4 Reasons Men Need Pilates

It’s true that if you walked past a Pilates studio’s window and peered inside, you’d more than likely see that the majority of clients are women. But why is this? I mean, it was started by a man, THE man, Joseph Pilates. And Mr. Pilates originally used his method on a bunch of men- soldiers. So why all the ladies?

Probably because of all the clever marketing we see. The words used to describe the benefits of Pilates are things like ‘long lean muscles’ and ‘trim and tone’. Some men are turned off by the soft sounding nature of these results (especially in the setting of a gym where men typically go to build big muscles). 

However, REAL.MEN.DO.PILATES.

Take Mr. Pilates himself. He was a sickly child who suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. But he dedicated his entire life to improving his physical strength. Growing up, he practiced gymnastics, body-building, jiu-jitsu, boxing and even dabbled in being a circus performer. 

He was a fit man. So fit, that by the age of 14, he was already posing for anatomical charts. His posing was a habit that continued well into his 80’s

Still rocking it in his 80’s! The truest testament for how men need Pilates.

Joseph Pilates fine tuned his Pilates method (which he called Contrology) at an internment camp, where some of the early use of his exercise methods included rehabilitation of seriously injured veterans.

But you don’t have to be seriously injured to start Pilates, in fact, many men and women start Pilates as a way to enhance their performance in other activities, such as competitive sport. 

You see, Pilates is good at ironing out all our kinks and misalignment issues, for example, a golfer might have a very tight and painful right side of his body from all the one way twisting he does. Pilates will work the body as a whole to lengthen the tight side and strengthen the weak side, ultimately making the golfer a more powerful player. 

Still not convinced that men need Pilates? Here’s a list of three sports superstars you might know who think otherwise:

• Tiger Woods

• LeBron James

• Andy Murray

From golfing greats to hot halfbacks who train 300 days a year, these athletes utilise Pilates as a part of a well rounded training regimen.

Ok ok, so the average Aussie male is not Tiger Woods (thank god actually), the average Aussie male is rocking it in the workforce, which unfortunately for his health means he’s sitting at a desk all day long.

Not a Sports Superstar? You STILL need Pilates 

 Being sedentary for 8-10 hours a day comes with a long list of ramifications. I’d actually go as far as saying, sitting is toxic. Here are 3 reasons why:

1. It’s Bad For Your Health

When you sit, you use less energy than when you stand or move. Research has linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health concerns including obesity, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels.

2. It Changes Your Posture and Body Shape for the Worse

Sitting compromises your posture and changes your body. It’s all in the biomechanics of sitting. Sitting causes the pelvis to rotate backward and puts pressure on the lumbar discs. This position forces your head forward and causes your shoulders to curve in to compensate for the weight transfer.

3. It’s Bad for your Back and Spine

Prolonged, static loading of tissues over time puts undue pressure on the low back and stresses the surrounding muscles and joints.

Right, so, I think the picture has been painted. Sitting is bad. Most men sit in their jobs. Pilates is good. Pilates helps men. And real men do Pilates.

Got it? Good. If you’re STILL not convinced…

Benefits to Men Who Do Pilates:

1. You’ll Work Neglected Muscles. Overly focusing on the most well known muscles can give you a Hunchback of Notre Dame look that isn’t balanced. Pilates works ALL of your muscles, especially the ones you don’t focus on in the gym

2. You’ll Increase Your Flexibility. Flexibility is not a word I immediately associate with men. And if I had a dollar for every male client of mine who said ‘am I your most stiff client? Surely I’m your tightest client ever!’ I'd be very rich indeed. Increasing your flexibility will help to reduce joint stress decreasing general aches and pains and it will increase your quality of movement, reducing the risk of injury.

3. You’ll Decrease Your Lower Back Pain. According to an Australian Health and Welfare study in 2017, more men than women suffer back pain between the ages of 45-74. Pilates helps to build core strength in the muscles surrounding the spine while also working on spinal articulation and mobility. Joseph Pilates once said ‘You are only as young as your spine is flexible: If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old; if it is completely flexible at 60, you are young’.

