Tag Archives: functional training

Beauty of Naked

Pilates EVO London Educations

Naked Body

Beauty of Naked

It’s Monday morning, and what better way to start the week with a little (or a lot) of naked flesh, but all in the best possible taste!

ESPN have recently published their Body Issue, the 7th time they have done it. This is an increasingly popular annual event where they celebrate the beauty of the naked body, assisted by a selection of wiling athletes from a wide range of sports.

Chris Hunt Pilates

As health and fitness experts, we are all interested in the human form, and it is refreshing to lose all the Nike and Reebok fitness clothes, and just appreciate the beauty of the human body, whatever age, sex or shape.

Chris Hunt Pilates

As functional training experts, to see bodies in the ideal shape and condition for a range of sports just emphasies that a functional body really can and should be all shapes and sizes dependant upon what it’s main function is.

In my PilatesEVO educations, I use the definition of functional training as “Functional training is about using knowledge of functional anatomy to select exercises that help prevent injuries and improve performance, but the movements have to make sense and be applicable to one’s life.”

Chris Hunt Pilates

If you want to see the full arcitle, then you can click on  http://espn.go.com/espn/bodyissue

Chris Hunt is a Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also created Pilates Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises Pilates events, retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris Hunt, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris Hunt pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntpilates.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

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Man Utd star loves Pilates for men

Pilates EVO London Educations

Man Utd star loves Pilates for Men

Man Utd star loves Pilates for men
www.chrishuntpilates.com

Daley Blind reveals how he is preparing for the new season.

Man Utd star loves Pilates for men. A headline to warm the cockles of my heart. Regular readers of my blog will know that there is very little I like more than a good Pilates for men type story. My opinion is that more men should be doing Pilates, so any reason to get guys thinking about Pilates is a good thing, and a Premier League Footballer is as good a story as any other to get some headlines.

Daley Blind will return to Manchester United’s Carrington training complex tomorrow having already hit the ground running. The Dutch international enjoyed a short beach break after the season ended, but last week Blind got down to serious solo training, working out at home and pushing himself to the limit on long, gruelling runs.

Blind also turned to his favourite pastime of Pilates for men to make sure he passes all the fitness tests ordered by Man Utd boss Louis van Gaal when his squad starts preparing for the new campaign in earnest this morning. He’s confident he’ll pass the tale of the tape and get down to even harder work before heading off with the rest of the squad for United’s pre-season US mini tour.

Blind said: “The club gave me three weeks off and I’m cautious with what I eat and drink. I make sure I’m responsible. For me, the summer holidays are about letting everything go and spending quality time with my family and friends. I like to relax on the beach, play some tennis or have a kickabout with my mates. My mindset changes so I can recharge my body and mind after a long, hard season. During the last week of my holiday, I started running and stretching to get my body going again”.

“I worked out at home or outside, focusing on Pilates. This helps with stability and agility. And I focused on eating healthy food like fruit and veg. Bad food makes you feel lethargic and bloated and who wants to feel like that?”

Blind is not the only footballer or sports professional to use Pilates as part of their training program. I have written before about other stars including Steven Gerrard and Landon Donovan. I am really pleased to see more and more men attending my PilatesEVO educations and sessions, and there is a growing demand here in Barcelona for fitness and wellness based retreats for specific sports, not only the traditional wellness retreats (see www.barcelonabienestar.com for more)  .

As for writing about celebrities, I have said before that even if one man tries Pilates for the first time as a result of reading about a footballer doing it, then that is a success.

So we will keep championing the Pilates cause among men, and wish Daley Blind good luck next season in the English Premier League. But not too much success as I am an Arsenal supporter!

Chris Hunt is a Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also created Pilates Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises Pilates events, retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris Hunt, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris Hunt pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntpilates.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

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Pilates EVO by Chris Hunt

Pilates EVO London Educations

Pilates EVO by Chris Hunt

Pilates EVO by Chris Hunt

Pilates EVO is the only system that allows and encourages its teachers to bring their own ideas and experiences and create new combinations that can be used all over the world. Do you always want to be told what to do? Or do you want to create your own Universe?

Pilates EVO by Chris Hunt

To find out how this system seemlessly incorporates NLP, meridians, mindfulness meditation, scared numbers and Kundalini in a flowing practise with a unique soundtrack, click on www.pilatesevo.com. Blend the old with the new.

The next Pilates EVO educations in 2015 are in the UK in October (London and the Cotswolds) and in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in November. For more information and to book your place, just click on  our Facebook Events Page.

