May 7th is Pilates Day! It’s a day where the whole Pilates world, across the globe, celebrate Pilates and the impact that it has on all of our lives. The goal is also to promote awareness of Pilates and the benefits that it can provide to anyone, from any walk of life. We want everyone to know how Pilates can make them feel: strong, empowered, energetic, and much more.  

What is Pilates?

Pilates has a storied history and began as a program to help veterans, but it has morphed since its beginnings. Today, Pilates is a low impact non-aerobic exercise program that focuses on building strength core strength for any member of the population. Your core muscles are essential to balance, strength, flexibility, and overall health. In our world, where people are tied to desks and always looking at screens, core muscles often go neglected. Pilates can fix that.  

Pilates is a particularly useful exercise program because it scales. You can start out with Pilates even if you are a complete beginner to this kind of exercise. Over time as you gain control, strength, and flexibility, you can continue to challenge yourself with new poses and exercises. You can also expect to see benefits in your arms and legs, your overall energy levels, and your range of motion, when you regularly practice Pilates.  

Pilates is often compared to yoga, as both can focus on the core. You can certainly bring the mindfulness techniques of yoga with you to Pilates, but you’ll also get a more intense core workout. Plus, with Pilates you can use equipment to further challenge yourself or help you target specific areas.  

The Benefits of Pilates

There are many potential benefits of Pilates, including: 

• Improved posture 
• Improved flexibility 
• Improved balance  
• Improved range of motion 
• Injury prevention 
• Increased body awareness 
• Increased energy levels  
• Decreased stress 

Pilates can also reduce pain, depending on the cause of that pain and where you’re experiencing it. For example, Pilates has been known to reduce back pain, as well as alleviate menstrual cramps. 

The benefits of Pilates don’t stop there – the exercise is known to have many other positive effects. For example, reduced pain and increased flexibility and bodily awareness can in many cases lead to a healthier sex life. More energy and reduced stress can improve your motivation across the board. Overall, practicing Pilates can have a significant and wide-ranging impact on your life.  

Celebrate Pilates Day Yourself

Newcomers and long-time lovers of Pilates can both celebrate Pilates Day with us by signing up for a class. Or consider these personal challenges you might take on to enjoy Pilates Day: 

• Journal about what Pilates has meant to you and how it has changed your personal journey.  
• Challenge yourself to try a new Pilates exercise or perform one longer than you might normally.  
• Invite close friends or families to join you in some Pilates movements.  
• Share parts of your Pilates journey online over social media.  
• Practice Pilates in a new place, like a riverside, meadow, or other natural place.  

If you want to get in on a class, you can sign up for one with ABsolute Pilates. Contact us today!  

From TMJ dysfunction to lower back pain and everything in between, there’s a whole spectrum of ailments which can be caused by, or exacerbated by poor posture.It’s hard to blame anyone for having poor posture these days, as we sit cramped in desks looking at screens or hunched over our phone for so much of the day. Even with that, there are ways to become more conscious of your posture and work to correct it. Pilates is an exceptional exercise regime which can help you correct major posture problems, and reduce the stresses impacting various muscles and joints in your body.  

The Research on Pilates and Posture

Several studies have demonstrated that even just a few weeks of Pilates exercises can positively impact a person’s posture. One study focused exclusively on middle-aged women and found that their posture after 12 weeks of Pilates had improved on both the horizontal plane and the sagittal  plane (which runs vertically and segments our left and right side). Further research focused on adults of both genders and found that even after one session of Pilates, their postural alignment had noticeably improved. At the end of the 16-week study, participants had statistically significant posture improvement in six different dimensions, including posture of the head, pelvis, and lower back. This study also found that the participants experienced a significant reduction in pain.  

The Core of the Issue

We know that Pilates does help improve posture, but how exactly? Muscle mass supports our body and helps to keep good posture. However, the most supportive muscles for healthy posture, in the core, are often underdeveloped as a result of our desk-bound lives. These are the muscles in your stomach, abdomen, and along your side.   

Even those who remain active in their day job may find that they are not often activating the core muscles, which means that their back, neck, head, hips and more do not have the muscle support they need to maintain strong posture. This can even create pain as other muscles work to compensate for the core, but aren’t really able to provide the required support.  

Pilates exercises focus heavily on the core and all of the additional muscles that support it, from the pelvic floor to the shoulders. With Pilates you’ll gain the strength you need to automatically stand, sit, and walk with better posture.   

