If you're looking for a strengthening, toning workout that also builds flexibility without punishing the body, then the Pilates Method may be for you. Trainer Joseph Pilates designed these exercises as physical therapy for injured dancers in the 1920s.
Pilates practitioners can expect total body conditioning, improved posture, lean, taut, elongated muscles, injury prevention, stress reduction and improved muscular balance for their efforts. Madonna, Ali McGraw and Sharon Stone are just a few people who have sculpted their bodies with Pilates workouts.
More than 300 exercises can be performed on the specially designed Pilates apparatus or floor mats.
"While the exercises strengthen and sculpt all areas of the body," Pilates instructor and certified personal trainer Tracey Mallett said, "Pilates work revolves around stabilization of the torso, meaning that the abdominal and back muscles play a large role in the exercises."
Translation: Pilates can help you stretch and tone all over and define your stomach muscles while strengthening your back. What's more, "because Pilates is a gentle exercise regimen, people of all ages and fitness levels can do it," said Sandra Linke, a certified personal trainer who teaches Pilates at the Claremont Resort and Spa in Berkeley, Calif.
At ATP Specific Training in South Pasadena, Calif., Mallett teaches everyone from "mothers of all ages who want to get their pelvic floor muscles back in shape to people with chronic lower back problems to those recovering from various injuries and surgeries." She says, "Pilates is such an effective injury healer that it is often prescribed by orthopedic doctors and covered by many insurance companies."
"The first session or two is spent learning how to breathe while doing the exercises," Linke explains. "Your movement follows your breath, and by practicing breathing, you improve your awareness and depth of your breathing."
Pilates also promotes an awareness of how the body moves through space. "This helps you move more efficiently and carefully," says Linke.
To find a certified Pilates instructor near you, consult The Pilates Studio. Prices vary depending on whether you take an individual lesson or group class.