You want to be the best you can be? Mind and body is a 2-way street

Mind and Body Chris Hunt BlogYou want to be the best you can be? Mind and body is a 2-way street

My regular readers will know that I have a great interest in the link between mind and body. I have always been interested in this topic, but my interest was heightened following the death of my father from Alzheimer’s (please read Dementia, I lost my father, don’t lose yours).

Here in Barcelona I organise wellness retreats that treat our healt holistically, a real mind and body experience.

It is common to think that our mind is in control and telling our body what to do. But there is a lot of scientific evidence that shows the chatter between mind and body goes two ways, and the body is an integral part of how we think. I was therefore very interested to read a new book How the Body Knows Its Mind, by Prof. Sian Beilock, who provides the latest scientific evidence about the body’s influence on our psyche, drawing on work from her own laboratory and from colleagues around the world.

On my PilatesEVO© and bodyFUNC© fitness educations, I encourage my students to open their minds to the fact that the body and the mind are to all intents and purposes one and the same. A significant part of my training is about the psychological level, whereas I find that the vast majority of training educations focus only on the physical which is my opinion a big mistake. So I give my student the tools and techniques they can use everyday in their training for themselves and their clients.

I give similar talks to senior management when acting as a consultant to business. Until we accept this fact, it is my contention that we can never be the best teacher we can be, or the best manager we can be. There are still many people who operate in the physical plane only, and there is growing scientific evidence that supports my teachings that to do so is seriously and critically impacting on our ability to achieve the results we want, both physical and psychological.
Beilock, a leading expert on the brain science behind human performance, believes the body-mind connection starts early.

“Movement matters with everyone, but it is especially important for babies and young children,” said Beilock. “Mobile kids hit cognitive milestones faster.” She said that simple steps like allowing babies to run around naked — when appropriate — can help them explore their worlds. Beilock said wearing diapers and using baby walkers can limit a baby’s ability to interact with the world and hinder the process of learning how to walk. The more quickly children learn how to walk and explore, the faster their cognitive development.

Incorporating physical activity into more subjects can help kids learn in school, according to Beilock.

“We can’t just keep students confined to their chairs — we have to get them up, out and moving,” Beilock said. “When the subjects are math or physics, getting students to actually physically experience some of the concepts they’re learning about changes how their brains process the information and can lead to better performance on a test.” Movement also helps explain the connection between music and math. Why do kids tend to excel in both? It’s because the brain areas controlling finger dexterity and number largely overlap. Beilock unpacks the latest research showing that when kids exercise their fingers through regular piano play, their grasp of numbers improves.
An area of particular interest to me that the idea that exercise can aid mental health as well as academic achievement. According to Beilock. “The research shows that getting kids moving is important not only for their physical well-being, but for their mental well-being, too.” She said schools need to emphasize “the “4 Rs” — reading, (w)riting, (a)rithmetic and recess. Boys’ academic achievement may especially benefit from recess, she added.

Exercise is equally important for older adults, as it can promote healthy aging mentally and physically. “There are clear differences in brain health in fit, older adults compared with their more sedentary counterparts,” said Beilock. “And these differences carry consequences for thinking and reasoning as well as for memory.” Beilock stressed that aerobic exercise, which can alter the structure and functioning of the brain, is key for improving mental health. Activities like swimming, running, cycling, walking briskly or even doing household chores at a vigorous pace can benefit the brain, in addition to keeping the body fit.

There are some simple mind and body ideas that you can incorporate into your training, or you everyday life:

• Take active breaks from work or vexing problems to give your brain a chance to regroup and reboot. Physically walking away from the problem for a few minutes may help you solve it.
• Your body’s posture and expressions are not just reflections of your mind — they can influence your mood. Stand tall to help give yourself confidence and to send a signal to those around you that you have brought your “A” game to the table. And be mindful of your facial expressions. Your brain uses your expressions as cues to feel emotions. Smiling can actually make you feel happier.
• Practice in the real conditions under which you will have to perform — whether it’s public speaking, a test or an important match. It’s also good to practice in front of others so when all eyes are on you, it’s nothing new.
• Write it out. Journaling can help you deal with the stress of a test or your worries in daily life. Physically downloading worries from your mind (by putting pen to paper) has positive performance outcomes and reducing that stress affects your health in good ways, too.
• Spend time in nature as often as you can, and find time to meditate. New science shows that a walk in the woods rejuvenates our minds and improves our ability to pay attention and focus. Meditation for even a few minutes a day can help alleviate anxiety and chronic pain. It also can help with self-control that may be helpful for working to break bad habits, like smoking.
“Little things we do can have a big effect,” said Beilock.
We do not have to spend hours every day in order to improve our physical and mental health. By applying some simple techniques, we can begin to make a major shift in our life.

