I learned that pilates provides you with neurogenic strength instead of myogenic (big muscles) strength. My simple translation:
You will use more and deeper muscle cells because of the type of exercise (hold a position until the muscle shakes). It activates the nerves in those deeper muscle cells.
Compared to body building: here the nerves that activate the muscle will be thicker and in less quantity, and they only trigger to the more superficial muscle cells.
Bruce Lee and his muscles; super ripped
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esprit
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Nerves don't get thicker when you have larger muscles. If you have ever weight trained to failure, your muscles will go through the same shaking. It has nothing to do with a specific means of training (e.g. pilates).esprit wrote:I learned that pilates provides you with neurogenic strength instead of myogenic (big muscles) strength. My simple translation:
You will use more and deeper muscle cells because of the type of exercise (hold a position until the muscle shakes). It activates the nerves in those deeper muscle cells.
Compared to body building: here the nerves that activate the muscle will be thicker and in less quantity, and they only trigger to the more superficial muscle cells.
Keep in mind that if you learn stuff about pilates from a pilates website, it is possible promotional.
You body gets good at what it does. I choose mostly olympic lifting moves (not power lifting). I want to be good at moving weight. Picking things up off the floor and thowing them or lifting them overhead. I always stay away from slow moves, I want to build speed. Olifting builds speed, exlosivness, flexibility, balance, a strong core (abs and back with out crunches or situps), etc. These are things I want in my daily life as to not get injured and stay strong.
This is just my opinion, but I think pilates is overrated and there are many myths.
here is a little bit about muscle length:
Muscles Cannot Be Elongated
Almost every article or comment I encounter regarding Pilates mentions its effectiveness to elongate muscles. This is biologically impossible.
One source of confusion here is the terminology. Muscle produces force that is required for us to move. For movement, the muscle supplies force over a linear range. As a muscle contracts, growing shorter, the ends of the muscle and its attachments, are drawn closer to each other. And as the muscle relaxes, it uncontracts permitting the attachments to increase their distance from each other. This uncontraction is often stated as muscle lengthening.
The pseudoscience of body culture often refers to the notion of elongation. This is similar to lengthening, but is descriptive of a more permanent quality rather than the muscle’s lengthening function. The belief is that muscles can be trained in such a way as to cause them to appear longer and sleeker, and thus transform the physique of an individual to a more slender form. This is a fable and has several inconsistencies associated with it.
Every individual is endowed with relatively short, medium, or long muscle bellies. Limited ultimately by the distance between the associated bony attachments (insertion and origin), a muscle’s entire length is made up of only the two parts: the tendon length and muscle-belly length.
If the muscle-belly length—that part actually comprising the contractile fibers—occupies a majority of the muscle length, then the tendon length must be a minority. And if the tendon length is the majority length, then the belly length is the minority.
Also, note that the longer the relative belly length, the greater potential mass of the muscle. Extremely long muscle bellies make possible, and are a prerequisite for, the huge muscles found only on the largest body builders. This would not be the appearance most Pilates subjects envision from developing so-called “long muscles,” even if they could.
The Pilates people have really put their proverbial foot in their mouths on this one. Their handouts advertise that their program does not build bulk, although they claim elsewhere to lengthen (elongate) the muscles. If by this they mean to lengthen the muscle bellies—an impossibility—then this would potentiate the large muscles they advertise against. If by this they mean to lengthen the entire muscle (musculo-tendinous unit)—also an impossibility—then the muscle would be too long for its associated body part and tend to gather slack, hang off the body and be dysfunctional.
As a matter of fact, it is impossible to alter the length of your muscles in a practical way. It is possible, through surgery or injury, to wind up with a shorter muscle, having less than what you were endowed with, but not more.
In summary, a muscle’s overall relative length is genetically dictated as a relationship between the length of the muscle and the distance between its attachments on either end. This is not practically altered. It is certainly not changed through any activity or even proper exercise. The relative muscle-belly length is the relative length of the contractile segment and the tendon segment. It is also genetically dictated and not alterable through exercise.
You body gets good at what it does. I choose mostly olympic lifting moves (not power lifting). I want to be good at moving weight. Picking things up off the floor and thowing them or lifting them overhead. I always stay away from slow moves, I want to build speed. Olifting builds speed, exlosivness, flexibility, balance, a strong core (abs and back with out crunches or situps), etc. These are things I want in my daily life as to not get injured and stay strong.
This is just my opinion, but I think pilates is overrated and there are many myths.
here is a little bit about muscle length:
Muscles Cannot Be Elongated
Almost every article or comment I encounter regarding Pilates mentions its effectiveness to elongate muscles. This is biologically impossible.
One source of confusion here is the terminology. Muscle produces force that is required for us to move. For movement, the muscle supplies force over a linear range. As a muscle contracts, growing shorter, the ends of the muscle and its attachments, are drawn closer to each other. And as the muscle relaxes, it uncontracts permitting the attachments to increase their distance from each other. This uncontraction is often stated as muscle lengthening.
The pseudoscience of body culture often refers to the notion of elongation. This is similar to lengthening, but is descriptive of a more permanent quality rather than the muscle’s lengthening function. The belief is that muscles can be trained in such a way as to cause them to appear longer and sleeker, and thus transform the physique of an individual to a more slender form. This is a fable and has several inconsistencies associated with it.
Every individual is endowed with relatively short, medium, or long muscle bellies. Limited ultimately by the distance between the associated bony attachments (insertion and origin), a muscle’s entire length is made up of only the two parts: the tendon length and muscle-belly length.
