FitSugar

Guess Which Celebrity Mom-to-Be Is Headed to Pilates?

Michele Foley — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:41:15 PDT

Can you guess which celebrity hid her baby bump on the way to Pilates?

One Leg Is Less Flexible, Is This Normal?

Jenny Sugar — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:34:36 PDT

Is one of your legs always stiffer and won't stretch or move as far as the other one? You're not alone. Flexibility and range of motion differences between the sides of our bodies is very common. The problem is, this can set you up for an injury.

In general, we all have a dominant leg just as most folks have a dominant hand. If you notice one leg is more flexible than the other, it means you're overusing it, putting extra stress on that leg's muscles, joints, and the soft tissues surrounding them. This leads to tight muscles and a postural imbalance that can cause pain or a repetitive stress injury, aka an overuse injury.

Being aware of the discrepancy is the best way to start. Practicing yoga and Pilates are great tools, as they will encourage you focus on strengthening and stretching each side of your body. None of us are symmetrical, but these two forms of exercise help correct faulty alignment and posture. If you can spring for it, see a yoga or Pilates instructor for a few private sessions. A good instructor will help you understand where you're tight and where you're weak, and suggest moves to target those areas.

In the gym, one-legged strengthening exercises can help your weaker leg catch up with the one that's stronger. Try One-Legged Balancing Windmill to even out your legs, and if one of your arms is stronger, try these variations of Side Plank. Rolling out tight muscles with a foam roller might also help. And don't forget about your core. Do exercises that target the sides of your torso, like the basic Bicycle Crunch, to ensure your abdominal muscles are as balanced as possible.

Emma Stone's Amazing Ab Workout

Self — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 04:13:44 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Self here on FitSugar!

She played a frumpy reporter in The Help, but in real life, Emma Stone is the epitome of young Hollywood glamour. The 24-year-old made the transition from child actor to leading lady look effortless, but Stone puts plenty of hard work into every project she tackles, including her Pilates workout. "There's not much to chisel away at on her body, but she enjoys the feeling of flexibility and well-being," says LA-based Pilates instructor Mari Winsor, who has worked with Stone for the past year. "Whenever she's in town, she tries to come in every day."

During their hour-long sessions, the actress likes to focus her energy on firming her thighs and glutes and especially her core. "She was excited about the little lines that were created in her abs," says Winsor. "Pilates is great for creating long, sexy muscles, and we all want to feel sexy!"

Incorporate these three moves into your regular routine to get sculpted abs like Emma Stone. (Note: Oscar nomination not included!)

Get the moves after the break.

4 Reasons to Stick With Pilates

Leta Shy — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:15:09 PDT

Fad workouts come and go, but Pilates continues to be a favorite among Hollywood starlets and well-versed fitness fanatics. What's to love about the exercise? Check out these four reasons to do Pilates below.

Complementary workout: Whether you are a hard-core swimmer or a bootcamp devotee, incorporating Pilates into your workout routine helps keep your muscles loose and flexible, important for staying injury-free, and allows your body to recuperate while still working your muscles.

Lengthen and strengthen: The oft-quoted promise that Pilates and other studio-based exercises will make you look long and lean may be a stretch, since there's no physical way to actually make your muscles longer or leaner. But regularly practicing Pilates can help you combat muscle bulkiness. "In Pilates you stretch the muscle to its full extension, then contract it," says celeb Pilates trainer Nicole Stuart. With weights, however, "you are using your muscles against the resistance of that weight you are holding. So while you're lifting the weight you build and expand your muscle. You are adding a layer of muscle and reshaping."

Read on for more reasons to do Pilates after the break.

No Equipment Required! Tone the Body With These Yoga and Pilates Workouts

Leta Shy — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:41:00 PDT

Strengthening your muscles shouldn't be limited to the weight room or machines at the gym. Tone while you stretch and flex with these five yoga and Pilates workouts.

Thigh sculpting: No need to spend hours on those adductor machines; yoga can help stretch out tight muscles while also toning for bikini season. This sequence of nine yoga poses works all the muscles in your legs while focusing on toning your inner thighs.

Leg strengthening: If you're a runner, chances are you know a thing or two about tight lower-body muscles. Yoga can help strengthen those overworked areas while increasing your hip and hamstring flexibility, helping you stay injury-free and making you a better runner. Get the 10-pose yoga for runners sequence here.

Arm contouring: Ready to rock that sundress in style? Put down the dumbbells; toned shoulders, backs, and arms can be had by taking a few minutes to add this yoga sequence for your upper body to your workout routine.

