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Pilates for the Personal Trainer - Flow
By Christina | August 4, 2008
Continuing with the theme of Pilates for the personal trainer from previous entries, today’s focus is flow.
Pilates focuses on movement without the use of momentum. You are taught to move one part of your body without creating tension in other areas of your body. These principles can translate into your training techniques for any client because they translate into daily activities. If you watch the way someone exercises, you will witness that when they typically begin to strain or fatigue, they begin to create tension in other areas. Sometimes they elevate their shoulders as a response to a challenging exercise, they probably create the same tension when they are under stress in their daily life.
Ask your clients to be aware of their body when they are dealing with daily stress - be that rush hour or crying kids, dead lines or lines at the supermarket. Paying more attention to body mechanics to find where and when they may create tension in the body can help to improve their response to stress. Joseph Pilates talked about moving gracefully and smoothly in the exercises. As a trainer today, it is important to teach clients how to take this focused approach to movement and body alignment to all activities and begin to move consciously with control throughout their daily lives.
When a trainer can affect a client outside the gym he or she becomes even more entrenched in the person’s life and secures his place as a trainer. Teaching your client better body awareness can make you a very valuable resource in his life.
Topics: General, Personal Training, Pilates |
