To the Wellspring Warrior: not a Pilates Princess

I'm seeing the term "Pilates Princess" on social media at the moment and it doesn't sit well with me. When I think of this term, I see a young woman doing Pilates, on light springs, chatting with her friends and not breaking a sweat. This is so far from the type of Pilates I offer at Wellspring!

I also feel that this term suggests that Pilates as an "easy" form of movement and one that is limited to females. This couldn't be further from the truth. Pilates was created by a MAN for men. Sure, women fell in loves with Pilates but that could be largely thanks to Joseph Pilates studio in New York being located in the same building as the New York Ballet Academy. The ballerinas went to Joseph Pilates for recovery due to injuries and from there, this movement really took off.

But going back to what Pilates is all about.

Pilates is first and foremost a mind-body connection. I want you to feel your muscles working. It can take some time to connect your brain to the movement I want you to execute. When you are working on your lats in your back, it can be so easy to use the muscles in your neck/upper traps and it takes some time to really feel the right muscles working. But when it clicks, it's like magic.

Pilates is also about building strength. I'm seeing lots of conflicting opinions on social media about whether Pilates is strength/resistance training. I've got so much to say on this point that I've started writing a standalone blog about it. My current view is that Pilates CAN be strength training. When you focus on very heavy weights, slow and controlled movements and low repetitions, you can build muscle. I'm not advocating Pilates as the best/only form of strength training (as you all know, I've been lifting heavy weights for six month now) but with the right form of movement and spring resistance, you can make your Pilates session a strength workout. And I'm not here to pitch one workout against another - let's just keep moving!

Pilates is for every body. Going back to the Pilates Princess concept, this term promotes skinny/beautiful people doing exercise. And that could not be further from the truth! You all know I'm working on your 96 year old bodies - the ones that can open doors, tie their own shoelaces, walk downstairs, live unassisted. There's no summer shred happening at Wellspring. I'm working on your future self! I don't care what you wear to Pilates, if you have make up on, if your hair is unwashed. That doesn't matter at my studio. What does matter is that you turn up for your future self and give the best you can on that day.

Be consistently average. This is a quote that one of my Wellspring clients told me last week and it's stuck in my head. You know that feeling where you go hard for a few weeks or months and then give up? That's not ok. What you should focus on is being consistent. Some days you will turn up and go through the motions of exercise. And other days - which I can usually gauge as you walk through the door - is the days you want to go hard, be challenged and push yourself. And over the long run, this makes you "consistently average". And that how you get results and set yourself up for success. I no longer think about "how I feel" about doing exercise. I just do it. Some days I feel invincible. Some days I am moving and counting down the minutes till it is over. It all balances out.

To all the Pilates Princesses out there, you do you. I'm building Wellspring Warriors - who are strong and capable men and women who turn up to class, feel a part of a supportive community and can handle whatever life throws at them.

Till next time Wellspring Warriors,

Love Holly

xx