Pilates anyone?

Does anyone here do pilates and does it help on the bike? I have a midsection that, instead of being a powerhouse, is more like a straw hut! My wife does it regularly and keeps encouraging me to try it. I went to a demo last night and what this girl could do was simply incredible. I haven't been that awestruck since I rode alongside Hincapie at a local race (on my moped - I was handing up bottles for the whole race. Riding alongside Hincapie, Tyler H and C Vandevelde was awesome!)

thanks for the help.

Love this new forum!

[keno]

helps on the bike. I've been doing it a short time and the difference is noticeable. I do private sessions and my instructor uses various pieces of equipment that isolate specific muscles wonderfully. It is part of my winter plan. I am doing it once a week and will move up to twice a week in February and March, and then back to once a week.

For the first time I have a better sense of how to sit on the seat and to have access to the bigger muscles.

keno

[Ray]

I started doing Pilates mat classes a few weeks ago. I probably won't ride often enough, long enough, or hard enough to know what effect it has on my riding until next spring sometime - but I can't imagine it would HURT my riding in any way.

My back hasn't felt this good in years. The combination of Pilates and doing a limited yoga routine a few mornings a week seems to be doing me a world of good. After the first couple of classes, my mid-section was as sore as any muscle soreness I can remember. I guess I'm already seeing results because I'm not as sore after classes now, but I still feel it.

I did a quick introductory session on a "reformer" machine, but those classes are extremely expensive ($40 per hour - the mat classes are included with our athletic club dues) and I didn't have the feeling it would be that much better than the mat classes. I'm going to stick with the classes 3-4 times a week through this winter and then probably cut back to a couple of times a week once I start riding a lot again in the spring. If I get to the point that I don't think I'm getting anything out of the mat work, I might try the machines for a while at some point for added resistance, but I'd like to avoid that expense.

Kind of odd how few guys do this stuff. I've been to about 10 classes so far and I haven't seen another guy in ANY of them except for the instructor in one of them. This might be a good thing if I was single :)

-Ray

[keno]

Ray, and I've never seen another man at the pilates studio either, and I quite like it. Despite the fact that I'm not in the market, the chemistry is quite pleasant; one pilato and all of those pilatas.

keno

[Ray]

...I have the impression I'd like it a whole lot MORE if I were single :)

I highly recommend it. I have failed to go to any classes this year but do exercises every night. I went to one on one classes in a large studio in north london. It's basically like low grade weight training. My "core" is so much stronger for it and without pilates I am certain my bike riding wuould be severely restricted.