Kimberly & Katherine recently taught the
PAI’s Advanced Chair Course, Chair Progressions & Challenge to a group of fabulous Pilates instructors here at
our Pilates studio in NYC. This was an in-house course for our newer and most promising instructors. For Katherine & Kimberly, it was an absolute blast to teach, and the instructors thoroughly enjoyed it as well. We currently have quite a few
Pilates Reformer & Chair classes on the schedule at the studio, and so now participants can anticipate even more exciting variety with new chair exercises being introduced in almost every class.
Pilates Chairs today have all been developed from
Joseph Pilates original design of the Wunda Chair. All chairs have a platform, with a pedal to which springs attach to either support body weight or create resistance. Joseph Pilates original chair also double as actual furniture.
Click here for more information.
Advanced Chair exercises are a FABULOUS way to increase strength and power training in a Pilates workout. Because chair exercises involve lifting your own body weight and a lot of isometric contractions, your heart rate escalates…. And we know what that means… more calories burned!!! A skilled instructor can pace the workout appropriately, infusing chair exercises throughout to keep the heart rate at an elevated level throughout the workout.
Anyone interested in Pilates for upper body strength will LOVE the chair, as there are great exercises for the triceps, pecs, deltoids and shoulder girdle stabilizers. The one arm push up, hand on chair is an excellent triceps exercise (and pec!), and the Twist does wonders for the deltoids and the shoulder girdle stabilizers.
We always get questions about the best abdominal exercises and the best core strengthening exercises….. Enter the Chair! Exercises like Tendon Stretch, Single Leg Extension, and Handstand are AMAZING for both abdominal strength and core strength. More importantly, they work your body in different planes of motion, with forces coming from a different place than usual, giving your neuromuscular system an extra workout as well!
If you have a chair & don’t yet know the advanced exercises for the Pilates chair, visit
www.ultimatepilatesworkouts.com. From the shopping cart, you can download full
Pilates Chair Workouts or download Pilates Teacher Training Videos on the Pilates Chair. For a monthly subscription, you can enjoy anytime, anywhere online Pilates workouts on the chair. In the not too distant future, we’ll be focusing our energies on a “Build a Workout” feature, with blocks of exercises on all Pilates equipment, including the Pilates chair, that can be mixed and matched to create your own unique workout.
And don’t forget that for free Pilates workouts online, simply sign up at
www.ultimatepilatesworkouts.com as a Basic member and the Pilates videos will stream directly from your computer!
Photos in order of appearance: 1) Push Up Challenge with Haley; 2) Torso Press Sitting 5 with Chie; 3) Handstand 3 with Haley; 4) Elephant 2 with Chie; 5) Side Leg Extension with Katherine; 6) Tendon Stretch with Kimberly