4. You’ll Have Better Sex. Yep I went there. I had to. If nothing else is going to get you over the line, I’m pretty sure this one will. You see, Pilates teaches you control and coordination of all your muscles, including the core and pelvic floor, so men who practice Pilates have better control, stamina and endurance of this region… need I say more??

Testimonies from my Male Clients (aka Real Aussie Men!)

Dan, age 61: I look forward to our Pilates session every week. It has hugely improved my overall health and feeling of well-being. I always feel an inch taller after each session. I enjoy the variety of exercises and the concentration required to do the exercises. I like discovering parts of my body that I’d taken for granted as a young person and forgotten how to exercise as I got older.

John, age 53: I first went to Pilates when I realised that I wasn’t getting any younger. I needed to improve my overall flexibility and I had heard that Pilates offered better all over body conditioning. I used to see the Pilates sign from the train window as I made the trek into work each morning. So finally I got the message and signed up and that was some 5 years ago. I loved the banter in the Saturday morning class, now I really enjoy learning from Kirsti and drawing on her wealth of knowledge in managing different ailments. Having suffered a prolapsed disc in my lower back some two years ago now, Pilates has enabled me to take control of my body, significantly reducing pain and largely allowing me to get my life back. Kirsti has worked closely with my physicians and we have achieved great results. Pilates is my new normal.

Graeme, age 60: I first tried pilates when I recognised that I was getting less flexible as I aged and I love that pilates “hurts so good” and it enhances my body awareness. The improvements in my life since starting pilates include more mobility, less back/hip soreness, and simply feeling more physically at ease when I wake up each day.

So there you have it. Pilates is for real men. It truly does help men live a more full life with less pain and more energy. What are you waiting for? Book in for your Pilates class today!

Seeking Sanity in the Silly Season: My Top 3 Tips

I think we can all agree that this time of year can be a bit nuts right?! Like not the salted beer nuts, but the liquor soaked, sugar coated, Christmas spiced, extra crunchy, gourmet nut mix. It’s often just a bit too much.

And the number one thing I notice that suffers or falls by the wayside is all the good habits we have been working on all year. 

The regular Pilates class- gone

The weekend early morning walks by the beach- gone

The mindful eating- gone

The meditation practice- gone

It’s such a juxtaposition, because on one hand Christmas is supposed to be about family and get togethers and appreciating the moments and the down time and giving and shared experiences, yet on the other hand, our lives speed up x 100 to get to this one moment of illusive ‘Christmas calm’. We run around writing lists, actioning said lists, delivering and wrapping and cooking items from the said list. We think about clients, and bosses and colleagues and celebrating the year that was with all the different people in our lives, we decorating the house, kid’s school responsibilities, planning for family get-togethers, who will bring what, do what and say what.

The list goes on, and actually they can and do all bring about wonderful things and create a lot of joy for a lot of people, but in the process, why do we have to stretch ourselves so damn thin?

We all know the saying you can’t pour from an empty cup. So why do our cups get so dry this time of year? If anything we need to be focusing on filling those cups to the brim so we can deal with all the extra ‘festiveness’ that December throws our way.

It’s called Self care. Self care is not selfish, it’s necessary.

By supporting your needs and valuing your worth and happiness, you are not being indulgent, you are prioritising your wellness both mental and physical. And shit yeah, don’t we deserve that after the hammering our mental health has taken over this pandemic!? Don’t let Christmas railroad that again! 

Here are my top 3 tips for keeping a level of self care and sensibility in the silly season  (notice I’m not advocating maintaining complete sense!)

