Once favored by rock divas, actresses and supermodels, the stretching and strengthening exercise method developed by Joseph Pilates (pih-LAH-teez) has become the latest training rage for male professional athletes.Designed to increase flexibility and improve posture, balance and coordination, Pilates focuses on strengthening the body's core or midsection.

"Since I've done Pilates, I'm much better looking and 4 feet taller," says Rich Beem, winner of the 2002 PGA Championship. "Seriously, I'm now so stretched out and have such great posture that I look and feel like a different person."

Developed in the early 1900s, Pilates consists of 500 exercises, all initiating from the muscles in the abdomen, lower back, hips or buttocks. The cost of a private Pilates session with a properly licensed instructor is comparable to or slightly more expensive than a personal training session.

For athletes, the benefits include more efficient movement as well as better endurance, speed and quickness.

No longer just for women

As mainstream as the Pilates method of developing core muscle groups has become, male professional athletes interested in adding it to their training programs still must get past the stigma that this is largely a women's exercise.

Kidd, the Nets superstar point guard, gave his wife, Joumana, a longtime Pilates devotee, a hard time when she told him it might help in his rehabilitation of a broken ankle a few years ago. After weeks of making fun of Pilates, Kidd finally tried it.

"I immediately discovered how tight I was," Kidd recalls. "After one session I was energized. From that point on I was convinced it was a great workout."

For Kidd, Pilates is all about finding the edge. He estimates 30% of his strength and flexibility training comes from Pilates. "Pilates has made me quicker, more explosive," he says.

Rich Dalatri, the Nets strength coach, has been instrumental in introducing the exercise method to the entire team.

"Pilates is rejuvenating, restorative, invigorating," he says, "maybe because it gets the blood flowing through every inch of the muscles. It's so internal. It puts you in tune with your body. It puts you in a different state."

The Nets have invested in Pilates equipment for their weight room. The players are so dependent that throughout the NBA playoffs in 2002, a leading Pilates company shipped special equipment to the team's hotel on road trips.

Patience pays off

Pilates' founding father always proclaimed, "In 10 sessions, you will feel the difference. In 20, you will see the difference. And in 30, you'll have a whole new body."

Schilling, the Arizona Diamondbacks star pitcher, agrees. "The first three weeks, I was really disappointed," says Schilling, who incorporated Pilates into his offseason training program last winter. "I wasn't sweating. I wasn't winded, which is what I associate with true exercise.

"Then in the fourth week I started to understand the Pilates terminology, the idea of working from your center. By the third month I was more powerful and flexible than ever before. And I'd lost 15 pounds."

Hannah Gallagher, Schilling's Pilates instructor, says, "He's a man. He's used to hard-core workouts, where you throw up afterward. Pilates is not that. It is an equal balance of stretch and strength."

After years of the no-pain, no-gain school of thought, male professional athletes say they appreciate the kinder, gentler, holistic aspect of Pilates.

For Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl offensive guard Ruben Brown, Pilates is all about preventing injury.

"I'm a big guy with a gut," the 6-0, 300-pound Brown says. "I was always battling back strain. Plus, I'm 30 years old now. I'm tired of lifting weights, taking the pounding."

The last two offseasons Brown has done Pilates three times a week.

"My first session, it shook me up," Brown says. "It shook everything up. It still does.

"And man, those Pilates women are competitive. They want to see if they can get the big, strong football player to wimp out. I told myself, 'Hey, ladies, I can do that, too.' "

How has his body responded to Pilates?

"I came out of the season injury-free," he says. "I used to feel like crap after practice and games but not since Pilates.

"I learned how to breathe through my muscles. My posture is better. I can run more fluidly. And I increased my bench workouts."

'Profound impact' on Mediate

For PGA Tour pro Rocco Mediate, Pilates is all about strengthening his back — and prolonging his career. After major back surgery in 1994, Mediate says he wasn't the same. He couldn't bend over for long periods of time to practice his putting, and his back always went out after lengthy plane trips.

Enter Pilates in November 2001.

"After a week I was turned around," he says. "After two I felt like I'd never felt before."

Mediate has since sold his weights and has completely outfitted the workout room in his Ponte Vedra, Fla., home with several pieces of Pilates equipment. "Pilates never compromises your back," he says. "I've got more motion in my shoulders, midsection and legs. I can repeat my basic swing more often. Pilates is going to add five, six, seven ... years to my career."

Caroline Schmid, Mediate's Pilates instructor, says, "The golf swing is a little one-sided, which can create imbalance in the body. Pilates helps to balance out the body against the forces of the swing. It helps to create less torque in the spine because you learn to swing from your center and not from your limbs."

Mediate's wife, Linda, also has had success with Pilates. She has overcome injuries suffered in three car accidents as well as giving birth to three children: "I couldn't walk unless I put my hand on my back."

She gives Pilates credit for major improvements in her husband's game.

"He used to avoid putting, and now he's a putting machine," she says. "I want to hug Caroline because she has had such a profound impact on Rocco."

