Other Training

The Pilates Method (sometimes simply Pilates) is a physical fitness system that was developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates. more...

Home
Cables, Connectors
Filers, Load Balancers
Home Networking, Cable & DSL
Hubs
KVM Switch Boxes, Cables
Mainframe, DEC, VAX, AS/400
Network Interface Cards,...
Networking, Telecom Tools
Other Networking Equipment
Print Servers, Wired
Racks, Mounts & Patch Panels
Router Components, Memory
Routers, Wired
Security, Firewall, VPN
Server Components, Memory
Servers
Software
Antivirus, Security,...
Apple, Macintosh Software
Business & Productivity
Database & Development Tools
C Languages
Borland
Macromedia
Microsoft
MS Other
MS Visual Basic
MS Visual C#
MS Visual C++
MS Visual Studio
Other C Languages
Databases
IBM
Microsoft
MS Access
MS SQL Server
Oracle
Other Databases
Other MS
Java
Borland
Macromedia
Microsoft
Other
Other Database & Development
Perl
Training & Reference
C Languages
Databases
Java
Other Training
Web Development Tools
Adobe
Macromedia
Microsoft
Other Web Development
Digital Music & Video...
Downloadable Software
Education & Reference
Games & Entertainment
Graphics, Photo & Publishing
Handheld Software
Internet Related Utilities
Kids' Software
Networking
Operating Systems
Other Software
Wholesale Lots
Software, Operating Systems
Storage Equipment, NAS, SAN
Switch Components, Memory
Switches
Telephone Systems, Telecom
UPS, Power Protection, APC
Wholesale Lots
Wireless Networking, WiFi
Workstation Components,...
Workstations, Terminals

Pilates wrote at least two books about the Pilates method: Return to Life through Contrology and Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising That Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education.

Pilates called his method Contrology, which refers to the way the method encourages the use of the mind to control the muscles. The program focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and strengthen the deep torso muscles, which are important to help alleviate and prevent back pain.

History

Born in 1880 in Düsseldorf, Germany, Joseph Pilates, a German national of Greek descent, became an avid exercise enthusiast (skier, gymnast, diver, martial arts student) and developed his body into superb condition. In his teens, he was used as a model for fitness charts. Traveling to England before the First World War, he worked as a boxer and circus performer. During WWI, he was interned in the Isle of Man with other German nationals and POWs. A trained nurse in his native Germany, he was investigating ways that he could rehabilitate bed-ridden victims of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Thus he created a series of movements that could be practiced within the confines of this controlled environment. The Pilates Reformer (a piece of Pilates apparatus) is based on an old hospital bed. Returning to Germany briefly after the war, he then began training professional boxers, notably heavyweight champion Max Schmeling, and police officers. He then moved to the United States and opened his own training studio in New York City in 1926 with his wife Clara.

Instead of performing many repetitions of each exercise, Pilates preferred fewer, more precise movements, requiring control and form. He designed more than 500 specific exercises. The most frequent form, called "matwork," involves a series of calisthenic motions performed without weight or apparatus on a padded mat. He believed that mental health and physical health were essential to one another. Pilates created what is claimed to be a method of total body conditioning that emphasizes proper alignment, centering, concentration, control, precision, breathing, and flowing movement (The Pilates Principles) that results in increased flexibility, strength, body awareness, energy, and improved mental concentration. Pilates also designed five major pieces of unique exercise equipment that he claimed should be used for best results. Although the two components are often taught separately now, the method was always meant to combine both matwork and equipment exercises. In all forms, the "powerhouse" (abdomen, lower back, and buttocks) is supported and strengthened, enabling the rest of the body to move freely.

Read more at Wikipedia.org