Exercise secrets ...
- Mar 21, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Apr 17, 2024
EXERCISE SECRETS OF A HOLLYWOOD "BODY DOCTOR"
Exercise master Fletcher with clients Shirley Jones, Katharine Ross and Susna Blakely Photograph by Sherman Weisburd
What do Candice Bergen, Ali MacGraw, Cher and Raquel Welch have that you don't? Ron Fletcher! By Alan Ebert
Dyan Cannon can now boast of the "firmest fanny in the West." Candice Bergen says her body feels "longer, more stretched out and with an elasticity it previously lacked." Cher is happy because she is now "round in the rump, in- stead of flat." Ali MacGraw, besides having a prettier fig ure, says she is in communication with her entire body now, rather than with just a few of its parts.
Dyan, Candice, Cher and Ali owe their new selves to their work with Ron Fletcher, whose exercise studio reigns supreme among Beverly Hills "body shops." Fletcher, 54, a former choreographer and dancer, can currently claim responsibility for more bodies beautiful than anyone since the Creator. Raquel Welch, Katharine Ross, Barbra Streis- and, Shirley Jones, Natalie Wood, Goldie Hawn and Sandy Duncan are all believers in, and beneficiaries of, Fletcher's "Body Contrology"-a discipline designed to realign and recondition the body.
Fletcher's theory is that any body, at any age, can be improved upon. "All it takes is work," he says. "Work!" laughs Dyan Cannon. "It's agony! But the results make it all worthwhile."
Discipline is the key to contrology. Fletcher's program demands total coordination of body, mind, spirit-and breath. "Only by bringing the four together through total concentration can control of the body be achieved," he explains. "The initial step is to find one's center, that place where one's balance is located, Once that is achieved, free- dom to move the body at will comes. That allows the body to fill its life space with presence and authority."
This initial centering begins with building what Ron calls a "lower girdle of strength." To do this, he instructs the novice to lie face up on a floor mat. Then she must try to flatten her spine as she simultaneously pulls in the ab- dominus muscles to meet the spine. As they connect, she is "centered." To help her remember what this feels like, she is to imagine a bolt securing spine and belly together.
Fletcher calls this "skewering." This puts the spine and, therefore the body, into proper alignment. Muscles of the body can then be exercised properly. "In contrology," Fletcher says, "the development of the lower girdle of strength makes all other body strength possible. Eventu- ally, the feeling of being bolted down, or skewered, is re- placed by muscular memory, which automatically tightens the belly and butt. That strength in the pelvic area gives total freedom to the rest of the body."
The next lesson concerns breathing. Exhalation and inhalation-emptying the lungs of stale air and filling them with fresh-are essential elements in contrology. Fletcher's technique employs "percussive breathing"-taking successive short breaths-to fill the lungs. Advanced students can take 18 short breaths, filling their lungs fully, before exhaling in 18 equally short breaths. "By bringing more oxygen into the system," he says, "the blood stream is activated, creating a greater flow of blood. This speeds circulation and the elimination of body wastes. All the extremities, including the brain, are activated by the increased usage of the lungs and the entire system feels rejuvenated."
Deep breathing, properly, done, can also enlarge the thoraxic muscle, which increases bust measurement. "Through proper breathing, the sternum (breastbone) is raised," explains Fletcher, "totally altering the posture. A woman's carriage becomes a statement." For example, Raquel Welch's body, which Fletcher calls the most showy and spectacular, definitely says something. But Ron helped her combat her tendency toward loose muscle tone. They worked on raising her sternum, which in turn raised her breasts. "By stretching Raquel upward, developing her lower girdle of strength, we slimmed her hips as we cor- rected a slight sag in her rear and around her armpits."
The third element of contrology, the one that really separates it from other exercise programs, is Fletcher's insistence on full mental participation. "This work cannot be done by rote," says Ali MacGraw, his most advanced student. "Your mind and spirit must work in (continued)
harmony with both body and breath, That makes it, literally, a mind-blowing experience. By applying all of me to the exercises, by concentrating on under standing each part of the puzzle-and the body is a puzzle, at first-1 am able to clear my head of all trivia and jmk. The dozens of variations make boredom impossible. I leave feeling high. And the pieces of the puzzle now fit as one unit. I am aware of my body and its needs.'
