Product Description

Strengthen, lengthen, and sculpt your muscles with the full range of Pilates exercises. In Pilates, world-renowned Pilates expert Rael Isacowitz shows you the same repertoire that he has used to train 10 Olympians, including U.S. figure skater Sasha Cohen and diver Wendy Williams, as well as an elite group of professional instructors who work with celebrities and athletes around the world.

Starting with the foundation for all the exercises, Pilates presents an in-depth treatment of mat work, including photo illustrations and detailed breathing instruction to help you perform the movements correctly. A unique set of challenging exercise sequences allows the movements to flow in one continuous motion.

Following mat work, where most books stop entirely, Pilates just gets going. The same depth of instruction and photo illustrations are applied to the full range of Pilates apparatus:

• Reformer
• Cadillac
• Step and ladder barrels
• Magic circle
• Wunda chair
• Ped-a-pul
• Arm chair

The complete repertoire includes a customized grouping of exercises in blocks that progress from the fundamental level through the intermediate and advanced levels to challenge you at all stages of Pilates development.

With 210 exercises in all, Pilates is the most comprehensive guide available on the Pilates method. A contemporary approach to the work of Joseph Pilates, this is the one book you need in order to improve posture, muscle tone, core strength, and flexibility.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42663 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 360 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780736056236
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review

"While other Pilates books cover limited apparatus, this is the first truly complete guide to Pilates technique, exercises and equipment. A thorough, well-written, and useable guide to proper Pilates practice."

Kirkus Reports - Health & Fitness

About the Author
Rael Isacowitz, MA, is the founder of Body Arts and Science International (BASI), an international organization devoted to Pilates education. Recognized as a contemporary approach to the works of Joseph Pilates, this teacher-training program is active in more than 12 countries around the globe. As a leading expert in the Pilates method, Isacowitz has close to 30 years of experience practicing and lecturing in universities, clinics, and studios worldwide. With a rich background as a dancer, athlete, yogi, and Pilates practitioner, Isacowitz brings to his teaching unparalleled expertise combined with a passion for his work.

In collaboration with Balanced Body, the largest Pilates equipment manufacturer in the world, Isacowitz designed the concept for a new line of Pilates apparatus and has been featured in numerous publications in several languages all over the world. He served on the board of the Pilates Method Alliance and has been a driving force in several initiatives advocating educational standards in the Pilates community. He continues to support this organization and others in various countries, striving to set industry guidelines and maintain the integrity of Pilates.

Isacowitz received his teaching credentials (DipPE) and bachelor of education degree in Israel at the prestigious Wingate Institute of Physical Education, where he was later invited to join the faculty. Isacowitz went on to complete his master of arts degree in dance at the University of Surrey, England.

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Customer Reviews

a Must Have Pilates Resource
If you practice Pilates your instructor can only guide you so much. To get the most out of your practice, you need to understand for yourself what the objectives of each exercise are, what form specifics to focus on, what visualization to use to achieve that perfect rep. "Pilates" by Rael Isacowitz will give you those tools.

Now, not only can you listen to your instructor, you can listen to that little voice in your own head to help you get the most from your efforts. Rael's Imagery cues for each exercise have been perfected over his many years of practice and teaching, and are incredibly helpful, whether you are a Pilates student or a teacher. Students who practice in a Pilates studio spend a lot of time on the apparatus and I love that equipment work is included in this book, unlike so many books which focus solely on the mat work. The number and variety of exercises in this book will ensure your workouts are never the same (just one of the things I love about Pilates!) and they are well organized, making it easy for you to design your own (or your client's) workout. Sample fundamental, intermediate, and advanced mat and apparatus workouts are given in the back of the book.

Whether a student or a teacher, you will find yourself referring again and again, to this wonderful resource.

A Bargin for new instructors
I was certified through body arts and science and after paying over $3000 for my education I could not fork over the extra dough for the workbooks that were an additional $250. I laugh now cause this book IS the workbooks, muscle focus and orgins and all for $20! This is a fantastic book for the newly certified insturctor looking for a study guide or even the more experienced one that looks at another instructor from time to time and says "what was the breathing on that again." Stay sharp to keep the practice respected and our students healthy and strong.

Authoritative on the science, art, beauty, and experience of Pilates
The author stuck with a simple template in writing his book that allowed him to convey his ideas clearly and gracefully. Each lesson in the book starts with an anatomical target under "Muscle Focus" and the "Objectives" of serving those muscles. The lessons end with "Imagery" that deals with the feeling and the mental execution of the desired motion.

The author refrained from venturing into areas outside his domain of specialized expertise such as nutrition or unrelated topics, which added to his credibility and emphasized the depth of indulging in the art of Pilates. The extensive number, simple content, and logical sequence of the photographs, which are properly labeled and placed in each lesson, all makes the book an easy read and useful tool for learning. Above all, the author himself demonstrates his role as a model for the reader.

The book has a brief history of Pilates, its benefits, and its principles. Those are grouped under ten principles that address awareness, balance, breathing, concentration, body centering, gaining control, efficiency of motion, flow of energy, precision, and harmony. The main emphasis of Pilates practice is described in terms of regional anatomy that is brought under the control of the mind such that it serves the purpose of skillful mobility.

The book falls into twelve chapters that deal with enhancing the mind and body, alignment and movement, and the different methods of accomplishing the objectives of motion control. The different methods entail: Mat work that falls into 70 pages, Universal Reformer that spans about 100 pages, Cadillac 40 pages, Wanda Chair 20 pages, Barrels 20 pages, Ped-a-Pul 7 pages, Arm Chair 7 pages, and Magic Circle 14 pages. The last chapter lumps all exercises in sample routines that facilitate quick referencing.

The major drawback of the book is the use of advanced tools in some lessons that might not be available to the majority of readers. Yet, the author has little to do with what others could afford and should not take the blame for such hurdle.

The priceless gain attained from reading this book is the development of conscious awareness of each part of the body and being able to survey what goes wrong on time to enhance performance. And, performance exactness is what the author is expert in teaching and in practicing.

Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training