1. Prioritise! Using Rocks, Pebbles, and Sand

If there is anything I have learnt about managing stress and busy-ness and overwhelm, it’s that we need to pre plan the things for ourselves that help deal with these external stressors. In other words, make sure our self-care is prioritised, especially at Christmas. There has long been a useful strategy described when it comes to prioritising. I remember hearing it at university, but most recently through a business mentor. It’s the Rock, Pebbles, Sand analogy. Its basic premise is to imagine that your life is a jar. Only so much fits in our jars. So be clever with what you put into your jar, aka your life. The rocks are the most important things to you and your wellbeing, the non- negotiables. The pebbles are important also, but there’s some flexibility with where and how they go into the jar, then there’s the sand, the things that are nice to have, but maybe not so important and can slide on in anywhere in the gaps.  If you put the sand in first, you’ll never get all your pebbles, let alone rocks in the jar, it’ll be full too soon with sand.  Here’s a nifty little video demonstration of this. 

At Christmas and holiday times, your self care activities are your Rocks! Put them in the jar first.

2. 10 Minutes is Better than No Minutes

Time or lack of it, is a legitimate challenge this end of the year. Sometimes we think, oh I don’t have time for my hour long exercise today, so what’s the point! Well there is a point, a very big point! 10 minutes a day over 6 days is an hour a week. That’s an hour that you focused your mind onto your muscles, an hour that you activated, strengthened, and stretched your muscles, an hour that you breathed intentionally, an hour of self care that increased blood flow, happy hormones and mood. That is a darn good hour. All from 10 minutes a day. 

I have a 10 minute Pilates workout you can do right here:

3. Don’t Wait for New Year’s Day

We might lose a few of our good habits in the silly season but they do come back, often under the banner of New Year’s Resolutions. Ergh, gawd, let me tell you a secret of mine, I HATE New Year’s Resolutions. I might be a planner but there’s something about new year’s resolutions (aka setting yourself up for failure) that really irks me. It’s not like the clock ticks over and all of a sudden you have all this motivation and ability to stick to amazing healthy habits, like, was it just lying dormant waiting for the clock to strike midnight?! I think not.

If we work at small, healthy, good habits all year round, then those are the springboards to more good habits the next month and the next month and the next month. You don’t need a date to start one good thing for yourself, you need an idea of what future you might look like, feel like and be like. What does this future you look like? Will she be drinking more water, will she be moving her body more, maybe she will be finally starting Pilates to work on her core strength to achieve that 5km fun run you always wanted to do? 

Once you have the vision, then work back from there. If you want to move your body more, then today, park the car two blocks away from school and walk the rest of the way to pick up. Congratulations, you’ve moved your body more! Make sure you do congratulate yourself because our brains like pleasure, and if we internally give ourselves a high five and pump some feel-good hormones into that activity, your brain will want you to go back again and again and repeat! You don’t need the 1st of January to start this, your intention can start the moment after you’ve read this blog. Then put a reminder in your phone to do it again tomorrow or next week, then the day after or week after and make it a habit before 2022 rolls around, think about how far ahead of yourself you’ll be by 1st Jan next year.

If movement or Pilates is on your list of to-do’s next year, then get started with me on New Year’s Eve! 10am on Friday 31st December, I’ll be running a live virtual Pilates class and everyone is welcome. Not only will you be doing something good for yourself but you’ll be doing good for the community too. $5 for every one who comes along will be donated to the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal. I love sharing this experience with others and I’m so proud of the people who show up and make time for themselves in what is the busy season. I hope you’ll be on the mat with me then!

Book your spot using the button below!

It Came, It Happened, it ROCKED! PPP Event Recap

 As I sit down to write down about the PPP event over the last weekend, I’m still in a little Prosecco haze, feeling a bit rough around the edges. But it was absolutely worth it. The day was amazing!

It all started with an idea about half way through the Melbourne lockdowns in 2020. After lockdown took away our friends, our family, our work, our schools, our SANITY, and our community… I wanted to find a way to use my skills as a Pilates Instructor to bring those things back. I wanted to give to my community an afternoon of fitness with fashion and fun- an experience that can be shared and enjoyed by many. 

Our original date in September had to be pushed out due to the seemingly never ending lockdowns in Melbourne, so we were lucky to secure the new date of November 28th before the Christmas rush really began. That extra time only made the anticipation of it greater. 

