What an awesome time meeting Viktor and getting to know and feel the Konnector! He came out to Glendale, AZ about 2 weeks ago to Balanced PT, Pilates & Wellness Center and we completely immersed in the Konnector! It is truly amazing and we are super excited to have more exercises to choose from, not only for our own bodies, but for our clients. There are endless possibilities with the Konnector! Read more...
Who is Viktor?
A human with an endless passion for movement. An inventor that is proud of pushing boundaries by always searching for more versatility to make a positive change in people's lives.
Why Movement?
Maybe because at one point I had been told: "you will never move again."
My movement journey started when I was 9 years old, I decided to enroll in State conservatory to become a Ballet dancer. Age 15 I had a back injury and been told by not 1, but by 3 Doctors, I will never move the way I want it to, and if I don't fuse my spinal column, I have a very high chance to be paralyzed. Things were not looking good for me until the 4th Doctors opinion. Dr. Hascelik said, " do this, do that, and you'll be fine." I did “this and that” even it wasn't clear to me what it was I was supposed to do, until 3 years later when I moved to Florance, Italy. I studied under Franco de Vita and Raymond Lukens. That's when I worked with Pino Carbone in his Gyrotonic studio IL Vortice to improve my technique and body awareness. Truth be told, that's when I finally understood what the 4th doctor's prescription of "do this, do that" meant. Simply take care of your body by working asymmetries of my body and optimize efficiencies of my body by working smart, not hard.
How did you invent the Konnector?
My Pilates journey started in 1993 as a client, and the year 2000 as an Instructor. After teaching hours and hours of sessions, I begin to feel very frustrated with reformer straps. My movement options were minimal, and unless I used a single strap, clients were stuck with bilateral movement. This forced me to use the mat work more often to fulfill my need for functional exercises. It worked, but wasn't easy. Clients had problems during movements such as coordination, timing, isolation of limbs, and internal connection. My solution was connecting the legs and arms to each other using a single band to give proprioceptive feedback. It helped, but it didn't fix the problem that I had, which was…. I loved working with the reformer! So I brought the bands to the reformer and experiment with the work. It was promising, except the clients continued having timing and coordination problems since they were getting feedback from two different sources - reformer carriage and the bands. I knew the solution to merge the two various sources to one - the first version of Konnector born! One rope with two straps meant they could move one limb at a time while other limb doing isometric work, they could also move reciprocally. This was true until shortly later I realized we move with using the whole body, not individual section at a time. To change that, I brought the bands back and involved all four limbs during exercises, but the problem of having two different sources bothered me again. Once again, the solution was one source to connect all four limbs. I went back to the drawing board and found a way to attached four straps to one rope. That's how the Konnector was born!
What is Konnector?
A single rope pulley system that allows both arms and legs to move independently and simultaneously while providing constant proprioceptive feedback and creating greater neutral engagement of the trunk. A versatile Pilates reformer strap without losing traditional Pilates reformer functionality.
What are the benefits of the Konnector straps compare to the traditional Pilates Reformer Straps?
The most significant difference between the two systems is that the Konnector can offer a solution to common human asymmetries. The Konnector system allows the mover the ability to distribute weight evenly between both sides of the body, regardless of postural asymmetries or deviations. The ropes automatically adjust to allow the mover to keep symmetry. This system has a secure locking mechanism to allow for the mover to utilize the apparatus as a traditional reformer as well.
This system will provide constant feedback for the client, stimulating greater self-awareness and coordination. It creates an environment for Full Body Integration, establishing a connection between the arms and legs through the trunk. The four ropes expand traditional Pilates repertoire, bringing the number of movement options to a whole new level. It allows for a wide range of motion in exercises in which the carriage would otherwise traditionally bottom out. This system can be used in many additional ways than the traditional reformer work: as an armchair while sitting on the foot bar, standing and kneeling arm and leg work can also be facilitated off the apparatus utilizing these straps to create greater proprioception, and later these same movements can be transitioned onto the moving carriage. The hidden tri-loops offers support and greater functionality for the ankles and wrists.
Balanced Body Reformer
What does the physics of the Single-Rope System provide?
The Konnector is designed with a single-rope system. It is therefore able to create a set of straps with stronger weight and a set of straps with lighter weight (the gray straps offering 50% less resistance than the black). Within the movement, the mover could experience up to 3 muscle contractions during one exercise mixing isometric and isotonic contractions. The pulley system allows the mover to create functional activities working unilaterally, bilaterally, contralaterally as well as create alternating and reciprocal motions.
With such an array of movement options, the mover can facilitate more focus and move with more precision as well as increase coordination skills. In exercises in which only 2 straps are used, the extra set of straps can be used as tactile feedback or even as assistance during movement.
To learn more and get the scoop on The Konnecotr courses and equipment... click here!