By Anna Levin
1) Spring Resistance
If you have never worked with spring resistance before, you have to give it a try. It challenges your body in a completely different way from typical weight resistance . There is a bounce, an unpredictability that forces your body to respond by tuning into its core strength and postural stability. The rebound of the springs provides an opportunity for you to counter with grace and control. You are directly connected to the spring through a bar, a handle or a strap. Instead of creating your own internal resistance, you work against the specific resistance directly. You manage the force of the spring.
2) Variation
Our bodies crave variation in movement. To continue improving, we need to seek out different challenges for ourselves. Varied movement creates new opportunities for gains in strength and flexibility. For example, in the 100 exercise, the work is usually felt mainly in the upper abdominals. But with the springboard you can add the roll down bar under the knees and pull the knees over the navel to deepen the work of the low abdominals as well.
The springboard also offers options for side bending and twisting (rotation) that go beyond standard mat pilates. This increased spinal mobility should give you a nice feeling of flexibility and suppleness throughout your whole body.
3) Balance work :
The springboard setup challenges your balance in unique ways. When you lean into the the spring, it forces you to balance and stabilize at the same time. There is a kind of sweet spot, the Goldilocks place where you are both balanced and perfectly toned. It is a skill you won’t find anywhere else.
For example, the arabesque exercise requires that you stand on one leg, and pulse your arms against the spring while you pulse your leg up. Abracadabra – balance + glutes + lats!
4) Smaller classes:
Springboard classes are often small – think 5 to 6 people. Small class size means your teacher can give you more focus and help you get more out of each exercise. More precision in your movements means quicker progress to better functional strength and flexibility, posture and alignment.
There is a kind of sweet spot, the Goldilocks place where you are both balanced and perfectly toned. It is a skill you won’t find anywhere else.
5) Desk slouch + laptop hunch ?
Staying seated most of our waking hours weakens our posterior muscles, and tightens our hips, calves and hamstrings. Our bodies get better and more efficient at what we practice. Slouching is a low effort way to sit and gradually we will all slide into a collapsed posture. We are super skilled at sitting and stink at moving. Our back and butt muscles get overstretched and gradually turn off. Solution: Standing squats with rowing: glutework, check. Back muscles, check. Double leg spring series: dynamic stretching for hip mobility, check. We’re all good here.
