A total body workout!

Just wrapping up a 4 day trip to Austin Texas, where, if you’ve never been there is literally surrounded by lakes everywhere. If you’re an avid outdoors person, then Austin is a place that will not disappoint you. My brother and his awesome family own a house in the city, but also have a lake house about 40 minutes away on lake LBJ. Now, I haven’t water skied in quite some time, and knee boarding is completely foreign to me, but it was initiation by fire trying to keep up with the young niece and nephew out on the water and before I knew it I had a board strapped to my feet and a rope handle tossed at my head and a V8 monster engine ready to blow gallons of water in my face as I yell the two words that will either spell my demise or see my success, “Hit It!”

Before I let you in on what happens next, I think it fitting that you all know what it was like in my pre-Pilates life when I tried this, mind you carrying around an extra 30 or so pounds around my middle. The last time I tried to ski/wakeboard, etc I yelled, “Hit It” and all that happened was a lot of boat groaning, trunks filling up with water and a handle being ripped out of my hands before I could ever get up. I used to ski when I was a kid, so I had some technique back in the day, but that extra weight was keeping me from getting up. After 6 or so failed attempts, my hands were shot and cramping, and I was relegated to watching others more fit (than me) from inside the boat. Not fun at all, and quite embarrassing to be honest.

This time, and with that image still haunting me, I took a big inhale and yelled, “HIT IT!” The boat roared to life, my heart rate quickened in anticipation and a funny thing happened…I popped right up. Wasting no time, I veered outside the wake, a massive smile showing all 200 of my teeth evident for the passengers inside the boat to see. I zipped from one wake to the next trying to catch air, and make rooster tails of waves behind me. My core was firing as were my obliques, and all of those “hundreds,” “roll ups” and “rollovers” suddenly were worth the countless hours of working out.  I was having a blast.

Fo two days I shredded that lake.  I was now about ten years older, than when I had my last skiing debacle, but clearly I was much more fit at 40 then I was at 30. This weekend was a direct result of the time I’ve spent in the Pilates studio and at home doing my mat work. I have never doubted that the Pilates for Men 10-20-30 Challenge we created last year was powerful, but MAN…was it impressive to see the direct result of the work.  I am so proud to be able to share this story with you, and I hope you find it meaningful enough to share with others.

Until next time!

-Art A.

Push Up with a Twist!

In July I was asked to be a spokesperson for Jenny Craig after they had tapped into the Pilates for Men series we shot on Youtube last year. They invited me down to San Diego along with 7 other people to shoot their 2010 ten minute corporate video.  They were excited at the progress I had made, and I think especially excited at how quickly I was able to lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off. When I look at the first video of that series we shot last summer of 2009, I realize how far I’ve come.  I’m thrilled that people are watching this video series and calling their local Pilates studios and booking appointments.  Anything that gets the word out to the rest of the world that Pilates – both traditional and progressive – is genuinely good for the body, mind and soul is a fantastic word indeed.   We are still seeing some interesting growth in our studio with both men and women interested in combing a nutrition regiment with an 8-pack or 16-pack purchase of either privates or group classes.  They are trying to get the most bang for their buck and it makes perfect sense to do so.

Challenging the thinking of your clients…Since I’m so into cycling lately, I’ll use my new  mindset to share with you how the impossible can become a reality. I went from doing a three mile ride six months ago (and complained about a sore butt the whole time) to completing a 70 mile ride 10 weeks later.  I rode from the Los Angeles Zoo to the Long Beach Aquarium and then back to the zoo in an organized ride with about 1500 riders.  It was hard, I was hot, it challenged me, but I did it in 4:40 hours.  When I tell non-riders about that ride their mouth hits the floor.  70 miles? No way! That’s impossible.  Well, clearly it isn’t.  Now I’m ready to sign up for a century ride (100 miler), and signing up for next year’s AIDS Ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles (nearly 600 miles!).  It has opened the door to me thinking that I would love to ride my bike from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean.  A mere 3,000 miles trip. I’m not saying I’m going to do it, I’m just saying I think I can do it someday, and I can see myself doing it.

My point is that until you actually embark on something, it’s hard to fathom the possibilities.  I rode from Studio City (the valley) to the beach last Sunday.  I never thought that was possible either.  It was a breeze. Got their in 55 minutes. I think the same translates to Pilates.  If our clients aren’t sure where they’re going, or where their destination is, then perhaps they try Pilates, get through their session(s) and think, “Eh, well I tried it. It was kind of cool” and that’s the end of it. BUT, if we really spend the time with new clients and create a ‘plan’ for each of them individually, rather than just introduce them to Pilates we can better understand where they want to be and where we can take them on their journey. I’ll leave you all with a great quote that you all know, “I must be right. Never an aspirin. Never injured a day in my life. The whole country, the whole world, should be doing my exercises. They’d be happier.” –Joseph Pilates

Until next time.

