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February 12, 2020

Wellness Wednesday: Movement Moment

The Importance of a Variety of Movement

 

Good day WNYMMA! I hope your day is holding you well 🙂  Coach Hanna here to discuss the importance of partaking in a variety of movement and why you would benefit from doing so.
The main reason? Your body is a machine capable of moving in very diverse ways! From flexion to extension to lateral flexion to rotation to moving forwards or backwards or side to side.
When our body becomes accustomed to one style of fitness or movement, we run the risk of reaching a plateau in our workout performance and training results.

How does this affect us?

 

Like what happens when we aren’t mentally challenging ourselves… if we don’t challenge our physical being in a variety of ways, we will become stagnant in our personal growth and skill set.
One should consider varying their exercise routines for two main reasons:
1) prevent boredom associated with doing the same movements
2) avoid reaching a plateau in workout performance and also training results. Research has shown that creating a diverse exercise program can enhance adherence.

Bottom Line

 

Regardless of other people’s opinions on a fitness style or what you believe you are or not capable of, putting yourself out there to try new experiences is a rewarding feeling.

So if you’re at a gym, challenge yourself to try every single kind of class that has caught your attention. Whether that’s cardio, mind body movement, HIIT, spinning, martial arts, dance style classes… give it a go and your body will be grateful for the challenging experience. Every new style of movement we participate in expands our body’s knowledge of physical motions.
Below is a video of biomechanics expert Katy Bowman discussing the importance of movement 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVRg193Wa-M
Life is too short not to move in all the ways possible.
Mix it up and grow in the process!
And don’t forget, you are how you move 🙂
With that, I bid you a farewell til next week!

Coach Hanna

Life Coach and Pilates Instructor

WNYMMA Coach

Article by Hannemart Louw / Pilates, Stretching, Wellness, Wellness Wednesday, Yoga / Boxing, Coach Hanna, Fitness, health, HIIT, Kickboxing, MMA, MMA Conditioning, Muay Thai, Pilates, Wellness, Wellness Wednesday, Yoga

February 5, 2020

Wellness Wednesday: Why Pilates for MMA?

So what’s in store for our Movement Moment this week?

Pilates. And how it is a wonderful piece to add to the MMA puzzle.

Joseph Pilates founded and developed the exercise system Contrology which is now known today as Pilates. He was a man of many physical ventures including gymnastics, bodybuilding, yoga, jiu jitsu and boxing. With this, his education and keenly observing animal locomotion, he made his life purpose working with the mechanics of the physical body. 

How does the WNYMMA community benefit from Pilates?

Last year, Pilates was introduced to the WNYMMA community with a great purpose. Not only is it a supportive system of exercises for everyone from all walks of life… yet there is a wonderful opportunity of adding the benefits of Pilates to the world of MMA. This connecting of dots has already begun gaining traction over recent years with more and more higher level fighters taking on Pilates as part of their training regimen.

Why are fighters starting to recognize the benefit of Pilates?

Pilates exercise’s main focus? CORE. And our core is our abdominal muscles, back muscles, hips, pelvic floor and glutes!

Almost every movement you do in Martial Arts begins in your core where the most muscular activation comes from. Thus, the weaker your core is, the less power you can produce in your fist or foot. Also, if your mid-section gives in during grappling, your opponent will take advantage. This is why high-level fighters are taking on Pilates to deeper develop their core musculature especially the inner stabilizing muscles.

Pilates is a combination of strength & balance so if you’re weak in one area, you will also be off balance in that region which is great feedback letting you know where your weakest links reside 🙂

Mental Game Changer

With Pilates focusing on lateral (intercostal) breathing, one breathes in through the nose and out through the mouth. In a Pilates class, you will hear your instructor echo “inhale, exhale” many times. This repetitive reminder to stay focused on your breathwork during the exercises is a great way to make sure you are getting consistent oxygen to your body throughout your flow. Naturally, this attention to breath brings awareness to being present which allows for the mind to calm.

The best part?

In the process of your Pilates journey, you will be correcting your postural alignment which striking and grappling can take a toll on. With good posture and a strong core, the body is less susceptible to injury. Proper Posture = physical longevity & sustainability.

So, as we’ve learned today… it sounds like a win win situation! That’s because it is. Pilates is there to build you up. And who doesn’t want that? 🙂

Below is a video by a very talented mind body movement instructor, Sean Vigue, who has compiled a wonderful series of Pilates exercises for athletes. Enjoy in the comfort of your home!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHmH4K4wL4g

Hope to see you on the mat soon. Have a magical day in every way!

Hanna Louw

Life Coach and Pilates Instructor

Coach at WNYMMA

Article by Hannemart Louw / Uncategorized / Coach Hanna, Fitness, MMA, MMA Conditioning, Pilates, Wellness, Wellness Wednesday

November 20, 2019

Push-ups: Can you do a PROPER one?

Our Wellness Wednesday post on how to do a proper push-up comes to you from Coach Hanna and Kate! Many of you know that Kate has been dealing with an ongoing neck injury for years (even before she started BJJ). So, she started working one-on-one with Hanna to try to address the underlying causes. As it turns out, one of those things was bad pushup form!

PROPER PUSH-UP

Hanna told Kate not to feel bad. In fact, most people actually aren’t doing push-ups in what she calls the “proper” way. A “proper push-up” is a push-up that gives your body the MOST BENEFIT with the LEAST RISK of injury or strain.

CAN YOU DO ONE?

This video gives an introductory look at how to do a proper push-up. Think you can do one? Show us!

TRY SOME PILATES FOR MMA

Did you find this useful? Hanna coaches Pilates every Sunday at 11AM at our North Buffalo location. She also offers one-on-one sessions at the gym. So, whatever style of coaching you prefer, she can help you out! One-on-one work is great for preventing and addressing injuries. Hanna’s group classes also focus on giving you all the details you need – so come check one out this week!

Article by admin / Every Day We're Shuffling, Wellness Wednesday / Coach Hanna, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, Pilates, Push-ups, Strength Training, Technique, Wellness, Wellness Wednesday

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