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BoneSmart Pilates® Online Class Descriptions

Click here to sign up for classes.   

Virtual Class Schedule Change:

Starting Monday, May 16, 2022, we’re replacing our Monday Standing Strong Pilates class with two 30-minute choices.

Superpowers at 9 am PST and our NEW Restorative Pilates at 9:30 am PST. This gives you the option to do just one or both workouts.

 

 

 

 

Here’s a map of my virtual class offerings with brief descriptions so you know what to expect.   

Standing Strong Pilates

Research cites the importance of weight-bearing exercise to build both muscle and bone. About half of this class is done standing, emphasizing strength and balance. The second half includes bone and spine safe Matwork. Exercises are done on your back, side, belly, and all 4’s to maximize your strength in all body orientations.

 

What you’ll need: An inflatable core ball, a long resistance band, ½ tennis ball, and a myofascial release ball aka purple pickle.

 

 

 

 

Superpowers

Designed for the active ager, this 30-minute Strength Training class uses both hand weights and body weight. We’ll target upper and lower body strength with core and posture underscored. Everyone works at their own level to stay effective and safe.

What You’ll Need: 2 sets of weights (or cans/water bottles, Lighter weights are typically 1-3 lbs. Heavier would be roughly 5-10 lbs.

For optimal strength results, it’s suggested you take this strength class twice a week.

 

 

 

NEW Restorative Pilates

Incorporating standing and matwork, the focus of this class is on gentle strengthening exercises and movements that promote mobile flexible bodies. This 30 min flow class will leave you refreshed and ready to take on the day.

What You’ll Need: Pilates inflatable core ball and a long resistance band.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Active Aging Bootie Barre

Strong glutes are more than pure aesthetics. They help keep your back pain-free.

This 30 min. low impact class will Improve your hip, leg, glut, and core strength. (no ballet barre or dance background needed)

Build endurance to enjoy your daily activities with ease.

What You’ll Need: a chair, an inflatable core ball, and at times, a resistance band or loop. Bone safe, spine safe!

 

 

 

 

Foam Roller Release Class

The perfect antidote to prolonged sitting, tight muscles, and accumulated stress.

Focus: Knead out knots and promote a fluid, flexible body.

What You’ll Need: Foam roller 6 in diameter by 36 in long.  All exercises are bone safe. Calming low-intensity class.

 

 

 

 

 

HIIT – High-Intensity Interval Training

Burn fat and boost your strength and cardiovascular fitness with this fun Dance inspired 30-minute HIIT class. Modifications are given so you can work at your own pace.

Added perk, this class builds neural connections boosting your brainpower. We string together movements that challenge your memory and coordination.

What You’ll Need: Tennis shoes, a water bottle and a sense of fun.

 

 

 

 

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Benefits of working your Bootie in the last and best third of your life

Do you find your butt slowly disappearing or migrating south? Are your jeans sliding off your butt?

Age-related muscle loss, known as sarcopenia, is a real thing. The good news is you can do targeted workouts to minimize the loss that people experience from increasing age and all the excessive sitting that’s been happening recently.

It’s not too late to literally perk things up.

Round perky butts play a role in aesthetics but there’s even more that’s important!

Having strong gluteal muscles gives you the power to stand up, sit down, squat, and perform all your life activities with power and grace.

Strong glutes are important for proper pelvic alignment, propulsion during walking and running, and single-leg balance support.  They also help to support the lower back during lifting motions.

 

6 Benefits of taking the Active Aging Bootie Barre class

Strong glutes help your posture and lessen back and neck pain.

Increased sitting can result in slumped posture and “dead butt syndrome”. This is when your butt muscles become inhibited and literally forget how to fire.

How does this happen?  It’s actually a common problem today.  People are spending inordinate amounts of time sitting behind their computers, zooming, etc.  Picture it, your butt is tucked under, your back is in a C curve (I call it cashew posture) and your head is shifted forward in front of your shoulders. Feeling the back and neck pain yet? With all this faulty sitting, the muscles in the front of your hip joints become short and tight and the opposite muscles, the butt muscles, become neurologically inhibited, overstretched, weak, and inactive.  Strengthening the butt muscles, back muscles and stretching the muscles in front of the hip, exercises that are included in the active aging bootie barre class, address these common issues.

