I’ve always believed that my Pilates qualifications (I have a few) influence the way I conduct my personal training/strength sessions (there’s some pretty major gaps in Personal Training qualifications- I’ve filled a lot of those gaps with my Pilates knowledge).
But the opposite of that is also true. My personal training / strength qualifications influence the way I carry out my Pilates sessions. How?
PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD!!!
Progressive Overload is a strength training principle. Basically-
the concept is to make workouts more challenging over time to place greater stress on your musculoskeletal and nervous systems.
It can help you gain strength, encourage muscle growth, and build endurance.
It sounds pretty basic and logical, right?
Yet, it’s still overlooked and not properly applied in many fitness settings.
To progressively overload you need to plan workouts and think about how each workout will progress onto the next.
This is exactly how I carry out my Pilates sessions (both face to face and online). I don’t just rock up to class and do whatever I feel like teaching on the day. It’s not random.
I plan it for you. I think about what I’d like to teach you over a term and then put it all together, kinda like a jig saw puzzle.
For example, the focus this term is shoulder mobility and strength. Over the 12 week term we will progressively build on exercises involving the gleno-numeral joint (shoulders) and scapulas (shoulder blades).
I take you through a variety of movements including-
Not exactly in that order and certainly not all in one class, but I plan it and deliver it in the most palatable way I possibly can.
You may hear me throw those words around here and there. You may even start to understand what these words mean yourself.
So, you’re being guided through movement in a progressive way, week by week building on each movement (whether or not you understand the meaning of those fancy words or not) by someone who knows how to progressively design a workout plan and carry it out to meet the needs of those in the class.
But how can you progressively overload in a class with 15 people all of whom have different abilities & strengths?
Great question!
I do this by getting to know you and how you move, offering modifications for movements where necessary (progressions or regressions) including helping you choose the correct weight, the correct repetition range, range of movement, cueing etc etc
Why is this so important? Because staying stagnant (ie not progressing by over time) is not only boring but also not beneficial in the long term for you. We want to stimulate bone and muscle cells to lay down more bone and muscle cells. Remember we loose between6-10% muscle mass per decade. Bone density also decreases. We fight this my stimulating our muscles and bones overtime via progressive overload.
Moral of the story? Pick an instructor who knows how to apply progressive overload. Click here to get started with me online.
