Asquith ambassador Lara Hassan trained with Pilates Foundation UK then studied the authentic Pilates method in New York and LA. Lara has spent many years studying Pilates in depth and the base of her research is the link between exercise and anti-ageing and how exercise affects the body on a cellular level. Here she talks more about her method:
My aim is to bring in cardio interval training to movement based exercise methods such as Pilates, Garuda, Gyrotonic, Barre and Plyometrics. High intensity interval training (HIIT) beats conventional cardio as the most effective form of exercise, it provides health benefits one can not get from regular aerobics, such as a tremendous boost in human growth hormone (HGH) which is anti-ageing, leading to a significant reduction in total abdominal, trunk and visceral fat.
When you practice HIIT there are immediate, measurable change in DNA and immediate genetic activation that increases production of fat busting enzymes. It also helps improve blood sugar regulation, so it’s great for people who suffer from diabetes.
However, high intensity work could be hard on the joints for those who do not have a sound knowledge of how to use their body, or for those who have gone past a certain age but still need to do cardio. Pilates and core work using this method means there is no risk to the joints.
The base of my method is interval training and circuits that run through the body using exercises from the methods I have been teaching for years. It is the method based on what works for people physically and mentally. I trick the body and the person that might have lost interest in exercise to work and actually enjoy what they are doing.
Body By Lara is a body transformation method that can be based around the needs of each body I deal with at the time. For instance, a client who is indeed of postural work and stress reduction, the programme and the exercises chosen would be based around that particular need whilst getting them into a better shape.
My role as a health and fitness consultant is to look at the body as a whole by changing the client’s habits and their understanding of what it means to have a healthy mindset and lifestyle.
Our body is influenced by our minds, our perception changes once we shed light on the core of the problem. I use science, particularly neuroscience, to train people’s brain to achieve a better well-being and to make them experience and believe in “I can” and that everything is possible once we put our minds into it.
For more information visit: spiralbody.co.uk