STOTT PILATES™ conditioning will help you develop optimal strength, flexibility, endurance and posture without adding bulk or stressing your joints. The perfect compliment to cardiovascular exercise, athletic training or rehabilitation, STOTT PILATES™ exercises will leave you looking toned, feeling revitalized and moving with ease.

The average active person, doing 2-3 classes per week should see some results within 10-12 classes. This will vary depending on each individual and things surrounding the number of classes a person takes each week, whether they are private or group classes, whether they participate in other physical activities, and whether they are existing injuries. The question is best answered by one of Joseph Pilate’s favourite quotes from chillier. “It is the mind itself which builds the body”.

Co-founder Moiré Merrithew agrees that while Pilates can aid in losing weight, it’s not as easy or as fast as some would make it seem. “Commercials are effective marketing tools”, she says, “but science does not back up Pilates programs that position themselves as calorie burning systems”. The Pilates method of exercises not aerobic (cardiovascular), which, along with a sensible diet, is necessary for burning fat.

Pilates will help strengthen, build and tone muscle mass. Muscles are metabolically active tissue. “Skeletal muscles are responsible for more than 25 percent of our calorie use. An increase in muscle tissue causes a corresponding increase in our metabolic rate.” (American council on exercise personal trainer manual c 1996) the relationship also works the other way.

A strong healthy muscle will metabolize fat much more effectively than a weak, non fit muscle. Because Pilates strengthens muscles, people who practice it regularly become more effective at metabolizing calories, which had been stored as fat.

Although you should always consult your physician before starting any fitness routine, Pilate’s workout is gentle and controlled with no sudden jarring action is therefore more important that you work with a qualified instructor to ensure you are doing the movements correctly. An experienced instructor will be able to modify the exercises to accommodate your limitations, continually challenge you within your range and monitor your improvements. If you commit yourself to a consistent workout ached ale you will certainly feel results.

Back Problem Testimonial
Having suffered for many years with back problems and having visited Doctors, Hospitals and Physiotherapists it was suggested by a Physiotherapist that Pilates might help with my problem. My problem being a debilitating severe muscle spasm, which occurs when the back muscles support the lower vertebrae, which do not separate as normal. Whilst Pilates doesn't cure the problem it has lengthened my spine, improved my posture and strengthened my back muscle so that the spasm hardly ever occurs, but more importantly the lessons and exercises learned on realigning and lengthening the back enables me to confidently react to a spasm with exercise, rather than rest and reduce recovery time from what was often weeks to a matter of days.
Colin Leahy - Managing Director Carlton Freight

Mat-based workouts are very convenient and they can be done anywhere. However, a mat workout will provide no added resistance. A reformer workout adds resistance to your routine and can correct muscular imbalances better than a mat routine would.

The available information on pregnancy and exercise can be very confusing and conflicting.

STOTT tries to stay on top of the latest research regarding safety and pregnancy and covers this topic in the ISP (injuries & special populations) segment of our certification.

No two women’s bodies are the same, and this is especially true during pregnancy and not for others. During a normal, healthy pregnancy, moderate exercise is safe for the foetus. Exercise is also said to prevent various veins, haemorrhoids and ease back pain-not to mention boosting self esteem. The guidelines stated by the American council on exercise are not as hard-and –fast as they used to be.

However, research suggests that no new exercise routine should be started during your first trimester. As ell, you should be careful of over-exerting the abdominal muscles. During the second trimester these muscles become stretched out, and some women experience diastases recti (separation of the abdominal muscles).

With reduced support for the back, you also run the risk of injuring the lower back futher, because of the increased amounts of remained progesterone release the body during pregnancy, the ligaments surrounding the joints become lax, which leaves them loose and vulnerable. For this reason, you should be careful not to overstretch. It is important, though, to continue strengthening and rebalancing muscles around the joint-still trying to centre the body as it goes through many postural changes due to pregnancy.

Today many guidelines for pregnancy indicate that once you reach the second trimester you should not exercise in a supine position (lying on your back) as your may be cutting off oxygen to the foetus even if you yourself are not feeling dizzy). In general we teach that it is better to be safe and not take any chances. In the second trimester we still do some mat work courses but we make sure that the upper torso is raised as it is when using the “spine supporter”. We then alternate the inclined position with sitting, kneeling and standing exercises done on the mat, reformer and Cadillac. A great piece of the equipment for pregnancy is the stability chair, because it facilitates so many exercises in an upright position. Of course drinking lots of water is always important, and be sure not to over-exert yourself. The beauty of this type of work is that it can be individualized for anyone’s ability.

Physically, many people have been known to actually get taller by working out consistently. By emphasizing posture, you learn to stretch your spine through Pilates, and by strengthening the deep abdominals to support the rest of the body you learn to maintain your height effortlessly. The most impressive results are those reported to people who have slouched most of their lives and after a few months of practising Pilates they are able to stand up much straighter, and are therefore measurably taller. However, even people having studied dance consistently for years before beginning a Pilate’s program, have noticed an increase in height over time.

• Pilates is three-dimensional (i.e. exercise can be performed using all movement planes)
• spring resistance more closely resembles muscular contraction
• emphasis on concentric/eccentric contraction for injury prevention
• STOTT PILATES™ is customizable for special needs
• in Pilates exercise, emphasis is placed on rebalancing muscles around the joint
• Pilates corrects over-training and muscle imbalance that leads to injury
• Pilates emphasizes balancing strength and flexibility (for injury prevention and more efficient movement)
• STOTT PILATES™ leads to improvement in posture and body awareness.

STOTT PILATES™ is a muscular-skeletal conditioning program. In combination with some kind of cardiovascular exercise (walking, running, aerobics, aqua fitness, etc), it’s all you need. For people who reach advanced levels, they can actually elevate their heart rate with Stott power workouts