Gary Peterson lives, sleeps, eats Pilates having come to this exercise regime while furthering his studies in personal training. Nicola Jenvey spent time (although only sitting) with a man whose energy is electric.
** Click on the picture above to enlarge
German-born Joseph Pilates was living in England, working as a circus performer and boxer when placed in forced internment at the outbreak of World War 1.
It was while in camp that he began developing the floor exercises that evolved into what is today called Pilates mat work.
Specifically Pilates is an exercise form emphasising the body’s balanced development through core strength, flexibility and awareness to support efficient, graceful movement. Its international popularity centres on its versatility from women regaining their pre-pregnancy form to the elderly, the active and anyone recuperating from injury and ranked among its top benefits is that its followers develop strength and length, more able to do anything with grace and ease.
Peterson has a passion for exercise and good health, having done personal training with the erstwhile Health and Racquet Club. He had travelled for a few years before the opportunity arose to work on a transatlantic cruise liner – and then the chance to further his studies through the Pilates Institute of London that came on top of training in yoga, spinning and kickboxing and seminars in detoxification and developing healthy back and abdominal muscles.
Core functional training
“Pilates is core functional training; learning to use the body correctly and not pick up things in ways that damage the system. However, more than the theory, it is learning to support and train the core muscular structures,” he says.
Translating that statement into an exercise regime means strengthening the core abdominal muscles followed by foundation work on the arms, back, chest, buttocks and legs. Yet, the principle benefit of Pilates is its low impact and Peterson’s oldest client coming through the doors of his newly-opened Umhlanga Village studio is a 92-year-old woman. Her story has its roots in undergoing a hip replacement operation and not following through with the exercise routine, but after only four months in Pilates, she is walking without her cane, gardening extensively and walking along the beach.
“It is concrete proof that Pilates can boost the quality of life,” Peterson says.
Peterson’s life experiences have involved working with people only recently signed off from back, hip, shoulder or neck surgeries; patients suffering from the rare Scheuermann’s disease where the vertebrae grow unevenly resulting in wedging and others inflicted with multiple sclerosis.
His time spent working on the six-star Chrystal Serenity cruise liner not only gave him “invaluable experience and knowledge”, but exposure to clients used to the best money could buy that thus gave him sound principles on which to base his business when he eventually returned to South Africa. His port stops provided opportunities to visit fitness centres around the globe to absorb their techniques and his training format is an amalgamation of those travels.
There is also the added snippet that his nearly four-month stint took him from Los Angeles to the Mexican Rivera, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Chile, Easter Island, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Mauritius and Cape Town – and brought him in contact with New York land barons and the Japanese royal family.
Peterson’s dream is sports development, namely the ability to train young talent such that those sportspeople can achieve dizzying heights in their chosen fields. He has trained the under-17 KwaZulu-Natal netball team, taking them from bronze medallists to silver ones and been involved with the Harlequins rugby teams.
“In essence, Pilates creates a mind-body connection and that is its greatest appeal,” Peterson concludes.
Contact: 083 236 7297