Pilates Anatomy

I've a couple of years of experience with Pilates (or Contrology;) and got Pilates' two books last year. While a must-read, I had some questions that the image raised and couldn't find the necessary info online. I was researching instructor training when I found this book as the text for quite a few courses and decided to order it. It was one of my better decisions - I like the way the book's written, it answered my questions and gives me the needed anatomy explanations. Lots of illustrations, seems to be giving the basics and more advanced muscles' descriptions. Also, I hope to reuse when I eventually get to instructor level training myself.

I discovered Pilates late in life. Having been fitness mad most of my years, I have suffered many low back problems and other sport related injuries. Around three years ago I tried getting back into jogging after a twenty year absence following a cartilage problem in my knee. The main problem was n my head! I still tried to do the times I did at 37 but now I'm 67 it's just not possible. It takes me the same time to run a10k as it used to take me to do a 10 miler. So I pushed, and pushed. The end result was weekly visits to the physio for hamstring and Achilles problems. Then joined my local leisure centre and tried Pilates. Eureka. Life changing moment for me. Pilates changed everything around for me. No more injuries as you work within your own capabilities. Not competitive , it about good form. ( sorry if I'm rambling on a bit) I do two classes a week now plus this brilliant book helps me to understand fully what we are taught in the class. Now I have looked at every page I use it for reference. My only regret is not "finding" years ago! This book will be an investment if you are remotely interested in looking after your well being

A great guide to pilates, with guidance on how to perform many exercises, from the very beginner right up to the advanced. Great illustrations and explanations, with a bunch of routines you can follow at the back of the book depending on your level of experience. This will be my handbook as I embark on my pilates journey, chosen thanks to others' reviews.

PLEASE ADD PAGE NUMBERS TO THE KINDLE EDITION!!! I am a retired consultant radiologist and have been fit all my life sports,horse riding and mountaineering. I started Pilates about 3 years ago when I found I had balance problems could not stand on one foot, and difficulty in walking up and down hills (not mountains anymore unfortunately) when the path was uneven . I have a Pilates teacher both at home and in Spain, where I am currently residing. I had not seen my Spanish teacher for over a year and she is very pleased with the progress I have made. My UK teacher has encouraged me to explore the mind body connection and in so doing I have bought and read various books. As an academic scientist I was attracted to this book as primary source material. I downloaded it last night and have been reading it all day instead of doing the things I had planned. I love it. It is beautifully written and illustrated and therefore easy to understand. So far I have not found any anatomical or physiological factual errors. However it is virtually impossible to cross reference within the ebook as there are no page numbers. But for this irritating omission I would have given it 5 stars. I would recommend those considering purchasing the ebook to buy the paper copy. I may well do this myself when I return to the UK

I am currently studying for my Level 3 Pilates Diploma and this book was recommended to me by my tutor. The book is excellent! it provides detail of all the key Pilates exercise (plus a few not included in the original book of Contrology) with a description of how to execute the exercise, key teaching points and modifications. Crucially it gives details of the muscles involved in each exercise. This enables the reader to gain a better understanding of the role and purpose of each exercise.

I read and have read a lot of Pilaters books. This one is brilliant. A lot of the instructions are of course repetitive, if you are already familiar with Pilates and the exercises, but the sketches and drawings and the idea to highlight main and supporting muscles in different colours is extremely helpful. I also like some of the imagery ideas and teaching points. I thoroughly recommend this book.

The diagrams in the book show which muscles you engage as you work through your Pilates routine. It has helped me to focus on the muscles in each ‘exercise’ more diligently. I found the book to be very detailed, there is advice on modifications to the postures to protect injuries or ailments. All in all a great book imo.

This didn't help me as much as I hoped it would. I really wanted it to help me with technique of Pilates moves and it did that to an extent, but there were a limited number of exercises in it and for those that were it was just a tad too technical for my needs

For teaching Pilates I cross read with Yoga Anatomy and other books. This book have simple basic guidance in mobile size, so I often carry it. My certification is not from BASI, but his books are my anchor for teaching Pilates.

I LOVE this book. It is a great book for someone who likes to know the nitty gritty of every little bit of what they are doing and why. When I took Pilates lessons my instructor became a little annoyed by my constant questioning about which muscles are we working, how does this affect this set of muscles, what can I do to improve this, and how can I modify this is I have a certain limitation. I think she felt that I was slowing down my learning but for me it was because I wanted to understand so I could do it just right. (or maybe it reminded her of a 3 year old asking questions for which she had no answers). Many people (especially those who are not learning to do Pilates for fun) may find this book filled with too many anatomical details but I think that they would still like it because it gives lots of info (what they refers to as cues) so that you can learn to do it right (not everyone lives near a Pilates studio or can afford classes). If you prefer to learn by watching then this may not be the book for you but I think that you could still benefit from information on technique and modifications. If you feel overwhelmed by scientific names or don't really care about the mechanics of the exercise, stick with a class or CD or Amazon prime video. Also I don't recommend any books on Kindle except for little mini guides and fiction or poetry. As Kindle works now it is not the best format for reference books or complex cookbooks or exercise - anything where the material references back to another part of the book - like this one.

The book goes through each body exercise of the Pilates program. Does not reference any of the exercises on the specialized Pilates equipment (Reformer, Cadillac....etc) Definitely helps me strategize my workouts to by showing readers the visualization of the muscles that are engorged/activated from each movement.

Excelente información para quienes practicamos pilates

Es un libro interesante y didáctico, sobre todo para personas que nos dedicamos a enseñar Pilates y también para aquellas que quieran empezar a conocer más a fondo el método.