-Art

This is Hard!

I think I understand why Pilates is so popular in Los Angeles.  It isn’t because we have the greatest studio in the world, although I am partial to the warmth, cleanliness and space of our studio in Encino, CA. Talk to most good Pilates operators in and around the Los Angeles area and by and large you will hear them say that their business is very good!  We hear that business has been growing in a down economy.  Part of the reason for the growth is the huge number of Baby Boomers that are aging, and retiring. In order to keep their bodies functioning at a high level, they turn to the low impact, huge results of Pilates as part of their fitness regiment.  They also turn to Pilates to help them after they’ve finished their physical therapy for rehabbing injuries.  However, I realized why more and more people are turning to Pilates each day here in Los Angeles while on my daily bike ride home from the studio.  Now mind you, I ride home along Ventura Blvd, which is very very busy…and I do break the rules a bit and ride on the sidewalk for most of it.  BUT…I see everything! I notice everything and I can smell everything, from the stores that you’d never notice while driving, to the plethora of restaurants, to the crazy drivers, and their antics inside the sanctity of their cars.

Since I ride on the sidewalk for most of the route, I’m careful, I ride slowly and I give the right of way to pedestrians. It also gives me time to relax, gather my thoughts for the day. Mostly, however, I get to see the insanity of what drivers go through every single day. I started to think we don’t just live in the city of Angels, but at times we live in the city of something else that kind of rhymes with angels, but also sounds a bit like brass and holes.  Yup…and I bet out of their cars, they are extremely nice people…but man, I saw nearly five nasty accidents on an 8 mile ride home last night.  Oh, and the horns…holy mackerel, the horns!  It was a cacophony of brass – hole instruments emanating from under the hoods of their Toyotas, Nissans and BMW’s.

So it all brings me back to the big exhale that our clients breathe the moment they walk through our doors.  We offer that sanctuary where they can not only exercise, but they can detox and feel good if only for an hour of their day.  And that, is why our businesses our growing.  The more we give our clients and future clients the ability to have a safe haven, the more we’ll help them preserve, lengthen and enjoy their lives.

Until next time!

-Art A.

Do I really weigh that much?

I went on vacation last week, and I never expected to have the epiphany that I had. I learned how food consumption and exercise really work.  I went through the Pilates For Men 10-20-30 Challenge and I understood that while I was exercising vigorously, that eating only 1500 calories per day was really effective in helping me ditch those extra 20 pounds.  BUT…what I learned on my cruise to the Bahamas last week was so much more meaningful in learning what NOT to do and why.  I went on this beautiful Norwegian Epic ship leery of what could happen with 20 gourmet restaurants to choose from and my crazy appetite. I was prepared mentally long before I ever passed over the gangway and onto the ship. I’ve been down this road before and I know that in 7 days a schmuck like me can gain 10 pounds.  It wasn’t going to happen this time.  I was a rock I tell you.  My first stop was to the fitness center, which of course, was state of the art.  It was equipped with everything (sans a scale…gee I wonder why?).  Now, I was still going to eat – that’s what I paid for afterall, but I was also going to work out every single day.  Pilates, weights, cardio…all of it.  And for 7 days, that is what I did.  I ate, I worked out, I swam in the Atlantic Ocean, ate some more, worked out some more, sweated, ate, drank…I did it all.  After about my fifth day I knew I put on weight.  I hadn’t a clue how much because they smartly don’t have scales on board these ships.  I would say my ‘activity level’ had been extremely high, yet I knew that familiar bulge forming around my middle.  I could see a little extra puffy skin under my jaw line, and I feared I’d put on about five or gasp seven pounds.

