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Can Pilates help?
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wrote you a solid response but the website ate it. I'll try again later. The short answer is hell, yes, core exercises help, and that goes WAY beyond crunches.

\m/
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spyder



Joined: 24 Sep 1996
Posts: 2790
Location: oahu

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

get a bowflex, they rock !
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jp5



Joined: 19 May 1998
Posts: 3394
Location: OnUr6

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Advil, weight training and bicycle riding help me in between sessions but there is no substitute for the real thing.
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castro_j



Joined: 14 Nov 2005
Posts: 16

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree, the best way is to sail. But, Sailing alone doesn't equate to
complete fitness, hence your bike training. I think the best cross-training
for the core muscles is running, fast, slow, whatever; you don't realize how much it does and it slims down your core.
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coachg



Joined: 10 Sep 2000
Posts: 3549

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 11:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I prefer the Concept II olympic rowing machine myself. For me it has been the best cross-training tool for windsurfing.

Coachg
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dbrock



Joined: 01 Jul 1995
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:49 pm    Post subject: pilates for windsurfing Reply with quote

I am a physical therapist in the Bay Area. I teach pilates not only as part of back rehab, but also legs, shoulders, etc. Pilates builds the core muscles that support the trunk. The stronger and more rigid you can make your trunk, the more efficiently power from the sail is transfered from your arms and harness the board. The result is more speed and less fatigue. Look at the difference between someone sailing that is always breaking at the waist versus a sailor who stands in a more rigid profile with the front leg straight and the back leg being used for shock absorption. Everytime the first sailor breaks at the waist, power that would be transferred to the board is lost. Now, next time you sail, assume a more rigid profile by tightening you butt and abdominal/core muscles and you can feel the difference. It is like stepping on the gas. Now, get those muscles in shape so they are really strong and you are on to something.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One of my trainers is also a med student who runs a pro athlete performance testing and training lab. He says the difference between wannabe athletes (including most college athletes) and those who make the pros is core strength. Without it, an athlete's bulging pecs and lats and biceps and forearms are linked to his bulging glutes and gastrocs and quads and hams by Jello. There are four layers of muscle in our trunks, with the "core muscles" being the innermost, buried deep and out of sight. Crunches and six-pack abs? Cosmetic. Core muscles? Function and performance. Google terms like core muscle training pilates for a great deal of discussion on the topic. You'll find, among many other pointers, that the most effective core strength exercise is a variety of planks.

\m/
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Depends on whether you know your apples from your pears. Wink
If your wide part is in your hips, fitness trumps weight. But if your wide part is at the waist -- an apple, aka a pot belly -- it is life-shortening even if you're otherwise fit.

\m/
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I didn't know until I read up on them whether "Pilates" and "core strength" were just new buzz words or valid concepts. I'm now convinced they're valid and important for several reasons, from athletic performance to reduction in many aches and pains in our backs and other locations. You and I sound of similar proportions, at (almost) 5'10" and 190 with emphasis on the chest. In addition, core strength emphasis seems to have increased my waist size while shrinking my visible waist fat level. I think it's a hoot that this almost-64-yo out-tapes (neck, chest, biceps, forearms, thighs, etc.) the vast majority of heavyweight boxers in their prime and sports a VO2Max -- the gold standard measure of cardiorespiratory fitness -- measured at literally off the percentile scale for my age bracket. Even then, I can very easily feel the improvement in sports and everyday physical tasks that core exercises have made for me.

\m/
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alohannie



Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 19

PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

swim. keeps you in the water and keeps your strength up.
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