bigben66
New member
A few people have asked me why I have incorporated Pilates into my pre-contest prep…. Here’s why.
Physique competitors are judged on aesthetics alone, it’s not all down to who has the most muscle, it’s purely who has the most balanced physique, a body that makes you think “Wow, that guy/gal is in awesome shape!”
One of the most important aspects that judges look for in a competitor, are a great waist to shoulder ratio, that classic v-taper, with broad shoulders and lats - filtering down a lean and narrow midsection.
A couple of years ago, I made the mistake of over-training my abdominal muscles, which resulted in a blocky and chunky waist, albeit topped with big chunky abs.
I used resistance with everything I did and although my abs looked impressive, my waist went up a few inches and I lost all mobility and flexibility in my trunk.
This in turn switched my inner core muscles off and if left long enough would have resulted in poor posture.
Fortunately I have addressed this concern, simply by dropping abs totally from my repertoire, and starting to refocus on my inner core stability and strength.
Pilates is a great way of switching those core muscles back on and tightening up that waist, I have managed to lose three inches off my waist in the last 4 weeks – obviously my diet is the fundamental reason for this adjustment, but the pilates will have certainly added to those results.
I am finding now that my v-taper is coming in nicely, my abs and obliques are pronounced but not ‘in your face’ – and more importantly I now have the core strength to hold the poses in the quarter turns without my whole body shaking.
Do many competitors use Pilates?
No, I’d say a very small minority actually.
But for my goals, my weaknesses and for my general well-being – I decided to think outside the box and incorporate it. I’m glad I did!
Too many people look for a carbon-copy to follow when it comes to achieving their desired look. Instead they need to take a good long pessimistic look in the mirror – and perhaps even take on board a point-of-view from a neutral observer – before assessing what needs to be done.
Unorthodox measures often bring the richest rewards!
Train clever!
Physique competitors are judged on aesthetics alone, it’s not all down to who has the most muscle, it’s purely who has the most balanced physique, a body that makes you think “Wow, that guy/gal is in awesome shape!”
One of the most important aspects that judges look for in a competitor, are a great waist to shoulder ratio, that classic v-taper, with broad shoulders and lats - filtering down a lean and narrow midsection.
A couple of years ago, I made the mistake of over-training my abdominal muscles, which resulted in a blocky and chunky waist, albeit topped with big chunky abs.
I used resistance with everything I did and although my abs looked impressive, my waist went up a few inches and I lost all mobility and flexibility in my trunk.
This in turn switched my inner core muscles off and if left long enough would have resulted in poor posture.
Fortunately I have addressed this concern, simply by dropping abs totally from my repertoire, and starting to refocus on my inner core stability and strength.
Pilates is a great way of switching those core muscles back on and tightening up that waist, I have managed to lose three inches off my waist in the last 4 weeks – obviously my diet is the fundamental reason for this adjustment, but the pilates will have certainly added to those results.
I am finding now that my v-taper is coming in nicely, my abs and obliques are pronounced but not ‘in your face’ – and more importantly I now have the core strength to hold the poses in the quarter turns without my whole body shaking.
Do many competitors use Pilates?
No, I’d say a very small minority actually.
But for my goals, my weaknesses and for my general well-being – I decided to think outside the box and incorporate it. I’m glad I did!
Too many people look for a carbon-copy to follow when it comes to achieving their desired look. Instead they need to take a good long pessimistic look in the mirror – and perhaps even take on board a point-of-view from a neutral observer – before assessing what needs to be done.
Unorthodox measures often bring the richest rewards!
Train clever!
