Pilates can help with your general fitness, specific health conditions and your overall well-being including:
Relief from back pain
Improved alignment and posture
Toned abdomen and body
Pelvic and shoulder stability
Improved mobility in all joints and the spine
Effective injury prevention and post-rehabilitation
Improved balance
Greater strength and co-ordination
Can help alleviate aches, stress and tension
More efficient digestion
Better circulation and respiratory system
Maintains and can increase bone density
Enhanced immune system
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HOW PILATES CAN HELP WITH WEIGHT LOSS
Pilates and body conditioning is beneficial to do alongside all forms of exercise, to help achieve balance in the whole body and avoid over-using one muscle group. It can contribute to weight loss and burning calories if done regularly and intensively. An hour's Pilates class (depending on intensity) can burn around 300-400 calories. The main benefits in doing a physical conditioning exercise such as Pilates to help with weight loss are:
Pilates strengthens all of the body's muscles, helping to improve muscular performance whilst doing aerobic exercise. Pilates builds 'internal strength' working from the inside-out giving more control and ease of movement during all exercise.
Pilates creates longer, leaner muscles and tones the whole body. Creating lean muscle mass is one of the best ways to increase your calorie-burning and weight loss potential.
Pilates improves the blood flow thus allowing more efficient circulation of oxygen to muscles and easier removal of toxins during aerobic exercise, allowing your muscles to last for longer.
Pilates promotes deep and efficient breathing techniques which are essential for calorie burning and tissue regeneration.
Pilates is excellent for building strength, flexibility and balance in the body and it is most effective with weight loss when combined with cardiovascular exercise.
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THE CORE MUSCLES
Your core muscles are formed of a small group of muscles; an abdominal muscle called Transversus Abdominis, the pelvic floor and multifidus (back muscle). These three muscles make up what is known as your deep 'core'.
The Transversus Abdominis wraps horizontally around the sides of the torso between the lower ribs and pelvis. Tightening this muscle gives a feeling of a 'girdle of strength' around the torso, stabilising the lumber spine and pelvis. The pelvic floor is a strong muscular hammock from the coccyx to pubic bone, formed of both superficial and deep muscles. The pelvic floor works from underneath the pelvis to support the torso, pelvis and internal organs of the body. Multifidus is a deep back muscle that runs between the spinous processes of the vertebrae.
It is important to strengthen your deep core muscles because they are vital for supporting and stabilising your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen during exercise and movement. This will help to improve overall performance during exercise, ease aches and pains in the body and help to avoid injury.