Gyrotonics Can Enhance Your Balance and Range of Motion

I’m always on the lookout for new ways to improve strength, posture and flexibility. After all, a whopping number of the letters and e-mails I receive are about a sports- or fitness-related injury that could have been prevented with the right kind of exercise.

But I’ve also received too many pitches for “hot new fitness trends” not to be skeptical of special exercise methods, gimmicks and gizmos. Too often these fads do little more than help your purse lose weight.

Then my mother-in-law, always at the forefront of fitness trends, told me about a new class that she takes--and swears by--using the “gyrotonic expansion system,” or GXS. The workout stretches and releases the tightness in her back and shoulders, which are often sore from hours spent sculpting and molding in her art studio.

It was created by Juliu Horvath, a former professional ballet dancer from Romania who defected to the United States in the late 1960s. Horvath dreamed of a machine that would help a dancer achieve a better turn, or pirouette. His creative energy, together with his dance and yoga background, turned this dream into an exercise program that uses both stretching and strengthening exercises.

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Barbara Schwarz, a gyrotonics instructor at White Cloud studio in Santa Monica, says gyrotonics works muscles in more than one direction, something many otherwise fit clients realize is necessary when they injure their back simply turning to put on a seat belt or pick up a child.

The program incorporates twists, arches and curls that resemble real-life movement, she says. The spiraling movements that the program requires of the upper body and torso increase the suppleness of the spine and joints, elongating muscles and increasing range of movement.

Many of the exercises are performed on a multi-task machine that resembles a bench and tower with pulleys, cables and weight plates (similar to Pilates). The equipment is beautifully crafted of wood and metal and allows for smooth, consistent movements. This even resistance eliminates the jarring in the beginning and end of a movement, where most injuries occur.

Having overcome my initial skepticism enough to check out this new program, I decided to give it a try.

My 90-minute session began with the “handle unit,” sitting on a bench with weighted handles in front of me. My trainer, Corey, guided me through several rounds of flowing movements resembling overhand swimming strokes.

As I worked up a sweat, the range of motion began to increase in my back and out to my extremities. Corey, meanwhile, explained the role and importance of posture and balance. Because the abdominals are the center of strength, posture is a leading indicator of truly balanced muscles.

Furthermore, if 80% of our exercise comes from one type of activity and the opposing muscle groups are virtually ignored, then imbalance will occur--resulting in injury. Gyrotonic trainers say the hips, shoulders, knees and ankles all work like suspension bridges, reliant upon each other for balance. If one end or side of this bridge is tightened or shortened, the other side or end will reflect an equal and opposite condition. If the left hip is rotated forward, the left shoulder will be pulled back and its range of motion limited.

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John McCathy, a recent devotee of gyrotonics, is a classic example of someone who overtrained his way into an injury. He hobbled into the studio during my session. Having already suffered ankle and knee injures from basketball in his 20s and running in his 30s, he was currently treating a shoulder injury. His orthopedist had told him that the pain would eventually require surgery. He prescribed rest along with some basic rehabilitation exercises.

McCathy told me he had found his way to yoga, but his shoulder couldn’t handle the postures. Then he tried Pilates, with some success.

But one day, he said, all the Pilates equipment was being used. So he asked a trainer about the gyrotonics equipment.

The trainer put him on the machine, evaluated his condition and determined that the root of his problem was mainly postural. McCathy’s hips were tilted forward and rotated to the right from years of bad posture, not only sitting and standing but also from exercising with poor posture. Because of this improper alignment, previous exercise and therapy sessions offered only temporary relief.

After several gyrotonics sessions, McCathy’s pain had subsided, but he still had a long road ahead of him to improve his old posture habits.

Several weeks later, however, his trainer told me McCathy had returned to a limited training regimen, which included basketball and some running. He has noticed a difference in his range of movement and credits his consistent work on the gyrotonics system twice a week.

Despite McCathy’s success, gyrotonics isn’t only for athletes. It can also help those of us who spend hours hunched over our computer--occasionally stretching our back muscles and ignoring our tightening chest muscles.

My session taught me the importance of body balance and increased range of motion, something only one exercise doesn’t provide.

And it also taught me something else: Skepticism can be healthy, but only if it doesn’t limit you.

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To learn more about the Gyrotonic Expansion System, go to https://www.gyrotonic.com or call (212) 594-5025.