Pilates Classes in Chislehurst & Bromley
PILATES CLASSES TAUGHT BY ELIZABETH NADINE…
“Physical fitness can neither be achieved by wishful thinking nor outright purchase.” — Joseph Pilates
Pilates is a form of exercise that emphasizes the balanced development of the body through core strength, flexibility and awareness. It is a whole body conditioning system that focuses on the deep core abdominal muscles. Core strength is the foundation of Pilates exercises. When the core is strong, the body is properly stabilised and injuries are less likely.
My style of teaching will help you build strong, long, lean and flexible muscles. Not only will you stand taller, increase your strength and muscle endurance of your entire body, with practice you will gain a super strong core. When taught correctly, Pilates is one of the best preventative and anti-aging forms of exercise. Pilates helps to strengthen and condition the body without punishing the body. Pilates is great for our bodies, both mentally and physically. It has so many benefits for just about everyone!
Prescribed Pilates for Sports Performance
In order to be the best at your sport, to avoid strains, injuries and unnecessary wear and tear, you cannot afford to have any imbalances in your body. In sports people it is common to see excessive tightness in certain muscles which restrict movement or often lead to injury. It is also important to have a strong core to help with stability and balance.
I truly believe that to prevent injuries and to improve sport performance, incorporating Pilates into your training schedule is a must! I believe this from not only my first hand experience in no longer having any injuries since I made Pilates an integral part of my own training, but also through years of teaching clients, from rehab to performance enhancement, and witnessing the results.
I have known this and advocated it for years; now we see top athletes hiring experts in Pilates and yoga to assist them in their game. If you are a footballer, runner, hockey player, cyclist, golfer or boxer, whatever your sport, I can help you improve your performance, reduce injuries and help you to keep playing the sport you love for longer.
Prenatal & Postnatal Pilates
I am passionate about helping women during and after their pregnancy. I have a specialist pre and post natal Pilates qualification and have worked extensively with pregnant and post-partum clients. For me, teaching antenatal and postnatal Pilates is extremely rewarding as the benefits to my clients are so profound and it’s a true pleasure to be able to help my clients exercise safely and effectively during this special time.
When performed correctly, Pilates is a fantastic form of exercise for pre and post pregnancy. Strong core abdominals are extremely important because they help to support the weight of the growing baby and reduce the strain on the lower back. Pilates will help strengthen the core abdominals, reduce backache, improve posture, aid relaxation and increase postnatal recovery.
It is so amazing what a woman’s body does during pregnancy, but pregnancy certainly takes its toll on your body, not only during pregnancy but also post pregnancy. I will help you during your pregnancy to feel your best and also help you reduce and recover from the stresses and strains placed on your body during pregnancy and work with you in getting your body back post pregnancy too. It is crucial that Pilates exercises are performed correctly – we want to train the abdominals in the right way in order to flatten the abdominals, re-strengthen them and not push them out causing them to bulge. I have helped so many amazing clients regain their figure, strengthen their abdominals back, re-gain good posture and all over body strength and tone and I would love to help you too, so please get in touch.
Pilates for Rehabilitation
Pilates is rapidly being known across the world for its effectiveness in rehabilitation from injury. Many injuries are caused by muscular imbalances within our bodies. Many things cause these imbalances in our bodies – our posture, the way we sit, bend over or even the way we work out. Many of us move incorrectly and have poor posture, putting too much pressure on some muscles and weakening others, causing an imbalance. Due to Pilates’ tremendous effectiveness at helping rehabilitate people from injuries, physiotherapists are recommending Pilates all over the world.
The majority of my Pilates training have been Physiotherapy-led and I continue to liaise with physiotherapists to keep up-to-date with the latest research. It’s fundamental to my value as a teacher to have an extensive knowledge of anatomy & physiology and continue to keep myself informed of developments. I regularly attend courses and I have also undertaken lectures and courses by physiotherapists in key areas such as the back, neck, shoulder girdle, hip and sacroiliac, knee, foot, pregnancy and arthritis. Furthermore, I have an avid interest in sports and injury prevention; helping to train athletes, from amateurs to professionals, to help them prevent injuries and improve their performance, or help them recover from injury.
Men’s Pilates
There is much misconception that Pilates (and Yoga) is for women, or, often men will say, I can’t do Pilates because I am not flexible. To that I would say, that is exactly why you need to do Pilates! However, Pilates has now become a necessary training component for sports players, such as footballers, tennis players, rugby players etc, with coaches recognising the high value of improving mobility, flexibility, core strength and functional strength. I believe all men should incorporate some Pilates or yoga into their lives; it helps to correct imbalances in the body, improves posture, core strength, mobility and flexibility.
In my Men’s Pilates class, all the exercises I teach are specifically chosen for the male body and I offer levels so there is something for every one. I work a lot on the core muscles, firstly starting with correct technique (technique is everything and it is common to see men push their abs out and strain (which is counter productive and can lead to hernias), rather than drawing in the transverse abdominus (the key core muscle responsible for flattening the tummy area). I also focus on stretching the muscles that are commonly tight in men and strengthen the muscles that are weak; helping with injury prevention and general health and wellbeing of the body.