Pilates Workout Targets Your Core Strength

With the Christmas holidays under way, the festive celebrations are going non-stop as well. Together with the season’s excitement is the continuous flow of food, alcohol and sweets treats into our bodies, very simply, this explains why many of us gain extra weight during Christmas. What’s great though is that there’s a way we can avoid piling up these holiday toxins and pounds. You can choose to live a healthy lifestyle inside out while still enjoying the holidays, through a Pilates workout.

Many international celebrities love Pilates because it works on your core strength without giving you a big, bulky muscular appearance. The secret to Pippa Middleton’s perfect figure – lean, long body and a sought-after bottom – is a weekly Pilates session. Kate Winslet doesn’t have much time to go to the gym but she does at least a 20-minute Pilates workout every day. David Beckham was introduced to Pilates while he was with AC Milan in 2009, and he has been in his best shape ever since he started doing a one-hour daily routine.

If you want to look good, feel great and live healthy, then join a Pilates class. At Cynthia Lochard’s
Pilates Method Studio, you’ll be trained under a highly skilled and experienced team of Pilates instructors that will tailor a program to suit your individual needs to help bring better strength, balance, flexibility, control and vitality back into your life.

Pilates: A Non-Aerobic Exercise for Holistic Fitness

Pilates doesn’t work your muscles into exhaustion that’s why there’s no straining or sweating involved.
What’s needed is intense concentration and proper breathing while doing each movement. Through a series of slow, controlled movements, it improves your “core” muscles. It lengthens and stretches all major muscle groups of your body in a balanced manner, through rhythm and breathing patterns.

The foundation of Pilates exercise is the core strength because when core muscles are strong and functioning properly, they work well with the other muscles and movements of the body. This develops stability throughout your entire torso, improving posture and overcoming back pain.

The Pilates Method is currently divided into two styles:

1. Classical or Authentic Pilates (which is what we practice in our studio)

• The exercises are in order and don’t vary from lesson to lesson.
• The instructors stay close to Joseph Pilate’s original work and use equipment that’s built to his specifications.
• The instructors are trained on Joseph Pilates’ complete system of exercises through his
       protégés.

2. Contemporary or Modern Pilates

• The method is broken down into several parts.
• The order of the exercises varies from lesson to lesson.
• Modifications are made to the original exercises.

Benefits of Pilates

More individuals have preferred doing Pilates workout because of its positive and holistic results. Here are some of the reasons it’s becoming so popular all over the world:

• Develops core strength
• Improves muscle strength, balance and tone
• Increases flexibility
• Improves posture
• Rehabilitates or prevents muscle-related injuries
• Increases lung capacity and circulation
• Improves concentration
• Increases body-mind awareness
• Improves stress management and relaxation
• Provides a whole-body fitness training, which includes breathing and concentration
• Increases energy
• Promotes weight loss and a perfectly toned appearance

The Six Principles of Pilates

The health and life benefits stated above are achievable because Pilates focuses on six basic principles
that aim for a holistic mind-body awareness, balance and improvement. Here are the core foundations based on Joseph Pilates’ philosophy of the Art of Contrology:
1. Centering

• Focuses on the body’s centre – between the lower ribs and pubic bone

2. Concentration

• Brings full attention to each movement

3. Control

• Maintains complete muscular control in every movement

4. Precision

• Sustains awareness throughout each movement to keep proper placement and alignment of body parts

5. Breath

• Uses full, well-coordinated breathing while doing the exercises

6. Flow

• Keeps a fluid, graceful and even manner in each movement

If you want to achieve a stronger, longer, leaner, more flexible, and more balanced body – without
straining your muscles, then join a Pilates class for a holistic development. It’s an individualised exercise that specialises on your specific needs. And once you get used to it, you’ll realise how easily it slips into your everyday activities.

Contact us today to learn more about our Pilates classes.