 

Strong Glutes help Prevent Injuries.

Building strong gluteal muscles (the focus of “bootie barre”) can help you avoid injury as well as recover from injury to your low back, hips, knees, and ankles by creating better alignment and stability.  As an example, when squatting sometimes people will cave one knee in towards midline instead of tracking the knee over the foot. That’s often a result of weak gluteal muscles on that side. This is a common dysfunctional pattern known as “dynamic valgus” and it can be prevented with strong gluteal and hip muscles. Proper hip, knee, foot alignment is cued regularly during our bootie barre class.

Strong Glutes Improve Balance

Who remembers those old commercials “Help I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”  Though people joked about it, those commercials depicted a real and serious situation.  Maybe it’s not an issue for you currently but having strong glutes now means you’ll have a strong foundation to propel yourself when walking, have the stability in your pelvis to balance on one leg, get in and out of your vehicle, or shower with ease and if you fall, “you Will be able to get up”!  This all translates to better long-term quality of life.

 

Strong Glutes Enhance Bone Density in the Hips and Pelvis

Strength training is the best way to improve localized bone density. This happens when muscle tissue tugs on your bones during strength training. By building up the muscles around your pelvis (your glutes) as we do in class, you are improving your muscle and bone strength as well as the stability of your entire pelvis and hips.

 

 

Strong Gluts are Aesthetically Appealing

Though not the most important reason, this is often the primary reason people start working on their glutes. It’s a valid goal to have to keep our pants from sliding down and if chasing a perky butt is your goal, I say go for it!

This class is targeted for you, in the last and best third of your life, to get strong safely and efficiently.

As a physical therapist, I ensure that you’re not using your low back to lift your leg behind you (a common error).  I design exercises that work all ranges of motion of the hip and stimulate both slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers found in your glutes.  And, we get it all done in just 30 time-efficient minutes!  Allow me to be your guide to lift your tush and safely challenge your limits.

Sign up for the Active Aging Bootie Barre Class every Wednesday at 11:30 PM PST. Can’t make that time? Not a problem. You can purchase the class and I can send you a recording to do at your convenience!

Click here for a preview of some Active Aging Bootie Barre Moves!

 

 

 

Written by Teresa Maldonado Marchok, MPT

Physical Therapist,  Pilates Teacher, Aging Strong Activist, Educator, and lifelong learner.   www.BoneSmartPilates.com

 

 

References

BoneSmart Pilates Youtube channel Gluteal Amnesia aka Dead Butt Syndrome  https://youtu.be/YevqgbmS4K8

Buckthorpe M, Stride M, Villa FD. ASSESSING AND TREATING GLUTEUS MAXIMUS WEAKNESS — A CLINICAL COMMENTARY. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2019;14(4):655–669.

Dunsky A. The Effect of Balance and Coordination Exercises on Quality of Life in Older Adults: A Mini-Review. Front Aging Neurosci. 2019;11:318. Published 2019 Nov 15. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2019.00318

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Healthy Sitting Tips

Teresa Maldonado Marchok, physical therapist and certified Pilates instructor, shares BoneSmart Pilates® Healthy Supported Sitting Tips when you want to sit at the back of a chair.

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Watch My Mom demonstrate…..

If you, your mom or dad would like to weave in some hip and leg strengthening while getting in and out of a chair, watch a short video below of my mom as I cue her in this process.
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FREE US SHIPPING on all Pre-Orders! 

Aging Strong Pilates Volume 2 is at the printer right now and I’m so excited to make these workouts available to you!  This DVD is a brain body challenge with 2 efficient workouts ~ 25min each, for when you’re tight on time!  In addition to standing weight bearing exercise and core mat work, It includes a bone building stomping dance and a bonus posture coaching section. If you have all 3 of my DVDs, you’ll have a workout for every day of the week!  Pre-order by 8/19 and enter code FREESHIP to get Free Domestic Shipping!

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71 y/o Sakinah pain free and strong after doing BoneSmart Pilates® 

Sakinah Salahu-Din hails from Ohio and has been a dedicated and consistent user of my DVD – BoneSmart Pilates® Exercise to Prevent or Reverse Osteoporosis.

