Men Miss Out by Leaving Yoga, Pilates to women
November 28, 2005
If you go into a yoga or a Pilates class at an area health club, odds are that 80 percent or more of the students in the class will be female. That's unfortunate, because though women often benefit immensely from these classes, men -- especially middle aged men -- need them more. "Men in general are less flexible than women. They're just put together differently," said Dr. Betsy Blazek-O'Neill, Medical Director of the Integrated Medicine program at Allegheny General hospital. The exercises men do, weight lifting in particular, also tend to tighten up their muscles, Dr. Blazek-O'Neill said. Pilates "should be done in combination with cardiovascular training at least three times a week," said Missy Becker-Noll, proprietor of the Pines Studio for Pilates in Pine."The goal of aerobic exercise is to raise the heart rate, and yoga or Pilates don't do this very much," said Mr. Puchany. "You get a mild cardiovascular benefit, but nothing like walking on a treadmill for half an hour."But Denise Germanowski, a trim former gymnast who teaches Pilates at Bodytech in Pine , thinks that Pilates and yoga, especially in combination, are sufficient. "Except for my kickboxing class [that she teaches], all I do is Pilates and yoga," she said.Yoga and Pilates have rehabilitative benefits no other forms of exercise can claim.