SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -
It's a workout that is sweeping the pilates world by storm. You may have seen people at your local gym exercising on a mysterious machine.
Far from being a newcomer in the fitness world, the Pilates chair, has always been a part of any fully equipped Pilates studio. Lately, the chairs have been getting a new look, moving into the mainstream and are no longer considered special equipment at the studio.
"The MVE chair is a class version of the pilates chair," said Adrienne Belle. "It is another pilates aparatis. It focuses more on muscle toning and strength, rather than the elongation of the muscle."
Belle, a pilates instructor at Fitness One shows there is a myriad of exercises that can be done on the MVE chair.
"You are getting a total body workout; legs arms core, lots of strength work," said Belle. "We also get our heart rate up, so a little cardio."
The Pilates chair is basically a box with one side that can be pressed down against the resistance of springs, like a large pedal.
"The first one we usually start out with is for the legs," said Belle. "I want you to have a seat on the chair. I have you on a light resistance. I want you to push down and bring the knees back up, now go a lot faster." The second exercise are for your triceps. We are going to lift glutes off chair and dip. That is targeting the backs of your arms. People call it the waving girl."
The chair is often used for simple strength and balance exercises.
"It's a lot different than using weights in the gym, using a lot of different body parts," said Belle. "I don't know if people realize, you start losing your balance at 21. So it's really important to keep that up."
The device may be used for rehab, beginners and recondition couch potatoes, yet it can challenges the most advance athlete.
"Now loose the pole and try and pick up pace," said Belle. "Hold police again and pick up heel on left foot. A little more challenging."
So you shouldn't be afraid to give a "chair class" a try.
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