Bramhall U3A - Pilates Group

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Pilates, Stretch & Relax

The benefits of Pilates are well acknowledged (see below for full details). Having a strong core, a mobile and strong spine and flexible limbs can make everyday activities so much safer and more enjoyable. This is also why many professional sports people (men as well as women!) include Pilates /Core Training as part of their fitness regime.

So what more incentive do you need to join us???

The sessions are held in the Rhodes Room (1st Floor) Bramhall Village Club, Lumb Lane, Bramhall - the room has heating and air conditioning for comfort, and free parking is available.

There are currently 4 sessions each week:

Monday 10.15 to 11.15 - Mixed Ability with some previous experience
Monday 11.30 to 12.30 - All Levels with experience

Thursday 10.00 to 11.00 - All Levels with experience
Thursday 11.15 to 12.15 - Improvers (ex-Beginners)

All previous participants and those who have attended Pilates classes in the past are welcome to return, subject to the usual Health Questionnaire and the availability of places.

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Each course of 6 structured and progressive sessions aims to provide the following:

Increased Spinal Mobility - a strong healthy back needs to be flexible and strong enough to deal with the strain of everyday living

Stronger Core - strengthening the deep internal abdominal muscles will provide additional support to the back, improve balance thus reducing the risk of falls, and build inner control

Better Posture - raising awareness of good posture can help reduce general wear and tear on the back and may reduce reliance on painkillers for minor back problems

Increased Flexibility - effective and targeted stretching will help lengthen and relax muscles and also provide ideas for improved warm up before, and cool down after, other daily life activities and interests

Relaxation - valuable 'me time' reduces stress and enables evaluation of techniques learned during your workout

If you want to become stronger from the inside, improve posture and flexibility, and generally make yourself better able to deal with daily challenges then book now!

Our Pilates Stretch & Relax sessions continue to be popular and very well attended as people continue to be increasingly aware of the benefits of Pilates and exercise/activity in general due to the numerous positive reports and PR in the media.

Sessions ran during 34 weeks over the course of this year - we continue to take it easy over Public Holidays like Easter and Xmas and Bank Holidays There were 4 sessions each of those weeks, so we managed a total of 136 sessions in 2018.

The current courses, running from early November up to our break for Xmas, have a total of 59 participants, which shows good continuity and support to keep this popular group viable.

We continue to work to improve balance with a focus on strengthening muscles around hips, pelvis and legs to try to prevent falls which can have a devastating impact on mobility and quality of life.

As is inevitable with people in the U3A age group, from time to time members have medical conditions, little niggles and injuries that mean they are not able to attend classes for a while. In most cases the medical professionals and Physiotherapists they consult are delighted that they attend Pilates sessions and encourage that they return once recovered from whatever has ailed them. Even more satisfying is that many of the exercises that the physiotherapists prescribe are already familiar from our sessions!

As a qualified fitness instructor I continue to attend workshops and training courses in order to keep abreast of developments and research so I can bring the latest ideas to the classes. We use equipment like bands and balls to add variety but nothing fancy or expensive so members can easily get the kit and workout at home in between classes.

Many of our participants have interests, hobbies and activities in their lives that have benefitted from better posture, greater flexibility and stronger muscles and spine due to their hard work in their Pilates sessions. Making the exercises relevant to daily life activities helps to 'keep it all real' and gives a sense of purpose.

We work hard but have a laugh or two along the way and have grown into a very welcoming and sociable team who support other group members when things might not be going so well for them.

This document last modified Wednesday November 15, 2017
Site created and maintained by Bramhall U3A
Email comments to communications@bramhallu3a.org.uk

Summary	Pilates, Stretch & Relax. Each course lasts 6 sessions.
Venue	The Village Club, Lumb Lane, Bramhall - see below for times.
Contact	Wendy Litchfield - Telephone details are in the paper/email copy of the newsletter
Email	groups@bramhallu3a.org.uk with 'U3A Pilates Enquiry' as the subject