Overview
Joseph Pilates created and developed his conditioning method in the early 20th century, but he believed that his work was 50 years ahead of its time. The technique began as an elite exercise system for athletes and dancers. Mainstream fitness centers did not embrace the method until the late 1980s. Facility managers tested the waters by offering Pilates mat classes. Inspired by their members’ enthusiasm, some centers purchased Pilates equipment. “Pilates reformer” and “Pilates chair” gradually became household terms.
History
Joseph Pilates, born in Germany in 1880, began life as a sickly child, inflicted with illnesses such as asthma and rickets. He developed his method to overcome his physical limitations but ended up surpassing them, and became a skilled, all-sport athlete. Pilates moved to England and worked as a boxer, circus performer and self-defense instructor. When World War I broke out, British officials sent him to an internment camp, where he developed an exercise regimen for fellow prisoners. Pilates rigged the camp hospital bedsprings and created a resistance exercise machine. This innovation inspired him to develop other types of equipment.
Time Frame
Pilates came to America in the 1920s. He opened a New York City exercise studio. His clients included professional dancers and elite athletes. Pilates built an equipment workshop under his Eighth Avenue studio. A beer keg inspired the Pilates barrel, and the steel keg hoops inspired the Pilates fitness circle. Chinese acrobats performing on a box inspired the chair. After his death, Pilates’ student Romana Kryzanowska took over the studio. She contacted Frank Gratz, a structural engineer, and asked him to manufacture the Pilates equipment line. Gratz changed equipment frames from wood to steel. His son now owns the business.
Function
Joseph Pilates designed his multifunctional machines to work every muscle of the body, sometimes simultaneously. The equipment develops strength and flexibility while enhancing balance, core strength, coordination and athleticism. Many of the machines have sport or dance-specific functions, such as external hip rotation, spinal flexion and extension and upper-body mobility.
Features
The specific equipment form and features follows their function. The Pilates reformer’s gliding carriage, springs and cables improve strength. The barrel’s shape facilitates spinal flexion, extension and lateral flexibility, and the chair pedals strengthen the feet, wrists and ankles. The portable magic circle has padding on the inside and outside, making it an ergonomic and comfortable choice for outer-thigh, inner-thigh and upper-body exercises.
Warning
The top Pilates equipment manufacturers include Stott, Gratz, Balanced Body, Peak Pilates and Basi. While home-equipment manufacturers create Pilates equipment knock-offs, these low-quality machines usually have a short life span. Most of the major manufacturers also make home models. They cost more than the low-quality Pilates equipment, but their durability makes them worth the price. Novice Pilates enthusiasts should engage a certified instructor’s services.
About this Author
Lisa Marie Mercer has been a professional writer for nearly 10 years. She has authored “Open Your Heart with Winter Fitness,” “Breckenridge: A Guide to the Sights and Slopes of Summit County” and “101 Fitness Tips for Women.” She’s worked as a fitness professional, tour guide and ski resort employee. Her work has appeared in “Aspen Magazine,” “HerSports,” “The Professional Skier,” “Pregnancy Magazine” and “Wired.”
