Slow track back to fitness

No, don’t head for the nearest gendarmerie. I said PILATES, not PIRATES!

Summer is around the corner, and it’s time to start that new diet and exercise routine, but for so many of us, whilst the spirit it willing, the flesh is sooooooo weak.

The IDEA of exercise is so much more appealing that the actual ordeal itself! And it”s very much a motivation thing too.

The thing is, let’s face it, we are simply not all marathon runners, joggers or body building belles and beaux, and some of us need to take it a little more slowly.

Pilates is perfect for that –  an exercise discipline which improves mental and physical well-being, increases flexibility, and strengthens muscles through controlled movements.

Great for those backs and tummies that have started doing their own thing, it is not fast and furious, it will not make you breathless, and is a really good ‘back to fitness’ option.

I began a Pilates course in the Le Boulou Céret, Maureillas area (multi centre)  in October, and even got the other (worse) half to join with me. Both of us have become total pilates converts

Héléna, the teacher, is one of those ‘proper’, dedicated pilates teachers, who actually cares whether you have understood the exercise, and explains patiently until you do. The class is all ages, shapes and sizes, French and English.

I have accepted that I will never be Twiggy, but the muscle control that I have regained over the past few months has made an enormous difference to my stability, posture and general well being.

Helena, English speaking yoga pilates instructor,  gives you some useful french vocabulary to get you going!

Inspirez/expirez – breathe in/breathe out
étirer/contracter – stretch/tense
échauffement – warm up
dos rond/plat – round/flat back
à plat ventre/couché sure le dos – lying on your tummy/back
debout/assis/à genoux – standing/sitting/kneeling
cuisses – thighs
abdos – stomach
fessiers – bottom
buste – chest
tapis – mat
altères – weights