In The National's new series, Out of My Comfort Zone, writers explore ways in which they've pushed themselves, be it mentally, emotionally or physically, and reflect on what the experience has taught them
I discovered a new kind of pain recently, from muscles under my muscles that I didn’t know existed – or at least that's what it felt like after I tried Reformer Pilates for the first time four months ago. The soreness can be described as more widespread and dispersed evenly across, and under, sheets of muscle and fascia, all the way to the tips of tendons meeting bone.
With weightlifting muscle pain, you feel the aches of progress concentrated in the particular muscle group you targeted. With Pilates, it was equal everywhere, evoking the feeling of relaxed exhaustion that urges you to stretch and then take a nap. Similar to the effect of a muscle-kneading deep tissue massage.
Yet the mechanism of Reformer Pilates was more complex. You first get into the wooden and metal device, seemingly like how Ellen Ripley in the 1986 movie classic Aliens wore an industrial power loader like a suit of armour to defeat the Xenomorph Queen. Then you have to push away from the springs holding you down like weighted pulleys and elongate your arm or leg, all while keeping your back upright, shoulders back, and face looking forwards to extend your body.
While form and core muscles are critical in proper weightlifting, I've never had to rely on them fully, and the result was a lot of wobbling and uncontrollable shaking as I attempted to make a graceful movement. I was clearly a novice, with a lot of work ahead of me.
Reformed training
Stepping back a bit to answer why I would put myself in this torturous device in the first place, I have been weight training properly and more consistently for about six years now, seeing gains. But I plateaued, as the muscle building industry calls it. After boosting my weight from the mid-70kg range to the high 80s by consistently and correctly lifting weights, for the past year I saw no major muscle growth or physical body changes, or even increased capability.
I found I had regressed in many ways. My joints now ached and my muscles would randomly twitch while sleeping from being too tightly wound. Not to mention I couldn't sit cross-legged on the floor without tipping over helplessly like an upside down tortoise. These were all traits I attributed to being over the hill of 40 years old, but it wasn't the case.
Apparently, most people already knew that you need mobility training to loosen your tendons, and stretching to reach your full range of motion, and therefore achieve muscle growth potential. So I left my personal trainer of almost four years to pursue my next physical goal – to be functionally fit. I set the target of being able to walk on my hands and achieve my dream of performing a muscle up, which involves doing a pull up and then lifting your whole body over the bar with elongated arms.
Being a heavier guy at 88kg while 1.75 metres tall, this was a challenge. My trapezius muscle would suddenly feel a sharp pain and collapse when I stood on my hands for too long. While attempting a muscle up, I would flop as my arms didn't have the range, nor strength, to curl myself around the bar. The first step to overcoming this hurdle involved a class that is often restricted to women.
Finding my inner Jumeirah Jane
Most Reformer Pilates classes I found headlined with the message "only for women". Yet as more men seemingly discovered the benefits of core-controlled movements, or maybe it just became more socially acceptable, more classes accepting men popped up on my radar.
In my first class I was the only man, but this wasn't an issue for me. I never had a problem with publicly using a glute machine, for example, as leg machines usually seemed to be built for women. Even the fitness models that depict how to use the machines were always female – demonstrating the technique, but also the accepted societal norm.
What I did have a visceral reaction to was the commercialised Zen or yogi persona many women in these classes seemed to adopt. This can be personified by someone who only speaks in a soothing or melodic voice, is always looking for their inner child and would also glide instead of walk, making every movement with poise. And don't forget the large water jug in their hand. In one case I was asked to find my inner goddess and this elicited a mostly internal, but maybe still obvious, eye roll.
I did learn an important lesson from this character type – Pilates is not just physical training the way weightlifting can be, it's a mood. I found the greatest benefit training with my preferred instructor, Dabota, who has a playful and encouraging personality that allowed me the freedom to connect with my body better. Exuding femininity in her approach, she guided me to link the first twitch of my toes to the bending of my ankle pushing my bent leg away from the bar, as I tried to focus on every muscle fibre stabilising my leg on the way to full extension.
This taught me that connecting with your body to feel movements is critical to receive the benefits. Now I’m applying this more holistic approach to weight training and also my boxing classes, to connect every jab from parts of my body for more co-ordinated power and impact.
As a result I’m still feeling the muscle pains, and everywhere. But I’m also feeling the gains.
