Fitness Techniques

 Balanced Body Pilates

Balanced Body Pilates is a great and fun way to get in shape. I used to think that Pilates exercises were a waste of time. It seemed so gimmicky to me. I had always stayed fit, after all, and had done it without any of those silly exercise trends. I just played sports. I shot hoops, I jogged a little bit, and I played football on the weekends with my buddies. If I hadn’t been seriously injured, it would not have even occurred to me to try balanced body Pilates. Why would I?

But when I was injured in a car crash, my usual exercise routine crumbled. My whole body was stiff and sore, and I couldn’t seem to exercise with any endurance anymore. I tried balanced body Pilates on a whim. One of my friends had a similar problem several years ago. She was hit by a passing bus and knocked down pretty hard. She told me that doing fitness Pilates classes had changed her life. It is the only reason, she claims, why she can still walk at the age of 50. I figured that I had nothing to lose. I was unhappy with how my life was, and the balanced body Pilates classes might just help. If they did not, I would only be out a hundred dollars.

I was fortunate enough to live right by a Pilates studio. In the town where I live, there are not that many exercise places. It is a pretty meat and potatoes neighborhood, and so finding a balanced body Pilates class is pretty rare. I think I live next to the only one in the city. The first time I went there, I almost walked right out again. There were Pilates balance balls and all kinds of other silly looking equipment that seemed to have no place in an exercise class. All of the people in the balanced body Pilates class were housewives except for me. I felt like I didn’t fit in, and like the course definitely wasn’t for me.

I am so glad that I decided to stay. Almost as soon as the balanced body pilates started, I felt a little bit better. The whole thing was engineered to help the body develop the proper postures and the necessary strength and flexibility for healthy living. The balanced body Pilates helped me to make a quick and full recovery. Now that I feel better, I do not go as much, but I know that if I am ever injured again, it is balanced body Pilates for me!

Pilates Exercise
If you are looking for an exercise routine that will burn fat while helping you create a longer, leaner physique consider pilaties. The program is design to help increase your strength and flexibility as well as burning calories. The pilaties approach to exercise is one of the best ways to start on the road to good health.

Many personal trainers suggest using some sort of weight resistance when trying to burn fat. The weight helps your body to build muscle. That muscle actually burns calories even when you are at rest. Building a lean muscle mass is the key to turning your body into a fat-burning machine.

However, some of us who have tried adding weight to our workout routines find ourselves feeling stiff and tight. We lose flexibility and range of motion when we work out with weights too much.

Pilates Exercise is designed to stretch and lengthen the muscles of the body. You will swear that you have grown an inch in height after a few weeks of working out to pilaties DVD’s on a regular basis. I felt longer and leaner after spending a few dedicated weeks visiting my pilaties workout.

While strength training is still a great way to stay in shape and to build bone mass it does require some balance. Pilates Exercise helps to create a balance for you. The weight exercises tighten and shorten muscles while the pilaties lengthen them. The result is a lean, fat-burning physique that is also flexible and relaxed.

The only complaint I have about the program is the lack of logical advancement. Many DVD’s are designed for beginners who are not in the best of shape. Of course, this is the ideal place to start in any routine. However, the advanced pilaties DVD’s seem to jump to an almost professional level.

I am looking for a pilaties workout that challenges me without damaging me. Some of the advanced programs are nearly impossible to follow if you are an average human being. It is hard to advance in this system.

Adding ankle or wrist weights is a viable alternative that will help provide some challenge to the workout. The problem is that the added weights can easily throw you off balance. The idea behind pilaties is a natural flow of motion. Sometimes adding weight restricts your range of motion and you are doing little more than working out with weights.

All and all, the pilaties approach to fitness is wonderful. It is a safe, effective exercise program that suits nearly everyone. Finding one that provides reasonable challenges can be a challenge in itself.

Pilates Exercise Program
The Pilates exercise program is one of the best known and popular exercise programs in the United States today, enjoying a huge following of people in a range of ages. The Pilates method was developed in the 1920’s by a man named Joseph Pilates.

His exercise method was originally used to physically rehabilitate prisoners of war, with startling success. Further studies showed that his methods benefited anyone desirous of attaining a fit body. Athletes and dancers, more prone to injuries of the body, find these exercises enable them to stay fit without stressing injured knees or arthritic conditions.

Only a few short years ago, the Pilates exercise program was practiced by a select few of continuing generations of Pilates devotees. When ergonomics met science in the forum of exercise programs, there was an explosion in the popularity of the program. Post-pregnancy Moms, seniors, athletes, dancers, ordinary fitness seekers and physical therapy patients find the Pilates exercise program to be highly adaptable to their individual needs.

What distinguishes the Pilates exercise program is its emphasis on an integrated balance of “core strength”, flexibility, suppleness of muscle tissue, and a mental awareness of body movement. People participating in a Pilates exercise program typically gain a highly toned body, fluid in movement, yet strong, with a leaner appearance.

If you join a Pilates exercise program, you’ll be taught the six principles of Pilates’ methodology. These six principles are centering, control, flow, precision, concentration and breathing. Pilates exercise programs echo similar disciplines, such as yoga and tai-chi in slow controlled movements, yielding big results. Unlike the old gym class exercise programs requiring strenuous workouts and exhausting repetitions, the Pilates exercise program relies on quality of movement rather than repetition. Surprisingly, less expenditure of effort on the participants’ part often results in fantastic results in a much shorter time frame.

The centerpiece of any Pilates program is that of core strength. Core strength development focuses on the abdomen. Interestingly, there is a correlation between the Pilates concept and that of the chakras of yoga and meditative disciplines. If the core strength of your body is solid, the rest follows. Core strength, as defined by Pilates, enables your body to relieve tension, resulting in free, strong and graceful motions with little expenditure of effort.

Development of the signature core strength of a Pilates exercise program eventually results in a stabilization of your torso, considered to be key to free mobility without pain or effort, followed by mastery of the entire body, toned and fit.

The Pilates exercise program may be contrasted to weight lifting programs, where arms, legs and abdomens are “buffed up” while neglecting the remainder of body and spirit.

While running or swimming provide a whole body workout, they do not address the centered and emotional focus of a Pilates exercise program. If you’re looking to get fit, you owe it to yourself to look into Pilates programs.