Kim- I had an identical fall. An ankle-high parking block I did not see. One of those “my-center-of-gravity-is-too-far-in-front-of-me” stumbles. My arms not available to catch me for some reason. I also “caught” myself on the right side of my face. 250 lbs of stumbling momentum right on my cheekbone and temple areas. I was knocked out for about 10-15 seconds. It was raining and my wife was wondering how she’d ever get me off the ground. My 10-year-old daughter thought I might have been dying, what with me lying there unconsciously groaning on the ground in front of her.
What hurt most though as I finally woke, got up and limped to the car, was the thought that 15 years earlier I probably would have just rolled out of that stumble, only annoyed about getting wet on the rain covered parking lot pavement. I was 40.
You have motivated me to go back to Reformer Pilates at the gym. I did cardio for years, am now focused on strength training ( love it) but sometimes feel the need to really stretch my body out. So read your article, went to Reformer last week , loved it and am going to do one reformer/ one mat class a week . Thank you!
I had been on a great course of exercise before the pandemic that involved a good portion of the day at my local gym/spa. I was drawn to Pilates… Any exercise that can get results while done lying down has its attractions. But, on a more serious note, I found the rhythmicity of it relaxing and the strength training effective. I've been toying with getting a machine at home… your expensive analysis here is highly motivating.
Very good, Kim. Intriguing subject - something I’ve come to look for from you. I hope i’m here in ten years to see how you confront your aging and fitness then. Write on.
I just want a Pilates mat class. I hurt myself in a yoga class with an impatient teacher (I know; I've had two of those!). I have "loose" joints, hypermobility. Sure, I could put both feet behind my head: don't do that, or don't do it too much! I tend to overextend with yoga. I like how practical Pilates is, that Joseph Pilates developed it to help solders injured in WWI, and the photos of him observing, a cigarette in one hand, a drink in the other. Forget that newer image! Finding mat classes is difficult. I've considered training to be a teacher so I can do and teach mat classes (plus, you know I'd be popular, the one footed teacher; right?). I've never done reformer but I don't want to pay for that and mat is enough. Really. When I've taken the classes I've felt improvement from the first class. You're pushing me. Lemme finish banging on this house - the exercise I'm getting daily now - and I'll look around again.
Be careful with Pilates. Too much of the mat work is based on supine crunches. And that is not recommended for older bones. Or really for anyone, now. It can damage your spine.
There are a lot of bad teachers around, too. Pilates Princesses all! They will push the reps too fast, too hard. To do this correctly — and beneficially — you want to go slow. It’s about repetition, not exertion.
For those who can afford the stupidly expensive training on the Reformer apparatus — there is no reason that should cast as much as it does — that is a much safer way to go.
Yes! My main exercise is hiking and plodding on my treadmill in front of the TV, but I started pilates last year in my late 50s and I love it. It has definitely increased my balance and made my legs stronger for running. It gave definition to my thighs and although my stomach is still a blob, it is a blob with two vertical indentations on either side of it so I can see as well as feel that my core is stronger. I move differently and can carry more, and have caught myself by balancing on one leg to avoid a fall. You can get a book from the library and exercise at home for free and still get benefits.
You know, Kim, I support just about any exercise (I was never an athlete, so I am more like the zealous religious convert) and think Pilates is good - and yoga better for me, but it's not an argument. What you may not know is that I fell a week ago, slipped on a low step and found myself on the ground, but was not hurt much at all. I limped to the bus to get home, but with ice etc, I had no limp the next day. I still don't know if my lack of after effects is because of my yoga (I wrote a very viral Note the next day asking this question and a lot of people think it was), but at 84, it certainly helps me keep active. Keep it up. And don't think of yourself as old – you're not even on the foothills!
Bravo for exercising, in whatever way works for you! I have never been a fan of Pilates with a reformer (because it seems unnatural and complicated and can’t be done anywhere) but I see the benefit of mat Pilates. Mostly I want to encourage anyone who reads this but who doesn’t have access to a Pilates studio to (1) do yoga for similar balance benefits (I recommend the YouTube yogi Yoga by Kassandra for beginners, even more than Adrienne) and (2) get outside for walks (which I imagine is difficult in Vegas heat!).
