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Pilates for the Personal Trainer - Control and Precision
By Christina | August 2, 2008
This is the second of a series of Pilates for the Personal Trainer articles. They are each in chronological order so please begin at Augst 1, 2008.
The original name Joseph Pilates called his work was “Contrology,” the study of controlled movement. This should be a central theme for any personal trainer in every session with a client. A trainer works to instruct their clients how to move in a controlled manner in order to prevent injury and learn proper form. This is exactly the theory behind Pilates. Think about how begin with a novice client. You would first introduce him or her to to the circuit machines and teach how to properly align the body so that the most benefit is achieved.
Upon developing control, you would then begin to use free weights where the work is done in three planes of movement around the body. When this is mastered, you can begin to add precision. Precision of movement is essential to sports performance and is what separates professionals from amateurs. A pro can consistently and repeatedly perform the same movement pattern to achieve a desired result, whereas an amateur may occasionally perform as well as a pro but cannot maintain this performance. Plyometric exercises with applied Pilates principles would be as follows:
Maintain alignment during all phases of the movement (control). When observing your client as he lands in his jumps, look for him to land evenly on his feet so he does not overpronate or supinate his feet. He should be jumping and landing with both feet and not favoring one leg over the other (precision). Plyometric movement is only one training technique that can benefit from adding Pilates principles. Keep reading tomorrow’s entry to learn more.
Topics: General, Personal Training, Pilates |
