There is a possibility that you would have heard about Pilates. You would have known someone who does Pilates. Still, you might not be aware of how it can be beneficial for you.
You would be surprised to know that Pilates was not initially an exercise. It was initially an idea to help dancers through injury. The goal was to strengthen core muscles in dancers with overuse injuries. With stronger muscles from Pilates, it was hoped that dancers would experience fewer overuse injuries. It actually came out effectively. Dancers who performed Pilates suffered from lesser injuries.
Pilates’ popularity became more and more. People felt that this low-impact exercise can be beneficial for everyone. There are benefits of Pilates for non-dancers as well. Humans live in a single plane of movement. These repetitive movements make us more leg and chest dominant. The aim of Pilates is the balancing of muscles. This is by targeting and strengthening those muscles that we don’t use in our daily life. But by strengthening them, we would benefit from them.
It helps build muscular endurance and stability.
What is Pilates?
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Pilates is a type of controlled movement. These move into one another with precision. It is a total body workout. Pilates movements target core muscles like abdominal muscles, gluteal muscles, lower and upper back muscles, and thigh muscles.
The aim is to create total control. This requires starting from your core muscles. And then, use that stability. This stability is used to control arms, legs, and other muscles. Pilates is an exercise that can build stamina.
Difference between Pilates and Yoga
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Yoga is slower than Pilates. Yoga focuses more on stretching. Pilates has prominence on building strength. Pilates is a total body workout. It is basically how you can support the movements of the body. Pilates has benefits more than a workout. It can improve the way you move in your day-to-day life.
Benefits of Pilates
Relieving tension in shoulders, back, and legs
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Having strong muscles gives better posture. This can help relieve tension in muscles. Many people have weak core muscles. Strengthening these core muscles helps relieves tension in weak muscles. This is beneficial for those people who sit at desks for long time periods. Having stronger core muscles can help you come out of desk postures that result in pain in the shoulders and legs.
Helps in burning fat
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Pilates helps boost the body’s natural ability to burn fat. Pilates may not be the best exercise to burn calories that quickly. Pilates builds muscles. Building muscles helps increase the body’s basal metabolic rate.
Helps in preventing injury
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Pilates builds strength and flexibility. Pilates is an amazing way to add some diversity to a workout regimen. You need many workouts like cardio, strength training, flexibility exercises, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Including these exercises in your regimen is called cross-training. Cross-training helps prevent overuse injuries.
Helps in mindfulness and body awareness
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Mindfulness means focusing on the here and now. It means living in the present moment. It means being more aware of the present moment. So, Pilates helps you stay in touch with your body and build body awareness. Pilates is a type of exercise that makes you work within the limits of your body. There is a breath work involved in it. There is mindfulness also. It can help relieve tension and stress.
Helps in whole-body fitness
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Pilates helps build integrated fitness by focusing on core, lower body, and upper body strength. It helps in flexibility and posture. It gives balanced muscle development. There is an increased motion for the joints. Pilates is helpful in rehab settings also. It is helpful for athletes. It is a foundation for any kind of movement.
In Pilates, you build muscles as a whole and also build functional fitness. Pilates helps build muscle strength by muscle contraction called an eccentric contraction. This occurs when you extend the muscle under tension. Pilates makes you resist gravity. It is like doing a triceps pushup. Pilates helps in improving the quality of life for older adults.
Helpful for everyone
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So, whether you are an athlete, older adult, middle-aged, or younger adult, Pilates is for you. Pilates has a focus on building core strength and mind-body connection and hence, is a good exercise for everyone. Pilates can be customized according to individual needs. You can adapt to your needs. There are specific Pilates for men and women. If you are suffering from any injuries or you had any injuries in the past, you can do Pilates with the training of a Pilates instructor.
Helps flexibility
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In Pilates, you work for a safe stretch of muscles. The goals of Pilates are to have a body that can stretch and bend. These are realistic goals.
Helps core strength
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Muscles of the back, abdomen, and pelvis are the core muscles. These muscles give strong and good posture. If the core is strong, the body frame gets support. The neck and shoulders get relaxed. The rest of the muscles and joints also perform their work well. Pilates has many abdominal exercises that help in building core muscle strength.
Helps improving posture
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Good posture is something that is really required. It is supported by a strong core. Pilates helps the body to have a good posture with harmony. Those who do Pilates have a good posture.
Helps increase energy
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Pilates helps in breathing circulation and stimulates the spine and muscles. It results in good feelings. Pilates increases energy. Pilates is a low-impact exercise and it increases energy.
Helps weight loss
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Doing Pilates can change your body. It creates strong muscles. It improves muscle tone. It helps you give a good posture. It helps in burning calories. If you combine it with aerobic activity and a healthy diet, it can help in weight loss.
Helps integrate mind and body
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Pilates is the complete organization of mind and body. If you put in full attention, it can integrate mind and body. Thus, you get benefitted from Pilates.
By Bhawna
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