Pilates
A Man’s Workout
BY CECIL ELIAS
Recently, I attended a workshop led by a Pilates elder (one
of the few existing teachers who have learned the method from Joseph Pilates
himself). She looked around the room and
asked, "Where is the token male?" There wasn't one! In the present day, it is a common
misconception that Pilates is for women.
This is a relatively new phenomenon; until the early 1980's, the
original Pilates studio in New York
had a predominately male clientele and staff!
What happened?
The truth is that while Pilates is beneficial for EVERYONE,
the method was developed by a man (a manly man at that!), while working with
men, to benefit men. Pilates (originally
called "Contrology") was created by German-born Joseph Pilates (1883-1967). In his early years, he was active in gymnastics
and wrestling and fascinated by the ancient Greeks and the circus. In 1914, he moved to London with the intention of developing his
skills as an amateur boxer. There, he
observed Chinese acrobats training with a wooden box and developed the idea for
his famous "Wunda Chair". At
the start of WWI, Joseph, being German, was arrested and spent 5 years in 5
different detention camps. During his
detention he kept fit and trained some of his fellow inmates. During this
experience, he began to develop his unique exercises and ideas for some of his
apparatus. Note: These camps were void
of women!
In 1922, Joseph moved to Hamburg where he was training the police and
using early versions of his apparatus.
In 1925 applied for the first patent of the "Universal
Reformer" in Germany . Note: This is another predominately male
environment in which Joseph was training.
He eventually received a patent for this machine in 5 other countries,
including the United States . According to Joseph, he was invited to train
the New German Army. Joseph did not
agree with the political path his country was taking and moved to New York in 1926. In 1927, with the help of his boxer buddy,
Nat Fleischer, the first Pilates studio opened on 8th Avenue (strategically located near Madison Square Garden ). So far, Pilates was a man's sport!
There are many quotes of Joe saying in one way or another
that dancers had ruined his method. In
1929, two years after beginning business in the United States , famous dancer Ruth
St. Denis was referred to the studio to work through a career threatening
injury. After Ruth's introduction to the
method, her husband and fellow dancer Ted Shawn and dancer/ choreographer
George Balanchine became good friends of Mr. Pilates and before long the studio
became something of a hub for broken dancers.
After Joe's death in 1967, many of those still teaching the method were
dancers. If you were to have heard of
Pilates in the 1990's, you likely would have read a headline such as this:
"Ladies: Do you want a dancer's body? Do Pilates!"
The method has remained the same; only the audience has
changed. Ironically, classical Pilates
is more challenging for men than it is for women! This is because it was
designed to challenge and correct imbalances in a man's body. Women have a lower center of gravity, are
naturally more aware of their core, and are generally more flexible and smaller
than men. In general, these attributes
make the movements more achievable when executed by a woman.
Pilates builds stability, strength, stamina, and flexibility
and has been a secret weapon for many pro athletes and teams, including the New Jersey Nets, Orlando
Magic, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee
Brewers, Tiger Woods, Andre Ward (Olympic Boxer), LeBron James...the list goes
on. Along with athletes and dancers, men
of various occupations were clients of the original studio including George
Gershwin (along with many other composers) and later Anthony Hopkins was one of
the many actors to frequent the original studio. Located in Manhattan , the studio attracted many
directors, producers and various visual and performing artists as well as
several doctors, lawyers, members of the NYPD and young men preparing for the
armed services. Pilates is great on its
own or as a compliment to any other activity as it is a "corrective"
method and is adapted for the individual.
In my opinion, everyone can benefit from Pilates! Gentlemen, this method was made for you. Try it today and experience all that you've
been missing!