Chris Hunt is a Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises Pilates events, mind and body retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris Hunt, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris Hunt pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

Pilates Training: Are you faithful or adulterous?

Pilates Training: Are you faithful or adulterous?

www.chrishuntpilates.com

Pilates Training: Are you faithful or adulterous?

Is being faithful to your Pilates system for life a good thing or not? I think this is an interesting question, but why am I asking it today?

Let me rewind a little. I was checking my emails on Sunday evening after the end of another successful Wellness Retreat here in Barcelona. My inbox was full of the usual spam emails that none of us like getting, but I accept that if we put ourselves out there in the virtual world of social media, websites, blogs etc, then we can hardly complain too loudly when someone picks up our details and contacts us can we? On the contrary, it means that our advertising is working! When it happens to me (and it does around 100 times everyday), I really do not let it spoil my day, in the same way I do not let junk post spoil my day, or TV adverts spoil my day, or phone calls trying to sell me something I do not want or need spoil my day, or leaflets that fall out of the magazines I buy spoil my day… Spamming (did you know the phrase “spam” comes from the Monty Python sketch first published in 1970? If you haven’t seen it then CLICK HERE to watch it. English sense of humour is required!) has been going on for ever just in different forms. I reply if think it’s worthy, or I simply lift my finger and press the delete button. My blood pressure doesn’t change and neither does my mood.

Ok, I digress, let me get back to the title of my blog, Pilates Training. But the purpose for this foray into cyberland etiquette is that in my inbox (amoung the spam) was a message from one of my PilatesEVO master-trainers from Europe. Whilst promoting a PilatesEVO© education, she was in contact with a Pilates teacher in London. I decided to write this article not so much because the Pilates teacher in question wrote back to a perfectly polite email in an incredibly rude and disingenuous way (and they did not even use salutation which is really just either lazy or bad form, or both), it was more about what she said. Her words were that didn’t my colleague realise who she was, and that she had been affiliated to the same school of Pilates for more than 15 years and she would never ever even think about learning any other form of Pilates.

Whilst I wonder how any one who can write such an email can possibly be a good, professional teacher, we all know there are many systems of Pilates, and no doubt we have our favourite which is probably the one we studied first. But the purpose of my article today is to ask the question is being totally faithful to your Pilates system for life a good thing or not?

My opinion is that it absolutely is not. Whether you like my PilatesEVO© system or any other system that is not your “usual” system, I totally respect your opinion. This article is not about the rights or wrongs of different systems. But to never try anything else is like saying that Ford is the best manufacturer of cars when all you have owned is a Ford. How can you even have an opinion? Even if you do not buy another car, at least take a few test drives!

I believe that diversity in training and experience is what makes the best teachers, and those who have an insular attitude are missing out on potentially interesting and informative ideas that could complement or even add to their favourite way of teaching. I know Pilates schools that actively discourage their pupils from going over to the “dark side” and trying another school. What exactly are they afraid of? Are they so insecure about their method, or just afraid that one of their disciples might find a different system a revelation? I cannot see any negative reason for not being open minded about how and what other people teach. At the very least it might confirm to you that your system is the best one for you, but there is also a very high chance that you might just learn something new that will make you a better teacher.

I always try to keep an open mind. I always except that I do not know everything (you should avoid at all costs anyone who ever tells you that they do because they are fools) and there is always room for new experiences and knowledge. But what’s your opinion? Have you always only practised one form of Pilates training? Who out there can speak of positive experiences from trying other types? I’d love you opinions and thoughts.

As for me, I’ll have spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, egg and chips please. 🙂

Chris Hunt is a Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises Pilates events, retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris Hunt, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris Hunt pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

For the latest news about PilatesEVO training and educations, click here.

 

Monty Python Spam Sketch


Chris Hunt is a Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises Pilates events, retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris Hunt, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris Hunt pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

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Noisy Pilates? Alessandra Ambrosio doesn’t mind

Alessandra Ambrosia Pilates evo

www.chrishuntpilates.com

Noisy Pilates? Alessandra Ambrosio doesn’t mind

I have featured the model Alessandra Ambrosio before on my blog. Maybe you have heard of her; she is a Victoria’s Secret model, she’s 34 and has two children. She also has a passion for Pilates, which is why I have an interest in her.

Last week, pictures were released in the press of Alessandra at a Pilates session in the US, having returned from a job in Paris. What got me thinking was not the colour or pattern of her leggings (as the press seem to be obsessed with) but the nature of the Pilates class she was attending. You will see from the picture below that the class is in the middle of a large gym (in Brentwood), and the instructor is mic’d-up. Whilst I am not directly criticising the gym or instructor, this is not the way or the environment that I teach Pilates, nor is it the way I think Pilates should be taught.

