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Warm Up Exercises for Any Pilates Routine
It is always a good idea to perform a brief Pilate’s warm-up exercise session before starting any class.
The reason why Pilate’s warm-up exercise is beneficial is because it will really help to loosen up your muscles so you will be able to utilize a greater range of motion during the actual class. Furthermore, because your muscles will not be cold and stiff you will reduce the chances of being injured after performing a Pilate’s warm-up exercise.
Common Pilate’s warm-up exercises:
These are few Pilate Exercises and see the benefits in using them for an exercise warm up.
- Hundreds – The “Hundreds” as the name implies uses a sequence of pulse breathing over 10 sets of 10 breaths. The reason is to not only warm up the body and core but to strengthen the respiratory muscles and work the arms at the shoulder.
The breathing work can prepare you for sports that require much focus like golf and tennis where it’s important to breath at the right part of the swing for optimum recoil.
- Single Leg Stretch – The single leg stretch is a great exercise warm up for the core while stretching the muscles in the hamstrings and back. This is a great way for people who have back pain during or after sports or exercising to warm up those areas.
Generally sports such as golf, cycling, running, basketball, tennis, and others are hard on the back. This can be due, in part to tight hamstrings in the back of the thigh. So warming up this area prior to sport can have a significant impact on how you feel after your activity is over.
- Double Leg Stretch – This exercise is great for not only warming up the core of the body but to work the shoulders and hips. As you extend the arms and legs away from the core it has to stabilize and then circling the arms and pulling the legs back in works the muscles of the shoulder and hip.
Good for sports that need more coordination-type movements, as well as for the arms and legs. Sports like golf, tennis, and ball games can benefit from this exercise warm up.
- Roll Up – The roll up is another good warm up as it articulates or opens up the vertebra in the spine. This happens through the stretching action in the back and the strengthening in the deeper core abdominal muscles.
- Rolling - Rolling like a ball can be used as a warm up or cool down exercise through its massaging action for the back and hips.
It looks like fun and easy to do but when you really use the core muscles in trying to control your roll so you can balance when you roll up it’s not as easy as it looks. Rolling can be beneficial for sports that require good balance like mountain biking, hiking, and tennis.
- Swimming – This exercise lying prone is a great warm up exercise for the back and core at the same time. You have to work hard to stabilize the core while simultaneously working the arms and legs.
Why a Pilate warm up exercise?
- Warming up unlocks your taut muscles
- It increases the blood flow through the tissues
- It makes the muscles suppler.
- Increased circulation means more oxygen and nutrients to muscles
- It prepares your muscles for exercise
- It prepares your heart for the increased activity
- It leads to a gradual increase in pulse rate and breathing
- Prevents injury during exercise
Summary:
A Pilate Warm-up exercise gets your body ready for more strenuous activities. Warm up exercises alone are beneficial for relieving stress, so even on the days where you are not up to a more strenuous routine, you can just do your warm-ups.
Doing warm-ups regularly will amend your blood circulation and assist your body use best oxygen. It improves your pulse rate, improves your joint flexibility, put differently it strengthens your bones avoiding arthritis. Warm-ups increase your energy state and assist you to do a lot of workouts.
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