Keep Active this Winter with Pilates!
When the cold winter months bear down on those in the Northern hemisphere, many begin to stray away from their normal workout routines. Those who would normally run, walk or bike outside stop because of the cold weather rather than layer up and risk over-heating.
Enter the world of indoor classes! Pilates, in particular, is one that has become a huge sensation in the fitness world, and it’s one that we think is a premier choice for women of all ages.
Flexibility
The movements and actions used in pilates help to elongate and strengthen all your muscle groups — in short, they improve flexibility! The benefits of flexibility are numerous, but some of the greatest have to do with giving you a general sense of health and well-being, as a lean and well-stretched body is not one that feels stressed, achy or tense.
Core Strength
Your “core” refers to the middle section of your body — your abdominal muscles and stretching around to your lower back. Your core muscle strength is responsible for your posture, for helping you bend over easily, for helping you stand up after sitting, and for helping strengthen your spine. When you’ve got “good” core strength, much of the rest of your body benefits as well, from nearby regions such as your abdominals and thighs, all the way out to your calves and biceps.
Posture
Posture may seem like something your mother likes to harp on about — “Don’t slouch your shoulders! Suck in your stomach! Hold your chin high!” Posture is something that has far greater importance than just good looks, though! When we have good posture, our skeletal system is properly aligned, meaning that by extension, our tendons and muscles are in proper alignment, too. And just like in more complex matters like architecture and engineering, things that are in proper order are less likely to fail. A body that has bad posture is prone to many kinds of injuries, so let pilates be the way you gain that good posture back!
Back Pain Treatment
So far, we’ve only discussed ways that pilates serves to be preventative in health matters — but did you know that it can also be an active method of treating back pain? Through pilates, our whole body gets used, with every muscle group getting exercised and toned. When this happens, equal strength is occurring across our body, helping to develop that core strength as well as muscular balance. Back pain, when not linked to a skeletal issue, is largely caused by muscular imbalance. Your entire musculature finds balance and health through pilates, bringing about great wellness — especially for those with chronic back pain.
Do you already practice pilates? Will you try it this Winter? Let us know in the comments!