Pilates is Still a Popular Workout

While countless fitness fads have come and gone within a few short years, Pilates has remained popular for a long time. It seems like numerous professional athletes and celebrities endorse a new type of workout routine every other week. You may see advertisements for a hundred different exercise programs just by flipping through the channels on your television. In many cases, the fitness programs you see advertised today are replaced by new ones within a month. Very few types of exercise remain popular for longer than a year or two. Yet somehow, in this quickly changing environment, Pilates is still a favorite among many fitness enthusiasts.

One reason for its continued popularity is that the exercises can be performed by a variety of people. You do not need to be a professional athlete or dancer to do the exercises properly. Even elderly people can accomplish the movements involved, which can be modified for individuals at any experience level. Classes are offered for beginner and advanced levels in community centers, rehabilitation facilities, and fitness clubs everywhere. Pilates focuses on strengthening your core and conditioning the mind and body as a whole.

Creator Joseph Pilates designed the exercises around his belief that mental health and physical health greatly affect one another. He developed this body conditioning routine in the 1920s, using special apparatuses to build flexibility, strength, endurance, and coordination. Modern versions of these exercises utilize resistance bands, weighted balls, foam rollers, and other types of equipment. With this type of conditioning, strengthening your core promotes whole-body wellness. This is another reason for its continued popularity. Other types of workout routines tend to focus too much on building strength in one part of the body, while other parts are neglected.

Women especially seem to enjoy this routine because it helps them develop muscle tone without adding bulk. Through the use of resistance training, you strengthen your muscles and gain tone and definition. Women and men appreciate the benefits of core strengthening, such as good posture and better flexibility. Another advantage that men and women enjoy is increased awareness.

The interaction between mind and body that this type of exercise requires will help you become more aware and in control of your movements and breathing. There are six principles: concentration, control, center, flow, precision, and breathing. You have to concentrate on your entire body during each exercise to develop muscle control. Gaining control of your body starts at the center or core, which is the group of muscles in the center of the body. It includes your abdomen, upper and lower back, hips, buttocks, and inner thighs. The flow principle refers to the smooth transition of movements of the extremities. Energy exerted from your core will control the movement of your arms and legs. Each exercise requires a precise movement that develops over time to become almost instinctive. You learn to control your breathing by following breathing instructions that accompany each exercise.

While other types of workouts continue to fade in and out, Pilates is likely to continue being taught all over the world. Advocates of this type of exercise believe that it has many benefits to your overall physical and mental health. Even if you do not exercise regularly, you can easily begin this type of routine. You may only start off wanting to lose weight, but you will actually develop strength and body control as well.