To say I wasn’t nervous would be a big fat lie! My nerves did ebb and flow, and by the time the day rolled around, I was pretty calm. All the hard work, organising, planning, practising, sorting, booking, stuffing, and buying was done, and there was nothing left to do but set up and roll on! And roll on we did! 

Bump in started at 11am at the beautiful Button Factory in Cheltenham, Bayside, Victoria. It was a flurry of unpacking boxes, booze, food, clothes, mats, jewelery, decorations, and goodie bags, organising models, rehearsal, and sound checks. We had 2 hours to pull it all together, which was a breeze when you rope your Mum and two Aunties in to help! And thank goodness I did… it would not have come together so swiftly without them! 

At 1pm, it was go time. I started the Pilates class with a little welcome speech and visualisation exercise. It was really important to me that I conveyed the message about community and self care. We’ve all heard the saying about not being able to pour from an empty cup, and I think that was especially evident through the worst parts of the pandemic. So this event was a little piece of self care in the form of fitness, fashion, and fun!

When I was thinking about how I wanted to talk about community and why it was so important to me, I think about community as a frequency. I have a frequency of my own, and you have yours, but when I tap into your frequency, my frequency grows, and when you tap into mine, yours grows- they feed off one another. They get bigger and more electric and the energy goes up, up, and up and you can feel those higher vibrations in the room. There is so much joy and fun in connecting with our communities again and the best part about it is it strengthens the individuals who are a part of it. It’s a win win. And I wanted all the attendees to feel like they had won the day that day!

It’s a little daunting to teach a class of 45! I’ve actually never taught a group quite so big, so I specifically wanted to start the class with the lemon imagery exercise. It’s a powerful example of the mind-body relationship and how the words we tell ourselves have a direct impact on the physical body. You can read the lemon imagery exercise in its entirety here . I knew there would be all levels of bodies in front of me and some things would not be accessible for some bodies. But instead of telling yourself, ‘I can’t do that’, which cuts off the possibility pathway, I encourage a reframing of the ‘can’t’ to the ‘I wonder what my body can do for me today on this mat’?

I might have been the boss of the class but I am not the boss of 45 bodies! Our attendees need to make the decision about what their bodies can be doing for themselves. It takes a lot of courage to meet your body where it is on the mat, and I love seeing all my clients honour themselves like that.

The last part of class was the most fun! ! We paused momentarily to get a glass of prosecco which we incorporated into the last few exercises on the mat. Let’s just say, fine motor skills were being challenged and then rewarded with a drink!

Next all the mats were rolled away and the bar was opened. We set up for the fashion show and everyone brought their drinks back to gather around the runway where the mats once lay. Gemma from Hudlow and Alex from Alextempany Jewelry produced a gorgeous fashion and jewelry show.

We managed to rope in 4 friends to give us a hand with the modelling, and they were amazing, strutting their stuff like they were born to be there. Bunch of legends they were, I mean, they put their hand up for that gig- I couldn’t do it, I’d be terrified!  

After the show, Alex and Gemma surprised me with a bunch of flowers to say thanks for pulling it all together. I loved what they said about all good teams needing a leader, and it’s true, I do like to lead (cough cough, be a boss lady), but it was so unexpected, I got quite emotional about the thoughtful gift. Thanks gals, like I said on the day, it would be nothing without you, thank you for jumping on board with passion and grit to produce the most epic event with me!  

After the show, I let out a big sigh of relief: the hard part was over! It was time to shop, drink, eat, and mingle.

Gemma and Alex were offering some amazing discounts on the day which many jumped on, andit was so great to see plenty of people supporting those two talented individuals.

I even scored myself a new t-shirt from Hudlow too!

It was wonderful to see lots of friends, family, clients, and community members get together for a laugh and a class and a cheers. It was just what we needed. I’ve always said Pilates is pure magic, and this event was the catalyst to get more people doing more Pilates, with friends, fashion and fun on the side!  I’m caulking this one down as a huge success and can not wait to do it all again! 

Locked Down but not Locked Out: Embracing Community and Passion to Survive the Pandemic

Running a business is hard.

