Why let a columnist loose on Pilates when she lacks the knowledge to comment on the subject?

By Patricia L Guyton
Financial Times
August 25, 2007
Original article here

From Ms Patricia L. Guyton.

Sir, Having taught and studied Pilates for over 22 years, I was surprised by Mrs Moneypenny's column on Pilates mat work ("On the mat", FT Magazine, August 18/19). I find it very curious that someone with no frame of reference and just one hour of Pilates class experience would be offered space to write on a subject that is clearly beyond her scope to comment on.

US Olympic runners find Pilates a good platform for training. One of my clients was an elite marathon runner, injured as a result of the intensity of his aerobic training. It was suggested that core work might support and balance his running. To prepare him and his wife, also an elite runner,

I told them they would need to continue their athletics training schedule as usual. Unless they learned how to do Pilates correctly it would not benefit their running.

After a month, the couple expressed dismay. If they ran first, they had no energy for Pilates. If they did Pilates first, they had to rest before running. The couple, who considered an eight-mile run to be a short work-out, are regularly listed among the top 10 male and female runners in the world. Pilates helped them to regain their health and retain their position in a very competitive sport.

In the case of a 16-year-old gymnast who came to me with sports-related chronic back pain, I pushed him on the advanced equipment work that is part of the Pilates syllabus Mrs Moneypenny neglected to mention. We only had one hour twice a week supplementing his daily gymnastic training schedule of four hours.

After the Pilates sessions, he won a regional competition.

I am rehabilitating a former US snowboard team member who believes that if he had Pilates as a "platform" for exercise, he would not have injured his back in competition. He has three children and and does not want them to suffer the repetitive sports injury he has had to endure.

Pilates is not a panacea. It is certainly not a weight loss programme. It is a stimulating practice that provides for a healthy lifestyle, longevity and vitality.

Patricia L. Guyton,

Pat Guyton Pilates,

Vice President of Pilates Method Alliance,

Boulder, CO 80301, US