Pilates is an exercise system developed by Joseph Pilates that helps strengthen muscles, increase flexibility, and improve overall health. It focuses on engaging the mind and body together, resulting in conscious movement. This type of movement improves our efficiency in all aspects of movement throughout the day, as well as decreases additional stress and fatigue that can cause inefficient movement, breathing, and alignment.
What is Pilates?
Pilates is a method that allows us to strengthen the deep muscles responsible for our posture. The deep muscles are the core muscles located between the ribs and the pelvis and surrounding the spine (abdominal muscles, pelvic floor muscles, and back muscles).
They form the body's energy center, which allows us to strengthen strength and stability. Pilates is also a discipline that allows us to increase awareness of our body, strength and limitations, so that we can better understand and use our own body.
Pilates, accessible in all areas
Due to its low-impact nature, Pilates is accessible to everyone in all walks of life. E l Pilates system allows you to modify different exercises on a range of difficulty from beginner to advanced, in alignment with the specific objectives of the instructor and the student and taking into account physical limitations.
Therefore, there is no "plateau" in Pilates practice and it works as a lifelong fitness regimen.
With the explosion of Pilates globally, it is now commonly found in fitness classes, gyms, physical therapy offices, corporate retreats, luxury spas, and wellness centers. And with the growing trend towards moderate and thoughtful health practices.
Pilates benefits
Consistently practicing Pilates produces numerous benefits that can dramatically transform the way your body feels, functions, and looks.
Strengthen your core, which is your foundation, so you can move efficiently while improving your posture, flexibility, and mobility.
Pilates work increases overall body strength and creates lean muscle tone, improves bone density and joint health, increases lung capacity and circulation, improves posture and balance, and develops control and endurance throughout. the body.
It emphasizes lengthening the body rather than bulging and shortening it. You can create a sleek, toned body and overall slimming, especially of the thighs and abdomen.
Helps relieve back pain and aid in injury prevention and rehabilitation. It teaches body awareness, correct alignment, and easy graceful movement, enhancing agility and economy of movement.
And, one of the main benefits of Pilates is the deepening of the mind-body connection, allowing for better focus, clarity, and overall attunement.
List of benefits of practicing Pilates:
1. Improves posture and strengthens deep muscles: back pain disappears, stomach is firmer, body becomes stronger and more elastic.
2. Improves and increases control of movements performed during other sports activities.
3. It increases the flexibility of the muscles responsible for movement (superficial muscles, for example, posterior thigh muscles - posterior part of the thighs, lumbar muscle - hip flexor, among others).
4. Increases range of joint mobility, strength, endurance and muscle power.
5. Massage internal organs.
6. Improves blood circulation.
7. Reduces the risk of muscle injury or deficit.
8. Provides harmonious muscle development.
What you need for a Pilates session
All you need is comfortable clothes and a rug. Having a mirror on the wall of the place where you exercise is of great help, since that way you check your posture and position.
More importantly, if you feel that any of the exercises hurt your lower back, it is because you are doing something wrong and you need to modify the exercise. All exercises can be adjusted for beginners or those with injuries.
What are the fundamental principles of this discipline?
Created in 1920 in New York by Joseph Pilates, the Pilates method is now used all over the world. It benefits the body and mind and is based on 6 bases that are the key to success:
1. Breath: it is a specific lateral thoracic breathing that allows better use of the lungs (we inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth).
2. Concentration: it is necessary to be attentive to each movement and perform the most precise exercises.
3. Centering: all movements must begin in the energy center of our body, that is, from the abdominal muscles.
4. Control: you need to control every movement by connecting it with your breath and mind. You must be fully aware of your body to control each position, each gesture, to feel complete.
5. Fluidity: movements should be performed smoothly and with a little grace: thanks to that they provide balance and harmony.
6. Accuracy: Therefore, the emphasis should be on quality, not the number of movements made. The gestures must be carefully thought out and precise so that it has a real impact on our muscular system.
What are the main Pilates exercises?
Since the creation of the method by Joseph Pilates, several variants have emerged. Here are 3 approaches you can try:
Stott Pilates
An easily available method, very gentle and suitable for everyone: it allows us to keep the body in good shape and exercise throughout our lives. Combine stretching, breathing exercises, and light gymnastics.
Power pilates
A method to exercise the body combined with the stimulation of the mind using small devices (balls, rubbers, wheels, foam rollers ...).
Yoga pilates
It is a mixture of yoga and Pilates, in which flexibility and form are exercised in parallel, while maintaining a slow and controlled breathing at all times.
Who is Pilates for?
Everyone can practice Pilates because these exercises are demanding, but they are not intense or dangerous for the body. Whether you are a woman or a man, an athlete or not, an elderly person, after an accident or during convalescence, whether you are stressed, tired, “stiff”, whether you are pregnant or shortly after delivery: You can do Pilates exercise because this is a progressive method (if you have any questions, check with your doctor first). The exercises can be adapted to everyone's level and needs, taking into account any illness.
How often to train to get better results?
Pilates is a gentle method with which you can exercise without restrictions. For the exercises to be effective, training must be carried out, as in any sport, at least once a week, throughout the year. Our advice would be: do 2 to 3 Pilates training sessions per week, depending on your age and the goal you want to achieve.
One of the main reasons people don’t lose weight on the keto diet is that they’re consuming too many carbs. To reach the state of ketosis a metabolic state in which your body burns fat for energy instead of glucose carbohydrate intake must be drastically reduced. In fact, only around 5% of your total calories should come from carbs. This is in stark contrast to the standard dietary recommendation that 45–65% of calories come from carbs.