Proclaiming the Significance of Mat Work and how it Complements all Apparatus Work

By Aspasia P. Simeone

 

I study and teach Pilates for over 20 years. I began as a certified fitness instructor when ‘strength training’ and ‘high impact aerobics’ cornered the market in the fitness arenas. Pilates did occupy a small corner so to speak in some of the popular fitness centers, but only on Mat and with a small variety of props made available, nothing more. Quite often Pilates appeared in the Yoga section of the schedule.

We know from history that the young Joseph Pilates was a fitness enthusiast of all sorts. He studied and incorporated many East and West practices into his doctrine and from that combined these concepts into his union for health and fitness. Some people would categorize him as a visionary. I being one of them. He developed the early makeshift Pilates apparatus at the time of his internment in England during WWI. Although intentionally for the sole purpose of providing injured interns a means to exercise and rehabilitate from their hospital beds, this truly was an extraordinary concept for that time period especially with such limited provisions. Applying the principles of tension springs (simulating the compression forces of gravity), patients unable to stand upright and work freely with weights, now had the opportunity to work horizontally and do so in bed. Since his exercise regiments encompassed a diverse range of abilities from the non-bed confined participants, the limited availability of any exercise gear likely inspired much of the Mat work we know today. The years Joseph Pilates spent in confinement certainly were busy and productive. 

For those people that shy away from Mat work, this article is for you. Please know Mat work will only enhance your experiences on the classic Reformer and any Pilates apparatus including but not limited to the Chair, Barrel or Tower. If given the chance, Mat work can satisfy a wide range of demands from portability to personal challenge, so keep an open mind, and all you need is a quality Pilates Mat!  

The Pilates 6 principles: Breath-Concentration-Centering-Control-Precision-Flow are the basis of the Pilates method and the same whether applied on Mat or Apparatus. The strict adherence to these criteria is what sets Pilates apart from other disciplines. A personal connection with these principles is essential. My personal creed has always been ‘The more I understand, the better I teach…the better I teach, the more my clients understand’.

Let’s take a quick look at the Reformer mechanism and compare it to Mat:

Reformer: The modern basic Reformer, regardless of manufacturing brand, is just that, basic in design. Designed along similar lines with Joseph Pilates original device, it consists of a moveable carriage attached to a fixed frame via expandable tension springs. The carriage slides along tracks, driven by a set of adjustable straps fixed at one end that glide over an anchored pulley system. The straps (foot, thigh or hand placement) control the spring resistance through expansion and compression, dependent on the action applied. Mostly one size fits all, but adjustable in the Foot-bar to Shoulder-block length and the Foot-bar to Carriage height. With the addition of a few props like Box and Jump-Board, you can complete exercises in all the planes of movement and your feet never touch the ground. On the Reformer the physical boundaries, connection, and spatial awareness is more defined. Symmetry is easier addressed. The participant is the focal point, coupled with their relation to a moveable platform. Centering and balance is accentuated through the effort of the tension springs.   

Mat: A good quality Pilates Mat is crucial to support the body weight and any bony skeletal structures making direct contact with the Mat. Unless props are involved there is nothing between the participant and the Mat so to ensure a smooth comfortable experience the Mat should be adequate. The Mat requires more proprioception. Spatial perception is highlighted. The focal point is the participant and their movement relative to the fixed Mat and the direction of their gaze. An innate awareness to centering and balance is heightened thereby counterbalancing the natural effects of gravity.  

Reasons to consider Mat in the 6 Pilates principles:  

·         Breath: We know that gravity is a force in nature that our bodies must constantly oppose and overcome so that we can physically function. We find that balance through our skeletal and muscular anatomy. This allows us to breath, stand upright and perform all that is needed throughout our life. As Mat work utilizes this natural force in its entity, it make perfect sense that this routine would integrate the breath easiest with the movement, and develop a natural connection.

 

·         Concentration: People tend to gravitate, no pun intended, toward the Reformer before Mat work because they are of the mindset that believes machines enhance exercise routines and offers more in the way of strength gains and variety. These practices sometimes become rote and therefore require little effort in recruiting the muscle activation over time. Variation from equipment to Mat is recommended to keep the routines fresh and experience a deeper mind-body association, through concentration.

   

·         Center: It is often suggested when a new student is beginning in Pilates to seek out Mat classes first. The execution from Mat is apparent where from the Reformer more instruction and direction is required. As there is no equipment between the participant and the exercise, Mat work commands an immediate response and connection to one’s center: the Core.

 

·         Control: Although the external forces applied by the participant are what drives the Pilates Reformer, opposing gravity and one’s own body weight is what propels the exerciser on the Mat. Spontaneous and voluntary muscle recruitment counter balance and control the Mat exercise. The muscles work against gravity to either balance the body position or depending on direction, control the motion. The strength gains from Mat work are parallel to any Pilates apparatus.

 

·         Precision: People are efficient at repeating physical tasks over a long interval of time. As the brain becomes familiar with the practice it will create a pathway to a memory that can be easily retrieved. This is great for some daily activities that need practice to improve and can certainly be applied to retaining the classical Mat arrangement. This recall ability then becomes invaluable so that progression, development and precision are the primary ojectives.

