Pilates

I thought of introducing something new and challenging to my regular workout regimen in my fitness club,so thought of incorporating Pilates in my fitness programme. The day I was introducing it I thought of asking my clients about what they think of Pilates  I asked them...some said its floor exercises,some said its yoga,some said its stretching exercises and some said its for women only etc ...and their responses varied.Then I found that they still need to feel Pilates to know what exactly it is.

Let me tell you,yoga is more about how it makes you feel while Pilates is about how you look -- how you carry yourself and move.Pilates is partly inspired by yoga, but is different in one key respect – yoga is made up of a series of static postures, while Pilates is based on putting yourself into unstable postures and challenging your body by moving the limbs.

Pilates is a body conditioning routine that may help build flexibility, muscle strength and endurance in the legs, abdominal, arms, hips, and back.It puts emphasis on spinal and pelvic alignment, breathing, and developing a strong core or center, and improving coordination and balance.


In simple terms, Pilates is a form of exercise that targets the core of the body, ie the abdomen, back and hips while using the entire body.

The exercises are done lying down on the mat, and involve a series of controlled movements of the arm and leg that strengthens the abs, hips and back.

Pilates can challenge you whether you’re a beginner or an advanced practitioner. Through simple modifications, exercises can be made increasing difficult so that even the most advanced students can continue to be challenged.

Pilates builds an evenly toned body and helps prevent injuries as all muscles in the body are strengthened, even those at the tips for your toes. In conventional workouts, only certain muscle groups are engaged so weak muscles tend to get weaker and strong muscles tend to get stronger. In Pilates, weaker muscles and targeted as much as the stronger ones, intimately creating a balance between the two which decreases injuries.

Pilates exercises stretch and strengthen and are unique in their ability to encourage coordination between the muscles that stabilize the body.Pilates can include improved posture and increased flexibility.
Pilates can be an aerobic and non-aerobic form of exercise. It requires concentration and focus, because the body is moved through precise ranges of motion.

Benefits of Pilates

Some of the benefits of Pilates include:

1.Improved flexibility.
2.Increased muscle strength, particularly of the abdominal muscles, lower back, hips and buttocks (the ‘core muscles’ of the body).
3.Balanced muscular strength on both sides of the body.
4.Enhanced muscular control of the back and limbs.
5.Improved stabilization of the spine.
6.Greater awareness of posture.
7.Improved physical coordination and balance.
8.Relaxation of the shoulders, neck and upper back.
9.Safe rehabilitation of joint and spinal injuries.
10.Helps prevent musculoskeletal injuries.

Things to remember

*Pilates (or the Pilates method) is a series of mat and equipment based exercises that improve flexibility, strength, balance and body awareness.
*You can perform exercises using your own body weight, or with the aid of various pieces of equipment.
*If you think Pilates is just stretching or just for women, you should try one of Pilates classes and see what you think! Men who've taken Pilates are amazed at what a total workout it really is.

There are many celebrities who do Pilates worldover. Jennifer Aniston, Cindy Crawford, Hugh Grant, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman, Rod Stewart,Deepika Padukone,Miley Cyrus and Kristi Yamaguchi have something in common. They've all hopped on the Pilates trend for physical toning and spiritual relaxation!And the list of celebrities is endless those who do Pilates.

Stay Fit :)