Kore Kast
Kore Kast is a Podcast dedicated to integrating health and wellness with an emphasis on Pilates and Functional Fitness. This weekly Podcast is hosted by Kris Harris, a Certified Pilates Instructor and Personal Trainer. Please subscribe and follow our journey...
Kore Kast
Pilates Strength: Building Power Without the Pain
We break down how to build genuine strength with Pilates by training from the center out, using breath, alignment, and smart progressions to protect your joints. Practical cues, mistake fixes, and clear progressions show how to turn technique into real-world power.
• season five launch and focus on core ideas
• defining Pilates strength as integrated, functional power
• center-out strategy using deep core stabilizers
• eccentric training and dynamic stability principles
• three big mistakes: ego, breath holding, gripping
• setup cues: neutral spine, wide shoulders, long neck
• progression pathway: stability to power, quality over quantity
• examples: the hundred, roll-up, push-up progressions
• lateral thoracic breathing and exhale on effort
• science on deep stabilizers reducing spinal load
• modifying for pain, injury, and different populations
• mat vs equipment and when to use springs
• patience, consistency, and working with qualified teachers
If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit from building power without pain
If you'd enjoyed today's episode, I'd love for you to share it with your friends and family
And if you're feeling generous, consider donating at the link provided in the description
For more resources, tips, and updates, don't forget to visit our website at www.kore-fit.com and follow us on Instagram at KoreFitnessAZ
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Welcome back to season five of the KoreKast. I'm Kris Harris, and we're diving deeper than ever into the core ideas that shape everything around us. This season, we're exploring the essential questions, the breakthrough discoveries, and the game-changing conversations that matter most. From science and technology to philosophy and culture, we get straight to the heart of what's driving our world forward. Season five is going to blow your mind. Welcome to Pilates Strength, where we explore building real power without the pain. I'm your host, Kris Harris, and I've been teaching Pilates for over 15 years. Today, we're diving deep into something I'm incredibly passionate about: how to build genuine strength through Pilates while keeping your body safe, healthy, and pain-free. You know, I see it all the time in studios across the country. People come to Pilates thinking it's just gentle stretching, or on the flip side, they push themselves like they're in a hardcore gym session. Both approaches miss the mark entirely. Pilates strength training is this beautiful middle ground where we build incredible power, but we do it intelligently. So what exactly is safe Pilates strength training? It's about working with your body's natural movement patterns, not against them. Traditional weight training often isolates muscles, but Pilates integrates everything. We're building functional strength that translates to how you actually move in real life. Think about it. When do you ever just use your bicep in isolation? Never. You're always using multiple muscle groups working together in a chain. The key principle here is what I call strength from the center out. Everything starts with your deep core muscles, your diaphragm, pelvic floor, transverse abdomenes, and multifytus. These aren't the muscles that give you a six-pack. They're the muscles that give you stability and real power. When these deep stabilizers are engaged and working properly, your arms and legs can generate incredible force without putting stress on your joints. Now let's talk about building power while protecting your body. This is where Pilates really shines. We use what's called eccentric strengthening. That's controlling the movement as you lengthen the muscle, not just as you shorten it. Think of lowering yourself slowly in a push-up versus just dropping down. That controlled lowering is where you build incredible strength and protect your joints at the same time. Another crucial element is what we call dynamic stability. Instead of bracing and holding rigid like you might with heavy weights, we're moving through ranges of motion while maintaining perfect alignment. Your spine stays neutral, your shoulders stay organized, and your pelvis stays stable even as your arms and legs are creating challenge and resistance. Let me share the most common mistakes I see that lead to pain and injury. The biggest one? Ego over technique. People want to advance too quickly. They see someone doing an advanced exercise and think they should be able to do it too, without building the proper foundation first. In Pilates, every exercise builds on the previous one. You can't skip steps. The second major mistake is holding your breath. When you hold your breath, you create tension throughout your entire body. Your muscles can't work efficiently, your blood pressure spikes, and you lose that beautiful mind-body connection that makes Pilates so effective. Breathing isn't just something you do while exercising, it's actually part of the exercise itself. Third mistake, gripping and over-efforting. I see people white knuckling their way through exercises, gripping the equipment so tightly that their whole body tenses up. Real strength comes from using exactly the amount of effort you need. No more, no less. We call this working smart, not hard. Now let's dive into proper form and technique. The foundation of every Pilates exercise starts with what we call neutral spine. This doesn't mean flat back. Your spine has natural curves that we want to honor and maintain. Imagine you have a small ball between your lower ribs and