Trueform Physio Pilates

06/11/2025

You’ll recognise the lunge, but this one’s a little different. We’re stepping back and staying there, finding our balance and control in a static reverse lunge rather than striding forward and moving quickly up and down.

Start by checking your placement: ribs soft with the pelvis tucked gently so its open across the hips (your “gates and bridges”). This is where those pelvic tilts earn their keep, they help you understand your pelvis in neutral, so you know where you’re working from.

Move slowly. Any pain? then discomfort is a signal to stop, not to push harder. The goal here isn’t strain, it’s control.

You’ll feel how keeping your balance naturally brings your core online, even though that’s not the main focus. Over time, these small, steady movements build strength and stability through the hips, thighs and bottom, the muscles that keep us steady on our feet.

And while lunges sometimes get a bad reputation for being “hard on the knees,” a slow, supported, static version like this can actually help you build stability around the joint. The Reverse Lunge: A Descriptive Electromyographic Study was set up to record exactly what’s going on during the exercise. The findings indicate that it can be effective for addressing knee pain, improving stability, and building strength, potentially offering advantages over traditional squats. The exercise is noted for reduced knee strain and enhanced single-leg stability, engaging muscles like the gluteus medius for balance and strength. If you’re interested then bob STUDY below and I’ll send a link through, or Google the title, it should come up top.

If needed, hold onto a wall or chair for support, and remember let the movement be small. Each repetition adds up, helping you move with more ease and awareness in everyday life.

06/11/2025

That's a nice surprise from Ilkley Chat we just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

23/10/2025

Hitch, Hinge and Dig.
We’ve been looking at those smaller exercises, that might not look like much but can turn out to be the some of the most effective strengthening exercises you can do every day. 
A block under one foot, a small hitch through the hip, a pause before you hinge forward.
These small adjustments wake up the muscles that quietly hold us together, the hip and the bottom.
You start to feel how one side leads and the other follows, how the balance shifts with the smallest move.
And as ever with these movements, it’s about noticing what’s doing the work.
The steadiness builds from there, quietly, deliberately, until strength feels like something you’ve grown into, not forced.

17/10/2025

https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20250926-how-to-futureproof-your-knees Have you been keeping up with our recent squat technique videos? The latest research is increasingly backing the idea of activity snacks (short bursts of movement through the day) and squats are one of the most powerful, accessible tools in that toolkit.

Of course some of us feel that squats might mean more pressure on our knees. That’s why this article caught my eye: “How to future-proof your knees” (BBC Future). It talks through how squats and other movements can be part of protecting joint health as we age.

Some key takeaways (in my view) that connect back to what we do at Trueform:

Strength protects joints. Engaging and strengthening the muscles around the knee, quads, hamstrings, glutes, helps stabilize the joint and reduces stress on cartilage and ligaments.

Technique > quantity. Better alignment and controlled range of motion, make a big difference in how knees respond over time.

Consistency over extremes. Small, regular movement, like the squats you see in our videos, can mean better results than big workouts when it comes to long-term resilience.

Load awareness. Listening to your body is important: smart progression, avoiding overload, and considering joint history or pain cues is how you build sustainably.

If you’ve been watching us on video but wondering how to make those squats safe and effective long-term, this article reinforces what we believe: it’s not about pushing as hard as possible, it’s about intentional, well-executed movement repeated regularly. And that's what Trueform is all about.

💡 Take a look and drop me a comment: what’s one activity tweak you can make today?

Our knees are arguably one of our most important joints, but also one of the most poorly looked after. Science tells us putting in some work now pays dividends later.

16/10/2025

Get Your Bottom into Gear with a Stronger Squat

Once you’ve built a solid foundation, being able to hinge, sit, and stand with a flat back and your tummy engaged, you can start taking things up a level.

Adding single-leg work helps you develop even more control and stability. You can begin lightly, just taking a little pressure off one leg, then gradually progress until one foot lifts completely.

It’s a small shift that makes a big difference: more strength through the hips and thighs, better balance, and a deeper connection between how you move and how you feel.

As always, it’s not about speed or numbers, it’s about building strength that supports you in daily life.

Remember: Quality over quantity.
Each repetition is an opportunity to connect strength, balance, and awareness, where real progress begins.

16/10/2025

...not just another exercise class

When D. first came to Trueform, she didn’t know the real cause of her back pain, a leg length difference. And like many of our clients, she’d already tried other routes without lasting success.

What changed here wasn’t a “fix.” It was learning a system that allowed her to manage her body, long-term. Eight years on, she still checks in with us because she knows her body feels better when she keeps it on track.

At Trueform, we don’t promise “correction.” We teach management. Control. Awareness. And when you use those tools every day, the difference is huge.

D. describes it well: this isn’t just another exercise class. It’s professional, personal, and it lasts.

09/10/2025

When your physio says your bottom isn’t pulling its weight, a chair squat can become your best friend.