Here’s what’s frustrating…I was watching myself at the buffet table!  I was careful about what I was eating. It was on the forefront of my mind, and I didn’t go all out like I’d done in the past. So, sweating it out in the steam room, it came to me.  It’s so simple. Humans weren’t meant to consume 4,000 calories per day. Think about it.  As little as a couple of thousand years ago we were meant to hunt and gather our food.  Our bodies are still accustomed to that. If we could consume 1500 calories per day in nuts, fruits and meat that we’d hunted, our bodies were thrilled, and gave us boundless energy to continue to hunt and gather. Soooo, when we stuff 4,000 calories per day down our gullet, our body does what it was built to do, it saves it, stores it, and turns it into big walls of sticky, icky fat! Let’s go back to our few thousand years ago scenario. We consume veggies, fruits, meat (about 1500 calories) and we can run, hike, gather, move our bodies for an entire day. If we have a day where the pickings were slim and we only took in 1,000 calories, no problemo, our bodies went into conservation mode, and we functioned perfectly well.  Now, back in present day and we add all the processed goop that we eat and we fool ourselves into thinking that 40 minutes on the bike, or treadmill is going to right all those wrongs, and we’ve got another thing coming.  It’s virtually impossible to burn it all off because we are conditioned to conserve energy and be extremely efficient.  Our wonderful and perfect bodies are saving all of that glorious energy waiting for the famine that will never come.  Instead what comes is tomorrow, which brings another 4,000 calorie day of consumption, then another, and another and so on, until we are unhealthy, immobile heart diseased, diabetics in big big trouble wondering how this happened to us.

The scariest thing I learned on the cruise was that it doesn’t take much.  I definitely ate, and sadly nearly everything “good” is rich on the ship.  So, in the spirit of honesty, I’m going to give you my before cruise weight, and my after cruise weight.  Don’t get too attached to the after number, because I’m going to lose every last stinking, filthy (delicious) ounce that I gained.

Ready?

You sure?

Okay.  Here it is…Before cruise – Art’s weight = 193 pounds.

After cruise – Art’s weight = 201 pounds.

I worked out every single day and was only gone for 7 days.  Scary isn’t it? Remember friends, our bodies were designed to function extremely efficiently.  Food is for fuel.  That’s how the biology of our bodies function.  We stuff crap into it, and we’re in trouble and it doesn’t take long.  I got home from the cruise on Saturday and immediately went for a 35 mile bike ride.  I will follow that up with an hour of vigorous Pilates every day until my “after” picture is securely hanging nicely on my bones.  I’ll keep you posted, and I won’t let ya down!

Day 1 for Mike on his 30 session journey

Before you get nervous about this photograph, let me assure you this is the DAY 1 photograph!  Mike is more than halfway through his 30 sessions to his new body.  I see Mike around the studio these days and his arms are HUGE!  He has come so far and he’s not at the end of his 30 sessions of Pilates for Men journey yet. During my 10-20-30 Challenge at the studio my goal was to drop weight, lose my flabby belly, tone up and lean out. Mike is trying to do essentially the opposite of that and he’s looking for huge results – pun intended. Mike is eating massive amounts of calories in the form of protein supplements and healthy diet choices combined with eating every two to three hours.  His caloric intake is greater than normal, however he’s not partaking in eating bad foods (i.e. McFatty burgers etc.)

We have to remember that Pilates by itself will help us gain flexibility and strength, but unless we adopt a great eating regiment, or at least a focused eating regiment for what we are trying to do, we are not giving ourself the optimum benefit to the amount of work we are putting in.  I find myself saying that over and over again to some of the clients I see here on a regular basis.  If you are a guy, like I was, who weighed roughly 220 (pre diet) pounds, and you expect that you can consume 3,000 to 4,000 calories per day while you work out 4 days per week, you’ve got a problem on your hands.  You won’t see the results you’re hoping for, and that I can guarantee.  Make an appointment with your doctor, or a nutritionist, or in my case, my Jenny Craig counselor, and find out what diet will work with the amount of work you are doing.  A great tool out there to help you gauge what’s going in your mouth and what you are burning each day is www.myfitnesspal.com.

We will be checking in with Mike here shortly while we wait for those awesome “AFTER” photos representing the completion of his 10-20-30 sessions to a new body taught by Pilates Sports Center’s Master Trainer, Josh Smith.  If you can’t get yourself to a studio near you, we’d like to propose bringing the studio to you so you can do Pilates Sports Center’s “Pilates for Men 10-20-30 Challenge” in the comfort of your home.  You will sweat, you will feel the burn, and most importantly you will love it!

Mike, keep adding on that spring resistance while keeping your form picture perfect.

How did Pilates set me up for incredible riding?

