Pilates, the Art of Contrology

March 10th, 2010

Shannon Brown asked:


Pilates is an exercise technique, which encourages the mind to control the muscles by strengthening the powerhouse. In Pilates, the powerhouse resides in the middle of the body such as the abdomen, lower back and buttocks.

You will need to support and strengthen the powerhouse to enable the rest of the body to move freely.

Pilates is an exercise that you will perform while sitting or lying down. Thus, it is best for rehabilitation purposes especially for patients with injuries and those that are bedridden.

Initially, Joseph Pilates, the German national who discovered Pilates used this exercise to train police officers. Police officers perform this exercise in 1912 as a means to rehabilitate themselves after a long day of work.

Joseph Pilates also designed Pilates Cadillac, an exercise equipment patterned from an old hospital bed. He did this precisely for the purpose of teaching rehabilitating patients confined in bed and for those officers who are down from injury.

The exercises in pilates avoids too much repetition unlike other exercises do. This exercise uses fewer, but precise movements. These movements employ control and form. These exercises also reduce stress that regular exercise can do for the heart. It is thus safe for older exercisers and even for injured patients.

In almost five hundred exercises in pilates, the most frequent form is the mat work. The mat work involves a series of callisthenic motions without weight or apparatus and are done while lying down.

Additionally, Joseph Pilates believes that mental health and physical health are essential to one another, thus he creates this exercise program based on the belief that a total body conditioning is necessary and beneficial. Total body conditioning emphasizes proper alignment, centering, concentration, control, precision, muscle tone, body awareness, energy and improved mental concentration. These words are the backbone of pilates.

Pilates focuses on the use of the mind to control the body, thus Joseph Pilates who lived his youth with asthma, rickets, rheumatic fever, overcame poor health and grew to be a body builder, diver, skier and a gymnast.

After which, in 1912, he worked in England as a boxer, circus performer and self-defense trainer. You will of course agree with me that this is quite odd for a sickly kid.

This therefore shows that the mind can be more powerful than the muscle. Following this belief, pilates practitioners use their body as weights in training to build strength and flexibility without focus on high-powered cardiovascular exercise.

You will not need to perform those rigorous exercises that put strain in your cardiovascular zone as other exercises do.

Pilates and the environment it evolves in is as an assistive environment that optimizes the acquisition of movement with a reduction of destructive forces. These exercises can be used to progress individuals through more challenging movements that represent day-to-day activities.

In fact, these exercises are an old approach to movement re-education that is coming to be important in physical fitness and rehabilitation from injury.

The method of performing Pilates especially for beginners consist of very gentle exercises done with a mat while sitting down or lying down. It focuses on awareness of the spine, proper breathing, core strength and flexibility.

The desired outcome of Pilates is a balanced body, which is strong and supple, flat stomach, balanced legs and strong back.

In today’s time, physical therapists use these exercises and techniques to help in the rehabilitation of injured patients. Only quite a few use pilates for general health and well-being, this however needs to change because Pilates offers more than just a cure for sick patients, it is in fact helpful for those overweight individuals who cannot find ways and means to lose weight and control their body.

It may be helpful to try Pilates if you want to be healthy and active.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Aero Pilates – Understanding and Appreciating the Way to Good Health

March 10th, 2010
Scott Nichols asked:


Have you ever felt tired or got exhausted with your life and you feel is like falling apart? Well, it’s not yet the end. There are ways to rejuvenate and make you feel better. Exercises and pilates are forms of exercises that can help you relax, unwind, and restore yourself to good health.

You might think that yoga and pilates are similar. But actually, they are not. Others are aware of their differences while some are not. Yoga does not require any equipment to perform, while pilates needs a specific device – but not those found in the gym. Before, pilates only needs springs and high-tension elastic cords.

This simple equipment, through human ingenuity, has continually developed. Now, there are many pilates devices to choose from for comfortable use of different people who perform it. These include the Pilates Treadmill. The Pilates Treadmill is considered to be one of the best and reputed to be the handiest of all the pilates devices. It is a type of treadmill, though it is not like the ones you can see in the gym.

The Pilates Treadmill allows you to perform more than 50 pilates exercises without making you feel tired. Thus, it is very popular and is very in demand.

What Makes an Aero Pilates Machine Special?

Aero Pilates machine is very special because of various reasons.

First, its padded jump-board makes it easier for the joints to move and makes exercises easier.

Second, its machine is made to keep afloat for up to ten inches from the ground which allows you to do advance pilates exercise.

Third, working out with this pilates device is really good for the heart.

Fourth, it has four levels of elastic cords specialized for each level of workout.

Lastly, the 50 pilates exercises its promotes can build, fortify, and shape the muscles in the body.

The aero Pilates offers you a sturdy stainless steel body and has an adjustable headset. The device also comes with extra shoulder pads – a nice and free offer for beginners who are still adjusting to pilates exercises.

An aero Pilates machine comes with free videos which can help you properly use the device as well as how to take proper care of it. It also instructs you on how to make the best use of it while you’re at the comfort of your home or wherever you install it. In two to three months, you may find yourself satisfied and happy for finding and taking advantage of the aero Pilates machine.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Ab Exercise Equipment – The Real Deal

March 9th, 2010
Brian A Knapp asked:


One of the longtime gimmicks that has been a staple of modern day infomercials, especially on late-night television, is what is known as the abdominal exercise machine. You know these machines whenever you see them. They are always shown off via some kind of fitness or aerobics instructor, perhaps even a supermodel. They’re shown doing these bizarre contortions with their perfect six pack abs making you think oh geez if I only had one of these I will be skinny and happy.

Of course, more often than not the truth is that with all ab exercise equipment you’re actually doing one of the least effective methods of burning fat around your midsection. You see, our body does not spot reduce fat. It just doesn’t work that way.

Instead, the body will reduce fat overall throughout all the different fat stores in the different parts of your body at the same time. Plus, the only real way to get a super effective fat burning workout is actually to work out as much of your body as you possibly can at once.

In reality, an ab exercise machine is going to have almost completely zero benefit for you other than it will make your abs underneath your belly fat a little bit stronger. This might help your posture somewhat, but it’s not going to make you look super ripped or anything like that. All it will do is take your money, while the creators of the product last all the way to the bank.

If you want a real workout, don’t throw your money away on one of these gimmicky abdominal exercising machines. Spend some money and get a real piece of equipment that you can work your legs in your arms and your midsection. Something to give you a full body workout that you’re willing to do a few times a week.

The real trick to burning fat around your midsection is going to be getting real exercise on a regular basis, not by buying some kind of gimmicky machine in hopes that it will solve all of your problems.

Fit Yummy Mummy!