Start by hinging back toward the chair, keeping your spine neutral, and guiding your descent with control. Even if you need to push yourself back up, that’s fine — this is your training ground.

Over time you’ll build strength, stability and quality of movement.

In one trial at at Penn State University, just 30 seconds a day of chair-stand work improved older adults’ functional strength and balance vs controls (FAST Functional Activity Strength Training).

And according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, just one minute of squat breaks (you may have already heard of Activity Snacks) during long sitting periods has been linked to better brain blood flow and attention.

No extra equipment needed, your own body (and a chair) gives you everything you need to start.
Let me know how it feels this week.

09/10/2025

Well, in a one-to-one session, we wouldn’t have you going full “footballers on reformers,” with legs-akimbo such as this Metro video, but it does show the point rather well, even strong, athletic bodies find things challenging when they meet the precision and control Pilates demands. If they're given a bit more time and focus they'll feel and see the benefits.

02/10/2025

Nayyirah Waheed is a contemporary poet whose work often gives voice to experiences we rarely name, but instantly recognise.

Many people who come to us describe feeling at odds with their bodies: frustrated by ongoing pain, or struggling with restricted movement that makes everyday life harder than it should be. This quote speaks to the turning point, that moment of choosing to meet your body with compassion rather than frustration.

For some, that shift feels like relief. For others, it’s the very start of rebuilding strength, resilience, and confidence in movement. Our role is to support that process with proven methods, helping people re-establish trust in their bodies and move forward with freedom.

18/09/2025

So many people who come to us feeling limited, whether it’s hip or back pain, struggling with balance, or finding it harder to climb stairs, get up from a chair, or enjoy the activities they love.

The good news? Our members are proof that change is possible. With consistent, physiotherapist-led Pilates, they’re moving more freely, regaining strength, and in many cases avoiding surgery or long-term medication.

If you’d like to see their stories in their own words, take a look at our Testimonial posts; they say it better than we ever could.*

Ready to start your own journey? Book your Pain to Peace Assessment and explore our Nurture or Focus packages. Call ### or visit the link in our bio to arrange your callback.

11/09/2025

B’s story is one we see so often.

On the surface it was chronic back and neck pain, but underneath it was years of a hypermobile body finding shortcuts, moving in ways that kept him going ... until they didn’t.

What struck me most was how he described those first weeks as a re-education. Simply standing, sitting, and noticing the difference between what was safe and what was damaging. That moment of “getting back in touch with his body” was the start of real change.

And then he said something that really stayed with me:

“It’s not just your body you are helping out, but your mind. It’s given me my life back in so many ways.”

That’s the heart of it. Strength and alignment aren’t just physical, they lift confidence, restore independence, and reconnect you with the ordinary things that make up life.

Also research into neuroplasticity and motor learning shows that when you practice mindful movement, you’re not only conditioning your muscles, you’re training your brain to recruit them more efficiently. Early strength gains often come more from the brain learning to use muscles than from muscles actually growing.

This isn’t new thinking either. Research led by Professor Toshio Moritani at Kyoto University has long shown that improvements in strength are initially driven by neural adaptations, the nervous system becoming more efficient at activating the right muscles at the right time, before muscle fibres themselves change. In other words, practice reshapes the way your body and brain work together.

That means the process of reconnecting with your body isn’t just about building strength and easing pain; it’s also supporting your brain in building new pathways, sharpening coordination, and enhancing confidence in what your body can do. Over time, that’s what creates lasting resilience.

And of course it doesn’t happen overnight. As B. says, it takes patience, effort, and belief. But when you put those in, the rewards are profound.

If you’ve ever felt like your body has let you down, or that simple daily things are slipping out of reach, this story shows ... it’s not too late to learn a new way of moving, and living.

08/09/2025

➰Today we're closing the loop on Piriformis pain.
This is the last in this particular series, finishing up our pain management sequence with a couple of gentle, pilates style exercises designed to release tension in the hips, restore mobility in the back, and generally bring our mind and body back into congruence.

Stretching after our mobility and strengthening exercises will lengthen tight muscles, restoreing balance through the spine and pelvis, and it helps the nervous system register that it’s safe to move again.

That sequence is key for pain management. It’s not about “pushing through” or chasing dramatic results, but about giving people practical, repeatable tools they can use whenever pain flares.

At Trueform, having a structured series we can revisit builds confidence:
▶️ We understand what’s happening in our body.
▶️ We know what to do in the moment.
▶️ We’re supported in our quest to self-manage, rather than feeling stuck waiting for the pain to pass.

This last video completes the toolkit, and hopefully offers a little more freedom in daily life.

If you’re interested, the full series is available as one video; see our pinned post for the link, and why not follow us while you’re there, so you can catch our Mobility and Pain Management videos as they arrive.