Click below to find out more about benefits of Pilates...
Click on the link below to find out the role the 8 Principles play in the Pilates’ technique.
The original exercises demand a high level of fitness that few people nowadays possess...
Pilates can even be beneficial during pregnancy, If this applies to you, click below to find out more...
What is Pilates' Exercise?
Joseph Pilates is the originator of Pilates’ exercise. His gymnastics and martial arts background and his analytical approach to body mechanics, posture and breathing enabled him to produce an exercise system that develops good posture and natural, flowing movement.
Most people don’t notice changes in their posture. Posture deteriorates gradually and for a number of reasons. Poor posture affects our mobility as the body learns to adapt and make compensations elsewhere. This causes joints to distort as muscles tighten resulting in joint pain, inflammation and injury. Pelvic misalignment impacts the spine causing it to become stiff resulting in discomfort and pain in other areas of the body, often affecting the shoulders and neck.
Having perceived that the spine lends itself quite readily to correction, Joseph Pilates designed exercises that would take the spine through all its natural movements: rolling and unrolling, bending sideways, rotation and extension. He also performed exercises that would strengthen the core muscles that aid spine stability. He taught an exercise until his students had mastered it. This meant performing an exercise over and over again until the student performed it faultlessly with complete control and subconsciously. We now know that repeating movement over and over again enables the brain to remember new movement patterns which become locked into the memory bank of each muscle. Once this happens, good movement is produced automatically.
The Benefits of Pilates’ Exercise
Pilates benefits everyone from those who require rehabilitation to those who want to get seriously fit. It has been researched and comes highly recommended by both medical and fitness professionals. It improves everyday fitness and provides optimum fitness for those participating in sport. The benefits include:
- Better posture.
- Improved mobility, flexibility and strength.
- Relief of stiffness and tension.
- Improved core strength resulting in flatter abdominal muscles, a trimmer waist,
a stronger back and healthier spine. - Improved body shape and muscle tone by creating longer, leaner muscles.
- Increased bone density.
- Improved mind and body awareness.
- Improved co-ordination, control and balance.
- Relaxation.
- Enhanced sporting performance.
Click on each of the links to find out more about specific benefits.
How Does Pilates Work?
Pilates challenges the mind and the body. It requires you to think about how a movement should be performed rather than moving thoughtlessly. Whilst Pilates is famed for developing core strength, it also focuses on working each joint through its full range of movement which lengthens muscles that may be tight and improves joint mobility and flexibility. This, in turn, will strengthen the smaller deeper muscle groups as well as the larger ones. Other forms of exercise that focus more on strengthening the larger muscle groups tend to restrict mobility and flexibility.
Things To Consider Before Starting Pilates
Most people liken learning Pilates to learning to drive as it demands the same level of commitment. Just as there is with learning to drive, there are skills to learn and perfect and those who attend regularly and frequently will generally master them quicker. Those who are physically fitter do not necessarily find the exercises easy. In fact, it can be quite the opposite especially if their training has focused on strengthening larger muscle groups and neglected the core muscles. Anyone unfamiliar with the Pilates’ technique will need to start at the beginning, irrespective of their fitness level. Just like when you first learnt to drive, initially you may feel awkward and the exercises may be troublesome to perform especially if posture or injury issues are present. Frustration may set in as you try to learn new skills that do not come naturally. Those who persevere will improve within a matter of just a few weeks and soon feel the benefits as they master the exercises. For some, Pilates becomes a lifestyle.
Low Back Pain
In 1999 Australian (Queensland) physiotherapists performed clinical studies into low back pain. The clinical studies identified that low back pain is the result of weak and poorly functioning deep abdominal and back muscles. Rest helped to diminish back pain but it was only a short term solution. The majority of those who strengthened the appropriate muscles experienced a significant and long term reduction in low back pain. The research also identified that fitter people are not immune to low back pain because their training tends to neglect the deeper muscles and focuses too much on strengthening the larger muscle groups. With the use of ultra-sound equipment the research physiotherapists were able to identify the actual muscles responsible for spine stability and the specific way to strengthen them. They made significant discoveries that affected the Pilates industry.
To strengthen the deep abdominal and back muscles there had to be a specific spine alignment in place and only a mild activation of the abdominal muscles sustained by a specific breathing technique (lateral thoracic breathing).
This led to The Pilates Institute re-evaluating the original 34 Pilates’ mat work exercises in order to apply the research findings. They could only adapt some of the exercises which led to 3 levels being introduced: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. The Beginner Level provided a way for those with low back issues to strengthen the appropriate muscles and participate in Pilates’ exercise safely, now highly recommended by chiropractors and health practitioners. The other levels enabled those without low back pain to perform the original Pilates’ exercises. The latest innovation is Mixed Level. The same exercise is performed by everyone in a class at an appropriate level of intensity for their individual needs. This is a more inclusive form of Pilates that is safe and effective, excluding no-one.