Other Pilates Posture Support

Of course, not all postural issues are corrected by core work alone. Your poor posture may stem from your hips or neck, for example. These can also improve with Pilates, which does strengthen muscles across the body. If you have specific concerns about the posture in different areas of your body, your Pilates instructor can show you which movements may help the most. In addition, the benefits of Pilates beyond improved strength can help with building and maintaining good posture. Those include: 

• Improved joint mobility 
• Reduced weight  
• Pain relief  
• Improved circulation 
• Improved bodily awareness  

You might also find that Pilates starts you on a quest of self-discovery, where you pay more attention to your body, how it moves, and what it may need, leading to other supports that could help with posture too. Get started on your journey to better posture today with a class from Absolute Pilates.  

Attention all Pilates enthusiasts: we invite you to join us in the social media phenomenon known as March MATness! All through the month of March, we are celebrating alongside other Pilates practitioners the traditional set of movements that Joseph Pilates, the original creator of Pilates, invented. For the last nine years, Pilates fans have been celebrating their progress. In recent years, people have been sharing it on social media, with dedicated hashtags for each pose. From the studio or from your home, you can join us in celebrating the powerful impact of Pilates! 

How Do You Participate in March MATness? 

Every day during March, you can take a picture of yourself in a Pilates pose and post it online with the relevant hashtag. You can explore the list of poses and hashtags here.  

You don’t have to necessarily stick to just photos. Let your imagination run wild and post anything you like that is Pilates-related and inspires you! Previously people have made visual art, poetry, prose, and other art depicting the poses or Pilates in general. Others take a more educational approach, giving out tips to complete different Pilates poses, and even adjustments you can make if you can’t quite capture the pose at your level. It’s really enriching to take a look through the posts online and see if you can get more inspired in your Pilates practice!  

And, if you’d rather keep it private, make your March MATness journey a feature of your journal. We know you’re with us in spirit!  

The Spirit of March MATness  

While you’re working through the month, remember that March MATness is not supposed to be a challenge or a competition. While you might challenge yourself to perfect your form, do Pilates every day, or meet other personal goals during the month, it isn’t necessary.  

March MATness is a “come as you are,” celebration. That means that we’re focusing less on winning or challenging ourselves, and more on accepting who we are and where we are in our Pilates journey. You do not need to fuss over how you look, what poses you can achieve, or whether or not you can complete the whole month. Instead, just finding your own personal joy in the poses is enough.  

Feel free to join us, even if you’re late to the party, with whatever Pilates inspiration you happen to enjoy.  

This Year’s Theme  

Every year, March MATness has a specific theme. This year it is #pilateshereandnow. With this theme, we’re challenging everyone who loves Pilates to think about how Pilates looks for them today, in their everyday life. Especially after potentially not being able to get out to the studio as much as you might have liked in the past two years, you may have found that your Pilates routine has changed, or the place Pilates has in your life has changed.   

Need some studio time to get into the spirit of March MATness? You can join us for classes at Absolute Pilates. Contact us today to sign up!  

Women who are considering getting pregnant, who are pregnant, and who just gave birth are right to be concerned about how this will impact their exercise regime. As you approach pregnancy, improving your physical fitness is recommended to improve your chances of conception, and the health of both mother and child. However, most women also want to pick up exercise that they can continue throughout pregnancy, and which can help them to strengthen the muscles involved in labour. Even better if that exercise can also help recovery after childbirth! Pilates fits the bill and is widely considered to be one of the best exercises to meet the needs of mothers, both prenatally and postnatally. Learn about the important role Pilates can play in your health during and after pregnancy.  

How Pilates Benefits Pregnancy

First, it is important to clear up some misconceptions. Pilates is not about increasing the strength of your contractions, and developing your core muscles will not make labour harder or more painful. Instead, through Pilates work you can focus in on the muscles that support your uterus and the baby, before and during childbirth. This can make labour easier, less stressful on various parts of your body, and aid with recovery afterward.  

For example, pelvic floor muscles will guide the baby’s head as it moves through the birth canal, but they won’t contract. Strengthening them can help with labour indirectly. Another great example is the transverse abdominis muscles, which are like a sheet of muscles all across your stomach and pelvis. These support your uterus and every other organ in your abdomen, and they offer essential support during labour. Pilates can help to prevent the damage and separation of these muscles, and since they do not contract during labour, developing them will not increase pain. Both of these muscle groups, and many more, are targeted, strengthened, and lengthened through Pilates.   

