A passion for Pilates

Goal specific and time effective is how Pilates expert Helen Tardent describes the exercise regimen she claims changed her world.

In town from her native Australia to host and run a Pilates-specific training day for instructors at Exhale - a fitness studio at Jumeirah Beach Residence - Tardent gives tabloid! readers the lowdown on one of the most popular fitness programmes for women.

"Whether you are injured to the point of near immobility or training for your next marathon, you will find the results of Pilates amazing," she said.

A former professional ballet dancer herself and her dad a high-level swimmer from Australia, Tardent says even SAS military personnel struggle with the exercises at first.

"I once trained a bunch of mega-fit Navy guys who looked at me like I was crazy when I asked them to 'stretch' for an hour. But the next morning the results were in and the majority of them could barely move.

"Pilates is a great way to improve fitness and my father - who started out a sceptic - improved some of his best swim times in the pool after just two weeks of my classes. You really do have to see it to believe it."

Pilates is a low impact workout ideal for any level of fitness and is often referred to as the "thinking person's workout".

Concentration and focus mean you isolate muscles and fine tune movements, encouraging the body to reach its full potential.

"There is no preparation needed for Pilates. Anyone who fancies giving it a go can just turn up. The only thing an instructor may need to look into is any previous injuries which would help shape the style and intensity of the class."

Tardent was first introduced to Pilates in the UK and used the method as her major form of supplementary exercise during her years as a professional dancer. "It started as a way of helping injuries I got through dance. It then became fitness and now is my career and life."

In 1993, after completing her apprenticeship in Sydney, she started teaching Pilates, focusing people with previous injuries in the early years.

Since then, she has become known as a Pilates expert. She has set up training courses around the world, opened a professional state-of-the-art studio for pre and post-pregnant women, became the host of Australia's first Pilates show for Aerobics Oz Style and pioneered Pilates Matwork classes in gymnasiums nationally.

With her first coffee table book, Beautiful Pilates, just about to be released, Tardent says her personal goal and vision is to involve the general public in her passion for Pilates.

"I believe by working with instructors here in Dubai and across the world, I can provide quality instructor training in the fitness industry, disseminating the dance industry's best kept secret - the pilates method of exercise."