Alessandra Ambrosio Pilates

One of the reasons why I created PilatesEVO was because I saw how many teachers ignored the mind/body connection, the awareness of body movement, the focus on proprioception. This is why I stress mindfulness meditation to my students. So my question for you today is this, can Pilates be taught properly and effectively in an open gym environment, with presumably the talking, grunting and groaning of other gym users, with music, and the noise of equipment, that necessitates the instructor using a microphone?

Please whisper your answers to me via this blog, or of course if you want to chat privately then email me.

Chris Hunt is a Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises Pilates events, retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris Hunt, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris Hunt pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

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Rebecca Judd: Pilates, Pilates, Pilates!

Rebecca Judd Pilates Chris Hunt Pilates

www.chrishuntpilates.com

Rebecca Judd: Pilates, Pilates, Pilates!

It was only six months ago that Rebecca Judd caused a backlash on social media after she posted a super skinny bikini selfie. See my previous post Rebecca Judd: Skinny on Pilates. This post received so much feedback from the Pilates community that I thought it appropriate to write again about Rebecca today.

Some would say that she certainly cut a somewhat healthier figure as she attended the opening day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia on Monday in Sydney.

The model, mother and business entrepreneur, 31, is married to AFL player Chris Judd, who she revealed is also a Pilates fan. The fashion savvy clotheshorse and blogger also revealed she’s busy juggling her a slew of priorities, including presenting, her rug line, website and being a mother: ‘I’m working 7 days a week at the moment. It’s a juggle, they’re not full days but its about putting time aside for the kids.’

Speaking about her figure, she said “It’s all about Pilates, Pilates, Pilates, Pilates. I wish I could run but I just don’t have time. And I just work out on (husband) Chris’ reformer equipment all the time, in his man cave. And there’s a spin bike down there I use… it’s all about being fit and strong and toned.’

Bec gave birth to her daughter Billie Kate in January 2014 and son Oscar three years before.

I suspect that the new pictures will not create the intense feedback that her previous pictures did, but as always it is a matter of opinion as to what is right or wrong, don’t you agree?

Chris Hunt is a Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises Pilates events, retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris Hunt, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris Hunt pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

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PilatesEVO: Revolutionary wellness system comes to London

PilatesEVO London Educations May

PilatesEVO© FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 30th March 2015
Chris Hunt Pilates
Carrer dels Carders
08003, Barcelona
pilatesevo@chrishuntpilates.com

REVOLUTIONARY WELLNESS SYSTEM FUSING OLD AND NEW FINALLY COMES HOME TO LONDON
PilatesEVO© returns to its birthplace to show the UK what it has been missing

London, UK:
Pilates EVO©, the revolutionary fitness system has today announced it first educations in the UK on 28th, 29th and 30th of May 2015 at Fitness For Less in New Malden, Surrey. Already popular throughout Europe and Russia, Pilates EVO©is finally coming home to the UK. This unique ever-evolving system is totally different to the many commercially orientated systems on the market that tell teachers and participants exactly what to do and when to do it, because they do not trust them to think for themselves. One of the most important unique features of PilatesEVO© is that it is the only system that allows its teachers to create their own movement combinations, that if approved might then be introduced to the system worldwide. PilatesEVO© actively encourages teachers and participants to create their own Universe. Welcome to a breath of fresh air; welcome to the world of PilatesEVO©.

“Life is always moving forward, always changing, always evolving. When we awaken to the fact that we cannot stop or control change, that we should embrace change, then we are able to move forward as well. From this philosophy I created Pilates EVO©. We should never forget our past. It built the foundation that our present so depends. But the past is not an excuse to stay still and not plan for a different future. Just as Pilates works the body from the inside out, the proactive approach to life is to change from the inside out: to be different, and by being different to effect positive change in yourself and the world.”
Chris Hunt, creator of PilatesEVO©.

About PilatesEVO©
Pilates EVO©(EVO is an abbreviation of “evolution”) is like no other fitness experience. Developed by Chris Hunt Pilates in London, it takes wellness in a new and exciting direction by incorporating functional training methods and movement patterns, whilst staying true to traditional Pilates principles. It expands the mind and body element of exercise by incorporating modern Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and ancient Mindfulness Meditation techniques to maximise psychological and physical benefits, improving concentration and making clients emotionally, mentally and spiritually fitter. It improves motor fitness such as agility, balance, speed, co-ordination, reaction time and power. Pilates EVO© also draws on the thousands of years of teachings from Kundalini yoga and meridian stretches to enhance the overall experience.