Dyan Cannon says she is now doing
things with her body that she once thought only Russian women athletes could do. "Ron taught me that my little toe is not disconnected from my pinkie, that a healthy body works collectively. I feel three inches taller, five pounds lighter and ten years younger."
Cher exercises for two consecutive hours each time, "just to put my body, mind and soul all in the same place. Ron's is a feeling-good trip."
The "feeling-good atmosphere that pervades the studio emanates from Ron himself. He is mild-mannered, both personally and professionally, encouraging his students rather than chastising them. He also treats them equally, star or non-star. There is one price for all- $12 per session-and all sessions meet in the same simple, blue-and-green-car- peted room. Clients such as Barbra Streisand and Nancy Reagan, who ask for private quarters, either become one of the girls or go elsewhere.
Fletcher can understand the reticence a woman might feel about appearing before others nearly naked in her leotard. But he won't let anyone wallow in shyness. Instead, he believes in overcoming a student's hesitancy with reassurance, which comes both from Ron himself-and also, he em phasizes, from her peers.
Group spirit prevails
Ron's encouraging attitude is infec tious. A strong, supportive group spirit thrives among his students. They are all competing against flab, not against each other. "There is no cattiness at Ron's," Cher says, None of us ever wears make- up or a Pucci or Gucci to the cluh. We work out individually but together, and we have a blast."
Dyan Cannon seconds that opinion. "If anything, there is a rab-rah type of encouragement. The enemy is body-rot, not the chick with the sensational shape." Adds dancer Paula Kelly, "Tve left other studios because of their put- down atmosphere. But Ron's attitude makes all the difference. Everyone just grooves with the joy of movement."
"Ron is the reason most of us are here," says Ali. "Yeah, him and our masochism, adds Cher. "He's merciless -but Ladore him."
Despite their professional need to maintain beautiful bodies, Fletcher's devotees are more likely to speak of his program's therapeutic results than its cosmetic benefits. "The studio is not an- other trendy trip for a bunch of beautiful broads," says Ali. "Süre it's terrific to have a better shape, but it's twice as im- portant to feel better."
Candice Bergen is one who feels de cidedly better. She had been a lower back sufferer for years. "There were days at a time when I was crippled with spasms the whole mess," she says. Fletcher, after watching her walk and surveying her posture, realigned her spine. "Candice had to build a lower gir dle of strength. When she did, her spine, which had been rigid, gained the flexibil- ity it lacked, and her back pains have vanished." Actress Susan Blakely, a for- mer exercise hater, now reports regularly to Fletcher.
"His realignments accomplished in one month what my chiroprac- tor couldn't in three years-removing the tension in my neck and shoulders." Mrs. Tony Curtis is so much stronger that she can now lift both kids, and probably Tony too" despite two hernias, Katharine Ross, whose back was "like poured con- crete from years of horseback riding, is now loose and limber.
Cher not only corrected her slight swayback, but in the process removed the bulge from her thighs and put it where it belonged in her fanny. "Even my dress designer, Bob Mackie, has commented on the change," she says. "My body was never as good as people thought. I was just thin and Bob had to design to cover my flaws. No more!"
The trim, muscular Fletcher is espe cially proud of the therapeutic benefits of his coutrology. "Helping others to feel better about themselves physically and mentally means a lot to me," he explains, So four years ago, he opened the Ron Fletcher Studio at the same location it occupies today, He drummed up his first clients by mailing leaflets to names in the Beverly Hills phonebook.
At first, his operation was so small that he had to hand-launder the dirty towels cach night himself. His big break came when the socially prominent Brooke Hooper (daughter of Margaret Sullivan and Le land Hayward) brought in the equally prominent Candice Bergen and Paula Prentiss. Then came Nancy Reagan, who rushed into Ron's studio one morning after seeing a newspaper photograph of herself that revealed her sagging under arms. His name was made.
