Worship your Tonic (muscles).

Scene: Aldrich Pilates studio
Characters: Sarah and a new client (let’s call her Peggy Pilates)
Exercise: Upper abdominal curls on a neutral pelvis

Peggy (dubious facial expression): “I don’t feel a like this exercise is particularly challenging, Sarah. Maybe I’m doing it wrong? Is this exercise doing anything?”

I hear this comment a lot from beginners. People (want to) associate pain with getting strong. And I get it. Believe me, I’ve been to my fair share of yoga classes where I felt like I could have been getting a better workout flossing my teeth. However, what most people don’t realize is that we have two types of muscles: Phasic and Tonic. Phasic muscles fatigue quickly and you can feel them burn as they do so. Tonic muscle contractions on the other hand, are subtle and really difficult to feel at first. But the results can be staggering–gorgeous mid-section, elimination of back pain. And Pilates is concerned primarily in strengthening the tonic muscles.

Sarah: “Well, your form looks great to me, Peggy. Your belly is drawn deeply down towards your spine, your pelvis is level and your lumbar spine is maintaining its natural curve. As you nod your chin to your chest and lift the tips of your shoulder blades off the mat, you are pressing the cylinder of your ribcage back into the mat in order to get maximum bend in your ribcage. Any time you contract your belly toward your spine, you are engaging your transverse. Bravo, Peggy! You are targeting your tonic muscles and are well on your way to getting a stronger core.

Peggy: “Sounds cool, Sarah. I’ll take your word for it. But can you speak in laymen’s terms? I thought tonic was just a great companion for gin.”

Sarah: “Here’s the simple version: Your tonic muscles are the quiet little workhorses that are always engaged and are designed not to fatigue easily. These are your postural muscles (transverse abdominus and multifidi to name two major ones).

Phasic muscles, on the other hand, are the great show offs in the muscle world. These are the muscles you recruit when you need to perform a big task like lifting an enormous Ikea box into the back of your car (ie: biceps and quads).

Both muscle types are critical to strengthen. However, most of us have weaker tonic muscles because a) we sit shlumpily at desk jobs all day and b) we don’t learn how to strengthen things we can’t easily see (take a little poll among your pals–how many of them want a bangin’ six-pack vs. how many want to strengthen their multifidi?)

So. Educate yourself. Read up on tonic muscles. Find a good Pilates instructor and learn how to strengthen them. Take a moment to praise your tonic muscles. They work tirelessly with little fanfare.