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Edith Lopez, Wendy Bryant, Mayra M. Carrillo, Serena Jones, Zaachila Garcia, Leticia Stock and Lurysol Olivera all competed in the annual half-marathon. (not in order)

This was everybody's first time doing this race and for some it was their first half marathon. It was a perfect day for long run. Not too hot with a slight breeze. The newbees were kind of nervous because they didn't know what to expect. Once Tony Vice said "Go" all you saw was a sea of people heading out these long country roads. You saw old as well as young people running. Everybody going at their own pace focused on just getting to the finish line.

I am so proud of all my clients!

The ones that had already done a half marathon improved on their time and as for the others; seeing their faces as they crossed the finished line made me so proud to see them accomplish something they where so unsure of. After the race we all celebrated by having some wine and relaxing on the lawn as the band played in the background.  ~ Lurysol Olivera

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Downey Getting Some Air.

It's always been an interesting cycle for myself, and of course anyone that's wanted to be competitive in more than one physical activity. Different activities require different motions and different body types. The same build on a football isn't going to benefit a marathoner and someone that has great lateral movements on a tennis court may not help all that much on the golf course. Granted there's some crossover but I always liked to gear everything towards whatever I was playing/interested in at the moment. Summer? Went away from the lifting and quick speed of basketball season for the long distance runs of jogging. Got the itch for golf and all of a sudden is was time to build up the core to get more swing speed... and on... and on.

Time for a new theory.

It all started a few weeks ago when Danielle, a current client of Ben Mackie's at Fitness 360, suggested some tennis on an off day from the personal training. Ok. I'd never really played before but I figured I could find my way around the courts well enough to be competitive unless she was Sharapova's cousin and she was holding out on me. At least anything not to look too bad in front of her. Off to the courts we went where I caught on quick and found myself ahead early 4-2..... and..... then promptly got run off the courts as she decided I'd had enough fun and beat me 6-4. So much for the not looking bad. But I was hooked. And the next morning I was sore!

Then scenerio two came about when Fitness 360's own Lurysol suggested that I take part in the Half Marathon this past weekend in Lodi, the annual run through the Vineyards. 13.1 miles? Not out of the question I thought, six or seven has always been relatively easy for me. Well six or seven ONCE is relatively easy. Double that and it's another story. I found this out the hard way when I thought a little prep work would be in order and I set off one afternoon to see if I could do it. 11 miles later and a good tour of Stockton later I found myself laid out on my shower floor taking the coldest shower possible and thinking only one thing. "Damn that Tony Vise at Fleet Feet is right! Cotten is ROTTEN!" Time to get some syntheic socks!

To be fair I was thinking two things. That Lurysol better find another running partner come Sunday morning!

And to round out the trifecta I spent the weekend on the Delta, courtesy of a good buddy's Mastercraft boat and his summer house in Discovery Bay. Two full days of wakeboarding later the body is a little battered and bruised but not worse for the wear, (minues of course any psysiological shortcomings of spending two days in the waters of the Delta!)

But that third experience helped craft my new theory on competition and sports and fitness training in general. In summary, and I know you've waited a good 500 words for me to get to the point, is that when you have total body fitness you don't need to specialize! I could have never gone through so many different sports and activities in the last two weeks (golf, tennis, long distance running, basketball, lifting and wakeboarding) and felt this good had I not changed something in my workout routine. But looking back the only thing I've changed in my routine in the past five years is simply making Fitness 360 a priority.

Many times we'll do specific muscle group training at Fitness 360 but it's always incorporated with other areas of the body and cardio to round out our workouts. Sports and a healthy lifestyle is not about getting your legs jacked up so you can jump out of the gym or doing 1,000 crunches so you can rip through the ball even faster. It's about tuning your body so you can adapt and do everything at a higher level. It's about tweaking the little things and stetching so the big muscles work even better.

Because unless you're going to be the best around at one single activity wouldn't it be a whole lot better to be above average in a LOT of them? Feeling great and knowing you can can go out and compete and enjoy any activity that comes your way?

Although as far as the tennis and my ability goes you'll have to speak to Danielle. I'm sure she's have something to say against that!

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I now swing 130 mph. Thank you Ben Mackie. Cut it. Print it. Post it on a flier... I don't care.

I tried to finesse this column a million different ways to talk about a little trip I took down to Nakashima the other day to get on their launch moniter after not swinging a golf club for the better part of the winter solstice. Forget the fact that I was rusty, or that I was in jeans and loafers. And no one knows better than me that swinging that fast doesn't attribute to great scores but the fact remains that I do swing that fast. And that fact must be backed up by the only thing that's changed in the last six months was a strict diet of Mackie workouts.

6 a.m. every morning with the golf team. Golf specific, weight specific, cardio... take your pick, we've done them all. He's put us through workouts more suited for Her Majesties Army... (which makes sense because he served in the British Army) and workouts that would have been right at home in a pilates class. But regardless, spending 20 minutes on that launch moniter showed me something. Results.

You can talk as much as you'd like about form and technique and proper mechaniques of the golf swing but let's say it like it is. I'm not going Ben for golf tips... the guy should be coming to ME. I go to him to get bigger, faster and stronger. And apparently to be able to drive the ball 360-yards. I don't remember that being in the brochure but I'll take it. You can teach wedge control and putting stroke but only a 300+ carry can be crafted in the gym...

