By Cathy Terrazas
As Pilates teachers, we work with a variety of people at varying levels of fitness and Pilates experience. Pilates teaches us to balance the body and work both sides evenly. In fact, the Pilates system is brilliantly designed with exercises that challenge both bilateral and unilateral movement across multiple apparatus. Somehow, after 20 years of teaching, there is still one common theme I hear from clients – “that is my stronger side” or “that is my weaker side.” Is there more we can do to help our clients balance out their right and left sides? Can we help their weaker side get stronger? Can we challenge their Powerhouse in fun new ways?
The answer is yes! The tool we can use: incorporating unilateral variations into your Tower classes and private sessions. The Tower (or Cadillac) is a great place to incorporate unilateral work due to its versatility and design.
What does unilateral mean? Unilateral exercise means performing a movement using one limb – an arm or a leg – at a time. Unilateral exercises isolate one side of the body, forcing it to work independently. The body can produce more force per limb when each limb is worked separately. Even though more force can be produced in bilateral movement (squat), each limb is working less than it would if it were working separately (unilateral).
The benefits of incorporating unilateral work into your classes and sessions are numerous.
- Can help identify and correct muscle imbalances between sides/limbs
- Can improve functional strength for everyday movements such as walking, stairs, carrying children, luggage, or groceries and other activities that require single-sided movements
- Can improve balance and coordination
- Can help with injury prevention and rehab
- Can improve mind-body or mind-muscle connection
Join me on Friday, October 24th and we will learn unilateral variations on all parts of the Tower – Rollback Bar, Arm Springs, Leg Springs, and Push Through Bar. We will also cover programming tips for adding variety, challenge, and fun to your classes and sessions.