Probably no new news there. 

But never have I been more appreciative  of that fact then throughout these seemingly never ending lockdowns in Australia (Melbourne).

When something is hard, on one hand my brain is grappling with a situation and looking for ways to overcome it/make it less hard, but on the other hand it’s trying to integrate it into my evolution, growth, and learning.

To say I’ve learnt a lot over these last 20 months would be an understatement.

How the global pandemic has made small businesses pivot/changed/adapt has been incredible. 

But you know what, it’s made me realise, more than ever, that what I do matters. The way I can impact lives is a responsibility that I don’t take lightly.  Daniel Pink once said, “if you create something that can change people’s lives and you care about it, you have a moral obligation to go out and tell people about it”.

I know Pilates can make a positive difference to the amount of joy people feel in their lives and here’s why.

When we feel pain or aches in our body, we generally do less, eg, we have a sore back so we  resign ourselves to the couch and not much else. But doing less often makes this worse.  Science has proven that movement improves pain because of the effects of exercise, such as reduced systemic inflammation ,endorphin release, improved mental health and a greater expectation of recovery.

Pilates helps to access these benefits because it is a whole body exercise regime. It focuses on the strength AND the stretch, while practicing the control of the mind to muscle connection.  Take the sore back example. PIiates will help reduce the pain not just because you work on your abs, but because it helps to improve alignment and posture, mobility in the hips and legs and will teach you about necessary  things like improving your intraabdominal pressure, which will help improve stability around your centre.

When we decrease the pain we experience in our day to day lives, it increases those feel good hormones, we feel confident to get up and get out and do more things, even new things, like play ninja warrior with the kids or participating in a couch to 5km challenge, we’re more inclined to get back to those ‘old things’ we used to love doing, but had put into the ‘I’m too old for that basket’, like, sitting on the floor to do puzzles, dancing and playing sport for fun. When we participate in these moments in our life, we have more joyful experiences, and more joyful moments makes us feel happier and more content and better able to deal with the challenges life throws our way (hello COVID). 

I’m so proud and so passionate about what I do. I know Pilates is just a small piece of the wellbeing puzzle, but right now as we have just come out of another lengthy lockdown, one thing is keeping me going strong: my work and the impact it can have on others. 

That’s why I’m beyond excited to bring to life our Pilates, Parades and Prosecco event. Not only do I get to teach Pilates to more people and get them to experience the strength and confidence in their own bodies, but I get to do it in the flesh, with real humans, and golly have I missed that. Melbournians have had so much taken away recently: friends, family, income, networks, the community, things to look forward to, it feels bereft and lonely at times. But having this event on the horizon gives me hope. Hope of a brighter day, hope of smiles and laughs and conversations and unity. We really are all in this together, so let’s take this opportunity to celebrate together!

My co-hosts Alex and Gemma, along with Georgie Orbach (the local wine producer we are using at the event) have a few things they wanted to add and some interesting information about their business….

Happy reading... 

Alex:

The beginning of Alex Tempany Jewelry was centered on the premise of bravery – and that lively bravely, leads to a bolder and more fulfilling life. life.

2.5 years ago – I had a safe, enviable job, consulted in AFL on the side, and a great passion of creating jewelry which was accidentally building into a little business.  It was a leadership gathering with a veryyyyy diverse bunch of people that changed my views and enabled me to dig deep and take action to lead the life I really wanted. When I asked Richard Branson how ‘normal people deal with fear’ he told me that ‘fear was just an obstacle to be overcome’. It was survivors of domestic violence who taught me that past trauma and tragedy can be used as fuel to drive passion, resilience and bravery. So I came away from that trip deciding that building a business to help others live out their bravery, was what I was meant to be doing.

Over the past 2.5 years I’ve grown close to a new community - my customers, suppliers of anything from diamonds, to tissue paper, to the postie (Con is a legend FYI) – and it’s this that’s kept me going in the often lonely world of small business. And especially during Covid, where everyone is digging so deep to find their bravery and just keep going, it’s all the more special. Bringing this community together, in person (!!!!!) is a dream come true, taking form in Pilates, Parades and Prosecco! (I must add, Pilates and Prosecco have strongly aided my sanity during lockdown also!).

