Issue #355 – Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Some Pilates History and a Pilates Myth
A myth and some science from Adam McAtee
Back when I was a novice Pilates teacher, I came from a belief that Pilates was limited to “the order” and “real teachers” not only knew the order and stuck to it.
In fact, it’s a common criticism within some camps of the industry that if one gets bored with the order it’s because they don’t understand it or that they need to “go deeper into it.”
Whatever the heck that means.
Is there value in understanding the origin of the exercises and where they come from?
Of course.
Is it important to routinely do them in a specific order?
No, and it’s in conflict with current evidence.
This is why evidence matters. Concepts like this is how studying exercise science rocked my world when it came to teaching human movement, and why I am passionate about sharing the knowledge.
Doing the same exercises in the same order is what’s called “constant practice.”
Doing exercises in a random/different order is what’s called “variable practice” or “random practice.”
This area has been well studied, especially when it comes to sports, but it can be applied to various movement practices, including but not limited to Pilates.
It has been shown various times that when you compare these two practice styles, variable practice promotes more motor learning.
An interesting finding is that it may be more challenging for the learner during a variable practice session (eg. they do worse during practice when compared to constant practice). However, when tested in the skill at a later date the variable practice learners are more likely to have better outcomes.
So if you’re trying to learn Pilates or any movement skill, evidence suggests you’re better off doing it in a different order.
What does this mean?
If you’ve ever been bored with the order of the repertoire and/or have been criticized for it, don’t worry. Your behavior is aligned with increased motor learning outcomes.
The “you need to do the order” thought process is dogmatic, out-dated, and in conflict with the current evidence in motor learning so cheers to you for going against the grain.
Catch Adam’s Instagram: @AdamMcAteePilates
A little history from Christina Maria Gadar
Last month on my Open Access Pilates Archives Instagram page I shared a video in which I spoke about George Hoyningen-Huene, Joseph Pilates’ student and close friend. George was a high-end fashion photographer for Vogue in Paris and Harper’s Bazaar in New York and he photographed Joe for his book, “Return to Life Through Contrology” (Joe called his Method Contrology).
The George Hoyningen-Huene Estate, which up until last year was located right here in Sarasota, Florida, and is now located in Stockholm, Sweden is in the process of digitizing their archives and they have just shared the full set of George’s self portraits doing Pilates. Enjoy!
#BecomeTheChange #sharethework #georgehoyningenhuene #openaccesspilatesarchives #pilateshistory #pilatesarchive #pilatesarchives #archivalpilates #originalpilates #pilatessarasota #josephpilates
Posted @withregram • @georgehoyningenhuenearchives Photographer George Hoyningen-Huene met Joseph Pilates in New York and became a Pilates enthusiast. Huene took the photographs for the Pilates book ‘Return to Life through Contrology’, first published in 1945.Photo: Huene exercising by the Pilates method, part of a series of similar self-portraits. Undated.
