November 18 2009 by admin.

As soon as you begin taking control of your health, you will begin investing in your future.

A recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people who gain weight early in life may be at a greater risk for mobility problems later in life, compared to people with lower weights in their younger years.

The heavier a person is, the more stress their body undergoes to move that mass. A web of soft connective tissue called fascia provides support and protection all over your body. Lots of fascia is used to stabilize bodies with lots of mass, and this extra support can hinder joint mobility.

In addition to the obvious joints, like the shoulders, knees and hips, extra fascia can lessen the mobility of the vertebral joints (think low back and neck), as well as the feet and ankles.

At IM=X Pilates Blue Bell, we understand pilates doesn’t connect with everyone. However, encourage your friends and loved ones to do something, anything that gets them moving. We are happy to teach our fundamentals and stabilizing techniques to take back to gym, the street, the court, the course or anywhere else you get your daily activity.

This study was reported in the July-August 2009 IDEA Fitness Journal.

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September 16 2009 by admin.

Autumn is almost here, kids are back in school, and Sundays are back on the IM=X Pilates Blue Bell schedule! Sign up now to secure your spot, since only 2 classes are offered per Sunday.

Visit the Online Schedule here and log in to choose your class times.

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August 19 2009 by admin.

Cycling is a great fitness option- fresh air, moving scenery and no impact. However, research is finding that cyclists may be at a greater risk for osteoporosis in their lumbar spines, or low back. The study compared competitive male road cyclists with other, moderately active men. It found that despite the cyclists’ higher calcium intake, they had “significantly lower” bone density, and it was not associated with testosterone. IDEA Fitness Journal replies, “…the answer is strength training and cross training…for greater bone density in the spine.”

The IMX Pilates program specifically addresses spine health and strength by training the supporting muscles for endurance and flexibility. Osteoporosis is a serious concern that IMX Pilates Blue Bell can help cyclists prevent.

This study was reported in the July-August 2009 IDEA Fitness Journal.

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August 10 2009 by admin.

Sunday August 23, join the IM=X Blue Bell Teaser Team and Team Captain Jill at the LIVESTRONG Philly challenge right here at Montgomery County Community College!

Jill and Jim at the 2009 March of Dimes event.

You can run or walk a  5K, or bike between 5 and 100 miles. You can cheer, chat with people at the IM=X Pilates Blue Bell Info Table, or even participate via stationary bikes if you’re not up to walking or road-biking.

Links to join online will be up soon, or you can see us at your next pilates class.

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July 20 2009 by admin.

Lots and lots of people suffer low back pain, or LBP. There are almost as many remedies out there for LBP: pills, tablets and gel caps, shoes and shoe inserts, physical therapy, heating pads, cooling gels- the list goes on and on.

The best pain relief methods turn out to be the ones least used. A study was conducted to determine what approaches are being used to manage LBP. It found that many patients turned down research-proven methods like exercise and physical therapy in favor of medication.

Bodies are full of imbalances and restrictions from our lifestyles. Correcting these and allowing strong muscles to stabilize the body by establishing safe movement patterns can actually remove stress from the spine and eliminate the pain, not just mask it. In addition, mobility problems in joints like the ankle, hip or even shoulder can contribute to LBP, so continuing to compensate for that immobility will continue to cause pain.

The upshot: exercise permanently helps low back pain. Train with a credible, certified fitness instructor or physical therapist, and make sure they’re using the latest medical research to influence your workout program. The IMX Pilates system uses this research in its 5 Fundamentals, which color every moment of your pilates workout. The IMX Pilates Blue Bell studio has these research briefs bound and displayed in the studio lounge for your browsing pleasure.

This study was reported in the July-August 2009 IDEA Fitness Journal.

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July 10 2009 by admin.

Think it’s harder to exercise at night? You may be right, just because you think so! Researcher have found that people stopped exercising about 15% earlier when they were mentally fatigued, because they felt more fatigued at the beginning of the session. This resulted in less time exercising, a lower heart rate and lower blood lactate levels, which indicates that the fatigued individuals didn’t work as hard, probably because they didn’t work out as long. Instead of getting winded or being physically fatigued, mental fatigue limits exercise tolerance by making you feel you are more tired.

How does IMX Pilates Blue Bell combat this phenomena? We have 2 ways:

1. Our class schedule includes early morning options for people to exercise before work.
2. Our evening classes are taught at a high-energy pace to compensate for your tired brains. Any of the IMX Pilates Blue Bell clients that have experienced Jim in the evening can vouch for this!

Since you can’t always exercise in a perfect world where you are mentally rested, rest assured IMX Pilates Blue Bell will do its best to work with your schedule’s quirks.

This study was reported in the July-August 2009 IDEA Fitness Journal.

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January 21 2009 by admin.

The September 2008 issue of IDEA Fitness Journal included a fascinating report about the effects of resistance training on people’s DNA. (Resistance training simply uses weight- body weight, free weights, or tubing, bands or springs.) As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass, strength and function; this is called sarcopenia (sar-co-PEEN-ee-ah). There are many possible reasons for this, and researchers “Melov and colleagues (2007) investigated whether resistance training actually affects some of the gene expressions associated with muscle aging, thus reversing the aging process.” Here’s the breakdown of the study:

-All subjects were nonsmokers

The 25 older subjects (around 68 years old) self-reported a very active lifestyle- walking, gardening, tennis or cycling 3 or more times per week

-The 26 younger subjects (around 24 years old) self-reported only modest recreational activity

-“The researchers deliberately chose a relatively active older population and a relatively sedentary younger population because they felt it would help them look at the effects of aging, rather than simple inactivity, if both groups were fairly well matched in terms of how active they were.”

