Monday Workout

Today I'm going to talk about the benefits of Pilates.

Pilates is low impact exercise.  These exercises are known to have many wonderful benefits which include improvements in range of motion, flexibility, circulation, posture, and abdominal strength, and decreases in back, neck and joint pain.  Pilates is for all ages and body types.  You can use your own body strength to sculpt lean muscle and increases flexibility or you can add resistance bands or use Pilates machines.  The combinations can be quite extensive.

"I must be right. Never an aspirin. Never injured a day in my life. The whole country, the whole world, should be doing my exercises. They'd be happier." -- Joseph Hubertus Pilates, in 1965, age 86.

Body awareness is very important.  Pilates helps with that because you are concentrating on pulling your core in and keeping your shoulders down, this can be translated into everyday life by simple acts such as sitting straight with your shoulders down while working on your computer, or standing in front of the sink cleaning vegetables or dishes.  Simple movements learned help improve daily life.

A stronger Core is very important, it helps to protect your back when lifting and walking.  Pilates helps with core strength with each fluid movement from preforming the one hundred to V-sits.  Pilates strengthens the core muscles, and yes it does help to flatten the mid section but that is not the important part, the important part is strengthening the muscles so that your back is protected, and your posture is improved.

Body control is one of the major teaching aspects of Pilates.  It teaches you how to move.  While many exercise programs isolate large muscle groups, Pilates uses all the muscle groups together in a synchronized harmony.  By doing these exercises you get long lean muscles and a toned body.

Although Pilates is a great form of exercise if you have back problems please see your family doctor before you try it.  Pilates can cause more harm than good depending on the type of back issue you may have.

There are many great Pilates and Yoga programs out there and there is even a fusion of Pilates and Yoga program available as well.  Check out these sites for more information on those types of programs.

Piyo and 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme - by Beach Body - http://www.beachbodycoach.com/andrea1974

Windsor Pilates - http://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Pilates-Workout-Accelerated-Sculpting/dp/B00077BD7A

Yoga - http://www.amazon.ca/gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-binding_browse-bin=2618859011&field-title=&field-actor=&field-director=wohl&field-price-mp-owner-bin=&node=13908111&field-original=&field-subtitled=&mysubmitbutton1.x=44&mysubmitbutton1.y=10&gclid=Cj0KEQjw4NmvBRCRp_yu2bzal4YBEiQAWfjpJnm19slSRUWizs6R8LYOSLjKvPAQP_SxmDuz3LoJmD4aAuGZ8P8HAQ



Resources:
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/the-benefits-of-pilates?page=1
http://www.pilates.com/BBAPP/V/pilates/benefits-of-pilates.html