your hip bones. You don't want to crush that ball and you don't want to let it roll away. Your shoulders should sit wide across your back, away from your ears. Think of your shoulder blades gently sliding down your back like water. Your neck is long, the crown of your head reaching toward the ceiling. This isn't about being rigid. It's about being organized and balanced. Every movement in Pilates starts with an exhale that engages your deep core. Think of gently drawing your navel toward your spine, not sucking in, not bearing down, just a gentle engagement that creates stability from the inside out. This core connection should feel supportive, not restrictive. Progressive strength building in Pilates follows a very specific pathway. We always start with stability before mobility and control before power. You master an exercise at a slow, controlled tempo before you even think about adding speed or complexity. Can you do 10 perfect repetitions before you try to do 20? Can you maintain perfect form when you're fatigued? Here's my progression formula. Master the basic pattern first, then add range of motion, then add resistance or spring tension, then add complexity or instability. And finally, add speed or power. Most people want to jump straight to the end, but each stage builds the foundation for the next one. For example, let's take a simple exercise like the hundred. You start by just finding your core connection while lying down, then you add the arm pumping while keeping your head down. Next, you lift your head and chest, then you might add leg position changes. Each step prepares your body for the next level of challenge. Now let's talk about the mind-body connection. This is where Pilates really becomes magical. Your brain and your muscles are in constant communication, and Pilates teaches you to listen to and direct that conversation. When you're truly connected, you feel the exercise in the right muscles, you know when something doesn't feel right, and you can adjust in real time. Let me give you some specific examples of how this progression works with different exercises. Take the Pilates push-up, one of our most challenging movements. Most people think they need to jump straight into the full version, but there's a beautiful progression that builds the strength you need safely. This connection starts with awareness. Before you move, check in with your body. How does your back feel against the mat? Where are you holding tension? What's your breathing like? This isn't wasted time. This is essential preparation that makes every exercise more effective and safer. We start with wall push-ups, standing arm's length from a wall, placing your palms flat against it, and practicing the pushing motion while maintaining perfect spinal alignment. This teaches the movement pattern without the full body weight challenge. Then we progress to incline push-ups using a chair or bench. The higher the surface, the easier the exercise. During the exercise, stay present with what you're feeling. If your neck starts to tense up, that's information. If you feel your lower back arching, that's information. Instead of pushing through or ignoring these signals, use them to adjust and refine your movement. This is how you build not just strength but intelligence in your body. Next, we move to knee push-ups. But here's the key. We're not just dropping to our knees. We're maintaining that perfect straight line from the top of our head down to our knees. Your hips don't sink, your back doesn't arch. Only when you can perform ten perfect knee push-ups with complete control do we progress to the full version. Now let's dive deeper into the breathing patterns that make Pilates so uniquely effective. Joseph Pilates himself said that breathing is the first act of life and the last, and that our very life depends on it. In Pilates, we use what's called lateral thoracic breathing, breathing wide into the back and sides of your ribs rather than just up into your chest or down into your belly. Let me give you some practical tips you can start implementing immediately. First, always warm up properly. Even five minutes of gentle movement to wake up your spine and activate your core makes a huge difference. Think cat cow stretches, gentle spinal rotation, some arm circles to mobilize your shoulders. Here's why this matters. When you breathe into your back and sides, you can maintain your core engagement throughout the entire exercise. If you breathe into your belly, your deep abdominal muscles relax and you lose that crucial stability. Think of wrapping a corset around your ribs. As you inhale, the corset expands to the sides and back, not forward into your belly. Let's look at another example, the roll-up, a fundamental Pilates exercise that people often struggle with. Instead of forcing your way up with momentum or strain, we break it down. Start by simply practicing the breathing pattern while lying down. Then add small head and chest lifts. Progress to rolling halfway up and controlling the way back down. Each stage builds the abdominal strength and spinal mobility you need for the complete movement. The exhale is where the magic happens. As you breathe out, you're not just releasing air, you're engaging your deep core muscles, creating stability and powering your movement. We typically exhale on the effort phase of an exercise. For example, in a chest lift, you exhale as you curl your head and chest up, using that breath to help deepen your abdominal connection. Second, focus on quality over quantity every single time. Five perfect repetitions will serve you better than 20 sloppy ones. When your form starts to break down, that's your cue to rest, modify, or stop. Your body is telling you it's reached its current capacity. The science behind why Pilates is so effective for building safe strength is