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Recently saw an article about male athletes doing Pilates and it reminded me of my male students and their own experiences in our studio.

 

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Even though Pilates seems to attract a lot more females, guys are usually the ones who seem the most intrigued about our practice.

Perhaps it’s because most of them are typical fitness buffs who work out at the gym doing the usual weight training thing, strength to them always comes at a cost of flexibility.

When they come to BodyTree and try out our Mobility Fitness Assessment, most of them find that the strength training that they’ve been doing actually impedes their ability to move well, and in most cases, the exercises that they’ve been doing have not activated the “correct” muscles that they intended to work.

But in a gym setting where the more weights you load, the merrier.. our bodies have no choice but to compensate in ways that allow us to do whatever we demand of it.

Ever felt more quads than hamstrings and glutes in a squat or deadlift? More delts or upper traps than mid traps in a row? Or more neck and lower back in abdominals work?

These are usually the most common compensations I’ve seen. (Not exclusive to males, of course! Most of my female students have more dominant quads – and if you’re doing Barre you’d understand what I mean!!)

 

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Running, rock climbing, basketball, football, tennis, bowling, taekwondo.. you name it, these guys are always trying to keep active. And maybe that’s why they decided to pick up Pilates, because they’re always looking for ways to improve in their movement.

However, because of their very active lifestyles, they’ve also usually got a list of injuries from all those compensations over the years..

So they are usually always incredibly appreciative and excited about their progress, especially after feeling how it helps them improve in their strength and flexibility and seeing the results in their sport.

 

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Once you gain an awareness of your muscles and your body, it really helps you to feel secure that whatever you’re doing in the gym is actually going to benefit the correct muscle group that you intend to work.

I’m willing to bet that 9/10 of the guys who go to the gym can’t lift their arms straight above their head without (compensating) arching their spine!

Come by for a Mobility Fitness Assessment with me and prove me wrong! 🤨

Will work out for cheese pizza