It is quite difficult for a beginner to understand the variety of exercises offered by fitness clubs today and to choose an appropriate type of training for oneself. In this article we will tell you what Pilates is for beginners, what the main principles of this system of exercises are, and what other types of fitness you should combine it with in your weekly training plan to have a multilateral effect on your body and maximize health benefits.

History of Pilates

Pilates is an author’s method of physical training that was first called control training. It was invented by Joseph Pilates during World War I. It was intended to rehabilitate wounded British soldiers being treated on the Isle of Man, where a 30-year-old boxer, bodybuilder and self-defense instructor of the Scotland Yard police was interned from London.

German by nationality and birthplace, Josef had suffered as a child from rickets, rheumatic fever and bronchial asthma. But the young man managed to cure himself with the help of invented exercises, the basis of which were simple yoga asanas, elements of Eastern health gymnastics and martial arts.

He finally formulated his method at the end of the 1920s, when he emigrated to the United States and opened his Center for Healthy Living. At that time to the sports component of the system were added the concept of mental control of muscular work, principles of personal hygiene, as well as an optimal regime of waking and sleeping.

After Pilates died in 1967, at the age of 83, Controlology was renamed in his honor. Today there are many modifications of this system. Some involve only physical exertion, while others involve the interaction of body and mind. In some halls of physical therapy at hospitals, to traditional exercises on gymnastic mats, exercises on the author’s spring machines Table-trapeze and Bunk-reformer are added. For those involved in fitness clubs, if necessary, exercises on modern simulators are included in the program.

Benefits of Pilates

Pilates for beginners, if practiced regularly, will help:

• Eliminate muscle imbalances. Build muscle strength without increasing muscle volume.
• Strengthen the muscular corset. Conduct correction of the posture.
• Restore mobility of joints. Develop flexibility and stretching.
• Improve coordination of movements.
• Normalize the work of the internal organs and vestibular apparatus.
• Relieve stress. Regulate psycho-emotional state.
• Improve concentration and mental performance.

In contrast to the exercises for strength, Pilates exercises involve working with your own body weight and simultaneous involvement in different exercises of almost all muscle groups. Such training will help you feel more confident in everyday life – to be more agile and mobile, to move faster and “steady” on stairs, to control your body while performing complex coordination movements and positions that require maintaining balance, to lift and carry objects with a large weight.

Pilates was created as a form of therapeutic exercise. It is suitable for almost everyone, regardless of age, body weight, health or fitness level. Note that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are very fond of practicing it.

Pause in training should be taken at the time of a cold or infectious disease, and permanent contraindications in Pilates is very little:

• The first period after an injury;
• herniated spine of operable size;
• Groin or abdominal fascia hernias;
• severe venous thrombosis;
• Epilepsy, mental disorders.

The basic principles of Pilates

Why do you achieve the results listed above? In addition to the requirement for regular practice and a gradual increase in workload, the technique has its own specific principles that differ from other types of physical training.

Breathing during Pilates classes

Particular attention during each exercise is paid to the correct breathing algorithm. In the process of training you have to learn how to adjust the tempo-rhythm of the movements to the breath, and not vice versa. The author compared the complexes of his exercises to dancing to the rhythm of his own breath. It is unusual and occurs by a special “rib” technique. Inhaling the chest expands and tenses the intercostal muscles. On exhalation there is their complete relaxation. In this breathing cycle does not take part abdominal muscles, and the lumbar spine and shoulder joints are stabilized.

Concentration and adherence to precision

In Pilates, especially if it is Pilates for beginners, it is important to do the exercises correctly, as the technique prescribes. It will be necessary to master it gradually and perfectly. The movements are performed as responsibly and as accurately as the level of your current fitness allows. At the same time, before each exercise, for 10-15 seconds to 1-2 minutes, it is carried out mentally, with an emphasis on its main points. In general, a high concentration of attention will need to be maintained throughout the class.

Control of the Power Center

Joseph Pilates included the area between the diaphragm and the pelvic floor in the concept of the Power Center (Powerhouse). In class, you will learn to recognize the muscles in it, work them out and incorporate them in a certain sequence into coordinated overall work. One of the objectives of the technique is to perform any exercise in training and then to move in everyday life using the connected work of Powerhouse. It sounds complicated, but in practice it is not. The trainer will tell you more in detail.

Smoothness

All Pilates exercises are performed at a pace between moderate and slow, smoothly and measured, without abrupt transitions and stops. This approach: simplifies control and makes it possible to focus on the correct execution of the movements, to achieve a state of dynamic “meditation”, to receive pleasure and satisfaction not after, but directly in the process of training.

In essence, Pilates is very similar to plastic vinyasa yoga. The difference is that in dynamic yoga asanas flow smoothly one into another, while in Pilates each exercise can be repeated several times, sometimes quite a significant number of times.

Mode

Pilates for beginners with low levels of fitness or chronic illness can initially be seen as the only type of training – 2-3 times a week. Nevertheless, let’s specify that for the treatment of osteoporosis it is necessary to do additional gymnastics with dumbbells.

Pilates alone is clearly not enough for people with excess body weight to achieve positive results. To lose weight it is necessary to stick to a diet and 3-4 times a week load the body before breakfast by Nordic walking, work on a rowing or exercise bicycle, jogging.

Proponents of a healthy lifestyle in good physical shape are recommended to build a weekly exercise schedule as follows:

• In the morning – daily exercise + 2 cardio exercises for 40-60 minutes;
• In the evening – 1 or 2 pilates training + 2 classes with lifting weights and work on weight machines.

In the individual program to maintain physical fitness is a group exercise one of the types of aerobics? Then it is recommended to look for a fitness club where Pilates classes are held in the morning or use the services of a personal Pilates instructor.

Choice of trainer

You can practice this system at home as well. But the method is so unusual that you should get acquainted with it under the guidance of an experienced trainer. Choosing a mentor, ask the applicant about the availability of a certificate of special Pilates courses and experience in this direction. It is desirable to have a diploma of sports education or at least the title of Master of Sports. Do not neglect to use word of mouth or check the reviews about the coach in social networks.

And one last piece of advice. If you do not have the financial means to pay for the services of a personal Pilates instructor, make sure you pay attention to the number of people in the group. A cheap subscription usually means that there will be a lot of people at the workout, with little or no exercise equipment. Therefore, it is better to pay more, but to train surrounded by several people, and get the maximum coaching attention, benefits and pleasure from Pilates gymnastics.