I am fortunate in that at age 78, my bone density is normal despite being estrogen deprived since menopause. My mother lived to 95 and never had a fracture. What I am seeing from the menopause experts, though, is that what builds bone, in addition to systemic estrogen, which you have said you are on, is lifting heavy and the impact of jumping from 8" minimum elevation to the ground, and consuming sufficient amounts of protein; that cardio and stretching are beneficial but do not specifically build bone. I'm glad to see that my 36 year-old daughter has embraced wieghtlifting and is the opposite of the willowy, skinny girl she longed to be when she was a teenager. At 6' tall, she is an Amazon warrioress, with powerful shoulders and thighs, who lifts grocery bags and her toddler daughter with ease.
I am on a different trajectory, unfortunately. Despite normal bone density, my joints and connective tissue are fallling apart, due to arthritis caused by longstanding estrogen deprivation. The only exercise I am able to do is range of motion and stretching in a swimming pool, and even that is off limits for me for a while, because I just had shoulder replacement surgery a week ago: my fourth joint that's been replaced. To younger women who still have the potential to intervene in their aging trajectories, I say take systemic HRT, lift weights, stress your bones, stretch your ligaments, eat protein. Stay strong. And don't worry what the number says on your scale or on the clothing rack at Nordstrom's.
I started Pilates in 2012. Went 2x a week --until COVID struck. Private classes..it changed my life...Took a rather long break from all of it, and started back up in 2024....still go, once weekly. BUT still ageing gets to you: no one 80 should be on a ladder getting heavy shit off a shelf. I tell myself this every damn time I climb on that damn ladder....
In addition to many shared interests and many common friends, it turns out that we're both on the “blood vengeance to be exacted” list of that satanic runt-barricade poured from the cement mixers of hell known as the “bollard.”
It's meant to stop a car, but it's never stopped mine. In fact I think it invites my car to roll over it so that it can go at the bottom of my car in its attempt to reach me. I've caught it trying to trip me many times in many places. I've been safe only because I wasn't holding a Diet Coke. That's because, like you, I will never sacrifice something so precious as a Diet Coke merely to keep my face from smashing into asphalt.
I've been practicing Pilates since I was 35. I'm 69 now. I got a certification and taught through the early aughts. Got cancer took a break and after recovering, taught again until the Pandemic and everything shut down. After doors opened, I chose not to go back to teaching and stay focused on my creative work. But I still practice Pilates in the studio with other teachers 3/4 times a week.
I've explored all the other fitness options out there like you, including Yoga which totally fucked up my back.
So Pliates remains my gold standard for creating and maintaining functional fitness!
Joseph Pilates posed these 6 guiding principles of Pilates: centering, control, flow, breath, precision, concentration. It's a moving meditation on full-body presence and awareness.
What I also love about if if you're working with skilled instructors, they guide you with corrections for alignment and make sure you are moving safely so as not to injure yourself, unlike in other types of fitness classes.
There's a level of honoring and respecting your body for exactly where it's at, what it can do with a gentle nudge to stretch or push/pull into a movement a little further (or not on some days!) so that your body is never overworked. Which, in the end, is counterproductive, especially important as our bodies age.
And if you are younger, you can make it as challenging as you want just by making adjustments to spring loads, adding weights, doing jump board, and an infinite variety of choreography.
I love a teacher with a creative mind to keep it ever fresh. I bore easily with repetition, so I'm always grateful when I find a teacher who can keep mixing it up, which also keeps your body from getting complacent!
I bought a reformer for home use after we used the jump board for the first time in class. My knees don’t allow jumping IRL any longer. Being able to jump again brings me joy. 75 years.
