A Baby Boomer’s Journey: From Pumping Iron To Pursuing Pilates At Euro Pilates By Kathleen Devine It’s true! I am a baby boomer and chances are so are you if you’re reading this article. Officially, boomers are those born between 1946 and 1964 and there are approximately 78 million of us in the U.S.. Unofficially, there are very few things boomers want more than financial security — but those things surely include health and mobility. Boomers are the fastestgrowing segment of the health club market and Pilates is the perfect solution for boomers because it provides a full-body workout without the wear and tear associated with the “no painno gain” mentality of the past. Like most of us who refuse to believe we are really getting older, my chronic lower back pain hit me in slow waves through my 40s, creeping up on me until one day I could no longer run because of it. Even more shocking to me was the fact that bending over to tie my shoes actually took my breath away. How did this happen to me, a tough Army girl who was Airborne- and Air Assault-qualified? I pumped plenty of iron in my 20s and 30s and did every aerobic exercise
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known to man, not to mention some tough exercises unique to Army training. I was still jumping out of planes at age 39, when I was (unofficially) pregnant with my first child. I retired after 23 years of service at the young age of 45. But, it took me five more years to find Pilates and take control of my back pain and my body. I had driven past the big blue sign for Euro Pilates (located on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., jut south of the intersection of County Line Rd., in front of Live Oak Preserve) almost daily for about a year and I always meant to stop and check it out. But, it was my constant lower back pain (LBP) and a family member’s suggestion to try Pilates that finally made me pull into the studio on a whim. Euro Pilates owner Maria Ivanova, a former Russian rhythmic gymnast, greeted me at the door and I hesitantly told her about my failed attempts at reducing my back pain. I also felt compelled to convince her I had always been athletic — something of a hard sell at 215 bloated, menopausal, stressed-out pounds. Fortunately for me, Maria had just had a cancellation and challenged me to a
workout right then. I was in! There was no way I was going to let a 30something, 110-lb. former gymnast scare me (a hard-nosed military “boomer”) away from an unplanned workout. It turned out to be the best thing I have ever done for my back, my body and my family. I knew after that first 55-minute session that my body had been worked in ways I had never experienced before. A familiar saying for those new to Pilates is, “I have never worked so hard, moving so little.” I was soaked and humbled because I could barely master exercises I had done hundreds of times in gyms because of the focus, coordination, balance and muscle involvement required by Pilates — and by Maria! Instinctively, I knew that Pilates made sense for my body and I made a commitment to get myself hea;thy again. As I looked at package options to help reduce the cost, I saw a quote by Joseph Pilates that read, “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.” Little did I know then that I would already start seeing the difference
Kathleen Devine at 215 pounds... around my third Pilates session! I started doing Pilates three times a week in the hopes of avoiding injection therapy and possibly surgery. I also knew at this point that multiple physical therapy programs had not worked, chiropractic alone did not work and that living with an 8/9 pain level controlled by muscle relaxers and pain killers was not healthy for me. Add to that the stress of my husband’s five tours to Afghanistan, two moves in two years, kids and the chance of
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