Today his small business has bur geoned. Now about 300 clients, many of them men, come to the studio at least twice a week. Three full-time assistants and four student teachers comprise his staff now. Ron's popularity continues to increase despite the comparative rigors of his program. He absolutely refuses to offer "spot fixing" for specific
(February 1977)
弗萊徹的理論是，任何年齡的任何身體都可以改善。 「所需要的只是工作，」他說。 “工作！” 戴恩·坎農笑道。 “這很痛！但結果讓這一切都是值得的。”
紀律是控制的關鍵。 弗萊徹的計劃要求身體、思想、精神和呼吸的全面協調。 「只有透過全神貫注將四者結合在一起，才能實現對身體的控制，」他解釋道。 「第一步是找到一個人的中心，也就是一個人保持平衡的地方。一旦實現了這一點，身體就可以自由移動。這讓身體充滿存在感和堅定。”
弗萊徹說：「從控制學角度來說，下腹力量的發展使所有其他身體力量成為可能。最終，被螺栓固定或被串住的感覺被肌肉記憶所取代，肌肉記憶會自動收緊下腹肌的力量。”腹部和臀部。骨盆區域的力量為身體的其他部分提供了完全的自由。”
下一課涉及呼吸。 呼氣和吸氣——排空肺部的污濁空氣並充滿新鮮空氣——是控制學的基本要素。 弗萊徹的技術採用「衝擊式呼吸」——連續的短呼吸——來填充肺部。 高級學員可以進行 18 次短呼吸，讓肺部充滿空氣，然後再進行 18 次同樣短的呼吸。
「透過將更多的氧氣帶入系統，」他說，「血流被激活，產生更大的血液流動。這加速了循環並消除體內廢物。所有的四肢，包括大腦，都會被增加的氧氣所激活。”肺部和整個系統的使用都感覺煥然一新。”
正確地進行深呼吸還可以增大胸肌，從而增加胸圍。 “通過正確的呼吸，胸骨（胸骨）被抬起，”弗萊徹解釋說，“完全改變了姿勢。女人的舉止成為一種宣言。” 例如，拉蔻兒·韋爾奇（Raquel Welch）的身體，弗萊徹稱之為最華麗、最壯觀的身體，絕對說明了一些事情。 但羅恩幫助她克服了肌肉鬆弛的傾向。
控制學的第三個要素，也是它與其他運動計畫真正區別的一個要素，是弗萊徹堅持充分的心理參與。 「這項工作不能透過死記硬背來完成，」他最優秀的學生阿里·麥克格勞 (Ali MacGraw) 說。 「你的思想和精神必須在（續）
Pilates history! Ron Fletcher speaking about BREATH on the Phil Donahue show
Ron Fletcher
Ron Fletcher (May 29, 1921 – December 6, 2011) was an American Pilates Master Teacher,[1] an author [2] and a Martha Graham dancer.[3] He was also a Broadway stage, network television, cabaret and International Ice Capades choreographer.[3] He is identified as a “Pilates Elder”—a “first-generation teacher” who studied directly under Joseph and Clara Pilates.[1] Ron Fletcher 被稱為普拉提長老, 第一代普拉提導師
Originally referred to Joseph Pilates by fellow dancer for treatment of a chronic knee injury,[4] Fletcher was schooled in the principles of Body Contrology (the name Pilates gave to his fitness and conditioning method) [5] by Joseph and Clara Pilates, with whom he studied in their New York City studio at 939 8th Avenue,[6] on and off from 1948 until one year after Joseph Pilates’ death in 1967.[3]
Ron Fletcher Timeline
1921
Born Ron Fletcher on May 29, 1921 in Edensville, Missouri.
1939
Moved to St. Louis and then to New York to begin a career in advertising at Saks 5th Avenue.
1944~
Inspired by a Martha Graham Dance Company, he sought an interview with the choreographer. After a three-week stakeout at the theatre, Martha eventually took him under her wing. .............
New York on $1,000 a day by Margulies, Ferne (1981)
When you go up to visit J. Pilates, the first thing that meets your eyes is a barbell. The next thing to cross your vision might be the members of the New York City Ballet working out, or per- haps a professional figure skater or two. To say the least, this is serious exercise!
J. Pilates' methods are taught here on 56th Street and in Los Angeles at the Ron Fletcher studio. If you have any doubts as to its effectiveness, you should have seen the class his widow Clara taught before she died, at 95 years of age.
當你上去參觀J. Pilates時，首先映入眼簾的就是槓鈴。 接下來進入你視野的可能是紐約市芭蕾舞團的成員正在鍛煉，或者可能是一兩個專業花式滑冰運動員。 至少可以說，這是一項嚴肅的練習！ J. 普拉提的方法在 56 街和洛杉磯的 Ron Fletcher 工作室教授。 如果您對其有效性有任何疑問，您應該看看他的遺孀克拉拉 (Clara) 在 95 歲去世前所教授的課程。
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