Over the years, I’ve observed many hundreds of clients who come to me in pain.  And I’ve noticed a couple of key differences between those who get better and those who don’t.

The ones who don’t get rid of their back-pain tend to make one (or both!) of these two common mistakes in their approach to exercise:

Common Exercise Mistakes That May Be Keeping You in Pain No1: Competing with Others

It’s quite natural to look at the other people in the class to see how they are doing the exercises.  And sometimes you might be impressed by the amount of sit-ups, or press-ups, friends can do.

What this can lead to, for some people, is trying to keep up, or even outdo others.  If the person next to them is doing the exercise with both hands off the ground and one leg in the air, then they might be tempted to do that too.  Perhaps because they think they should by this point be doing the high level exercises, or they don’t want to be the only one who isn’t.

Or they believe that “doing more is the same as doing better”.  (Of course in some exercises classes you may even be encouraged to “push yourself”.)

The truth is, the single most important thing when it comes to exercise is to work within your own capacity (through listening to your own body).  Regardless of what everyone else is doing.  (That’s why I give individual modifications and various levels for each exercise.)

If you don’t follow this golden rule, you won’t get the specific benefits of the exercise at the level you are at.  And you then have nothing to build on.  And you are likely to strain the very muscles you are hoping to strengthen and heal.

Common Exercise Mistakes That May Be Keeping You in Pain No2: Trying to “Feel the Burn”

There is a common misconception about exercise: “if it doesn’t hurt it can’t be working”.

In fact this is completely untrue.  But I have observed that some clients want to “feel something happening” when they are exercising (otherwise it can’t be working!).

However the Douglas Method is about ensuring that you are prescribed the correct exercise, at the correct level, for your specific requirements.   It is not about how much you are feeling at all.

Of course how much you feel depends on your body awareness and this is a skill that most people have to develop.  Those who keep aiming to make “something that they can feel” happen will never learn to feel what is actually happening.  Plus they just keep stressing those same muscles, which are in the habit of kicking in, and the pain doesn’t go away.

As you know I believe that it is not just important, it is CRUCIAL to do the exercise correctly – for you.  This may mean trusting that it is working even though you can’t yet “feel” it.

So if you want to get rid of your back-pain, don’t try to compete or compare yourself to others.  And please don’t try to “feel the burn”!  Just stay within your capacity, concentrate on you and do the exercise as prescribed.  (If in doubt – ask!)

And if you really want to “push yourself” – push yourself to actually do your exercises at your level more often (i.e. between classes), rather than pushing yourself through the exercises.

This is quite true, full and complete Pilates exercises DO combine stretches within the movements. However most people (the majority of the population actually) are not flexible enough to be able to perform those “full strength” Pilates movements. And if you can’t do the movements, you won’t be doing the stretching!

My method addresses this problem by analysing which muscles are tight and require stretching, and then prescribing the correct stretches.

As my “Hamstring Stretches” Hand-Book explains, every person has various ranges of flexibility. This is why it is SO important that the correct stretch is found for you: so that you can improve your flexibility and gain all of the associated benefits, like:

• Being able to perform everyday tasks
• Not feeling stiff and sore
• Being able to do other activities with greater ease (run with the grand kids!!)
• Continuing to do your pastime or sport no matter what age you are.

The more your flexibility improves, the more of the exercises you will be able to do – giving you more of the strengthening, toning results you want.  Eventually you will possibly be able to perform the full Pilates movements to their full extent. You might then not need to do specific stretches, and your flexibility will be maintained. And so will the benefits!

So!!!! The answer is: YES you do need to stretch (unless you are one of the few who are already fit and flexible enough to do the full-on Pilates exercises).

So if you have not downloaded my Hamstring E book please download it, and try it – you will be surprised at the benefits you will gain.

And look out for the next E book in the New Year!

I hope all my friends, clients and future clients have a great Xmas and an even better New Year and I look forward to working with you all in 2012.

It has been one amazing journey to get to this point. I hope that you enjoy the journey through my website and continue to enjoy the journey further as you learn the Douglas Pilates Method.