Day 17 - Another first...

This week seems to be the week of firsts – first circuit class, first class with Jackie… and today was my first jumpboard class!

I had done a couple of jumpboard exercises when Jacq “sprinkled” them into our regular pilates athletic or pilates flow classes.. the movements were pretty fun and really got my heart rate up, so I was really looking forward to today’s class!
Jacq wasn’t kidding when she said that pilates could be cardio-intensive. The class started off innocently enough on the reformer with a few movements to warm the legs up. We were pushing against a padded oak or maple board in lieu of the usual bar.

Once we were done with that, the jump portion of the class started, with 5minutes worth of jump exercise. 5 minutes you say? Pfft.. what’s 5 minutes? It may seem like peanuts but you have to try it to believe it.

Building from the usual leg press movement – I was now to use my feet, to propel myself away from the board. Starting from the heel and rolling to the balls of my feet, I engaged my quads and my core and pushed with my feet away from the board. I felt the connection to my core, but that wasn’t the end of it. Pointing my toes while in mid-air meant that my leg muscles and adducter muscles were connected as well. Landing, was even tougher. Instead of a regular landing, I had to simulate a cat-like landing – light as a feather, without the usual “thump”. This was achieved by landing with the toes first, followed by the heels, compared to a flat-footed landing. That in itself, worked the quad muscles just above the knee and required discipline in the thighs to allow the reformer to come close to the board, without clashing and clanging the springs.

Each minute of the jump movements was a different variation – legs together, legs apart, alternating legs together and apart, the scissor and my personal favourite, the ski.

At the end of 5 mins, the muscles in my legs were burning and perspiration was streaming down my face and neck. We went through arm movements with the jumpboard as well – modified pushups whilst maintaining stability in the lower body.

It hadn’t happened in a while but I did ache with every step as I left The Pilates Place… I like it…