor. Keep your torso upright, shoulders back, and arms extended forward, parallel to the floor . Inhale while keeping your belly pulled in. Roll backward, rounding your spine while you hold your chin to your chest. Stop two-thirds of the way to the floor . Exhale and return to the starting position. As you gain strength, roll back closer to the floor.

TOE TAP
Lie on your back and place your fingers behind your ears. Lift your legs until your knees are above your hips and your lower legs are parallel to the floor. Press your lower back against the floor and crunch forward until your shoulders are off the floor. With your toes pointed down, lower your right foot as far as you can without lifting your back off the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat with your left leg .

LEG-LIFT PUSHUP
Get into the down position of a pushup, your hands in line with your shoulders, about 6 inches away from your body. Set your feet hip-width apart. Push up by straightening your arms. Then raise your left leg as high as you can. Keep your leg raised while you perform a normal pushup by lowering your chest to the floor . Keep your back flat and your body rigid. Switch legs on each repetition.


Lose That Gut
When doing crunches and all their variations, you spend a lot of time contemplating your belly. If it's rounder than it oughtta be, try these lean tactics:

Eat Lean
You want a flat stomach? Watch what goes into it. Don't worry, pal, we're not telling you to live on alfalfa sprouts and granola. Most guys can get away with making little changes in their diet. Cut down on fatty toppings like mayo, butter, sour cream and salad dressing. Cut back on cheese and fatty red meats. Graze rather than gorge: eating four to six small meals a day instead of three big ones helps your body burn fuel more efficiently.

Exercise Aerobically
Cycling, rowing, running, whatever -- it's your call. Anything that gets your heart pumping will burn away your blubber. Hit it three days a week for 20-30 minutes to start. And if you can, work out before the dinner bell. Research suggests that a pre-dinner workout is an excellent appetite suppressor.

Relax
When stress hits, one of the first things your body does is crank up its production of adrenaline. This causes fat cells from all over your body to release their stored fat into your bloodstream, so you can burn it and use the calories to ecscape or fight off whatever it is that's giving you the heebee-jeebies. But your stress is probably caused by your boss, your kids or the IRS, so all that newly-released fat goes unused.

What happens next, experts believe, is that the fat is taken out of the bloodstream again -- only this time it's stored preferentially around your belly. (You're probably getting stressed just reading this.) So do whatever you can to de-stress. Take up a hobby that will help you unwind. Take time throughout the day to stretch and breathe deeply. Create a simple after-work ritual -- changing clothes, sorting through the day's mail, or just staring at the wall for a few minutes -- that will cue your body that it's time to decompress.

Good article M. Man I have to catch up on the things i missed my interent was gone for a few days.

I am a guy who has been teaching Pilates classes for the past 2 years, and I can definitely give anyone a good workout with the Pilates techniques... Simply increase the number of reps, or give a more difficult variation of the exercise, same as anything else.

Pretty much all of the people that take my class are women, every once in a while I will get a guy to try it out. I think the reason Pilates is generally viewed as being for women has to do with the way it is marketed... With the continued misconception by women in general that weight and resistance training will make them big and bulky, they looked to a new style of exercise. The major players like Stott, Windsor, etc filled this gap. Pilates has been around for a long time, but you will notice it just became popular over the past 5 years or so...

I still lift heavy like most guys do, I still do my cardio to keep the lbs off... But since taking up Pilates I am much more flexible, balanced, and coordinated. Just because its a class full of women, don't let that scare you away - trust me, they will appreciate the fact that you are one of the few guys willing to try it out...

... But since taking up Pilates I am much more flexible, balanced, and coordinated...absolutely agree with you, raijin!

since i started doing pilates about 3 years ago, i've noticed, along with all the other guys i play basketball, volleyball & hockey, how much my game has improved! i'm definitely more coordinated, flexible & balanced... i'd say i'm even better as i'm getting older since i've incorporated pilates into my fitness regimen! :thumb:

I agree with that as well. I do two sports that don't compliment each other so well. That is I am a martial artist as well as a long distance runner. The running tends to stiffen me up while the martial arts do the opposite. I added pilates as a way to balance the two and not injure myself. It worked differently than I had planned in that I was expecting to just get good and limber before my martial arts. I wanted to to it as a warm up. Instead I noticed that in addition to getting limber my core has become much more powerfull. My running is better because my posture is better and my martial arts is better because my core is more efficient. Good stuff

I agree with that as well. I do two sports that don't compliment each other so well. That is I am a martial artist as well as a long distance runner. The running tends to stiffen me up while the martial arts do the opposite. I added pilates as a way to balance the two and not injure myself. It worked differently than I had planned in that I was expecting to just get good and limber before my martial arts. I wanted to to it as a warm up. Instead I noticed that in addition to getting limber my core has become much more powerfull. My running is better because my posture is better and my martial arts is better because my core is more efficient. Good stuffgood words! :thumb:

Wow! Thanks guys for all the interesting answers, what pilates video do you guys recommend? Windsor Pilates? something else? Classes are too expensive for me, so Ill have to have a video.

The Windsor beginner level tape/DVD is a good start, it takes you through several of the major motions in lots of detail, shows how to make them easier, more difficult, etc. Whatever you get, be sure to start with a mat based workout, there are lots of Pilates tapes out now that incorporate balls, rings, and other props. If you want to take classes, most decent public gyms offer them in the group fitness setting nowadays... This is the setting I teach in, and its good for 99% of the population. You only get into the really expensive classes if you are taking private one on one Pilates lessons using Reformers or Cadillacs...

my wife & i started out with the winsor pilates dvd's, and we noticed a significant improvement & change after 3 weeks. since then, we've incorporated other pilates movements using rings, resist-a-bands, physioballs, medicine balls, etc.

Thanks guys, whenever I get some money I'll try the Windsor Pilates videos.

I am a registered instructor and all I can say is that Pilates works big time for core sability, flexibility and muscle control.

You will feel the difference when you do it, go ahead and give it a try

there are few videos of mari winsor pilates and pilates for dummies videos in p2p search software like kazaa media try it.

My girlfriend is a professional dancer and she took lots of pilates lessons. For her it worked well for muscle control. Though no building up of muscles as she pleased.... She did not think it was intensive enough.......