Pilates it seems, is a great supplement to any physical fitness regimen. For example, I\’ve read of dancers doing Pilates as part of their overall conditioning, aside from all their hard work in the dance studio.

Cyclists can benefit from Pilates, too. I don\’t know how many of the off-bike exercises I do come from the Pilates studio; but I do include moves to help with core strength and stability. Some are from Get Fast! Others are from Kelly Cycle Coaching.

I do only one session of each routine per week; and that means that my progress has been very, very slow. Usually I do off-bike work of some sort five or six days per week; and don\’t really feel the need for more. 

I\’ve never tried to put in hour-long sessions. After all, I\’m not training to race; nor am I trying to go pro. I also am not body-building. In fact, they say that body-building can be counterproductive for cyclists. Yes, we need core strength and stability; and we need enough arm strength to be able to ride for miles and miles without having our arms feel like limp spaghetti. But too much muscular bulk in the upper body can add more weight than a cyclist wants.

I guess it doesn\’t matter too much whether you get in a half-hour of off-bike per week; or an hour every day. As I\’ve seen, over time even small doses of core work help.