Yup, that’s me on the left with the obnoxious fluorescent jersey. Mountain biking has quickly become a passion of mine.  I’m new to it, having only begun to ride a mere three months ago, in that period, however, I hit the mountains behind my home about three times per week.  I felt ready to tackle the big mountains of Park City Utah when my elder brother invited me to take a trip with him.  Upon arriving and renting a fancy full suspension mountain bike, my nerves were way up there on high alert.  I’d never done anything quite like downhill mountain biking before.  My bro has been doing this sport for quite sometime, so I wanted to keep up.  Luckily we started on some blue square intermediate runs. They were easy and exhilarating, and as we got to the bottom I noticed that my non-Pilates practicing brother was a bit tired, feeling his abs working and fatigue in his arms.  I on the other hand felt like a million bucks. We went to the top of the Deer Valley ski lift and this time shot off to do some black diamond advanced runs.  This was a totally different animal with switchbacks that were so tight at times that if you went too fast you flew off the track, and if you went too slow, then you simply came off the bike. Neither option was good.  Once I picked my line, I stayed true to it, and every time the path changed directions, I would feel my obliques fire like CRAZY helping me power through each and every turn.  It was incredible! We went with a guide and soon I was past my brother following right at the rear tire of our expert guide doing double black diamond runs.  Downhill mountain biking is all about balance.  Pilates is all about balance.  Downhill mountain biking is all about precision.  Pilates?  Precision anyone?  Check! Downhill mountain biking requires endurance as many of the runs are 10 plus miles.  Is this starting to sound familiar?  Endurance was very important to Joe Pilates back in the day and we continue to practice that in modern Pilates.

At the end of two days and 9 hours of biking I can honestly say I wanted more.  I didn’t want it to end, and my guide and brother were ready for a jacuzzi, a salt bath and some tylenol.  I went into the living room to do a full hour of mat repertoire to unwind, loosen up what I had tightened on the mountain and dream of the next trip to the top of a mountain. The final word from our guide was this…”Hey Art, can you show me a couple of these Pilates moves?  You should never have been able to handle what I threw at you this weekend having only been doing this sport for three months.”  Of course when I put him on his back to show him what a “roll up” looked like, I saw the unmistakeable shake shake shake of the mid-section of one whose core strength isn’t quite where it should be.  ”You’ve got some work to do.” I thought to myself.  I gave him six exercises to do four days per week.  He’ll see his riding go up a level, of that I’m certain.

As I continue to meet more guys that are into all kinds of sports I find one constant…Pilates helps each and every one of them.  If you are a guy and you are curious if you can take your fitness, flexibility and strength up a notch, I’m living proof that you can.  Until next time.

-Art

At long last the Hi-Definition, 3 set DVD series entitled, “Pilates for Men 10-20-30 Challenge” is complete and available at www.PilatesSportsCenter.com for purchase.  Part of the purpose of producing this high end video series was to break the stereotype that Pilates is just for women.  We are now beginning to find Pilates is reaching men more and more as each year passes, and we want to do our part to spread the word.  We did so in creating what we think is a stellar workout that both men and women will enjoy.  The results speak for themselves.  Just look at our test case study as he lost 20 lbs and completely transformed his body during his 30 session program.

We hope that you’ll give the Pilates for Men 10-20-30 Challenge an opportunity to transform your body too.  Remember, snap some pictures before starting the program, and once again after completion.  Watch your caloric intake, and most of all, have a great time.  This program comes complete with a Theraband, fitness ball and three DVD’s.  We’d love to hear your thoughts so drop us a line and keep in touch.

It started out as an internet sensation and has now turned into a high quality, hi-definition 3 set DVD series that we think will change the Pilates world.  Joseph Pilates famous quote of 30 sessions to an entirely new body has always been a well-known quote, but has never truly been chronicled until now.  If you haven’t seen the Pilates for Men 1 – 7 series on Youtube, we suggest you check it out.  Our subject finished the 30 sessions in a little over 8 weeks.  He lost twenty pounds and truly had an entirely new body to show for his effort.

We are proud to now unveil our new 3-set DVD series entitled, “Pilates for Men 10-20-30 Challenge.”  With just a mat, ball, a thera-band and these high quality DVD’s, be prepared to see some amazing results of your own!  Pre-orders are being taken now at www.PilatesSportsCenter.com. Take some before pictures, check your starting weight, measure yourself before getting started, and then keep your daily calorie intake in check for the next 8 to 10 weeks.  Work out between three and four times per week, and at the end snap some ‘after’ pictures and email them to us at: info@PilatesSportsCenter.com we can’t wait to see your results!  We promise you that this 3 set DVD series will be among the highest quality fitness DVD’s you’ve ever seen!