It has flow and movement with sequences of moves created using the sacred numbers 3, 7 and 21. It uses uplifting soundtracks mixed in London by DJ Shameless to enable clients to really connect with their body, giving a far deeper and rewarding experience. It is appropriate for all ages and abilities as the movements have different levels progressing muscular fitness using repetitions, range of motion, rate and resistance. This creates a total system that will remain challenging to a wide range of training goals from elite athletes to people seeking everyday fitness.

Pilates EVO© is a total wellness system and a way of life. A way to maximise potential physically, mentally and emotionally.

www.pilatesevo.com

About Chris Hunt
A former Claims Manager in the financial markets of the City of London, Chris had a mid-life enlightenment (as opposed to a mid-life crisis….) and left behind the rat-race and fighting for a seat on the daily commute to dedicate his life to his true calling, health, wellness and helping people. Chris is a fully qualified Pilates teacher (OCR in England) and now travels the world teaching teachers about Pilates, functional training and wellness. Chris spent time in Bangkok and is qualified in Thai Massage (meridian lines) and meditation. Chris lives and works in London and Barcelona where he enjoys meditating, surfing, snowboarding, rock climbing, and making music. He organises unique health conventions around the world, where all profits go to local children’s charities. You can read more about Chris by clicking on http://www.chrishuntblog.com/about/

Pilates makes you taller: Just a tall story?


Chris Hunt Pilates makes you taller Miss World

www.chrishuntpilates.com

Pilates: A tall story?

Regular readers of my blog will know that I am happy to talk about how Pilates in being reported and represented in the International Press, and I think it is important that we all know what is being said.

As some of the world celebrated Women’s Day yesterday, I was reading during my flight from London home to Barcelona an interview with Rosanna Davison, the former Miss World and daughter of the aging singer Chris de Burgh (admit it, you have sung Lady in Red into the mirror using your hairbrush as a microphone….)

Rosanna, who is now 30, won Miss World in 2003. She did an interview with an Irish newspaper and told them that she has been doing Pilates since she was 18, and she says she has added a half-an-inch to her own height since she became a devotee. She told the Sunday Independent: “I’ve stretched out about half-an-inch through Pilates – I was 5ft 9 and now I am 5ft 9-and-a-half inches.
“It’s a known effect from practising it regularly. Pilates helps to elongate and lengthen muscles, improves posture and plumps up the cushioning discs of our spine.”

Apparently it runs in the family, as her mother Diane – who encouraged her model daughter to take up Pilates in the first place – also insists she has grown taller by practising the exercises. Diane took it up as part of her fitness regime after she broke her neck in a horse-riding accident in the mid 90s.
Rosanna added: “My mum really noticed these benefits too. We’ve been going to two-three classes a week for 13 years, so it does need to be consistent. I have been doing it since the early 2000s, so I suppose my mum and I were a bit ahead of the curve.”

She also said that Pilates has helped her cope with stress, boost her confidence and improve her posture.

“It is so important to feel you are doing the best you can at your level of ability. Then you will always feel confident in yourself. Back when I wasn’t quite so into fitness and nutrition, I would have felt less confident in myself. I think it’s about knowing you are pushing your own limits and achieving your own personal goals. I am competitive. But these days, I only compete with myself.”

Three hours of Pilates at a local studio is now her weekly routine, which also includes two hours of gym-training and another hour of running or time on the cross-trainer. She also follows a strict dairy and gluten-free vegan diet.

Rosanna is not the only person who says that they have “grown” due to Pilates. Jennifer Aniston has said Pilates “makes me feel taller”, while singer Belinda Carlisle claims to have grown over two inches after practising it for eight years.

Today I want to ask you what is your experience and opinion about this topic of getting taller. What do you tell your clients? Of course “getting taller” is something that a lot of people associate with Pilates, and I have even heard some suggest that Pilates machines stretch the body is a similar way to ancient torture equipment! Of course we all know that the reality is that Pilates certainly makes people feel taller, and it can also add some physical “height” as the posture improves and people stand up more.

Rosanna’s comments in my opinion do nothing to help the credibility of Pilates, but as I have said before, no news is bad news? Now where is my hairbrush and mirror…. “Lady in Red, is dancing with me……”

The next PilatesEVO educations will be in Jordan in April, and in Minsk, London and Barcelona on May. Please click on PilatesEVO Educations for more information.

Chris Hunt is a Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises Pilates events, retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris Hunt, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris Hunt pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.