Muscle development is not the only benefit that you’ll see from Pilates. Prenatally, Pilates can help with: 

• Breathing focus 
• Breathing technique 
• Flexibility  
• Pain reduction  
• Mental health  

As Pilates has a low impact on your joints and is not as demanding on your cardiovascular system as many other types of exercise, it is more suitable to continue late into pregnancy. This can help you maintain your health throughout pregnancy, which will simplify all aspects of recovery.  

Postnatal Pilates can help to: 

• Strengthen weakened muscles 
• Improve recovery times  
• Regain posture 
• Reduce muscle pain  
• Improve mental health  
• Facilitate weight loss  

Pilates is easily adjusted to various levels of fitness and strength. That means that postnatal Pilates can be easily adjusted to accommodate your condition, and help you work back into exercising at a pace that makes sense for you. While some women are ready to exercise at their normal pace shortly after birth, most need to gradually build back up their routine. Pilates can help.  

Join Us to Better Your Pre and Postnatal Health

While Pilates targets many muscles groups that are essential in pregnancy and childbirth, the often-overlooked pelvic muscles are among the most important. We periodically run a pelvic health workshop that we strongly encourage women to join, and the next one is taking place on March 29th, 2022 – send us an email at info@meadowlandsphysio.ca to sign up and reserve your spot!  

At Absolute Pilates, we are dedicated to offering resources and support for women before, during, and after pregnancy. Reach out to us with your questions about how Pilates can benefit your health, or to sign up for a class!  

We’re seeing more and more Pilates studios offering at-home options for people to join online classes and follow along virtually with a Pilates instructor. While virtual Pilates may have gained popularity through stay-at-home orders, now that the option is so widespread and accessible, you have the choice to join these virtual classes even when you can leave the house. Or you could head into the studio to get that in-person experience. Which is best for you? Let’s compare your options.  

Why Choose Pilates at Home

The convenience and comfort of doing Pilates at home through our virtual classes can’t be beat. Those who sign up don’t need to leave their home to exercise, and don’t even need to share their camera with the class. You gain privacy, which is great for those who might feel anxious about their Pilates performance.  

Although, if you are comfortable sharing your camera, you can get better support from the instructor as they can still check to see your form.  The instructor is there to help and guide you through the exercises, after all! 

If you are just starting out with Pilates, you can use basic equipment that you may already have at home. Or you can purchase more advanced Pilates equipment for yourself – though it’s certainly not required. The advantage to compiling your own equipment is that you can then do Pilates whenever you want, without the need to ever go to a studio.  

Performing Pilates at home has many conveniences, but it’s not without its drawbacks. Pilates in a studio can be safer, and many find a group environment to be more motivating.  

Why Choose Pilates in Studio

The in-studio experience is hard to match. Sure, you have to drive into the studio, but many people find that the physical environment of being in-studio is what helps them to follow-through on their workout.   

Arguably the best benefit of doing Pilates in-studio is that you have all of the support that you need, which can make it a safer activity and help to prevent injury. Our instructors can actually see your whole form from all angles and can give you tips on how to better perform the exercises or how to adjust them based on your goals and limitations. Plus, we have all of the Pilates equipment that you need right in the studio, so there’s no need to invest in your own! We will show you how to use all equipment the correct way, even the Reformer. You’re more than welcome to make use of our equipment, and the techniques you learn are all transferrable if you do ever decide to purchase your own. 

As you don’t need equipment when you join us in the studio, in-person Pilates classes can be less of an initial investment. With the support of your instructor and the other people in the class, many also find that they are more likely to follow-through with their classes, showing up consistently and making the most of their time in class. If you’re partly into Pilates for the social element, or as a way to bond with friends you bring to class, then in-person undoubtedly provides a better experience to connect.  

That said, in-person isn’t for everyone. You need to drive out, bring your water bottle, and then head home before you even get to shower. If that will stop you from attending class, virtual may be a better option for you.  

Practice Pilates with Us 

Whether you feel like in-person or virtual classes are a better fit for you, we provide both at ABsolute Pilates. Sign up for our classes today.  

Although many view Pilates as a women’s exercise, when Joseph Pilates invented it in the 1920s, he did so in an attempt to support men’s health, specifically veterans. He developed a series of exercises that support core strength, flexibility, and many other key facets of physical health. That’s why Pilates is no longer targeted towards veterans and has been adopted by a wide range of people, from professional athletes to those bound to office chairs for most of their day. You might see a lot of information about how Pilates supports women’s health, because it does. However, it is also an exceptional tool to help support men and their overall wellbeing. Here are some reasons why men should consider Pilates, based on their various health goals.  

