Some workouts deliver great results. Some workouts are fun. Some workouts are safe for all age groups. The challenge is finding one that hits all three marks.
Pilates instructor Leslie Lawson says it’s challenging, but not impossible. Lawson herself had to find a fun, fulfilling, and safe workout after being forced to quit lifting weights at the gym and practicing pole dancing for fitness due to a shoulder injury.
Having already tried Pilates when she was younger, Lawson knew Pilates was extremely safe, extremely effective, and extremely fun. Moreover, it’s a full-body exercise, which meant she wouldn’t be placing excess stress on her shoulder, which was still recovering at the time.
“One of the biggest benefits of Pilates is that work your body as a whole,” says Lawson, “every part is integrated. Through proper integration there is less chance of injury due to compensation.”
Once her shoulder had fully healed, Leslie Lawson never looked back. She quit her job as a freelance live graphic operator for clients such as CBS, Univision, andMTV and opened her own Pilates studio. Now, one of her main goals is to help more people realize that Pilates is for everyone.
“I wish more men practiced Pilates,” says Lawson. “A lot of Pilates studios cater to women, but we’re leaving out half of the population.”
Looking at the workout routines of some of this generation’s most decorated athletes, it seems Lawson is headed in the right direction. After all, it’s not just female sensations like Maria Sharapova and Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin who include Pilates in their training. Even LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo, for instance, have incorporated Pilates into their weekly workout routines, and it has helped them get into even better, more superhuman shape.
Drawing from these examples, Leslie Lawson explains that all genders and age groups can benefit from Pilates by achieving a balance between strength and flexibility.
“Just because you’re strong, doesn’t mean you’re necessarily flexible,” adds Lawson. “Say you see a bodybuilder. They may think they have nothing to gain from Pilates. But lifting a lot of weight through mid range of motion isn’t the same as having strong connective tissue. By strengthening muscles, tendons and ligaments at their end range of motion, we can improve the quality of those tissues, thus vastly improving mobility and athleticism.”
She continues to explain, however, that it goes both ways. “If someone is naturally flexible,” Lawson says, “they may be drawn to dance or yoga. However, if they lack strength at their end ranges of flexibility, they may be prone to injury.”
With all these in mind, Lawson strives to improve strength, flexibility, mobility, posture, balance, and body awareness in her students, regardless of their age, gender, background, and even history with injuries—just like hers.
Citing a study by USA Today, Lawson says one of the greatest predictors of how long a person willlive may be their ability to stand on one foot for ten seconds. Although this is an observational study and more research needs to be done, if a person is unable to do this, they are said to be twice as likely to pass away in the next decade. With her studio, Renegade Pilates, Leslie Lawson hopes to extend as many lives as possible, one Pilates class at a time.
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.