“My daughter asked me to share this feedback with you because she’s watched my transformation and felt it was important enough to share with others.  I am 71 years old and was having arm and neck problems when I started using this program in January 2016.  The shoulder and neck pain affected me to the point that I could not do certain exercises without modifying the range of motion or making the resistance band less taut.  About two months ago, however, I was able to do the resistance band exercises with full range of motion, with stronger resistance and remarkably, with no pain!   
I like the fact that BoneSmart addresses pain or weakness in arms, hips, back, and knees which is what many people my age have problems with.  I also like that the program is set up in a way that I can break it into parts.  For example, I do the resistance band upper body program and the hip blaster 3 days a week and MAT exercises 2 days a week. I’ve gained strength and flexibility and am very pleased with this program and the positive results that I am experiencing.”
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Aging Strong Pilates

 

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No matter your stage in life, keeping fit is essential to doing the things you love with ease, power and grace. In this class, you’ll increase body awareness and learn healthy functional movement strategies grounded in science. Expect improved posture, injury prevention, coordination, core strength, flexibility and balance with crossover benefits to your daily sports and activities. This class is appropriate for beginner to advanced intermediate levels. If you have low bone density, weight bearing exercises are incorporated and safe mat variations will be offered. 

View Video Preview of class Here

Please bring your own mat.  Various small props are used to enhance your movement experience. Also bring a resistance band and 9 inch inflatable ball if you have them. Balls are offered free of charge to new participants. Low allergy/low latex 5 ft resistance bands are available for purchase in class for $10. Free video links will be made available for participants to encourage consistency of practice. The instructor, Teresa Maldonado Marchok, is a licensed physical therapist, certified Pilates instructor, former professional dancer and ambassador for American Bone Health. She believes exercise should be challenging yet fun so bring a flexible mind, open heart and be prepared to laugh!  For more information email  teresa@bonesmartpilates.com.


To foster a safe, cohesive and consistent environment, drop in sessions are not permitted, however a trial class at no initial cost  for newcomers is allowed if the class is not full already.

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Top 6 BoneSmart Pilates Tips to Prevent Falls

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6.  When walking, look down with your eyes only. Don’t tilt your head down as it will alter your balance and increase your chances of falling.  Look down with your head and you may go splat.

 

5.  Wear sensible shoes with good traction. That doesn’t have to mean ugly, luckily shoe stores like Footwear Etc. carry sensible shoes that are stylish too!

 

4. Take your time, be mindful and don’t rush, especially if you’re dealing with winter snow and ice.

 

3. Keep exercise a consistent part of your life. Strong muscles in your legs and core can help you regain your balance if you lose it momentarily and strong arms can help you decelerate and cushion a fall should you take a tumble. Self foot massage with a half tennis ball, is safer than a full ball and improves circulation, proprioception and because of increased spacial awareness, improves balance.

 

2. Remember that it is far easier and more fun to prevent a fall than it is to recover from a broken bone. Practicing BoneSmart Pilates®  for 15 minutes three times per week can help you prevent an accident that could take you years to recover from, and could reduce your quality of life permanently.

 

1. Top tip: Always use handrails!  This year I ruptured my rotator cuff for not doing so on icy steps in NY. My daughter broke a bone this summer falling downs stairs in our home because our handrail was missing due to renovations.

 

 

 

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Falling – it can happen to anyone!

Falling can happen to anyone.    I fell on some icy steps in 2015, and shared this video, so you could see how I worked out 1 week after surgery, with one arm that basically didn’t move!

            Click here or on the photo to see what Teresa can and can’t do 1 week post surgery.
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Teresa fell HARD on icy steps in NY. Though her bones are healthy and remained intact, she sustained a full rupture of a rotator cuff tendon, one of the key players that stabilizes the arm bone in its socket.

So you know that she “walks her talk”, this video clip gives you a sneak peek into what she can and can’t do 1 wk after rotator cuff surgical repair.   Even with her shoulder out of commission, the versatility of Pilates allows her to stay strong and agile providing healing circulation and feel good endorphin release to all parts of her body.   She’ll also let you in on the little she can do with her arm out of her sling.

Can you guess her secret to maintaining sanity in the middle of her sleepless nights?  Watch the end to find out!

See what Teresa can and can’t do one week after surgery

 

 

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