Support for Chronic Pain 

Many men suffer from chronic pain, whether it’s caused by sitting at a desk all day, performing repetitive motions at work, or persistent old injuries. Pilates strengthens the core muscles, which are needed to support the back and prevent poor movements that exacerbate certain kinds of chronic pain. When you have stronger muscles to rely on, you put less strain on injured muscles. You can also develop better posture which can help to prevent chronic pain, particularly in the back and neck. Pilates can help with the knees, arms, and any other spots in which you might experience chronic pain. Your physiotherapist can show you which Pilates movements will help with your specific problems, helping to minimize pain and better manage chronic conditions.  

Balance Weightlifting Exercises  

Men who lift weights develop mass, but they may neglect their flexibility and smaller muscles groups. Pilates helps you to build strength in smaller, potentially neglected muscle groups. Strengthening these stabilizer muscles helps significantly with posture, and it can improve your strength and performance when executing compound lifts to a surprising degree. It will also help you to maintain or improve flexibility as you bulk, which is critical for safe movement and performance. Pilates encourages you to move in ways that you don’t typically move while weightlifting, and by diversifying your movements you create a stronger body and improve your overall fitness.  

Faster, Better Injury Recovery      

Whether you play sports professionally or simply for your own enjoyment, you may eventually face injury. Even those who don’t partake in organized sport are at risk for injury through the strains of everyday life! The core strength, balance, and flexibility developed through Pilates can help you to avoid these injuries in the first place. However, if injury does occur, Pilates can provide a safer outlet to begin moving the affected muscles and slowly restore strength, balance, and flexibility to the area. Your physiotherapist can help you to tailor Pilates exercises to your specific needs, based on the type and location of your injury.  

Improve Sports Performance  

Depending on your specific sport, you may focus a disproportionate amount on the major muscle groups involved and not enough on the more minor muscles which have the potential to enhance your performance. Pilates will help you to focus on the muscles in your core, which are neglected in many sports but which can significantly enhance your performance by supporting the other muscle groups.  

Develop Pelvic Floor Muscles        

Men may not use the pelvic floor muscles in the same way as women, but they are still vital to your overall health. A strong pelvic floor helps you to maintain control of the organs in the area, and pelvic floor exercises may even improve sexual performance.  

Ready to Try a Pilates Class? 

Men are more than welcome at the Pilates classes hosted at ABsolute Pilates. Please feel free to reach out to us for more information, or take a look at our class schedule here! 

With its emphasis on core muscles and endurance, you might think of Pilates as an exercise option for only young, fit people – and you wouldn’t be alone. However, Pilates is great for people of all ages and fitness levels, including seniors! From mat classes to reformer classes, Pilates can be adjusted for seniors to provide many of the exact health benefits that the aging body needs. Here’s what you need to know about these benefits and how Pilates can be adjusted for seniors.  

Benefits of Pilates for Seniors  

As with any person who goes through a Pilates course, seniors will find that their strength, especially their core strength, improves greatly. This newfound strength is key in helping seniors to complete daily tasks, remain agile, and maintain a sense of independence. However, it offers many other benefits that you may find surprising. Both the improved strength and exercise achieved through Pilates can provide: 

• Increased circulation: As we exercise, we increase our circulation. Having more muscle mass will promote better circulation even when you’re just sitting still. Circulation provides its own benefits, including quicker and more complete healing. As seniors typically have slower healing times, this boost to circulation can be very beneficial. 
• Improved balance and stability: Core muscles are some of the most essential muscles to help us correct from falls and remain more stable on our feet. Seniors are more prone to falls, especially if they do not have the core muscles needed to help correct themselves during a slip. You can reduce your odds of falling and injuring yourself by building core muscles.   
• Increased mobility: Pilates can improve your overall range of motion. Tight muscles and tendons, along with old injuries and scar tissue, can reduce how far we can open or close our joints. Pilates exercises can help you to improve mobility and work to overcome these challenges. Your physiotherapist can guide you to the correct Pilates movements to help with your specific joint problems.   
• Stronger posture: With improved core muscles comes better posture, both while sitting and standing. The core muscles can thus support the neck and back, sometimes even improving chronic pain. 
• Reduced pain: Various kinds of chronic pain can be reduced through Pilates exercises. Arthritis, osteoporosis, joint issues, back pain and more can be addressed to give you a better quality of life.  
• Reduced stress: All exercise reduces stress by releasing hormones that help to improve your mood. Pilates goes a step further by incorporating mindfulness principles that can help you to soothe anxiety, challenge depression, and build a more positive mental state.   

