10 Reasons Pilates Will Help You Step Into Summer
With winter loosening its grip on the Lowveld it is time to think about getting ready for summer. For most of us that means shifting those sneaky pounds that seem to magically appear under the cover of those extra layers of winter clothes.
Here are ten reasons why Pilates is a great way of getting your body ready for summer.
#1 Targets the whole body
Unlike most forms of exercise that target specific muscle groups or distinct parts of the body, Pilates considers the entire body as an integrated system that needs to remain balanced.’ So while the focus of Pilates is on the core muscles, it also improves strength, balance, muscle development, flexibility and an increased range of motion across the whole body.
#2 An exercise everyone can enjoy
The beauty of Pilates is that anyone can do it, just visit a Pilates’ class and see for yourself. Pilates is one of the few exercise classes where the playing field is levelled and elite athletes stand shoulder-to-shoulder (or perhaps mat-to-mat) with pregnant women, senior citizens and people recovering from serious injuries.
#3 Improves posture
Posture is one of the biggest victims of our sedentary modern lifestyle and is often the cause of many serious illnesses. Poor posture results in uneven pressure on muscles and joints, which in turn is responsible for many forms of pain from migraines to lower back immobility. Pilates focuses on strengthening and lengthening the spine by targeting deep postural muscles, aligning the core and thus improving posture.
#4 Great for healing and preventing injuries
With doctors, chiropractors, physiotherapists and sports therapists all promoting the benefits of Pilates, isn’t it time you gave it a try? The reason Pilates is such a hit is that not only does it improve posture, it is also low impact, giving you all the benefits of exercising various muscle groups without any of the physical strain and injuries associated with high impact exercise.
#5 Improves muscle balance
The strain of modern life means we quickly become unbalanced. Repetitive movements, whether it is sitting day in and day out at a desk typing on a computer or practicing your golf swing for hours on end, over uses certain muscles and under uses others. Pilates restores the balance across all muscle groups by realigning the body.
#6 Strengthens core muscles
Functional fitness is a key component of Pilates. It is about training your muscles to work together to prepare them for daily tasks by simulating common movements you might do at home, work or while doing sport. Unlike weight training where you focus on your arms or legs and often neglect your core muscles that are vital for good posture, Pilates trains central core while stretching and strengthening all your other muscles at the same time. Pilates gives you more ‘bang for your buck’ as you will see better results in less time!
#7 Aids in weight loss
The formula for weight loss will always remain the same – burn more calories than you consume and you will lose weight. Because Pilates is a full-body exercise, it will help you do just that! However, Pilates will do more than just help you lose weight, done regularly it will change your whole shape, creating longer, leaner, stronger muscles and a more toned you!
#8 Improves breathing and circulation
Breathing is essential to life and Pilates improves breathing both physically and mentally. Physically, Pilates promotes good posture, ensuring the rib cage is correctly positioned to maximise lung capacity and allow the ribs to move more freely, allowing more oxygen to be absorbed per breath. Mentally, Pilates makes you more aware of your breathing, allowing you to regulate it better. Pilates also improves circulation, with various exercises aimed at increasing blood flow to your extremities and improving circulation. Thereby ensuring the oxygen you are breathing in is getting to the muscles that need it as efficiently as possible.
#9 Helps you to sleep better
Excess cortisol is public health enemy number one when it comes to sleep and it also interferes with learning, memory, lowering immune function and bone density, increasing weight gain, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease and depression. Regular exercise helps regulate cortisol and Pilates is great form of exercise without any of the associated pain or injuries you can get with more vigorous high impact forms of exercise that put strain on the body. What’s more, the stretching aspect of Pilates also promotes a better nights’ sleep.
#10 Improves concentration
We have to use our brains during exercise, although for most forms the repetitive nature of the exercise makes us ‘switch off’ mentally. Pilates, however, actively encourages you to keep your mind ‘switched on’, gaining a heightened sense of muscle awareness as you focus on controlling every movement, releasing built up tension and centering yourself. This extra focus whilst doing Pilates has been shown to improve overall concentration levels.
Find a Pilates Class in Nelspruit.