My daughters are in gymnastics. It’s a great sport and they work really hard at it, but as with all other sports, they need Pilates as well. They need concentration, control, centering, precision, flow… you get the picture. I asked the coach to do a Pilates class with one of the teams to teach them the importance of centerline and the critical connections.
They all had watched the Olympics, and were very impressed. I told them I had noticed the upper body stabilization on the Olympic gymnasts – Scapula and rib connection – especially on the beam.
PPS-II served as my focus for the Level 7 and 8 girls I worked with. My intro was short – I told them I wanted shapes in space from them so that when we went through the PPS-II mat series they could easily tell me when they used “Rolling like a Ball.”
In back and front tuck, the girls noticed how important the heel-seat connection was. I taught them how opposition stabilizes, and how to get all the critical connections. It was quite interesting. They did really well, but they thought it was hard! The Scapula rib connection was something they all needed, and they all had trouble with. Ribs popping everywhere. Surprisingly, they found leg pull back difficult, because most of them were tight in the chest area. They really needed that one, too.
I believe the team would benefit from doing Pilates once a week as a part of their strength and flexibility program. Even as an instructor, I learned a lot from the girls. I hope to do it again soon
Keep scooping!
- Torill Carroll