 

·         Flow: The classical order that defines Mat work can be a challenge to appreciate at the onset of a new Mat curriculum. To the unexpected, this pre-determined exercise order may appear without an agenda. However, I assure anyone that is exploring this matter, take the time to perform each exercise, practice often and most of all have patience. Eventually the flow will feel natural. and “ in 10 sessions you will feel the difference, in 20 sessions you will see the difference, in 30 sessions you will have a whole new body”…Joseph Pilates

Pilates Performed from the Tower vs Reformer

By Aspasia P. Simeone

  

Gazing upon the modern Pilates Trapeze with its open canopy frame design, keep in mind what is known of Joseph Pilates’ early chronical years performing as a circus acrobat and bear witness to transformation. Still the fascinating truth inspiring these accomplishments is reflected in the simplicity of the earlier prototypes and aesthetics, making them evolutionary. It was during his WWI internment in England, when his resourceful notions manifested and clearly laid the foundation for the modern marvels forthcoming. As the Reformer stands alone, the Trapeze and Tower are close counterparts in mechanical functionality. 

Historical references exhibit these earlier devices with his usage of bed head-boards and/or bed foot-boards, acting as spring anchor positions. Already we can see the Tower developing. The most remarkable function of these earlier concepts is how they translate into modern forms not far from the originals. Although the equipment function between Reformer, Trapeze and Tower are different, the muscle function response in all forms, remains true to the Pilates Method for lengthening and strengthening through opposing efforts.

Conceptually, remove the canopy from the Trapeze and we have the Tower. Tower extension springs can intentionally work the muscles unilaterally as two individual springs designating equivalent strengths are fixed to eyebolts equally positioned from a central point on either the Tower Arch, Cadillac Frame or Spring Board, working independently from one another on a non-mobile platform. Pairs of eyebolts are secured at predetermined intervals offering multi height levels for exercise options. In comparison to the Reformers’ tension springs that secure the mobile carriage to the frame and are driven by one set of rope-cables unintended for independent action, unless deliberately setup to do so. Clearly from a Reformer perspective, the weight of the users’ body is applied to the spring expansion tension when the carriage is in motion and in order to work the muscles unilaterally, one anatomical side must execute the movement unaccompanied by the mirrored side. This requires great attention to unilateral stabilization from this stationary unyielding side. Whereas, from the Tower arrangement, the task from both anatomical sides can be performed concurrently yet independently, requiring attention to bilateral stabilization, on a fixed platform. Both apparatus offer immense benefits in Pilates training and when available should greatly be considered.   

The noted difference with respect to executing the exercises from either the Tower or the Reformer is that the Reformer carriage always moves away from the base frame during tension spring-expansion and is not directly in line with the user, but always parallel to the carriage. The carriage acts as a sled moving the user in the direction of the resistance and adding the users’ weight to the load. On the Reformer the rope-cables of a predetermined adjustable length are independently attached on either side of one end to the Reformer which glide over a fixed pulley system driving the sled. (The fixed pulley system is variable in height on some models). Reformer ropes move opposite in direction to the spring resistance and are proportional to the bilateral muscle force applied.

The Tower extension-springs on the other hand, almost always follow the angle and direction of motion of the user when the springs are separately attached to individual eyebolts and not joined via a Roll-Bar or Push-Through-Bar, where directional restrictions do apply. In both systems, Tower and Reformer, execution of motion is driven by the expansion and recoiling of the springs and controlled by the user but unilateral and bilateral muscle activation is an important variance between the two apparatus. (From this perspective both types of apparatus offer “open-chain-kinetic (pseudo-closed-chain)” exercise but also can perform “complete-closed-chain-kinetic” activities which will be clarified in a later posting.)

Both Apparatus’ usage of tension springs function on the expansion and compression properties of the springs. Applying the positive forces needed to expand the spring length, or resist the recoil force to slow the return (counterbalance), Tower and Reformer offer a great variety. The physical laws that apply to tension springs simulate the compression forces of gravity and therefore offer productive-strengthening ways to exercise without overloading the joints.   

We know the human body is not completely symmetrical in terms of the internal organs, skeletal structure and muscles anatomy and as result not exactly proportioned in strength and size. Anatomically it is the Sagittal (also known as the Longitudinal) plane of movement that sections the body into a right and left side respectively and the Frontal plane that designates the front-body from the back-body. The Core by definition as a whole is included in the Horizontal plane (ones cross section), while the complete spinal progression, Core stabilization and skeletal/muscle actions incorporate all three dimensional planes. Each plane has a midline that intersect at a common point, and we use this to orient an imagery of lengthening in Pilates. In an attempt to counteract and nuetralize some of these unsymmetrical disparities we have in the human anatomy, correcting the muscle imbalances can help achieve optimal equilibrium throughout the body as a whole. Working 360 degrees through all the planes of movement, together and independently, the Pilates Method aims to fulfill this objective by coupling natural motion with the 6 Pilates principles: Centering, Concentration, Control, Precision, Breath and Flow. Both the Reformer and Tower offer equal significance in all aspects of Pilates performance, and therefore selection becomes goal oriented and definitely encouraged!