Hamstring Harmony: Balancing Strength and Flexibility 

Tight hamstrings are a common condition. The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way!

Hamstrings - What are they and where are they?

Your hamstrings are big muscles running down the back of your thighs. They connect the pelvis to the knee. There are three of them: biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus. Their main jobs are to extend the hip and flex the knee.

How can I tell if I have tight hamstrings?

If you can’t touch your toes while keeping your legs straight, you probably have tight hamstrings. (The safest way to attempt this is to sit down and stretch your legs out in front of you.) 

What causes tight hamstrings?

The most common reason for tight hamstrings is a sedentary lifestyle as sitting keeps your hamstrings in a shortened position. However, at the other end of the spectrum, athletes who participate in sports requiring a lot of running or jumping can also experience tight hamstrings due to the repetitive nature of their movements. Hamstring tightness is particularly common in men because their pelvic structure can limit hip flexion and extension. People with a history of abdominal surgery (such as C-sections), hip injuries, or knee injuries may develop muscle imbalances that lead to tight hamstrings.

Why are tight hamstrings bad?

Once your hamstrings are tight, other muscle groups will follow, and imbalances will develop. For instance, tight hamstrings can lead to changes in the hip flexors, glutes, and lower back muscles resulting in poor posture, knee pain, lower back pain, and sciatic nerve issues. (radiating pain in buttocks and back of leg). 
If your hamstrings aren’t flexible enough, they will be more susceptible to injury. In addition, tight muscles have reduced blood flow which results in a decrease in capacity of performance. 

How to prevent and treat tight hamstrings

Movement is one of the best ways to prevent tight hamstrings. Our bodies are designed to move in all directions, and when we take time to move in different ways it helps to balance out strain on our muscles.
A good Pilates class takes a whole-body approach, teaching healthy movement patterns across all planes and encouraging correct muscle recruitment. This improves overall mobility, corrects imbalances, and improves the postural alignment of the pelvis. By improving the strength of the glutes (bottom muscles) and abdominals (tummy muscles) the hamstrings can be encouraged to lengthen as the right muscles are doing their job.
Pilates includes dynamic stretching where your body passes through its full range of motion, as well as static stretching where a position is held for a period of time. Both types of stretching have different benefits.

So, what are you waiting for? Join a Pilates class today and give your body the love it deserves!

With skeleton decorations everywhere at the moment, it seems like a good time to talk about the importance of keeping bones strong. 

Osteoporosis occurs when the mesh-like structure within bones becomes thin, causing bones to become fragile and break easily. It affects over three million people in the UK. One in three women and one in five men, aged over fifty have the condition. It is a "silent" disease. There are typically no noticeable symptoms, so it is often not diagnosed until a fracture occurs. Fractures can happen in different parts of the body, but the wrists, hips and spine are most commonly affected. Spinal fractures can cause loss of height and curvature of the spine.

Bone density naturally decreases from the age of 35. Some people will have hereditary factors or medical conditions which make developing osteoporosis more likely, but there are steps we can all take to keep bones as strong as possible. These include a healthy diet which is rich in calcium and vitamin D, and not smoking or drinking a lot of alcohol.

One of the most important ways to ward off osteoporosis is to exercise regularly. Some forms of exercise are better than others. Whilst cycling and swimming are great ways to maintain fitness, bodyweight is supported by the bike or the water, so they are not so beneficial for building bone strength as weight bearing exercise like walking, and.........PILATES!

A Pilates class includes exercises which make your body work against gravity and improve your strength and balance without putting too much stress on bones. You may use balls, bands, a magic circle or small weights to add resistance for a further challenge.

If you already have a diagnosis, make sure you seek out a small class with an experienced practitioner. Not all exercises are suitable for osteoporosis, including deep spinal flexion (curling down to touch your toes or roll-ups). Your teacher will be able to provide you with alternative exercises that don't put undue pressure on your spine.

Happy Halloween!

                                                     "A man is as young as his spinal column."
                                                                           
                                                                      Joseph Pilates

Every ad you read encouraging you to sign up for a class will tell you that regular Pilates improves your posture. Why is good posture important and what can you do to improve yours?

A toddler's squat is the envy of every fitness professional/ Few adults can achieve the position shown in the photograph. This perfection is possible because young children have great posture. By the time we reach adulthood, most people will be able to identify with one of the diagrams below. So, what happened?

Our lifestyles take a toll on our muscles and joints, which in turn affects our posture. Human bodies are designed to move frequently. prolonged sitting, lack of exercise, improper exercise, and even poor footwear can change our posture by causing muscle imbalances. The longer a certain posture is adopted, the more set the body becomes in that position, and the ingrained habit can be tough to break.

Practise standing tall with your chin parallel to the floor. Feel that your head is stacked on top of the rest of your spine, and your shoulder blades are drawn down your back. Flatten your tummy (try to think of flattening rather than "pulling the tummy in", which can raise the shoulders). Your tailbone at the very base of your spine should be pointing down towards the floor, knees are very slightly relaxed, and your weight is spread evenly between your big toe, little toe and heel. A mirror will help (or a Pilates teacher watching you!).
Good posture keeps bones and joints aligned so that muscles are used properly, reducing injury risk, back pain and fatigue. It helps lessen the chance of arthritis by decreasing the erosion of joint surfaces. Good posture aids, balance, digestion, circulation and breathing, and reduces headaches.
If all that is not enough to send you rushing to sign up for a Pilates course, good posture has been shown to improve mood, mental health, self-esteem and energy, AND it makes you look taller with a flatter tummy!