The pool is there, the ideal piece of at home exercise equipment.  You can almost hear it, beckoning you to….exercise.  But you know you need more than just an aerobic workout; you need strength and flexibility training, too.  Now, Poolates™ offers you a terrific opportunity to improve and soothe your body in your own backyard.  This marriage of the basic Pilates principles with the benefits of water exercise brings you the chance to gain strength, tone, balance, and improve flexibility in the gentle, flowing, aquatic environment.  The result will be a posture-perfect, streamlined and efficient body without having to leave home.

I developed the Poolates™ program when several of my land-based Pilates clients wanted me to customize exercises they could do in their swimming pools. A lap swimmer wanted to convert his mat Pilates time to pool time, another was overweight and preferred the stress-free water; a third had arthritis, and while Pilates helped, getting up and down off the equipment was very uncomfortable.  “Why can’t we do our Pilates in the water?” they all asked.   

Thinking about their question I decided to develop a good program that would be true to the time tested Pilates principles of breathing, centering, control, concentration, awareness, precision, fluidity and efficiency of movement, while incorporating the powerful, gentle benefits of water exercise. 

While taking the principles and movements of Pilates to the pool, I discovered that the aquatic environment was actually more challenging than land is for stabilization and balance work.  Water is also usually safer, because falls in the water do not carry the same risk of joint injury as do falls on land.  To initiate limb movement from your powerhouse (primarily abdominal and back muscles) in a controlled and precise manner, while the water is constantly moving around you, is no mean feat.  It takes concentration and a sense of humor.

Through giving both one to one Poolates™ training and group classes I find that whether you’re a gym rat needing an outdoor break in the summer, or you are recovering from an injury (or hoping to prevent one) Poolates™ is a fun way to accommodate most lifestyles, skill levels and training needs.  So come on out to your backyard and lets do some Poolates™.

Before you start, be sure that your water temperature ranges between 84and 88 F because your muscles will respond best to warm water.  If your water is on the cool end of the spectrum, you may wish to wear a water-resistant shirt to cover your upper body when it is out of the water.  
 
Remember too that Poolates™ is NOT about jumping and gyrating in the water.  To the contrary, our emphasis is on core control and stability enabling you to work from your body powerhouse while keeping the rest of your body either quiet or completely controlled. Proper postural alignment and breathing are crucial to this.