
Joseph Pilates worked on his exercise system in a WWI prisoner-of-war camp - apollinaire
https://narratively.com/the-acrobatic-immigrant-who-invented-pilates-in-a-prisoner-of-war-camp/
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chrisaycock
I took Pilates for a few years in Manhattan because it was extremely helpful
for core (abdominal) strength.

I found that there is tremendous variation in the quality of the instructors,
some of whom were very specific ("controlled") in movements, and others who
were kind of a liability. Also, there were plenty of studios on ClassPass, but
many of the top instructors only hold private lessons, so there was a much
higher tier that I've never experienced.

Overall I recommend it for anyone looking to cross-train for strength and
flexibility, but do try a bunch of studios to find the instructor that works
best for you.

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verteu
Any Youtube instructors you'd recommend?

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chrisaycock
I've never looked at any videos. I personally would not feel comfortable
trying the exercises without proper supervision since there is a lot of neck
movements (I have a herniated disc).

And while you could do mat exercises at home, a studio will have the spring-
based machines, like towers and reformers.

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sbmthakur
Somewhat related. Newton did some of his good work while being isolated during
the plague.

[https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/variety/how-
social...](https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/variety/how-social-
distancing-advocated-during-the-great-plague-led-to-newtons-theory-of-
gravity/article31081259.ece)

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_curious_
Great submission,I had no idea about the genesis of this physical discipline.
Well written and enlightening story.

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eguanlao
Pilates will not help you in an event that requires you to be at your physical
best. Strength and speed will. Powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting,
bodybuilding, and gymnastics/calisthenics/bodyweight training for strength.
Running, swimming, rowing, and cycling for speed. CrossFit for both. You want
a strong core? Do overhead squats with a 61-kg/135-lb barbell. Do strict toes-
to-bar. Do an L-sit for 60 seconds.

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brailsafe
CrossFit seems like a bunch of nonsense with poor form that people largely do
so they can talk about it.

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eguanlao
CrossFit uses strict work as part of their training, such as strict pull-ups,
strict toes-to-bar, etc. There are even strict versions of their famous
benchmark workouts. One of them is "Cindy, Strict!"
([https://www.crossfit.com/190111](https://www.crossfit.com/190111)). My score
was 12 rounds + 5 strict pull-ups + 10 push-ups + 12 air squats (387 reps).

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brailsafe
Seems like "Part of" is the key word, and it also appears as though the goal
of each day is to tell people about it in the comments. A solid calisthenics
program would probably be more valuable imo.

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eguanlao
I love calisthenics. I do the Recommended Routine over at Reddit Bodyweight
Fitness:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommend...](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine).
I do this routine in addition to my Olympic weightlifting training. I do
CrossFit for fitness testing and for that HIIT stimulus, not for "training"
training.