fascinating. Recent research shows that the deep stabilizing muscles we target in Pilates fire differently than the larger, more superficial muscles. These deep muscles can work for hours without fatigue. They're designed for endurance and stability, not power. Third, listen to your body's feedback. Some muscle fatigue is normal and expected. Sharp pain, joint pain, or that feeling that something is wrong. Those are stop signals. Rest, reassess, and if needed, modify the exercise or skip it entirely. There's no exercise that's so important it's worth getting injured over. Studies have shown that when your deep core muscles are working properly, they actually reduce the load on your spine by up to 40%. That means less wear and tear on your discs, less stress on your joints, and less likelihood of injury. This is why people often find that their chronic back pain improves with regular Pilates practice. We're literally taking pressure off the structures that were overworked. Fourth, work with a qualified instructor, especially when you're starting out. Pilates look simple from the outside, but there are so many subtle details that make the difference between an effective workout and a potential injury. A good teacher will help you understand not just what to do but why you're doing it. Finally, be patient with the process. Pilates strength is different from other kinds of strength training. You're building deep, functional power that develops over time. You might not feel dramatically different after one session, but after a month of consistent practice, you'll notice changes not just in how you move during Pilates, but how you move through life. Let's talk about equipment for a moment because I get asked about this constantly. Do you need a reformer, a Cadillac, or all those fancy machines to build strength with Pilates? Absolutely not. Some of the most challenging and effective Pilates exercises happen on just a mat with your body weight. You'll find yourself standing taller without thinking about it. You'll lift heavy grocery bags with better mechanics. You'll have more endurance for activities you love. This is the real power of Pilates strength. It enhances everything else you do. The equipment does add variety and can help with certain progressions, but it's not essential for building real strength. What the machines do provide is variable resistance through springs, and they can offer support for movements you're not quite ready to do on your own yet. But remember, even Joseph Pilates developed his original method working primarily on mats in internment camps during World War I. As we wrap up today's episode, I want to leave you with this thought. Strength without intelligence is just force. What makes Pilates special is that it builds both simultaneously. You become stronger and smarter about how you use that strength. You develop power that serves you, not power that breaks you down. One of the beautiful things about Pilates strength training is how adaptable it is to different populations and needs. I've worked with everyone from elite athletes to people in their 80s, from dancers recovering from injury to weekend warriors just trying to stay healthy. The principles remain the same, but the application changes completely. Remember, every expert was once a beginner. Every advanced practitioner started with basic exercises and built from there. Trust the process, listen to your body, and give yourself permission to progress at your own pace. Your body has incredible wisdom. Pilates just teaches you how to access it. For older adults, we focus heavily on balance, bone density, and functional movements that help with daily activities. Think about exercises that strengthen the muscles you need to get up from a chair or to reach something on a high shelf safely. For athletes, we're often working on movement efficiency, injury prevention, and addressing imbalances that their sport creates. Thank you for joining me today on Pilates Strength. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit from building power without pain. Until next time, keep moving with intention and strength with intelligence. I'm Chris Harris and I'll see you on the mat. For people dealing with chronic pain or recovering from injury, Pilates offers something unique, the ability to build strength while respecting limitations. We work around injuries, not through them. If your shoulder is bothered, we can strengthen your core and legs while your shoulder heals. If your back is sensitive, we can work on gentle spinal mobility and core stability without aggravating the problem. And remember, if you're interested in learning more about specific techniques or have questions about your own Pilates practice, you can always reach out through our website. Stay strong, stay safe, and most importantly, enjoy the journey of discovering what your body is truly capable of when you train it with intelligence and respect. Thank you for joining me on this episode of the KoreKast. I hope you're feeling inspired and empowered to take your health and wellness journey to the next level. Remember, every small step counts, and I'm here to support you every step of the way. If you'd enjoyed today's episode, I'd love for you to share it with your friends and family. And if you're feeling generous, consider donating at the link provided in the description. Your support helps us to keep bringing you the core cast every week, packed with valuable insights and expert advice. For more resources, tips, and updates, don't forget to visit our website at www.kore-fit.com and follow us on Instagram at KoreFitnessAZ. Join our community and let's continue this journey together. Until next time, stay healthy, stay happy, and keep striving for your best self. This is Kris Harris signing off from the KoreKast, and I'll see you next week.
