Maya Jama is no stranger to making headlines. love island – And most recently, Love Island ~All Stars~ The presenter turns the star on and off the screen to make it sizzle. We’ve all fallen in love with this IT girl at one time or another, so naturally we were on the hunt to find out her fitness-obsessed favorites.
While she seems to be a fan of different workout styles, she’s also a big supporter of innovative Pilates, so I met her Pilates instructor, Nobu Pilates founder Marsha Lindsay, in person and I’ve tried three moves that really help heat up Jama on the platform. Here are the top 10 things I learned:
1.Reformer Pilates are different for each person.
Don’t get me wrong, the three movements I practiced were all-around core exercises. Innovative Pilates can and should be adapted to each individual. Marcia explains: “Maya feels different from day to day, so I adjust her training. It’s the same for all my clients.”
“I ask them what they want to work on,” or if you’re on a longer-term program with someone, “we ask them what they want to work on.” [try to] to understand [how to] We build from there,” Marcia continues.
2. Reformer Pilates targets your core from every angle
The three movements Marcia showed me challenged my core from the front, back, and sides. “What sets Pilates apart is bringing awareness to posture and alignment, and learning how every movement begins with a strong connection in the abdomen,” she explains.
1. Short box side sit-ups
You are definitely safe on the box, but the important thing is that you are not stable, so the challenge is to use your muscles to keep your frame balanced and to “hold yourself in space.” When you bend to the side, you also “lengthen the sides of your lower back” to get the elongating stretch that Pilates is famous for.
It felt really unstable at first to have just the foot straps holding me in place and pulling me, but after a couple of tries I was able to relax into that anxiety a bit.
target muscles: internal and external obliques through lateral flexion.Strengthen your glutes and hamstrings by holding just the straps
Tip: Keep your hips stacked and your elbows wide. If it’s too difficult, don’t bend too much.
2. Longbox teaser
This is all about keeping your balance on your coccyx and working your abdominal muscles (surprise, surprise). “Although only your arms are moving, it’s your core connection that keeps you stable,” Lindsey explains.
An additional challenge is that you are on a moving platform and must stabilize yourself against that movement.
To increase the difficulty, try version 2 and extend your legs into a teaser shape. At this point I felt very shaky and was trying desperately not to lose my footing, not to sink, not to fall backwards.
target muscles: All shoulder stabilizer to improve your posture. Throughout the abdominal connection to maintain balance and form.Strengthen your glutes and inner thighs to keep your legs long
Tip: Raise your hands as high as possible while pulling your abs back. Slowly raise and lower your hands. “Never rush in Pilates. Focus on control,” Lindsey reminds us. If it’s too difficult, keep your legs bent and don’t raise your hands too high.
3. Short spine massage
Marsha outlined that the move “will test reversal and overhead techniques.”
With my legs extended, I had to raise my hips without raising my legs. “This was difficult because, in a technical sense, the legs are the heaviest part of the body.” What I’m essentially looking for is, like Joseph Pilates, from your power power It’s about lifting your lower body. [the practice’s inventor] They let us know it’s all about the abs, glutes and inner thigh muscles,” Marcia explains. “It’s very difficult to figure out how to control movement from all these connections at once.”
That was fun too! – Mental training to understand the position of the hips in each of the four poses:
- Extend your legs until they are straight.
- Lift your hips toward your head and invert slightly upwards to lengthen your spine.
- Bend your knees toward yourself.
- Roll down your spine, vertebra by vertebra, until you return to your starting point.
Muscles targeted: Find lift and control by adjusting all connections in your abdomen.Posterior chain due to stretching
Tip: If this is too difficult, use your legs as well as your hips to lift your lower body.
3. Pilates is also a full-body workout
Marsha’s Pilates classes use a wide range of equipment, including “reformers, towers, Cadillacs, barrels, and jump boards,” allowing for full-body compound movements that challenge the body in unique and versatile ways.
“Each piece of equipment challenges your Pilates exercise with a different plane of movement, each working opposite muscle groups – the contrast between doing push-pulls in the gym, for example,” Marcia admits. “Pilates equipment teaches your body how to move smarter, which is a skill set that can be applied to any fitness regime.”
