Get to know Pilates

Pilates and Back Pain
One of the reasons that Pilate is popular is because Pilates works well with the various pain that we may have in the body.

Back pain is one of the most complaints that doctors report hearing from their patients. It now appears that the popular fitness trend pilates can help ease this common ailment. Recent research shows that the tension and soreness associated with back pain can be eased significantly through the practice of pilates. Pilates, research shows, can help with the neutral alignment of the spin and can help strengthen the muscles that support proper posture. This in turn can help ameliorate much of the pain associated with back problems. Fundamentally, the underlying principles of pilates have been found to be beneficial for a number of common back problems.

Who can benefit the most from pilates? It appears that those patients who suffer from degeneration of the joints and intervertebral discs are most likely to find significant improvement from some kind of regular pilates practice. Pilates can also improve overall back pain, including improved postural symmetry, circulation, and joint and muscle strength.

When your posture is improved, your back muscles receive less tension, resulting in less wear and tear on the intervertebral joints and discs. Your muscles become stronger and suppler, your movements become more fluid, and your body becomes more efficient in dealing with stress and tension. Pilates can teach you greater awareness of how your body moves and can help you change any bad habits that may be hurting your back.

As with any form of physical exercise, before you decide to pursue pilates for your back pain, make sure to consult with a medical professional. Depending on your specific health and circumstances, a pilates program may or may not be recommended for you. If you and your doctor decide that pilates is right for you, make sure that you find an experienced and professional pilates instructor. Your pilates instructor should be certified in pilates instruction.

If possible, try to find a pilates instructor with experience in working with back pain patients. Make sure the instructor understands your specific back problems before even beginning a program. Remember, although pilates can be specially tailored for just about anyone, it is important that you receive one on one instruction, especially if you are a beginner. To the untrained eye, pilates appears gentle and easy to do. But if done incorrectly, certain pilates movements can exacerbate your back pain and actually cause serious injury.

Some back patients use pilates in conjunction with professional physical therapy treatment. Patients report increased flexibility, decreased pain, improved circulation, and improved posture from a program that combines pilates and conventional physical therapy. Make certain that your therapist is aware that you are also taking part in a pilates program, and vice versa.

This can help ensure that you do not place too much stress on your body by overexerting yourself. Overexertion can lead to even more problems, even though you may not feel the effects immediately. In some cases, your physical therapist may outline certain movements and principles that are important for your particular case. Speak with your pilates instructor about your physical therapists instructions, if there are any.

Pilates for pregnancy
With hundreds of movements incorporated into the exercise program, Pilate has received much critical acclaim in the pop culture world of today. Many people look to pilates in order to increase their flexibility and their muscle tone, but few realize the benefits that one can merit when it comes to using pilates in order to help new moms get their bodies back into shape.

Since Pilates recent rise in pop culture, more and more people have been subscribing to the program, and it’s benefits for certain groups have shown to be more effective than Joseph could have imagined. To that end, there are actually some pilates studios that are opened today that are designed exclusively for helping women who have just had children to get their former body back.

While pilates isn’t an exercise program that focuses on fat-burning and weight loss, one of the things that it does stress is the strengthening of the muscle areas that Joseph Pilates referred to as the core, or the ‘powerhouse’. These muscles consist of the muscles that are in and around the back and abdomen. Consequently, this is the area that most pregnant women experience the most changes in post-pregnancy. Pilates programs for new mothers focus on the core exercises of the pilates program, working to strengthen the muscles of the pelvis, back and abdomen.

Some of the studios even offer places for the newborns to stay while the mother is working out. For those who don’t have a post-natal pilates class available in their local area, there are DVDs and instructional videos online that you can purchase in order to get the benefits of a pilates workout in the courtesy of your own home.

New moms needn’t worry about exerting themselves extensively in the pilates program; it focuses on low-intensity workouts that can benefit the body in a less drastic way than the methods offered via a conventional workout. The benefits offered by the program aren’t limited to the physical body alone, either: many that indulge in the program find that they are faced with lower stress levels and a greater sense of peace after performing the workout.

Also, while many workouts cause you to feel exhausted after participating in them, pilates may actually give rise to more energy! For these reasons, it’s a great program for women who have just delivered a child to get their bodies back in shape.

While it is not a program that is known for its weight loss potential, when coupled with a high-intensity exercise program such as a swimming regimen, it can be great for your body. If you’ve just had a child and are looking to get your body back into shape, pilates may help you by providing a gentle increase in exercise and physical activity that can really benefit you.

Pilates and Weight Loss
Many people who are attracted to the Pilates Method are interested in this form of body conditioning exercise in order to achieve a slim and toned body. Although aerobics once ruled the world of weight loss exercises, the importance of strength training in successful weight loss has slowly come into focus. Pilates has become popular because it promises a strong and healthy body without the bulk of conventional strength conditioning.

Instead, strength comes in the form of long and lean muscles. Part of the attraction of pilates has to do with the fact that one of its primary aims is to strengthen and condition the whole body. While other forms of exercise and strength condition tend to work only certain sets of muscles, pilates aims to strengthen the whole body. With pilates, even the muscles in your feet become stronger and tighter!

Why is strength training so importance in weight loss? Most people who try to lose weight make the mistake of focusing primarily on their caloric intake and calorie burning exercises. Although this makes sense, most people become frustrated when their nearly heroic efforts fail to bear the desired results.

The trick, many health and fitness experts agree, lies in strength training. While it's true that it's important to have a caloric deficient in order to lose weight, the importance of your lean body mass is often overlooked. Your lean body mass is the thin layer of muscle mass that is continually burning calories. Your lean body mass lies just under your body fat, and 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it is constantly working, burning away calories.

Most people who strive to lose weight focus on losing their body fat. It's actually far more efficient to build up your lean body mass. You may have heard before that simply starving yourself does not help you achieve permanent weight loss because you tend to lose muscle. This is true: when you starve yourself, you lose that important lean body mass, when it should be acting as your ally in the battle against the bulge.

So what can you do to keep your lean body mass and get rid of that undesirable body fat? Pilates is one way to go. Because pilates is essentially a strength-training program, it can help you lose weight by helping you keep your lean body mass, and even increase it. When your lean body mass is healthy, your metabolism increases, allowing you to burn more fat on a continual basis. The key is to choose a pilates program that you can do on a regular basis and which continually challenges you.

If your pilates program seems rather easy, you may not be training hard enough to ensure continual weight loss. In order to maximize your efforts, use pilates in conjunction with an appropriate aerobics program. This will ensure that you retain your lean body mass, increase your metabolism, and add a good cardiovascular element to your exercise regime. Pilates is an important part of your strength training, weight loss program, but augmenting with a component of aerobics can make your program doubly effective.

Get in shape with quick and easy Pilates in the comfort of your home

Pilates: A Beginner’s Guide
Pilates is a gentle, low stress activity, extremely popular among physical therapists. When practiced on a daily basis, you’ll see how easy it is to progress into the next skill level. With long-term practice, Pilates has been shown to prevent muscle injury and back pain. ‘Pilates: A Beginner’s Guide’ outlines gentle warm-up and stretching exercises, plus basic routines to help you achieve optimal strength. Check out this ebook now!