Ab defining: Holding a yoga pose often leads to engaged abs, so what better way to a six-pack than a regular yoga practice? This video of three simple yoga poses will whittle your waist for a toned midsection.

All-over toning: Pilates is a great exercise for toning all the major parts of your body. Use our guide for five specific Pilates moves to get you bikini-ready here.

From the Fit Community: Can You Really Make Your Muscles Longer and Leaner?

Fit Community — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:23:17 PST

FitSugar reader JessicaSmithTV wanted to know: are all those claims about creating longer and leaner muscles through exercise true? She asked an expert and posted the answer in our Fit Community.

You've probably heard it numerous times before - a workout that promises to give you longer, leaner muscles (we've often heard this said about PIlates or ballet-based training methods) . . . so can this really be true? Can a muscle truly become longer and/or leaner?

I asked "The Exercise Doctor" Michele Olson - PhD, creator of the Perfect Legs, Glutes, & Abs DVD, and professor at Auburn University Montgomery - to answer this for us. She has studied various forms of exercise extensively and published research on Pilates.

"Muscles are already comprised of 'fat-free' (aka lean) tissue, so any amount of muscle is, by definition, lean. You can't have 'leaner' muscles," says Olson. "If you were to add more muscles from resistance training, you could increase the amount of lean muscle you have and, therefore, have more lean muscle." But most of these methods (such as Pilates or ballet-/barre-style exercises) use relatively light to moderate resistance, which is not enough to create a significant increase in the amount of lean muscle mass you have.

Read on to learn more about if you can make your muscles long and lean.

Mistakes You're Making on the Pilates Mat

Susi May — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:51:53 PST

Mat classes are the most affordable way to reap the benefits of Pilates. Taught across the country at gyms and private studios, group classes mean you don't have an instructor cuing and correcting your every move. Make the most of your time on the mat and be mindful of these common mistakes I've seen in classes over the years.

Not Going Deep
There are many benefits to Pilates, but getting in touch with the deep abs, aka the transverse abdominals, is, to me, the most important. If the deep abs are working, then all four layers of ab muscles will be working right along with it, making for a very stable torso. In class, use every exhale as opportunity to reengage your abs and pull them into your spine with a little lift up. If the abs are pooching outward, you're only working the top layer of the abs and training them to pull away from the spine - the opposite effect of what you want.

Momentum Is Not Your Friend
Deliberate pauses are built into the choreography of many Pilates exercises to prevent momentum from taking over the motion. The Pilates method was originally named Contrology (the study of control) to emphasize this very concept. Going slowly is key. Jayme Boyle, the group fitness coordinator and Pillates mat instructor at the SF Equinox, explains the importance of forgoing momentum like this: "Slower pace means you’re turning on stabilizing muscles and you’re creating more isometric contractions." And I have to agree. Pilates is not a race.

Keep reading for more common Pilates mat class mistakes.

Guess Which Celeb Is Leaving a Pilates Class?

Michele Foley — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:41:12 PST

Can you guess which actress spent the day at Pilates?

Breathe Deeply, Improve Your Running

Susi May — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 02:40:24 PST

Breathing. You're doing it right now without even thinking about it. Put a little thought into the action, and you just might find yourself soaring through your next tempo run. When you're going the distance running, swimming, cycling, and even rowing you need to power your muscles with fresh oxygen. To do this, you need to breathe deeply. Unfortunately, most of us are just breathing into our chest and not fully utilizing our lungs. Cross-training with the noncardio workouts of yoga and Pilates can help. Along with strength and flexibility, these forms of mind-body exercise help you learn to breathe deeply and effectively.

Basically, your lungs are just a bit smaller than your rib cage, but we all tend to breathe in just the top third of the lungs. One reason is that, like all muscles, the intercostals, which run between the ribs, can get tight and inflexible, limiting the expansiveness of your lungs. With a little training and some stretching, you can breathe to your full potential and increase your endurance.

Learn a supersimple breathing exercise, simply read more.

5 Pilates DVDs For Beginners

Heather Dale — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:09:51 PST

Now that you've conquered the basics of yoga with these DVDs, it may be time to test the waters of Pilates. Or maybe you have someone on your holiday list this year that prefers working out in the comfort of her home and has always wanted to give Pilates a try? What's great about Pilates is that it can be practiced by a wide range of people - whether you're a runner, a professional athlete, or a senior citizen, its exercises can be modified to cater to all fitness levels. Here are five of my favorite DVDs that are the perfect place to start if you’re new to Pilates.

Source: Thinkstock