I had never heard of Pilates until I was up late one night several years ago unable to sleep and began watching infomercials. On came the famous Daisy Fuentes endorsed Winsor Pilates. It looked easy enough and was much different from the exercise routines I was following at the time that were rendering little results, so I hopped online and ordered the complete Winsor Pilates set of DVD’s.
Much to my surprise, Pilates was not as easy as it seemed on the infomercial at 2am, in fact it was pretty challenging. However the thing I noticed most was that it worked my entire body and left me energized afterwards (and a little sore). After two weeks I noticed that each move was easier to do and soon enough I dropped 10 pounds and the tone to my muscles had a leaner appearance.
Some of the great benefits of Pilates are:
* Gives more support to your spine and creates more mobility.
* It puts no stress on your joints, doesn’t wear down the ligaments and cartilage around your joints and never overstresses your muscles.
* You only need to do Pilates 3x a week consistently to see results.
* Promotes better balance and better coordination.
* Improves your mental outlook and creates a feeling of calmness, balance and rejuvenation.
* Builds strength without bulking up.
What’s really wonderful about Pilates is that it is a good low impact workout, making it a versatile fitness program for people of all ages. Those suffering from osteoarthritis can reap the benefits from using Pilates as their exercise program because the lengthening and flexibility that result help to soothe soreness, but also improves posture. Even women looking to regain muscle tone after pregnancy will see results much sooner doing Pilates than going to the gym and doing aerobics.
With such structured movements and the focus on your core and proper breathing, Pilates brings about an ease in tension of the mind. Pilates can help you to relax and learn how to lower your stress level. You’ll find that after doing Pilates you will feel refreshed and relaxed.
Have you ever tried Pilates? I’d love to hear how you felt it compared to a regular fitness routine.