She busted out her best “Thriller” moves alongside Jennifer Garner in “Thirteen Going On Thirty” and was a hoofer on “Cedric the Entertainer Presents.”  When she’s not dancing with the likes of Carmen Electra on the big screen or touring with 98 Degrees, professional dancer and Pilates instructor

Kadee Sweeney kicks up the octane to stratospheric heights with her twice weekly, high energy, sweat-inducing, rhythm fused (and did I mention wildly fun?) Zumba classes at Pilates Sports Center in Encino.

Kadee Sweeney

Zumba is a booty shaking, arms waving, cardio awakening hybrid of salsa, meringue and other Latin moves created in the mid 90s by Colombian native Beto Perez. Legend has it the celebrity trainer forgot his music as he was about to teach an aerobics class one day and grabbed the only CD he had handy – some Latin fusion tracks. The new moves caught on quickly and Perez soon became the dance darling of South America.  Ten years ago Perez brought Zumba to the U.S., partnering with savvy entrepreneurs who hyped the workout with infomercials – today, Zumba classes are taught at over 40,000 locations in 75 countries.

Sweeney, a dancer since she was a little girl (“I would wear tap shoes when we would go out to dinner and would dance all over the place”), discovered Zumba through a friend and was attracted to the “open minded, non judgmental” nexus of the class.

Unlike the Fox Trot, Viennese Waltz and other perfect and perfunctory moves you might see on “Dancing With The Stars,” Sweeney’s Zumba is approachable (students range from 20 to 70), practical (no partner required) and flexible (don’t be self-conscious, just dance!). And in addition to the Latin music that is the core of Zumba, she incorporates hip hop, belly dancing and other fancy dances you might actually put to use at a party, wedding, club or bat mitzvah. (“If you can move your shoulders to the beat with a little attitude and a definite sense of rhythm, you’ll do just fine in a club” offers Sweeney.)

Off the charts music and cunning choreography is an essential part of what makes Sweeney’s class a standout. One minute you’re jumping and playing some radical air guitar along with Pink’s “So What,” another you’re channeling your inner diamond ring festooned Beyonce while strutting to “All The Single Ladies” before launching into a grinding “Womanizer” with Britney Spears. In between she’ll toss in some playful Cha Cha, whip up some meringue and serve up some sensual salsa before ripping it up with some Hip Hop and songs created especially for the Zumba craze.  

Aretha and JLo are also on Sweeney’s playlist, and she’ll even consider requests from students. “I will only teach to music that moves and inspires me. Some of my students will bring me their choices of music and I will go through and listen to all of them and then choose which songs I am inspired to dance to. As a dancer, when you listen to the music the beat will get into your body …and it will just start to move. When I’m teaching is when the best choreography will come out.”

Sweeney wears her love of teaching on her sleeve and encourages her students to love themselves, love dance and love the music.  She offers great assurance that her class is not a class just for dancers, walking newbies through more intricate moves with first baby steps care. “I invite people to come with a big smile and open attitude” she says of her classes. “And if you don’t have any of those when you come, hopefully you will leave the class with those qualities.”

Kadee Sweeney teaches Zumba at Pilates Sports Center in Encino Wednesday mornings at 9:30 and Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. Classes are $18 each or $150 for ten. Pilates Sports Center is located at 16430 Ventura Blvd. #100, Encino, CA. (818) 788-8112; pilatessportscenter.com

Judith A. Proffer is Vice-Chair of entertainment/media company Meteor 17, where she oversees creative development for film, television & literary projects and charitable initiatives. Co-founder and former Executive Editor of Sun Community Newspapers, she was publisher of LA Weekly and OC Weekly and is currently writing “How to Love Your Dog: A Timeless Compendium of Information and Inspiration” for Huqua Press - a division of her publishing and consultancy company, Magpye Media.

We’ve seen it done many different ways, we’ve heard promises and been disappointed in the past, however, Pilates Sports Center and trainer, Ariel believe they have that great morning or evening workout that will give you those sexy, flat abs you’ve been looking for with her 10 Minutes to Flat Abs workout.  We won’t tell you it’s the easiest workout ever, it isn’t.  We won’t tell you that you will get a crazy six pack by doing weird crunches in a reclining chair either.  We will say, that if you do this four to five times per week, you should notice a heck of a difference in your mid-line – or lack thereof.  If you can couple it with cutting down on your calories simultaneously, then your chance of success just shot up a few hundred percent.  Also, we’d love to hear from you, so jump in, warm up those abs with some 100′s and let us know how you’re doing!  We’d love to sit and talk, but those teasers aren’t going to tease by themselves.  Gotta go and get our flat abs too!  Until next time…