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Pilates for Weight Loss and a Healthier Body
Will Pilates help me lose weight?
The short answer is yes, Pilates is supportive of weight loss. In many cases just beginning Pilates class, or a home routine, is enough to jump start weight loss. However, as time goes by you may find that your body becomes accustomed to your workout level. Then, you will need to increase the intensity of your workout enough to help you continue to burn extra calories.
Here are some ideas to help you amp up your workout:
Pilates is sometimes done slowly, especially at the beginner and intermediate levels. This gives a student a chance to establish inner-attention, good alignment, and familiarity with the exercises.
But if you want to burn calories and lose weight, you might want to create opportunities to do your Pilates with more zest. One of the best ways to do that is to get the Pilates principles of breath and flow working for you and pick up the pace.
If you take a Pilate’s class regularly, talk to your instructor and find out if it is possible to move the class along a little more quickly. Sometimes a class needs to take that step. On the other hand, it may be that some members of your class are not ready to increase the pace of their workouts and you will have to graduate yourself to a more advanced class.
If you workout at home, it is a good idea to have a routine or two that you know quite well. That way you can focus on the breath and flow of the workout and not have to pause to review the exercise instructions or sequence.
Fully Commit to Each Exercise
Even if you can't move through a routine rapidly, do make sure that you get the most out of each exercise. Stretch to your fullest length at every opportunity, go for the extra scoop of the abs, breathe deeply, be precise, and move with control and grace. This kind of fully engaged attitude is very much in keeping with what Joseph Pilates taught, and increases the exertion level of your workout tremendously.
Add Equipment
Adding equipment, or different equipment, to your workout will help build muscle and strength by giving your body new challenges. Remember, muscle burns a lot of fat. If you go to a studio to workout, you could move from the mat to the reformer. If you have been using the reformer, take a chance and sign up for a class that includes a new piece of equipment, like the wunda chair or ladder barrel. At home, smaller types of Pilate’s equipment such as magic circles, exercise balls and fitness bands can add the extra challenge. They also help keep your workouts interesting.
Use Less Resistance
Now here is a Pilate’s trick that is not used by many other fitness systems: If you are working out with Pilate’s resistance equipment, decrease the resistance level. This seems counter intuitive, but the instability that less resistance creates provides a significant challenge to the muscles as they attempt to maintain control and balance, especially the core muscles. This technique works very well on the reformer where you can use lighter springs, but you can apply the same principle to a lighter resistance magic circle or fitness band. You may be surprised at the level of intensity that instability can add to your workout, especially as you work to maintain precision and control during both the exertion and the release phase of an exercise, as we do in Pilates.
Workout More Frequently
Working out more often is an obvious choice for weight loss and it can work like a charm. After all, the more opportunity you take to increase your respiration, build strength, and tone your muscles, the more weight you can lose and the trimmer you will appear.
Summary:
Pilates has been known as a tried and tested way of strengthening and toning your core muscles as well as improving flexibility and balance of your body. Additionally, it is a great tool for achieving systematic weight loss. So, while you are on a controlled eating regimen, try Pilates as it works directly and most efficiently towards maintaining muscle mass. And this muscle mass, by burning the calories you eat, does not allow you to gain extra fat.
Thus, using Pilates alongside employing some restraint over your eating habits will find you in great shape, with absolutely no side effects and an overall feeling of rejuvenation.
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