4. You can use Reformer Pilates to strengthen your muscles
Maya has previously revealed that she wants to gain weight and build muscle, and has been working with PTs such as Tyrone Brennand and recently Warren Whiteley (aka Woz) on strength training.
However, Pilates can also be used to increase physical strength. “Working with the springs throughout the Pilates equipment works similarly to weight training by providing resistance to the body and strengthening multiple muscle groups at once during the movement,” Marcia says.
5. Reformer Pilates complement your existing workouts
Marsha reminds us that Pilates and Spring Work with Maya “complement” PT workouts, “propel” them with bodyweight-based exercises, and strengthen muscles to “prevent injury” . Marcia says his strength and Pilates work together to “build a stronger body to help Maya reach her goals.”
Overall, contrary to popular understanding, Marcia believes that Pilates training complements any activity, and not the other way around. Whether you’re a powerlifter, a cyclist, or a mom who trains for pain relief, Pilates should be “in line with what’s next.” [you] Do that in your life. It’s effective at “making your gym workouts more intense, correcting your posture, and aiding your overall movement.”
6. No experience required before starting Reformer Pilates
In general, everyone comes to Pilates from a different starting point and orientation, including Maya. Marcia sees “complete beginners” who are used to working with different styles versus experienced practitioners who have been involved in Pilates for her 10 years.
Reformer Pilates caters to all levels, and Marcia “swings and adapts” to what each person needs. When you start with her, it may feel like your “first session of her life” as her classically trained girlfriend teaches you the “history and background” of Pilates.
7. Reformer is a good way to prepare for mat Pilates, not the other way around
It’s often thought that you should start at the top of the mat and “step up” towards reformers and other equipment, but Marsha says it’s better to take the opposite approach. “You should start with reformer and spring work because it gives you support, guidance, and an understanding of how to build strength. That way, when you remove the springs, you’ll have perfected your mat work.” can be executed.”
Since mat Pilates moves the body against gravity, with no support or springs, Mat Pilates is “some of the hardest work you can do,” so Reformers say mat activity “really informs.”
8. Just do Reformer Pilates twice a week to see results – just make it a consistent habit
All you hardcore sweat fanatics, look away now! Marcia suggests he’s perfectly fine with twice a week to build muscle memory and get results. Maya has a “busy schedule,” Marcia reminds us, which makes it all the more impressive that she carves out her time for a Pilates session. Marcia advises that her priority is to be consistent with what she can control. She can also have sessions once a week and increase it to a higher frequency. But if she wants to come five days a week, that’s fine too. “Pilates has no limits,” smiles Marcia.
9. Everyone struggles with different aspects of Pilates reform
Just as there is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all reformer workout, “each person has unique weaknesses in their body,” Marsha reminds us. reformer. “It’s humiliating for everyone,” she reassures us. Even if you are a PT (#realisticgoals) who can lift 140 kg, you may still struggle with things like using your arms.
Similarly, when it comes to pain, “first-timers or beginners will definitely feel soreness the next week, while people who have been training regularly for a period of time will feel soreness during the session, but the next day. Less DOM.”
To precisely accommodate these different levels, styles, and objectives, Marcia has created three categories within the Nobu Pilates concept: Power, Precision, and Pure that allow people to work on what they want to do. I devised it.
Power uses the jump platform at the end of the reformer, so Marcia tells me, “You’ll get more.” [energetic]aerobic based [workout]” Pure, on the other hand, introduces gentler elements by breaking down movements “including breathing and flexibility.” His Precision, a full-body workout, focuses on specific muscle groups.
And what about Maya? “Maya moves well overall and enjoys any workout,” Marcia says (and we believe it!), but if she had to choose, she’d say “upper body Some of the exercises are ones she would like to work on.’
10. Back to basics… with a twist
Marcia is trained in classical methods, which, according to her, means she “stays true to Joseph Pilates’ original approach.” Typically, these instructors are trained in all classical pieces and equipment (not just mats and reformers). ”
But she also incorporates elements of modern Pilates into her innovative Pilates sessions with Maya, which she describes as “a fusion of classical methods with influences from dance and other methods.” Masu. – Combine core principles (ha!) with new techniques for more innovative training.
of Love Island: All Stars The final episode will air tonight, Monday, February 19th.
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