Pilates, pioneered by the late Joseph Pilates, is a mind-body exercise system designed to strengthen the weak and challenge the strong. Pilates (1880- 1967) was a German expatriate who first made his mark in England during WWI when he developed a series of exercises and innovative equipment to help prisoners of war regain strength and mobility. When Joseph Pilates moved to New York, the local professional dance community discovered that his conditioning techniques helped prevent injury and improve strength while maintaining long, even muscle tone. This sparked a vast following of the method of exercise.
Pilates exercises help both men and women develop optimal strength, flexibility, endurance and posture, without building bulk or stressing joints. The perfect complement to cardiovascular exercise, athletic training or rehabilitation, the exercises help you tone your body, feel revitalized, and move with ease.
The repertoire works on core stability. Your core consists of many different muscles that stabilize the spine, pelvis and shoulders and provides a solid foundation for movement of the arms and legs. The muscles of the core make it possible to stand upright, walk, run, sneeze etc. A strong core distributes the stresses of weight-bearing and protects your back by improving your posture.
Pilates movements are precise and controlled and the precision of the movement is more important than the number of repetitions. For example 10 well executed Ab Preps in Pilates will show better results than 100 sit ups with bad form.
Pilates teaches students body awareness, enabling them to identify the correct muscles to use for movement. This in turn trains the muscles of the body into giving the joints better support, thus leading to better posture.This is why Pilates is called a mind-body exercise method.
Pilates also reduces the chances of injury in your chosen sport or activity by ensuring that the joints of the body are well balanced prior to any movement taking place.
Of course, as your core becomes stronger the Pilates method has the added benefit of toning and firming the body.