Pilates is a fantastic exercise regime for toning muscles strengthening your core.

Doing a Pilates workout is a great way to build strength, and cardiovascular training is the best way to lose weight by burning calories. A Pilates workout helps with imbalances in the body but when combined with a cardiovascular exercise program, such as running and aerobic workouts, it can have numerous benefits. They keep your heart healthy and your circulatory system in good shape while burning calories to keep your figure looking fit and trim.

Centering: Focus is brought to the centre of the body where all Pilates movements originate. The energy for the exercises are sourced from the centre or what we now refer to as the core. It builds great abdominal strength, allowing the rest of the body to move much more effectively and efficiently. Once the core muscles are engaged, this assists in stability of the pelvis and spine and reduces risk of injury whilst exercising.
Control: Pilates exercises are performed with the utmost control, which minimises risk of injury and produces effective results. Unlike many exercise regimes, which advocate multiple repetitions, Pilates emphasises quality of movement over quantity. Every instruction to each individual body part is carefully controlled and collectively contributes to the overall success of the whole movement. Attention to detail is crucial in achieving perfect control.
Precision: Similar to control but focusing on alignment and spatial awareness. There are precise instructions for correct placement and positioning of the body within each exercise to assist in proper alignment and good posture. Every exercise has definitive points where the body should be positioned at all times. With good training, precision can be increased resulting in improved posture and good overall movement. Control and precision eventually becomes ingrained, having the effect of good movement patterns in our daily lives as well.
Concentration: It is important to establish a connection between body and mind to gain optimal value from each exercise. By bringing our attention to each movement, we increase body awareness and conscious control. A good tip is to close the eyes when performing the exercises. With the eyes shut, the visual stimulus from around the room is taken away. The brain is then free to home in on the internal environment and becomes more receptive to different sensations within the body and awareness and feeling are enhanced.
Flow: Pilates exercises should be performed with grace and ease, which assists in flowing movements. A smooth, continuous rhythm with appropriate transitions makes for the harmonious flow of a Pilates workout. Movements are not held static; rather the repetitions aim to create continuous motion with an even flow. The intention is for the exercises to flow into each other thereby increasing stamina. A competent flowing class can look as elegant as a choreographed dance routine.
Breathing: Every movement in Pilates has a specific breath pattern. Together with the timing of the breath, it enhances effective muscle use. Generally speaking we tend to exhale on the exertion or effort exertion part of the movement and this also helps prevent the body from tensing. Effective breathing can help to lengthen the abdomen, broaden the upper back and helps train the correct muscle recruitment for everyday core strength.

Proper breathing assists in flowing movements, allowing the blood to be enriched with oxygen, which nourishes all the cells in our body whilst expelling stale air. More oxygen in the muscles helps them to relax and therefore reduces tension. It also assists in concentration and control whilst exercising.

Benefits of Pilates

Pilates exercises combine strengthening with relaxation; they lighten the load on your spine and joints by correcting muscular imbalances due to bad posture or misuse of muscles and alleviate tension.

1. Alignment

Proper alignment balances your skeleton so your muscles are held at their ideal length, without tension. If your body is constantly held out of good alignment, it places a great strain on your muscles, ligaments, and joints, which will reduce your body’s ability to react to the force of gravity, resulting in aches and pains and inhibited movement. Pilates gives you an opportunity to learn to correct your misalignments and allow your muscles to work as efficiently as they should.

2. Flexibility

To achieve a strong body, there must be a balance between strength and flexibility, and Pilates is the perfect exercise regime to achieve this. Flexibility is essential for your overall fitness and vitality. It ensures a greater range of movement in your joints, and will in turn mean your joints remain healthy and fare better against normal wear and tear as they age. Pilates makes most use of dynamic, rather than static stretching, which involves taking your body into and out of a stretch repeatedly, in a set movement. It warms up the muscles so that they respond more effectively. As you progress in your Pilates program, you should find your range of movement increasing and your flexibility improving.

3. Strength

Pilates is a wonderful body-conditioning program because you don’t need any equipment in order to strengthen your body. You can simply use your own body weight to create resistance for your muscles and to tone up. Over time, you will see your muscles gaining tone and looking sculpted, but you’ll also feel much stronger and more energized. Pilates strengthens the whole body, targeting each muscle group evenly with a mixture of dynamic and static strength training. You also work on the 3 planes of movement – sitting, lying, standing. So the muscles are worked from many different directions, producing a uniform and very deep strength and tone, minus the use of heavy weights.

4. Endurance

Pilates builds endurance within individual exercises and also within workouts. Focus on improving your concentration to build strength for both – endurance comes first from mental strength and therefore requires determination and persistence. You should practice Pilates sequences without breaks, though initially, you may need to take breaks to perform a linked sequence of exercises. Your muscles will begin to tire after several repetitions, but as you progress, work towards completing a sequence without pausing.

5. Shape and tone

Muscles usually respond quickly to regular exercise, and after a few weeks of Pilates you should notice visible muscle tone and see your body begin to evolve. Pilates uses your body weight for resistance for shaping your muscles, but it trains every part of your body evenly – front, back, and sides. For example, during an abdominal exercise, you engage your centre or belly, lengthen your limbs, lifting your buttocks, and connecting your shoulders. If you also combine exercise with proper diet to reduce body fat, you’ll notice your muscle tone become even more defined.

6. Stress Relief

Stress is one of the biggest negative factors of modern life, affecting your physical and mental wellbeing. Frequent exercise is one of the best remedies for stress and has many benefits. Pilates focuses on breathing – a deep, mindful pattern of breathing that instantly enhances feelings of calm and release in the body and mind. We also work constantly on posture: a poised and lifted body, free from tension and pain, creates a calm mind.