Fitness

Pilates Basics and Benefits

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According to About.com, “Pilates (pronounced puh-LAH-teez) is something like a cross between yoga, stretching and calisthenics.” This fast growing type of exercise is exceptionally popular with good reasons. It makes you look and feel fantastic. It builds strength without bulk, provides excellent stretching, integrates mind with body and tones your body like you will not believe.

By: Tammy Foster
Pilates Basics is the foundation of exercises originally developed by Joseph H. Pilates to benefit bed-bound patients during World War I. Pilates developed a series of basic exercises designed to help patients tone and lengthen their muscles. Eventually he brought his Pilates basics to New York where he developed a loyal following.

Pilates basics are known for using intense concentration on a specific body part as well as on a specific series of breathing techniques while you perform a prescribed series of movements. It is the combination of these challenges which make Pilates a champion exercise.

With Pilates, one of the very first things you will need to learn is to focus on the “powerhouse” or the core of your body. It is just a fancy way of saying “your abdomen”. The basics of Pilates teach that if you work your body movements from the core or the powerhouse, then your muscles will move more easily and fully through their entire range of motion.

With the focus of Pilates being on the abdominal muscles, these muscles must get stronger in order to allow you to fully execute the movements of Pilates. The spinal and abdominal muscles make up the powerhouse muscles and should be your focus throughout each movement. The abdominal muscles are made up of the rectus abdominis, the transverse abdominis, and the internal and external obliques.

Pilates basics focuses on creating strong abdominal and spinal muscles which work together to improve strength, coordination, flexibility and balance.

Maybe you have seen the huge Pilates contraptions and have avoided Pilates because you do not want that in your home. Never fear. Many Pilates classes are floor based and require nothing more than a mat or carpet. It also helps to have either an instructor, a book or a DVD until you get your form right. There are still Pilates studios that use the equipment and some classes use various equipment such as exercise balls, bands or rings.

If all of this sounds a bit too soft for your exercise taste, make no mistake, Pilates is not a soft and fluffy exercise. If you have any doubt, then take the time to pick up a DVD of Winsor Pilates. In this particular slant to traditional Pilates, Mari Winsor has developed a series of Pilates exercises which she calls “dynamic sequencing” which even on a good day will leave you with your tongue hanging out!

One of the best things about Pilates is that it is gentle on the joints. For this reason it can be practiced by the majority of all folks, even those who are just getting started with a fitness routine. Many Pilates practitioners believe this form of exercise will leave you feeling better and not worse.

Pilates will leave you feeling taller, leaner, energized and confident. The breathing exercises that accompany all Pilates movements will help you to feel calmer and more centered.

So why not give Pilates a try? You will be glad you did and your body will thank you for it! The basics of Pilates give you a certain set of exercises along with specific breathing patterns all focused on helping your tone and strengthen your abdominal powerhouse.

More energy, confidence and strength makes Pilates basics sound like a plan for me!

If you are trying to decide between Pilates and Yoga, why not choose both? While they have many similarities, they may offer dramatically different results. In my experience, I find Yoga to be calming, centering, and it seems to give me a sort of quiet strength. That is why yoga is such an excellent way to start each and every day. I find that Pilates, on the other hand, increases my strength and flexibility like yoga, but also leaves me feeling energized, enthusiastic and invigorated. It may affect other people differently but that is my take on it. I feel yoga is an essential part of my morning routine, and Pilates is something that I really look forward to and try hard to make time for at least three times a week if I can.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

For more information on Pilates be sure to visit the-pilates-zone.com. You’ll find tips and advice on Pilates techniques, Pilates basics, Pilates and pregnancy, and much more information. Get your own completely unique content version of this article.

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