Pilates trends, Las Vegas Sun, July 12, 2000

Pilates exercise trend reaches Las Vegas Lisa Ferguson Wednesday, July 12, 2000 | 9:57 a.m. Remember the adage "no pain, no gain"? Forget about it. That's because a not-so-new exercise trend sweeping the country makes it possible to see body-slimming results, usually without the aches and pains that can result from other strenuous workouts. Pilates (pronounced puh-la-teez) is all the rage in Hollywood, with such celebrities as Jodie Foster, Jaime Lee Curtis, Madonna, Dustin Hoffman, Melanie Griffith, Drew Barrymore and Danny Glover touting its benefits. "Dirty Dancing" star Patrick Swayze has been quoted as saying that Pilates is "the best system I've found for isolating and strengthening individual muscles without stress to the joints." Las Vegas has also caught on to the Pilates trend as several local health clubs have begun offering classes. A little bit of background: Pilates was developed by German-born fitness guru Joseph Pilates during the early part of last century. The one-time boxer and self-defense trainer taught exercise classes in this country to police and military officers before opening a studio in New York. Dancers quickly recognized the benefits of Pilates, which most closely resembles yoga, and for years it has been a favorite exercise of those in the dance field. It is comprised largely of stretching, and exercises can be done on floor mats, using a person's own body weight as resistance, or on workout machines with such names as the Cadillac, the Ladder Barrel and the Reformer. Pilates enthusiasts claim that the exercises can correct all sorts of muscle ailments and relieve chronic pain, as well as improve breathing, muscle strength and flexibility, enhance endurance and lessen stress. Dawn Draper-Sarantos has been teaching Pilates "mat" classes at the Las Vegas Athletic Club on West Sahara Avenue since January. The former "Jubilee" dancer was turned on to the exercises in 1993 in search of relief from the pain she suffered as a result of doing repetitive dance movements night after night in the production show. Within a month's time, she says, "I started to be relieved of the pain. It was wonderful." Pilates, she contends, "increases your joint range and motion. Your muscle flexibility is increased and it tones your muscles as well, and it focuses on strengthening the stabilizing muscles around your joints. "This is how I describe it in a nutshell: Overall body conditioning that's abdominally based." That section of the body, called the "powerhouse," begins at the belly button level and covers both the front and back sides. "If you can get this area of your body strong," she says, "everything else is a piece of cake.' Draper-Sarantos, who was certified to teach Pilates through UNLV's Continuing Education program, says that she sees 10 to 18 students (mostly females) in each of her twice-weekly Pilates classes at the athletic club. The only equipment used in her classes are long, rubber "Thera-Bands" to aid in arm curls and leg stretches, and common playground balls that students squeeze and balance on during some exercises. "(You're) going slower and not using momentum, but the muscles that are going to get you up off the floor, curling up to do those sit-ups," she says. Proper breathing is also an important Pilates tool. Draper-Sarantos says that it's an important aspect of Pilates' "mind-body connection." "You don't have to feel that 'burn' or pain to get in shape, but you do have to feel your muscles," she says. On the loose A recent early-afternoon class included local author Branch Whitney, who penned the books "Hiking Las Vegas" and "Hiking Southern Nevada" (Huntington Press). "My livelihood depends on being up in the mountains," the 42-year-old Whitney says. He also has a history of back problems and began taking the Pilates class in January. "It's really helped my back and strengthened my (abdominal muscles) and (my) overall flexibility is greatly improved because of Pilates." He especially likes "how I feel after a class. I really feel loose, stretched out ... It's different from (lifting) the weights and the cardio (exercises) but it's exactly what men need because most men aren't flexible enough and they don't train their abs the right way." Whitney's wife, Susan Rufkahr, attends the class with her husband. As a pharmacist, she's on her feet all day. "I just don't have any flexibility and the things that you work out (with Pilates) -- the butt, the stomach -- just feel good." "It looks easy but it's not," says classmate Debbie Arnau, a local tennis player who claims she feels a bit taller since taking up Pilates. "When I straighten up as much as I can go, I can straighten up more now," she says. She likes Pilates because "you can go at your own pace. You can never get to the point where you've totally mastered it" because exercises continue "squeezing" and "straightening" muscles. Making an impact But why now, some eight decades after its inception, has Pilates become the latest fitness craze? Elizabeth Larkam offers a few theories. Larkam has worked for 15 years as a Pilates/dance medicine specialist at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco. She also serves as program director for Balanced Body, a Pilates equipment maker (she's worked on 15 Pilates videos the company has produced) and is the Pilates spokeswoman for the American Council on Exercise. She credits its skyrocketing popularity to the aging of the "fitness-fascinated population" that can no longer tolerate "impact activities that cause joint compression and sometimes injury." Also, Pilates complements the current "mind-body fitness trend," which includes yoga, tai chi "and activities that have an introspective or meditative component." (Research, she says, indicates that the type of diaphragmatic breathing used in Pilates reduces stress.) Meanwhile longtime fitness buffs, she says, have "been through the mindless jogging; they've been through highly-choreographed step workouts. So in terms of their motor control and their mind-body coordination, they're really ready for the next challenge and that seems to be the one thing Pilates can provide. "My impression is that Pilates is one of these really effective transition activities. It has just enough of the old -- i.e., contract your muscles -- and just enough of the new -- i.e., focus your mind so that you can contract muscles in a way that you haven't before." It's certainly not magic or a quick fix for those hoping to shed pounds quickly, she reminds. "Pilates is not aerobics" but rather a "very sophisticated, very functional form" of developing motor control and "efficient functional movement. ... It's all physics and exercise physiology. But it's not a miracle." Larkam cautions that claims that Pilates can correct muscle and joint problems, or other maladies for that matter, are purely anecdotal at this point. Little clinical research has been conducted regarding the effectiveness of Pilates machine exercises, and virtually no studies have been conducted on Pilates mat exercises. "Anecdotally people will report that they feel taller and that they are carrying over the awareness of this muscle activity into their daily activities and into their sports and recreation," Larkam says. Studies are in the works, especially within university dance departments, looking at the effect of Pilates equipment training on the efficiency of dance techniques. Also, there have been some research attempts on the use of Pilates techniques in rehabilitation therapies. "This is a very difficult study to do because there are so many variables, but so far nothing has come up," Larkam says. "There must be something to this but it's not proven by research." Even after Pilates' celebrity-induced hype fades, "we're still going to be doing this because we're still going to be getting older," she says. Research shows that exercise reduces the loss of bone and muscle mass. "So we're going to be in it for the long haul." archive