Kirsti, Gemma and I can’t wait to see you all there – to have a stretch, a cheers, and an ooooh-ah to celebrate, both everything, and nothing in particular!

Gemma:

My passion for fashion (how cliche!) has kept me sane during lockdown for two reasons. Firstly, when you have a passion, it's still hard work if it's your day job but if you enjoy it, it's not as 'worky'! I love looking at clothes, playing with clothes, putting outfits together and creating content around that. I like that during lockdown when people are dreaming of the next time they go out, they can be inspired by my posts, plan and look forward to when they can go out again. Or even better, can do some retail therapy online to buy something they can wear in lockdown to brighten their monotonous days! The simple things! 

Secondly, fashion has kept me sane because it has kept me so busy! Distractions in lockdown are good! If I'm not packing orders, creating content, doing admin work, I'm also part time teaching, looking after my children and running the household. Being busy for me, keeps me sane. Enter the other life dilemma...balance! That's the tricky one! And with no 'me' time in lockdown, that can be harder to maintain mental health and get things done without interruptions!

I believe fashion plays a big part in coming together as a community. If you're going out to be together with friends, it's the first thing you think of- what should I wear? Dressing up can change your mood along with the mood boost you feel after being together with your friends. Our event Pilates, Parades & Prosecco is something I would go to (if I wasn't one of the hosts!) as it combines all of the things we have so missed in lockdowns. Community; coming together and meeting new friends, spending time with old friends. Exercising together- what a high! Experiencing a fashion parade with the latest Spring fashions with friends and on the day discount! Plus an online boutique in the flesh where you get to feel and try the clothes but for an affordable online price! I just love that I can offer this to our community. Helping people choose their outfits to make them feel confident inside and out gives me great pleasure! Another thing that brings me great pleasure- PROSECCO with friends! 

Georgie:

In 2008 Josef (dad) phoned Georgie, who was working in viticulture  in the Clare Valley at the time and asked if she would like to run his wine business? It didn’t take long for me to answer and said Absolutely! I asked “when do you want me to start”? He said “Yesterday”! LOL

So I returned home and started in Sales/Deliveries and got familiar with this beautiful city again, Melbourne. After 6 years of living and working in the Clare Valley I was excited to be returning home and being with my family again.

After spending 10 years selling and growing the business from the kitchen table up we decided to launch another brand. As we were doing a lot of export we had the opportunity to grow our business in the domestic market and decided to launch another brand. Josef said “let’s call it Georgie Orbach” I was like what do you mean? He said we will name it after you.. I was blown away.

So in 2014 we launched Georgie Orbach with 5 varieties, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

In 2018 we changed the look of the label which was completely different to my first print run. Still keeping with the colour theme we added a couple of extra varieties and grew my brand to 8. The new wines we added were Sparkles, Pinot Gris and Rose. This was a very exciting time for the business. But there is always room for more. The following year we added Pinot Noir which was very well received at the price point of $15 per bottle.

Just when you think surely you have ALL varieties covered.. Someone asks do you have a Moscato in your range? The penny dropped and I was like hmm do we have room for it? Of course I said.. So in 2021 we added Moscato taking my range to a total of 10 wines. AMAZING

I’m very happy with where my brand is in the market and how it fits in nicely with our other brand Side Gate.

My wines are for drinking now, although I have cellared every wine and vintage we have done and I’m impressed with how they hold up even after being in the cellar for 5+ years...

With each new vintage I change the song that I have chosen that goes well with each variety. That’s right instead of matching Food & Wine, I match it with Music. When I started I did only 80’s music and since then I have done 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. It’s a bit of fun and that’s the best way I describe my Wines!

We are so excited to have Georgie’s wines represented at the Pilates, Parades and Prosecco (PPP) event. Her passion for wine will be enjoyed by the whole PPP community on November 28.

Get your tickets to this awesome event below!