Aeropilates! Not a moment too soon.
The eighties marked the beginning of the “fitness” era. Aerobics became a scientific word measuring energy expenditure and “no pain, no gain” and “going for the burn” became common adages touted by Jane Fonda and Jack LaLanne. Hundreds of crunches promised a six pack and people all over the country flocked to the gym. Exercise clothing became popular day wear and Nike sales sky-rocketed. (I loved my regular Nautilus workouts at the New York Health and Racquet clubs, finished with a 30 minutes steam to detox.) Drinking your food launched the smoothie trend along with eating every two hours to boost metabolism. Health food shops appeared on every corner alongside coffee shops. I was vegetarian, consuming abundant amounts of raw tofu and bean sprouts and took hand fulls of Vitamins.
(I have since learned that most of that way of life was not only not beneficial but may have actually been detrimental.)
In the nineties I moved to New Mexico and as a young Mom committed to fitness, I got up early to get in my daily 3 mile run. One fateful morning I bent down to tie my shoe and was hit by a car.
My very brilliant orthopedic surgeon suggested that I rehab in the local Pilates Studio and my life was forever changed.
Michele Larson, student of Eve Gentry, laid me down on the Reformer; a moving platform attached to resistance bands. With feet or hands in the straps you begin to simulate very familiar movements, normally made when standing. The magic of lying down as you perform each exercise is that your stabilising muscles, normally working hard to hold your body up, can relax, lengthen and strengthen and miraculously injuries begin to heal and movement imbalances disappear.
In three months my seriously damaged hip was reconstructed and I was able to move again. My body moved smarter and felt much stronger. I stood taller, looked leaner, had better tone in my arms and a flatter stomach than all the previous years of heavy weight training, miles of pounding the pavements and hundreds of sit-ups.
Joseph Pilates was a genius. He studied the anatomy of body movement and realised that you have to stabilise before you can mobilise. He designed the Reformer to strengthen and stretch every muscle while lying down so that vertical imbalances disappear. Simple resistance strengthens each muscle as you move back and forth, forcing your core to engage. Each movement works opposing muscles to create balance. No one muscle is isolated, as entire groups of muscles are perfectly recruited with grace and efficiency. Each muscle is elongated as it pushes and pulls against the weight of your body and maintains its length and freedom, well beyond the workout. All of a sudden you develop better kinaesthetic awareness, become stronger, taller, longer and leaner with superior mechanical awareness.
Our Reformer is the first affordable, user friendly home use machine, winning many awards. Our patented rebounder transformed the typical Reformer workout into a total body regimen that also addressed heart health and weight loss without impact, wear and tear.
"Jumping for joy" is what you are now able to do, lying down, with your neck and lower back supported. Dodgy ankles and knees are cared for. Everyone, young and old, fit or sedentary, injured or obese can now increase their heart rate, burn calories, lose weight, and improve their heart health, while safely lying down and without risk of injury! Not only does a flat tummy and strong abs look good but your spine requires them to function well. While traditional Pilates trains your body to engage your abdominals with every movement, the secret that you cannot know until you try, is that AeroPilates does it as well. Every time you jump, your body naturally engages the abdominal muscles, so now, on one Reformer, you can actually attain each and every one of your fitness goals.
The fitness industry is overjoyed with our revolutionary total body strengthening system; all in one machine. Our goal is to have an Aeropilates reformer in every home in because everyone will benefit. Take a look and see for yourself.
written by Marjolein Brugman
Marjolein Brugman is the founder of lighterliving and Aeropilates. “lighterliving is a movement and lifestyle choice we can all make. Let’s make it simple – make one decision a day to be better and watch the small steps lead to big changes. Eat smart, stay active, and you’ll live to feel a lighter life."