Pilates Adjustments for Seniors 

You may be concerned that a particular condition you have prevents you from practicing Pilates. However, our instructors can adjust Pilates for almost all conditions and chronic issues that you might have. Some conditions that cause folks to worry when they’re thinking of trying Pilates, like osteoporosis and arthritis, can actually be improved with the help of Pilates! The additional muscle mass and flexibility you gain during Pilates actually helps you to improve bone mass and resist the effects of osteoporosis. Pilates movements can also help to reduce the pain from arthritis and other chronic conditions! If you’re unsure of how Pilates can help you, reach out to us at ABsolute Pilates to discuss it with one of our trained professionals.  

For ten years now, the team at ABsolute Pilates has been inspired by the cancer survivors that we support. We’re determined to keep giving back and continuing to support cancer research and screening, to better serve our communities and lend support to those who need it. Despite global events preventing us from holding our typical Pink Pilates fundraiser again this year, the team here at ABsolute Pilates is still dedicated to raising funds and awareness for the cause.  

How Pilates Supports Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors

Both breast cancer patients, and survivors, will find that Pilates is a worthwhile pursuit to help them physically and mentally while they undergo treatment or recover. Specifically, Pilates helps to: 

• Drain lymph nodes: Shoulder exercises explored in Pilates can help drain the lymph nodes under the arm and support general health.   
• Break down scar tissue: Those same localized shoulder motions can help breakdown scar tissues from surgery and other treatments.  
• Regain strength, flexibility, and range of motion: Cancer treatments can limit a person’s physical ability, and not having the energy to exercise anymore can do the same. Pilates can help to regain essential physical skills to move better.   
• Increase energy levels: Exercise will help patients to accomplish more in the day, even when struggling with fatigue.  
• Improve sleep: Similarly, exercise will help to tire the body, so sleep comes more easily at night.  
• Reduce muscle tension and fatigue: Whether it’s sitting in a chair to get chemo or using exhausted muscles to just bring in groceries, those with cancer often develop muscle tension and fatigue. Pilates can help by strengthening and engaging all muscles of the body.  
• Minimize weight gain: Pilates is a good way to counteract lower activity levels in a patient’s lifestyle, and to build strength without necessarily gaining much weight.  
• Increase confidence: Body confidence, strength, and movement will increase through engaging with Pilates.  

We find that participating in Pilates is a core part of many cancer patients’ and cancer survivors’ mental recovery as well as their physical recovery. No matter how treatments or recovery are going, Pilates can help promote inner strength, resilience, and peace. You can’t control cancer, but you can control how you respond and live in the face of it. 

How Our Fundraiser Helps  

To date, we have raised over 30 thousand dollars for the Juravinski Breast Assessment Centre, which is one of the most advanced breast screening and assessment centres of its kind in Canada. The Centre has multiple specialists on-site, and gives patients a better experience, where they wait less for results and feel less anxiety about the process. Screening and follow-up are available for men and women who are suspected of having breast cancer. Genetic testing and high-risk screening is also available for women. The government does not fund the cutting-edge equipment available at the Centre, but you can through our fundraiser.  

Contact us to donate now to help support cancer patients and survivors in your community.  

Whether you’re new to exercising or just looking to switch things up, Pilates is an excellent option. You might think of it as a tough core workout, but it can be very easily adjusted for those of every skill level and physical fitness level, making Pilates a great option for beginners! If you’re skeptical as to whether Pilates is right for you, here’s everything you need to know.  

What is Pilates?

Pilates was named after its inventor, Joseph Pilates, whose focus was creating an exercise program to support soldiers during the war. It turns out that what he created has much broader applications; Pilates has the ability to support health and wellbeing, as well as to support physiotherapy efforts in injury recovery, and much more.  

Pilates is a low impact-exercise, which means it is not too taxing on joints, nor is it overly focused on cardio-vascular health.  Instead, it focuses on adding muscle, balance, and strength to the core. The core is responsible for much of our posture and balance, so building strength to this area can help improve many posture-related problems, speed up injury recovery, and more.  