Kim- I had an identical fall. An ankle-high parking block I did not see. One of those “my-center-of-gravity-is-too-far-in-front-of-me” stumbles. My arms not available to catch me for some reason. I also “caught” myself on the right side of my face. 250 lbs of stumbling momentum right on my cheekbone and temple areas. I was knocked out for about 10-15 seconds. It was raining and my wife was wondering how she’d ever get me off the ground. My 10-year-old daughter thought I might have been dying, what with me lying there unconsciously groaning on the ground in front of her.
What hurt most though as I finally woke, got up and limped to the car, was the thought that 15 years earlier I probably would have just rolled out of that stumble, only annoyed about getting wet on the rain covered parking lot pavement. I was 40.
You have motivated me to go back to Reformer Pilates at the gym. I did cardio for years, am now focused on strength training ( love it) but sometimes feel the need to really stretch my body out. So read your article, went to Reformer last week , loved it and am going to do one reformer/ one mat class a week . Thank you!
I had been on a great course of exercise before the pandemic that involved a good portion of the day at my local gym/spa. I was drawn to Pilates… Any exercise that can get results while done lying down has its attractions. But, on a more serious note, I found the rhythmicity of it relaxing and the strength training effective. I've been toying with getting a machine at home… your expensive analysis here is highly motivating.
Was literally just contemplating trying Pilates. Thank you!! 🤩
Very good, Kim. Intriguing subject - something I’ve come to look for from you. I hope i’m here in ten years to see how you confront your aging and fitness then. Write on.
I just want a Pilates mat class. I hurt myself in a yoga class with an impatient teacher (I know; I've had two of those!). I have "loose" joints, hypermobility. Sure, I could put both feet behind my head: don't do that, or don't do it too much! I tend to overextend with yoga. I like how practical Pilates is, that Joseph Pilates developed it to help solders injured in WWI, and the photos of him observing, a cigarette in one hand, a drink in the other. Forget that newer image! Finding mat classes is difficult. I've considered training to be a teacher so I can do and teach mat classes (plus, you know I'd be popular, the one footed teacher; right?). I've never done reformer but I don't want to pay for that and mat is enough. Really. When I've taken the classes I've felt improvement from the first class. You're pushing me. Lemme finish banging on this house - the exercise I'm getting daily now - and I'll look around again.
Be careful with Pilates. Too much of the mat work is based on supine crunches. And that is not recommended for older bones. Or really for anyone, now. It can damage your spine.
There are a lot of bad teachers around, too. Pilates Princesses all! They will push the reps too fast, too hard. To do this correctly — and beneficially — you want to go slow. It’s about repetition, not exertion.
For those who can afford the stupidly expensive training on the Reformer apparatus — there is no reason that should cast as much as it does — that is a much safer way to go.
Yes! My main exercise is hiking and plodding on my treadmill in front of the TV, but I started pilates last year in my late 50s and I love it. It has definitely increased my balance and made my legs stronger for running. It gave definition to my thighs and although my stomach is still a blob, it is a blob with two vertical indentations on either side of it so I can see as well as feel that my core is stronger. I move differently and can carry more, and have caught myself by balancing on one leg to avoid a fall. You can get a book from the library and exercise at home for free and still get benefits.
You know, Kim, I support just about any exercise (I was never an athlete, so I am more like the zealous religious convert) and think Pilates is good - and yoga better for me, but it's not an argument. What you may not know is that I fell a week ago, slipped on a low step and found myself on the ground, but was not hurt much at all. I limped to the bus to get home, but with ice etc, I had no limp the next day. I still don't know if my lack of after effects is because of my yoga (I wrote a very viral Note the next day asking this question and a lot of people think it was), but at 84, it certainly helps me keep active. Keep it up. And don't think of yourself as old – you're not even on the foothills!
Bravo for exercising, in whatever way works for you! I have never been a fan of Pilates with a reformer (because it seems unnatural and complicated and can’t be done anywhere) but I see the benefit of mat Pilates. Mostly I want to encourage anyone who reads this but who doesn’t have access to a Pilates studio to (1) do yoga for similar balance benefits (I recommend the YouTube yogi Yoga by Kassandra for beginners, even more than Adrienne) and (2) get outside for walks (which I imagine is difficult in Vegas heat!).
