2008 Woodie Awards
Bend and stretch
Pilates gets students into shape
Emily Sterrie
Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: Features
So the new semester is finally under way, the Christmas cookies are all long-gone and here won't be another home-cooked meal until at least Easter. Yes, spring is finally on its way, and along with spring comes, duh, Spring Break.
If you're like a lot of students, this sudden realization can leave you positively chilled with a mixture of tense anticipation and nervous anxiety. On the one hand, you could already use a vacation, but on the other hand, you've had one-too-many helpings of mom's holiday ham. Spring Break will be here so soon it's frightening, but before scrambling for the diet pills, consider this no-strings-attached body makeover: it's called Pilates.
The Pilates movement has been growing rapidly over the last several years, thanks partially to a string of celebrity endorsements, but it has really become popular because it works, plain and simple. Angela Armstrong is the Pilates instructor at MTSU with four years of certified experience, and she says she couldn't be happier about the rise of the Pilates movement, which she has witnessed first-hand in the overwhelming growth of her classes.
"Pilates is such an effective tool, an effective workout, that word of mouth has really made it popular," Armstrong said.
With so many diet schemes and workout fads being marketed these days, Armstrong thinks people are naturally skeptical on the effectiveness of these techniques. "People are looking for things that have that reputation for being effective, and Pilates has that reputation."
Now what is Pilates, exactly? Essentially, it's a system that practices a series of floor exercises as well as spring-driven machines to increase strength, flexibility, stamina, and concentration, all adding up to create a body that's strong, healthy, and toned and a mind that's calm, cool, and collected. Armstrong explains that Pilates is a perfect balance of strengthening and conditioning the body.
"Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi-they all balance the body. When you work one muscle, you work the opposing, so you create strength in the body effectively," she said.
If you're like a lot of students, this sudden realization can leave you positively chilled with a mixture of tense anticipation and nervous anxiety. On the one hand, you could already use a vacation, but on the other hand, you've had one-too-many helpings of mom's holiday ham. Spring Break will be here so soon it's frightening, but before scrambling for the diet pills, consider this no-strings-attached body makeover: it's called Pilates.
The Pilates movement has been growing rapidly over the last several years, thanks partially to a string of celebrity endorsements, but it has really become popular because it works, plain and simple. Angela Armstrong is the Pilates instructor at MTSU with four years of certified experience, and she says she couldn't be happier about the rise of the Pilates movement, which she has witnessed first-hand in the overwhelming growth of her classes.
"Pilates is such an effective tool, an effective workout, that word of mouth has really made it popular," Armstrong said.
With so many diet schemes and workout fads being marketed these days, Armstrong thinks people are naturally skeptical on the effectiveness of these techniques. "People are looking for things that have that reputation for being effective, and Pilates has that reputation."
Now what is Pilates, exactly? Essentially, it's a system that practices a series of floor exercises as well as spring-driven machines to increase strength, flexibility, stamina, and concentration, all adding up to create a body that's strong, healthy, and toned and a mind that's calm, cool, and collected. Armstrong explains that Pilates is a perfect balance of strengthening and conditioning the body.
"Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi-they all balance the body. When you work one muscle, you work the opposing, so you create strength in the body effectively," she said.
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