Typical beginner Pilates moves will be about engaging the core and the back. Many exercises will stretch the hips, the spine, and the arms and legs. You will be lying, sitting, or standing on a mat when you complete most of these exercises unless you are using a Reformer machine. ABsolute Pilates uses Reformer machines, which can be very helpful to target different muscles on the body and ensure proper form. Don’t be intimidated – they are relatively simple to use, and your instructor will guide you, if you want to use them. Beginners need not feel obligated to jump into using a Reformer machine, mat work will do just fine! 

You will gain flexibility and confidence with the moves as you progress, and you’ll be challenged with increasingly difficult poses. If you already have strong core strength and balance, you may find that you can do more challenging Pilates poses right away.  

What are the Benefits of Pilates?

As a beginner, you will probably see a marked improvement in core strength, which will come with a wide range of benefits. These might include: 

• Mobility: Anyone who has had surgery or an injury will benefit from the boost to mobility that Pilates can bring. By stretching and doing guided, repeated exercises you can improve any joint’s range of motion, especially after that joint has undergone surgery.  

• Posture: Our posture is supported by our core muscles. When you improve the strength in these supportive muscles then you can also reduce the stress on your neck, back, hips and shoulders, sometimes relieving pain in these areas if the pain is partly or entirely stemming from posture-related issues.  
• Balance: Balance will help you every time you move. For seniors especially, the benefits of improved balance are critical. Through Pilates you can prevent falls and feel more secure in a wide range of other activities. 
• Flexibility: Even if you don’t need to improve your mobility after an injury or surgery, you can still benefit from the improved flexibility that Pilates offers.  

Overall, Pilates is a great exercise that can benefit anyone from those beginning their exercise journey, to those who are competitive athletes. Reach out to ABsolute Pilates today to discuss how Pilates could be right for you, or to sign up for a class! 

You can do Pilates without equipment but adding resistance through a Pilates bar can make your workouts even more impactful and help you to build strength even faster. If you need to up the challenge in your Pilates workout and you’re looking at Pilates bars as a solution, you may be a bit overwhelmed by all of the options to choose from. Which is the best bar for your specific purposes? Here are some things to consider when you’re making your decision.

Level of Resistance

As when buying free weights, you want to think about how much resistance the bar and its bands will offer your workout. If you already have great muscle development, bands with high resistance are important for an extra challenge. Most bars have the option to adjust to some degree, by rolling the bands around the bar. However, you’ll still want high quality bands that will provide the optimal challenge for your skill level. The best way to test them is to pull on them in real life, but if you’re buying online you may also be able to find bands that have a weight rating.

Durability

The material of the bar and bands, and the connections between the two, will determine how durable the Pilates bar is and how long it will last. You’ll have to balance durability with cost. Bars made with steel and high-quality metals, and bands made with high quality rubbers will tend to be more expensive, though they’ll be able to handle strenuous workouts for longer. Beware of hollow cords, aluminum bars and cheap-looking plastic connectors, as they’ll likely have a short lifespan.

Comfort

You want to be comfortable during your workout so that you can focus on your form and challenging yourself physically. Pilates bars have many features that can help to make your workout more comfortable. Adjustable, padded foot loops are key. You may also find bars that are padded and offer sweat absorption. Otherwise, hold the bars yourself to compare their relative comfort and find a Pilates bar that suits you.

Height

Many of the bars you buy online will not adjust for people who are on the taller side. Look at the reviews to spot if this is the case for the bars that you’re interested in. In general, bars with straps that aren’t adjustable usually aren’t ideal for people not of average height, whether they’re taller or shorter than the average. If the only way to adjust the bands is to wrap them around the bar, then you may want to look elsewhere to find a bar suited to your stature.

Portability

Don’t be fooled by the online reviews that equate the bar’s weight to its portability. If you’re doing Pilates, you can carry the bar to and from your car. What really matters for portability is if the bar fits in your car or can fold up in order to fit in your vehicle or bike bag. Some bars fold up. Otherwise, you may want to take a measurement of your trunk and ensure the bar will fit in. If you go for a fold-up bar, be sure to read reviews to ensure you’re not sacrificing durability or strength for portability’s sake.

Exercises

If you’re exercising at home, you may be swayed by products that offer exercise guides to show you how to use the bar. Some have paper or digital instructions to teach you new moves. If you’re a beginner to Pilates, a bar that comes with guidance and example exercises may be just what you need to get the ball rolling. Or, use your bar at your Physiotherapy appointments and get professional guidance from Meadowland’s physiotherapists. Don’t have a bar? Join a class at ABsolute Pilates and use our equipment under the watchful eye of certified Pilates instructors!