I am fortunate in that at age 78, my bone density is normal despite being estrogen deprived since menopause. My mother lived to 95 and never had a fracture. What I am seeing from the menopause experts, though, is that what builds bone, in addition to systemic estrogen, which you have said you are on, is lifting heavy and the impact of jumping from 8" minimum elevation to the ground, and consuming sufficient amounts of protein; that cardio and stretching are beneficial but do not specifically build bone. I'm glad to see that my 36 year-old daughter has embraced wieghtlifting and is the opposite of the willowy, skinny girl she longed to be when she was a teenager. At 6' tall, she is an Amazon warrioress, with powerful shoulders and thighs, who lifts grocery bags and her toddler daughter with ease.
I am on a different trajectory, unfortunately. Despite normal bone density, my joints and connective tissue are fallling apart, due to arthritis caused by longstanding estrogen deprivation. The only exercise I am able to do is range of motion and stretching in a swimming pool, and even that is off limits for me for a while, because I just had shoulder replacement surgery a week ago: my fourth joint that's been replaced. To younger women who still have the potential to intervene in their aging trajectories, I say take systemic HRT, lift weights, stress your bones, stretch your ligaments, eat protein. Stay strong. And don't worry what the number says on your scale or on the clothing rack at Nordstrom's.
Thank you for the nudge. Your description of Pilates causes me to want to try it. (Age 65.)
Thank you Kim, I need to take another pilates class. There's a place in Green Valley, not far from my house. Fellow Vegas girl here.
I started Pilates in 2012. Went 2x a week --until COVID struck. Private classes..it changed my life...Took a rather long break from all of it, and started back up in 2024....still go, once weekly. BUT still ageing gets to you: no one 80 should be on a ladder getting heavy shit off a shelf. I tell myself this every damn time I climb on that damn ladder....
In addition to many shared interests and many common friends, it turns out that we're both on the “blood vengeance to be exacted” list of that satanic runt-barricade poured from the cement mixers of hell known as the “bollard.”
It's meant to stop a car, but it's never stopped mine. In fact I think it invites my car to roll over it so that it can go at the bottom of my car in its attempt to reach me. I've caught it trying to trip me many times in many places. I've been safe only because I wasn't holding a Diet Coke. That's because, like you, I will never sacrifice something so precious as a Diet Coke merely to keep my face from smashing into asphalt.
Yay for you in finding Pilates! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I've been practicing Pilates since I was 35. I'm 69 now. I got a certification and taught through the early aughts. Got cancer took a break and after recovering, taught again until the Pandemic and everything shut down. After doors opened, I chose not to go back to teaching and stay focused on my creative work. But I still practice Pilates in the studio with other teachers 3/4 times a week.
I've explored all the other fitness options out there like you, including Yoga which totally fucked up my back.
So Pliates remains my gold standard for creating and maintaining functional fitness!
Joseph Pilates posed these 6 guiding principles of Pilates: centering, control, flow, breath, precision, concentration. It's a moving meditation on full-body presence and awareness.
What I also love about if if you're working with skilled instructors, they guide you with corrections for alignment and make sure you are moving safely so as not to injure yourself, unlike in other types of fitness classes.
There's a level of honoring and respecting your body for exactly where it's at, what it can do with a gentle nudge to stretch or push/pull into a movement a little further (or not on some days!) so that your body is never overworked. Which, in the end, is counterproductive, especially important as our bodies age.
And if you are younger, you can make it as challenging as you want just by making adjustments to spring loads, adding weights, doing jump board, and an infinite variety of choreography.
I love a teacher with a creative mind to keep it ever fresh. I bore easily with repetition, so I'm always grateful when I find a teacher who can keep mixing it up, which also keeps your body from getting complacent!
Clearly I'm a fan! 😎
I bought a reformer for home use after we used the jump board for the first time in class. My knees don’t allow jumping IRL any longer. Being able to jump again brings me joy. 75 years.