Excuse me... studio.

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No one ever said that training was easy. At least not the kind of training that gets results - but I guess that's the point. If it was easy everyone would do it. Well, I'll tell you a what everyone's NOT going to be doing but what everyone SHOULD be doing. Seeing Lurysol. I'd been going at a pretty steady clip of working out with the team every morning at 6 a.m. and then coming back in around 5 to do some cardio or get another workout in by myself or with Todd. Call it a change of pace or call it a good amount of teasing by Lurysol herself but I found myself working out with Miss Olivera Wednesday afternoon. Now I had been holding my own against the college kids for the last few weeks (if not kicking some butt here and there) but yet again I wasn't ready for what I encountered with Lurysol. Abandoning the heavy weight and high reps that I was accustomed to Lurysol put me through a workout focused on balance. Something I'm greatly lacking. Having accomplished the first part of the workout we transitioned into flexibility and stamina. Another thing I'm missing a lot of. A combination of lunges, weight balanced movements and twists later and I was not only exhausted but embarrassed by my lack of ability to balance on a leg and lift a weight with my other hand. What's next? Rub a head and pat a stomach? Or was that the other way around. Regardless it was a great workout for those simple reasons - it got me out of my comfort zone and made me focus on things I hadn't done in a long time. A couple more sessions with Lurysol and there'll be something else that I'm missing more of... Weight!

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100 reps of each

push-ups | ball sits | plank | russian twists | cross over twists | lunges | bicycles

And that's only 1/4 of the the morning as you do 100 of each of those and then come back and hit it 75 times. Then 50 times. Then 25. Welcome back!

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15% body fat! At least that's what the little hand-held "body fat testing machine" told me today. For all intensive purposes I can't for the life of me understand how a little metal and plastic machine that you hold between your hands can determine your body fat percentage but that's what popped up on the digital screen after I held it for the alloted 15 seconds. To be honest this might be the first time that I can ever remember doing a body fat testing... if it's not I'm going to assume that I just purely blocked out a number that was somewhere between Lebron and Shaq's jersey number.

I spoke to Todd about this a few days prior and he pretty much allotted me around 2,200 calories a day. We figured that I run every morning for 2.5 miles, (400 calories according to my Nike Plus shoes and ipod) plus another 1,000 calories burned during our daily hour workout and a good 2,000 just based upon metabolism throughout the day. Taking all this into account you'd think I'd be a lean, mean blogging machine in just a few days but if you bother to take a closer look at food portion size and actual calories and you've got a completely different story.

For the sake of brevity I'm not even going to look into my portion sizes and how many calories I'm ACTUALLY taking in. But based upon the fact that I'm very slowly dropping weight lets assume it's not enough. I am however gaining muscle mass and definition in target areas so we'll go ahead and assume I'm keeping up with the much needed protein.

Thus far it's been a slightly irregular week of workouts as I've more than tripled up on chest and bicep exercises thanks to Todd's recommendations and have neglected agility and leg training. Tomorrow I'm switching it up with a 10:30 workout so we'll see how that goes and I'll be back to update you all this weekend!

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Brookside Head Professional Piper Wagner

It's officially a month into working out at Fitness 360 and if  I can't already seen some major changes than I can at least feel like I'm on the right track. Todd's been putting me through the paces on average a good four times a week and we've really started looking at the areas that I'm weak and making sure that I double up on them. For instance he noticed that my bicep and chest were particularily weak and that I should get more definetiion in those areas. For that he put me on a program of incline bench, shoulder raises, lateral raises and plate lifts. No, not the dinner plate. The 45-lbs variety! He had me do this either before or after our customary workout each day for the past week. It's Thursday morning and saying that I'm feeling the burn would be a mild understatement. And that's just while I'm typing here at 6 in the morning!

It's true, I have noticed some small physical changes with my workout and my energy levels - not to mention some added muscle in the target areas. But more importantly what I've noticed at Fitness 360 isn't what's going on becasue of Fitness 360, it's going on INSIDE of Fitness 360. Now I understand 5:00 PM is a pretty peak time to workout, everyone's getting down in the afternoon with work and trying to hit the studio before they head home; however, the doors were just about busting loose last night!

Count 'em down. Lurysol had two clients in the front corner. Ben had the entire Pacific golf team join his group that was already at least a bakers dozen strong, Desmond was working out with a group of four in the back, Christina's girls were working over the heavy bag and Todd was still conducting a small group of his own. You'd think a cozy location like Lincoln Center wouldn't be able to hold everyone and it would be cluttered but to tell you the truth I think people really feed off of the energy level that comes from that type of atmosphere. You really can't afford to slack off because you're partnering up and let's be honest.... who wants to look bad when the 45-year-old-mother-of-two is kicking your butt in medicine ball slams!

Not that that is the only motivation... but it is a good one. I remember the first few times coming to the studio when it first opened and you'd be lucky to see one trainer and more than two clients. Those days are long gone; it truly has become the IT place in the 209.

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