I don't usually post photos of my excursions to Pilates class. Mostly because I am always in a rush, or always have my hands full of groceries afterward, or because I am generally dressed in the same ugly thing every time I go. Work out pants and a tank top. Often with zero makeup.
Over the winter I have been carpooling with Lisa. The route I usually ride is very traffic heavy and it's not like the residential routes I take when I am meandering over to Old Strathcona. Even though there are bike paths and sharrows, people are in a rush, and the addition of snow makes the road very narrow and pinched.
It's definitely not glamourous, but it's all sorts of functional:)
The bike paths are still pretty messy with clumps of one thing or another. And where there is no more snow or ice, there is a whole lot of gravel. I am thinking it's time to switch out bikes soon and put away winter Kona with her studded tires, and try ambling around town on the Urbana that I still have in my possession. It's supposed to be a tough bike, so it should suit this messy spring time quite nicely.
Anybody who reads G&B with regularity knows that I am awful about going to the gym. I find it time consuming and boring, which is one of the big reasons why I bike. My workouts are functional and all tied up in transportation. I do, however, make an exception for pilates.
I started going to pilates class to see if it was something that would help fix my back problems that surfaced after being rear-ended by a tow truck in 2009. Funny how cycling gets a bad reputation for being safe, when it's that collision that has plagued me with chronic back pain for years after the fact. Not to mention that 4 month-old Dexter was in the back of our little sedan. The car which we had planned to drive until it was dead (and it had many many years left in it) was a total write-off. The worst part is when we filed the police report, they informed us that these rear-enders happen several times a day, EVERY DAY.
What a waste of time, money, materials (scrapped cars... awesome), and a hazard to public health and safety. ARRRGGG.
Anyway, I had gone through two rounds of physio (which helped, but didn't provide a permanent solution), and gotten lots of massages too.
The back pain kept coming back. So last spring I start attending a pilates class.
I had read that pilates is all core-based and I figured that strengthening my core and back was likely a good thing - and I also started seeing an acupuncturist too. Pilates has indeed really helped with strengthening, stretching, and my posture (which I always thought was good, but I was wrong). I am a total convert now.
Although with work and Dexter and being pregnant I don't have time to be a super pilates lady (there are some amazing women who go 2-3 times a week at my studio, who look FANTASTIC), I manage to get there once a week and I love it.
I have no idea whether it's going to be helpful with me having the baby. But, I do know there is no shortcut to fixing chronic health issues except creating the conditions in your lifestyle (meaning, you can keep it up long term) that accommodate your rehabilitation (for lack of a better term).
So the long story short is that I biked to pilates. It felt great!
3 comments:
Yeah, crazy and frustrating how quickly people jump on the "[biking] looks dangerous" bandwagon, but don't think twice about driving or riding in an automobile, which, by most measures, is much LESS safe than riding a bike.
Pre-baby, I was a gym person (haven't quite gotten back in that groove yet), but only because I had a gym within 3/4 mile of where I live. I don't think I would last at a place that regularly required a car trip.
Has the acupuncture helped? Never had it, but my husband considered it after ongoing pain from an injury, so I'm curious. Thanks!
Hey Sarah! Glad to hear that you're enjoying pilates! Are you taking the mat classes, or are you doing the equipment (reformer/cadillac) classes? I took classes in Edmonton just north of Oliver Square 1-2 times a week for 5ish years. I was definitely in the best shape of my life. I really miss those classes as I haven't been able to find a comparable studio here in Calgary.
Melissa - Acupuncture is the bomb! It "cured" my back pain (which comes back every now and then because of the current pregnancy) and it also helped with my sprained thumb after I fell off the bike last year.
Unknown - Last summer I really felt like I was in the best shape of my life, with my riding and weekly pilates! I was doing a reformer on the mat class (challenging), but now I am doing a semi-private thing on equipment, to better accommodate my baby bump!
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