Health & Fitness Blog

What do you think is the best exercise when it comes to strength training? Well if you ask this question to different physical trainers you may get different answers. Regardless if you are young and old, Pilates offers great strength training exercises that also improves your balance and flexibility. And if you are over the age of twenty five you may be losing up to 5% of lean muscle mass for every decade past that age.

Studies have shown that the muscle fiber of those in their seventies are similar to those in their twenties. So there is hope to those frail seniors who are and have been for many years out of shape. Building up a senior’s muscle mass helps cut down of injuries due to falls. Aging effects a person’s balance and flexibility. Stamina wanes. And the muscles surrounding joints become stiff. Pilates is a gentle form of exercise that helps those of any age gain strength in the joint areas as well as throughout the entire body.

Physical therapists have used Pilates as a rehabilitation tool. They have quickly learned the benefits of Pilates exercises helps the body recover from injury. In fact Pilates exercises were first created during World War One by the man the exercise is named after – Joseph Pilates. He first used his exercises on injured soldiers. Those wounded soldiers that worked with him regained their strength faster. Pilates was a German nurse and had access to these soldiers and through his creativity developed a series of exercises that are still used to this day.

His first piece of equipment was developed using attached springs to patient’s bed. Soldiers quickly began to heal quicker than soldiers who did nothing at all. Joe Pilates was an innovator and healer certainly ahead of this time. Today Pilates is now a mainstream exercise taught by certified teachers throughout the world. These teachers have used Pilates early teachings as well as added their own style to help clients that are in shape and those that are de-conditioned. Pilates exercises also helps arthritis sufferers keep their joints oiled up so that they have a greater range of motion.

Today Pilates equipment has come a long way from those days of springs attached to hospital beds. Now that once apparatus is called a reformer. With other Pilates equipment like Pilates rings and exercise mats along with instructional DVDs on a multitude of Pilates exercises, this exercise form has evolved into the mainstream. Along with exercise balls, and resistance bands one can achieve so much from implementing Pilates exercises into a fitness program.

Rehabbing with Pilates exercises helps weaker muscles get stronger. Pilates strengthens all those smaller muscle groups that support joints. All this helps the body stay strong and works more like preventive medicine. No one wants to suffer through injury. Remaining free form injury especially for seniors is crucial to having a more fulfilling lifestyle.

Most instructors are not trained nor qualified to make a diagnosis for injured clients. Their job is to work in conjunction with physical therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, or anyone in the medical profession. Certified Pilates instructors are there to simply teach. The method in itself is rehabilitative and therapeutic. Most people, no matter their age or level of fitness, can benefit from Pilates workouts. We all have weak links in our muscular skeletal makeup. A Pilates exercise routine is an option to balance out our weaknesses and get us, and keep us, on our feet.

Are you suffering from muscle tone loss? Start strength training today and watch your muscle endurance improve. Say goodbye to weak muscles. Wake them up with some strength conditioning equipment.