Day 12: Name that muscle

Most people, when thinking about the amazing abs they’re going to get from Pilates think of this:

But what they really should be thinking about is this:

Yes, it’s time for the science. I am unapologetically nerdy when it comes to anatomy and Pilates. Learning the names of the muscles, their functions, origins and insertions was initially the source of much terror for me (apologies to anyone on the Northern Line who I frightened with my soft incessant chanting of jargon over images of what could only have looked like flayed bodies – I wasn’t planning anything sinister and voodoo-ish for the good people of Tooting, just making use of the delays for a quiet flashcard revision sesh). But once you get it – wow, it all makes so much sense! 

Here’s a crash course in the important core Pilates muscles. Bonus points to anyone who manages to drop one of these into conversation in the next 24 hours.

Abdominals – as indicated by the pictures above, Pilates is not all about your ‘six pack’ muscles – this is your Rectus Abdominis, and actually a pretty superficial muscle that doesn’t do a lot for you in terms of posture. The muscle you want to be targeting with your ab work is the second one, the Transversus Abdominis. This is a deeper muscle, and wraps all the way around you like a corset. By strengthening it you get a lot more reward for the effort – make sure you’re working it by pulling your belly button in towards your spine when exercising the abs. You also have internal and external obliques in this group – you particularly use these for rotational movements.

 

Spine – there are several different muscles that work together to control the flexion, extension and rotation of your spine. These are known collectively as the Erector Spinae group.

 

Other muscle attaching to the pelvis – the abs and some of the spinal muscles attach to the pelvis, pulling it up. The pull of these is balance out by your quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteals pulling down on your pelvis. For ‘neutral’ alignment and good posture, you need all these to be working together with the right strengths so that your pelvis isn’t tipped forwards or backwards. The gluteals, hamstrings and quadriceps are all actually groups of muscles too, not single muscles.

And while we’re talking about the pelvis – there is of course the pelvic floor – more of which later in the month, but for now, it’s the muscle that you squeeze to stop the flow of urine. In men, the sensation is apparently like that of ‘stepping into cold water’…

So if you’re going to work on strengthening one group of muscle (e.g. your abs of steel), it’s important to also exercise the opposing muscle, to stay balanced. Pilates is great for this, especially if you’re doing a lot of training for a specific sport (such as cycling, running, weightlifting) where you are always focussing on the same muscles, and using them repeatedly in the same way. By getting more balanced muscle strength you not only improve your posture, but also minimise the risk of injury.

Right, that’s the anatomy lesson over for now – go forth and tell everyone how your iliocostalis is feeling today…