Pilates does provide a lot of muscular endurance training. Pilates also provides plyometric training. But in terms of conditioning for cardiovascular health to the extent running, an aerobics class or any other traditional cardio workout would provide, this is not Pilates’ forte. This doesn’t mean your heart rate won’t be increased or that you won’t…
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No one form of exercise is more special than another. They all have their own unique characteristics that will appeal to different people. However, Pilates provides eccentric training of muscles which is a wonderful feature. Let’s learn more about what is special about Pilates. Pilates consists of a series of matwork exercises so can be…
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Perhaps you are great at one particular activity, running or spinning for example. It’s something you do routinely and excel at it. But if that’s all you do day after day you may be setting yourself up for injury or boredom. Cross training can help. The term cross training refers to a training routine that…
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We’ve looked at some of the more physical components of fitness and Pilates helps these areas in the past issues. Aside from the physical components of fitness, there are other many other ways Pilates fitnes into health and wellness. For examples social health, mental health, emotional health and spiritual health. Social Health Social health is…
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The secondary components of fitness consist of balance, coordination agility, reaction time, speed, power and mental capability. We’ll take a look at balance, coordination, agility and mental capability and how Pilates can help these components. Balance is the ability to maintain a specific body position in either a stationary or dynamic situation. The benefits of…
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In the next few issues I will look at various components of fitness and see how Pilates addresses these areas, which areas Pilates excels at and areas where other activities need to be added to compliment your Pilates training. In this issue we will look at the primary components of fitness. These are cardiorespiratory capacity,…
Read moreDo you ever wonder why you can’t just stick to exercising? Besides that it’s a chore to exercise, do you sometimes feel like running doesn’t suit you, or doing the Jane Fonda aerobics thing doesn’t do it for you. Maybe Zumba just doesn’t get you as excited as your neighbour claims it does. You see…
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The stress of driving to work can take a major toll on a person’s body, health and posture. Does your commute effect your health and body? Yes your commute effects your health and body! Commuting has direct physiological effects of raising blood pressure and releasing stress hormones into the body. Long commutes, more than 18…
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Do you sit at a desk most of the day for prolonged hours? While sitting jobs require less muscular effort, that doesn’t mean no risk of injury. For example clerks, assembly-line employees, data entry operators who work in a sitting position may suffer back pain, muscle tenderness and aches. There are reports of varicose veins,…
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So many of us have jobs that keep us at a desk or behind a computer. This encourages rounded shoulders, rounded back, flexed hips for extended periods, elongated lower back muscles, contracted and shortened abdominal muscles, forwarded head position and so many other unnatural postural positions for our body. Keeping our bodies in these unnatural,…
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