We all know the importance of having a strong and flexible body. But we also know that it does not come to you naturally and by doing nothing, you will be needing to work for it. And to achieve that you will be needing a great deal of discipline. Fortunately there is a physical fitness system that is now widely used in the fitness community that you can use. And such physical fitness system is called Pilates. What is a Pilates and where did it originate? During the early 20th century, a man named Joseph Pilates proposed a rehabilitation program that aims to improve to aid the army during the World War I. Joseph Pilates stated that a person's physical and mental health is somehow interconnected. And this special physical fitness system is named after Joseph Pilates himself.
The basics of the Pilates system is based upon a number of principles. And the core principles are as follows: concentration, breathing, precision, flow, control and centering. Pilates exercises aims to strengthen the muscles that are located in the back, hip, buttocks, abdomen. These are called the core muscles as referred to in the Pilates system, muscles that are in located in the center of the body. When it was invented originally, exercising using the Pilates system would require padded mats and proper training. But as the system evolved, and so is the equipments and apparatus that are utilized. Now when exercising using the Pilates system you can expect to use equipments like the cadillac table, Wundu chair, spine corrector, arm chair, reformer, ladder barrel and many more. Aside from the mentioned equipments there are also exercise props like exercise balls, foam rollers, magic circle, resistance bands and others more. What you will notice about the Pilates system is that it high focuses on using equipments.
As it is stated before, Pilates aims to provide benefits for both the physical and mental well-being of an individual and that is through focusing on the core muscles. Pilates exercise aims to strengthen the center of the body. By going through the Pilates exercise, you are enabling your body to be long and slender while still being strong with healthy and toned muscle. While regular exercise only focuses on building muscles that are not resistant to injuries, the Pilates system on the other hand, focuses on improving elasticity of the muscles and the joint's mobility. Essentially, Pilates exercise makes our body less prone to injuries.
Pilates also promotes the importance of proper breathing technique while exercising. Proper breathing benefits both the body and the mind, which perfectly coincides with the principles of Pilates. Also proper breathing can help improve with your blood circulation because each and every of your body cells will be getting the right amount of oxygen so it can function normally.
Pilates exercise is especially beneficial for the elderly because they are mostly the one who are suffering from diseases such as arthritis and rheumatism. As you can see Pilates offers great health benefits that normal exercise simply can't provide.