If the muscle-belly length—that part actually comprising the contractile fibers—occupies a majority of the muscle length, then the tendon length must be a minority. And if the tendon length is the majority length, then the belly length is the minority.
Also, note that the longer the relative belly length, the greater potential mass of the muscle. Extremely long muscle bellies make possible, and are a prerequisite for, the huge muscles found only on the largest body builders. This would not be the appearance most Pilates subjects envision from developing so-called “long muscles,” even if they could.
The Pilates people have really put their proverbial foot in their mouths on this one. Their handouts advertise that their program does not build bulk, although they claim elsewhere to lengthen (elongate) the muscles. If by this they mean to lengthen the muscle bellies—an impossibility—then this would potentiate the large muscles they advertise against. If by this they mean to lengthen the entire muscle (musculo-tendinous unit)—also an impossibility—then the muscle would be too long for its associated body part and tend to gather slack, hang off the body and be dysfunctional.
As a matter of fact, it is impossible to alter the length of your muscles in a practical way. It is possible, through surgery or injury, to wind up with a shorter muscle, having less than what you were endowed with, but not more.
In summary, a muscle’s overall relative length is genetically dictated as a relationship between the length of the muscle and the distance between its attachments on either end. This is not practically altered. It is certainly not changed through any activity or even proper exercise. The relative muscle-belly length is the relative length of the contractile segment and the tendon segment. It is also genetically dictated and not alterable through exercise.
Hi guys, thank you for lectures on muscles.
I am really interested in anatomy, moving, muscles and the nervous system.
There is a lot of quality difference in the Pilates world (as in every profession I presume) and I would like to become a good one.
Some Pilates teachers I have met, work in therapeutical way (private studio, not in a gym).Their clients could not get help in any other way (for example strokes, hernia, MS, arthritis). These people can benefit from Pilates in building core strength, body awareness, posture, control and stimulating nervous system by doing all these different exercises with control.
I am really interested in anatomy, moving, muscles and the nervous system.
There is more than the www: conferences, continuing education programs, books! I am pretty new to the fitness world and not a physical therapist, but during my Pilates trainer-program, I attend/attended workshops from physical therapists (former dancers mostly who became injured and had to change careers), and go to the largest annual Pilates conference in the US.
Keep in mind that if you learn stuff about pilates from a pilates website, it is possible promotional.
There is a lot of quality difference in the Pilates world (as in every profession I presume) and I would like to become a good one.
Me too! Pilates is not slow (maybe in the beginning when your body needs to learn the moves) and does the same for you except for the thicker muscles (neurogenic strength v. myogenic strength). I like the lean muscle look.I always stay away from slow moves, I want to build speed. Olifting builds speed, exlosivness, flexibility, balance, a strong core (abs and back with out crunches or situps), etc. These are things I want in my daily life as to not get injured and stay strong.
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Some Pilates teachers I have met, work in therapeutical way (private studio, not in a gym).Their clients could not get help in any other way (for example strokes, hernia, MS, arthritis). These people can benefit from Pilates in building core strength, body awareness, posture, control and stimulating nervous system by doing all these different exercises with control.
Pilates is my world, lifting is yours. But there are probably more similarities than differences. Do you know that Joseph Pilates had interests in many different sports: weight lifting, wrestling, gymnastics,martial arts, yoga, dance, and he called his method "Contrology"? It is a pity he died in `67, he probably would have done something about these myths!This is just my opinion, but I think pilates is overrated and there are many myths.
i wouldn't say my world is lifting
I really value stretching. I do a lot of yoga like moves.
I value practical strength and highly value range of motion.
I agree that there are things in common. Olympic lifting requires
a strong core, body alignment, and control.
I never heard the term Contrology
here is a snippit I like from wikipedia:
Pilates and his method, which he and Clara originally called "Contrology", refers to the way his method encourages the use of the mind to control the muscles. This method focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and strengthen the deep torso muscles, which are important to help alleviate and prevent back pain.
I really value stretching. I do a lot of yoga like moves.
I value practical strength and highly value range of motion.
I agree that there are things in common. Olympic lifting requires
a strong core, body alignment, and control.
I never heard the term Contrology
here is a snippit I like from wikipedia:
Pilates and his method, which he and Clara originally called "Contrology", refers to the way his method encourages the use of the mind to control the muscles. This method focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and strengthen the deep torso muscles, which are important to help alleviate and prevent back pain.
Hi Johndela1
Through exercise (stretching, yoga and even pilates ) you can make these muscle groups more flexible. What happens physically that takes away the tightness? Is it ONLY the uncontraction?
A lot of people have very strong (short/tight) hipflexers and (consequently) tight hamstrings. You see them walking in the streets, with flat feet, almost kicking their legs in front of them, not rolling over the soles of their feet from heel to toe.This uncontraction is often stated as muscle lengthening.
Through exercise (stretching, yoga and even pilates
) you can make these muscle groups more flexible. What happens physically that takes away the tightness? Is it ONLY the uncontraction?From what I have read, if you took a dead body (that wasn't stiff) it would appear to be really limber. Our brain keeps us stiff to prevent injury. When we move to extremes where there is little developed strength we are more prone to injury. I don't know if this is true...
Here is a good site about stretching:
http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/doc ... tretching/
have you seen this?
It's a lot to read, but covers a lot.
Here is a good site about stretching:
http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/doc ... tretching/
have you seen this?
It's a lot to read, but covers a lot.