Hard as a Rock - Pilates #3

You know those nice, cute Pilates teachers who look great in all things Lululemon? They'll get you every time. "Oh, you'll see," they say at the beginning, "this will be great, and you'll feel better afterwards..."

Uh huh. I felt better after I had all those babies, too, but I wasn't doing sit ups the next day, believe me.

I guess doing Pilates is not as hard as having a baby. And it's not as painful as strep throat (which I haven't had, but my husband swears it hurts more than having a baby probably does. Uh-huh. He actually said that.) And I do feel better after Pilates. Sort of taller, actually.

But I have to use all my muscles when I do Pilates, there's no getting around it.
Today, in the middle of the leg-spring exercise (turns out they're called leg springs, not stirrups) I said "why do my legs hurt?" I mean, I'm used to every muscle inside my belly being "awake" now, after three sessions, but the leg quads and hamstrings? Please.

"Because you're using those muscles!" she said, without laughing too much, which I appreciated.

"Oh," I said "I thought this was all about my core!"

"Well, yes, it is, but those other muscles have to work a little too."

Ah. I see. I did not read that part in the Pilates handbook. I don't recall it being anywhere on the website, either. I was thinking I could just magically turn lithe and long and lean by "thinking" about my core and holding my stomach in for a while.

Turns out there's a bit more to it then that.

I wonder if Gwyneth Paltrow's legs ever hurt after Pilates. I should ask her.