If you’ve ever been in class with me, you will have heard me say time and time again that your body is strong, is capable, and is powerful. This is all true, but it’s also true that our bodies get tired, and it’s imperative that we learn to respect our limits, and listen to our bodies when they speak to us. Rest is not a sin, it is a privilege.
It’s true that you’ll see (and feel) changes in your strength and mobility the more you push your body, but there is a fine line between pushing to the point of improvement, and pushing to the point of injury; this is precisely why in Pilates, and any other sport, it is absolutely crucial that you only work to a point that feels right in your body, whether that means dropping the weight, or not progressing to the most advanced layer of an exercise. In addition, I have to remind you that the ‘limit’ of your energy will change! Depending on your other daily activities, your nutrition, your mood – and ladies, the time of the month too – your energy levels will shift, so we need to respect this, and adapt our exercise accordingly. This might mean taking an extra rest day, or taking a break in your workout, which can feel counter-intuitive, but ultimately protecting yourself from injury and over-work will cultivate a stronger, more able and more resilient body.
On social media, there are so many voices telling us to “push until failure” in order to see results, or that if your muscles don’t ache the following day, you haven’t worked hard enough. In reality, this advice – though it may come from a place of love – can be extremely harmful. A body that is pushed to the point of pain will become resistant to movement, and prone to injury. This doesn’t mean you can’t exercise and feel that ‘burn’ we all talk about, but it does mean that rest and recovery should be prioritised above all else.
In Pilates, we have frequent ‘release stretches’, and a 5-10 minute warm up and cool down in every single class, which includes a range of mobility exercises and both static and dynamic stretching. Along with improving flexibility, these gentle movements prime our bodies for the exercise we are about to complete, and restore our muscles to their pre-exercise length, in order to promote faster recovery, and prevent what we call DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), which comes from having stretched or torn our muscles in exercise, and not having stretched properly afterward. (Note: post-exercise stretching doesn’t necessarily eliminate DOMS, but it will make any lasting soreness less severe, and shorter-lived).
Next time you feel ‘off’, or you come down with a sickness, or your body suddenly feels a little weaker on the day, I implore you to listen to your body. Your body is intelligent: it knows its limits, and knows how far it can be pushed before it breaks. It’s far better to complete an ‘easier’ exercise correctly, than push to an advanced level and risk injury. It does not matter what anyone else around you is doing, in class or on social media, or even what you yourself may have been capable of on a previous day – what matters is listening to your body in the moment, and respecting its boundaries.
All my love,
Melie x