-The study was 26 weeks long, and each participant exercised with supervision, using 12 resistance exercises, twice a week

-They began with 1 set of each exercise at half of their 1-repetition-maximum (1RM); they increased to 3 sets at 80% of their 1RM over the 26 weeks; and they retested their 1RM every 2 weeks to adjust their training loads

-They were also tested for strength in an isometric knee extension (holding the leg straight out from the knee) at the beginning and end of the study

-A piece of their thigh muscle was biopsied before and after to analyze their genes, and to compare differences between the subjects. The researchers were looking for specific genes that were unusually different in the older subjects, due to age

Results:

The researched found 596 genes that were unusually different. After the 26-week study, 179 of these showed a reversal of their expression- the genes weren’t as different as they were in the beginning of the study. It’s important to understand that all cells have DNA, and it gets copied as the cells reproduce. This means that the newer cells (made during the training) didn’t look or act as old as the older cells had (before the training). The researchers also found that the impaired energy-producing ability of the cells, due to inactivity, was reversing in response to the training.

The body’s cells were acting younger and more efficiently as the subjects exercised. This is a great reason to try a FREE Intro class at IM=X Pilates Blue Bell, or to get out of bed in time for that weekend class you’ve got scheduled! Read about the FREE Intro Session

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December 23 2008 by admin.

Never! Here is a great way to keep up your workouts- some exercises you can do even without rings, balls, Xercizers, or Jim bouncing around to the music. Hint: read it all first so you know what’s coming before you try it! As a hard-working IM=X Pilates Blue Bell client, you should understand and recognize most of what you read here. If you don’t, skip it. We’d rather you didn’t injure yourself.

Step 1: Do you have a yoga or pilates mat, a ring, a stretch band, a balance ball, or ankle or wrist weights? Go get them. If you don’t, go get a hand towel.

Step 2: Lie on your back, on your mat if you have one or on the floor. Carpet may be more comfortable! Knees in for a hug and a low back stretch. Legs out, stretch through the ribs and hips on one side, then the other, then both to get a neutral spine. KEEP THIS NEUTRAL SPINE!!!

Step 3a: Feet flat on the floor with something between your knees- a ring, a ball, a yoga block, a towel folded a few times. Walk the feet out from your butt to open up the front of your hips. Maintain your neutral spine.  Hold the thing between your knees with your Pelvic Floor (Don’t Pee Muscle), NOT your inner thighs!

Step 3b: This is where you can add the wrist weights, if you want more upper body work. The trick is Read the rest of this entry »

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December 22 2008 by admin.

Transition: Roll onto your belly. Head onto your forearm, draw the opposite foot into your butt. Reach for the pant leg/ankle/foot if you can/want to. Now, press up into an arch and kick back into your hand. Do the other side too!

Step 11: Put your hands in a diamond under your forehead,  OR place your arms in front of you like a sphinx. Press up into an arch. If you’re uncomfortable in your back, you’re too high. You only need to be 5 degrees off the floor to engage your muscles. Engage your pelvic floor (Don’t Pee Muscle) and reach your legs out behind you. For comparison’s sake, shrug your shoulders way up to your ears. Now, lower them as far from your ears as you can and feel your lats engage to keep those shoulders down.

Step 12a-b-c: Remember, you don’t need to lift more than 5 degrees. Raise the right leg up and down 10 times, then the left leg, then both legs. Feel your butt and hamstrings working, not your low back throwing your leg(s) up. Also, keep your hips evenly pressed into the floor. If you rock side to side, you need to re-engage your pelvic floor and watch how high you’re lifting.

Step 13a-b-c: Arms out to a T. Lift into the arch- pay attention to your shoulders and pelvic floor and low back! Do 3-5. Then, as you arch, turn the palms thumbs up- get used to the feeling of not pushing with your hands and only lifting from your lats. Do 3-5. Then, as you arch, swim the back of your hands back to your hips; return to the T with control.

Step 14: Arms out in front, slightly open, shoulders away from ears. Right arm, left leg- lift 5 times, then switch to opposite arm/leg for 5. Switch again for 4, opposite for 4. Switch 3, switch 3, switch 2, switch 2, back and forth for 1,1,1,1.

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December 21 2008 by admin.

Transition: Come to hands and knees. Round your back into cat stretch, reverse to dog stretch by lifting your chin and swaying your back, and into cat stretch again.

Step 15a: Step the right foot forward between your hands, and the left foot back into a lunge (iliopsoas stretch!). Press the hips down and through the left heel, shoulders away from the ears, float the head and engage the pelvic floor.

Step 15b: Move the right hand inside your right foot, and open the right knee to stretch the inner hip.

Step 16: Put the right thigh down on the floor and draw your right foot toward your butt. Reach back for the foot/ankle/pant leg, or not. Keep the thigh down on the floor, not the knee joint. Put the foot back down being very careful of your knee.

Step 17a-b: Find a safe way to sit down. You may be able to roll over onto your right butt and down, or the transition may be more involved. Sit with the right leg bent in, left leg stretched open in half of a V. Stretch toward the left leg for an inner thigh stretch.

Step 17c: Open the right leg to complete the V. Stretch to both sides and the middle; feet pointed Read the rest of this entry »

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