So it has taken a while, but weeks ago a client asked what I thought was a really good question: Since Joseph Pilates first started using his exercises on men, did he really mention kegels?
It was a great question because even today we tend to associate kegels with women. Even though men have them (a question that some people also have). In the two books that I have read by Joseph Pilates, I did not notice him refer to the kegel muscles or the muscles of the pelvic floor. In asking other instructors, the answer I find most likely is that he probably favored the glutes (butt muscles) over the kegels. In comparison to the way we do the exercises today, Joseph Pilates overused the glute muscles. Today we try to focus on engaging and holding a gentle squeeze of the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles as opposed to squeezing the glutes to rock the pelvis.
That’s a good thing to remember the next time you do pelvic tilts during a warm up. When you rock from imprint to neutral you should be using your stomach, not your butt to move the pelvis.
