Drawbacks: Because of the extensive and expensive education that most Pilates instructors must complete plus studio rentals and equipment, the method can be costly to learn. It is possible for the method to be taught in a lower priced class setting but it may not take into consideration the individual students personalized needs. Ideally each client is seen separately until they develop enough knowledge to train on their own. Thus Pilates is usually associated with the rich and famous who can afford to practice it privately and consistently. In recent years the term Pilates worked itself into the mainstream and the situation became even more exacerbated after an intellectual property lawsuit resulted in a US federal court ruling the term "Pilates" generic and free for unrestricted use[2]. As a result of that litigation, numerous organizations entered the market to capitalize on the worldwide acceptance of the term "Pilates" to market and benefit from the unique approach to health and fitness Joe and his wife Clara developed and tuned over a period of decades. As a result, consumers now face extensive and conflicting information about what Pilates really is, how it works and what credentials they should seek in an instructor. Unfortunately with Pilates' burgeoning popularity, countless imitations and poorly trained and advised versions have appeared in gyms and even on infomercials. Additionally, there are many "quickie" courses that allow trainers to be certified in mere weekends so students are advised to choose instructors carefully as not to get seriously injured or misled. Pilates also offers no aerobic benefits so students who want to reduce their body fat and weight will have to augment their practice with cardiovascular exercise.[3] Another less obvious drawback to Pilates is that while it can tone the rectus and transverse abdominis muscles it can very easily build the external and internal oblique muscles of the abdomen producing a flat stomach with a thick waist especially when practiced improperly or even too often. This is because much of Pilates is practiced through extension with the torso moving in a linear, foward fashion. [4] The natural hip to waist ratio can square off into a six-pack .

LHA-3 USS Belleau Wood pierside USS Belleau Wood Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) pierside at White Beach, Okinawa, Japan. I was stationed here from 1999-2001 and 2004-2005. White Beach Naval Facility Okinawa, Japan The White Beach Naval Facility is a staging area for Marines and their equipment based on Okinawa. This departure point allows utility landing craft and air-cushioned landing vehicles to ferry troops, vehicles and equipment to amphibious ships pier side or at sea. The headquarters for Commander, Amphibious Group ONE, is based out of White Beach, Okinawa, Japan. The command also maintains a separate, smaller staff group, under the guidance of the Deputy Commander, based out of Sasebo in the southern portion of the island of Kyushu. Commander, Amphibious Group ONE (CPG-1) is responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare operations to support a full range of theater contingencies, ranging from humanitarian and disaster relief operations, to full combat operations. CPG-1 also provides oversight for the operations and planning, personnel, maintenance, logistics, training, and communications of units forward deployed to Sasebo, Japan. Being the Navy’s only forward deployed amphibious assault warship, plying the waters between it’s homeport of Sasebo, Japan and White Beach, Okinawa is a common and fairly ordinary event for USS Belleau Wood’s crew. The 505th Quartermaster Battalion conducted a three-day Command Post Exercise 20-22 February 2001 at the 505th Compound at the White Beach Naval Facility. The battalion set up both their Tactical Operations Center and Administrations/Logistics Operations Center in preparation for a field training exercise next month and to determine the battalion strengths and weaknesses for providing fuel support for a large-scale deployment. White Beach Area, which is located near the tip of Katsuren peninsula, has two piers. Nuclear powered warships and submarines frequently make port calls to this area. The facility is located in Katsuren town and Yonashiro town, with a land area of 1,568,000m^2. There are a total of 882 land owners, paid a yearly rental fee of 887 million yen. There are a total of 110 Japanese employees.