If you have been following my blogs, you would have read and learned about yoga exercises for beginners.
What about the Pilates exercise?
Have you ever tried this exercise before and want to learn more about it? It is a full-form and fully targeted exercise if you master it correctly.
Let’s look further into the Pilates exercises for beginners at home.
Pilates In Brief And Its History
The name Pilates came from the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates who developed a physical fitness system method called Contrology. Until today, it has been practiced worldwide, especially in western countries.
Pilates is a form of low-impact exercise that involves some specific breathing and precise body movements.
It aims to strengthen your muscles and improve posture, mobility, and flexibility gracefully.
A typical form of Pilates exercise can last from 45 minutes to an hour long.
You can do it with or without a piece of equipment, only an exercise mat will suffice (the most popular for home workouts). Just prepare for the precise moves and breath control.
This exercise works well on all parts of the body, although it is widely defined as a workout for core and abdominal muscles. The core should include the whole trunk which are the abdominals, the back, the hips, and thighs (both inner and outer).
Folks, that means when you do a Pilates workout, it is going to be a full-body workout, and not restricted to a certain part of your body.
Why Are The Pilates Good For Your Health?
Why Pilates?
There must be some great health benefits as to why you need to try this at home!
Here are the main benefits:
1. Increases energy level
A boost of energy. As you breathe more deeply, more oxygen enters your body, thus increasing your energy levels. Pilates guides you on how to breathe correctly.
2. Decreases stress
The breathing techniques can help to down-regulate the nervous system, lower cortisol, and over time will reduce the stress level.
3. Improve balance
Pilates exercise is very focused on stabilizing and strengthening the core, which helps to improve overall balance and good coordination.
What Are The Health Benefits of Revitaa Pro dietary supplements?
Check out my blog review ===>> Revitaa Pro Review
4. Immunity boost
A study(1) has shown that Pilates helps to enhance immune system function, especially in older people, because of the improved circulation flow of blood and lymph.
5. Improve better posture
Overall awareness of how your body move is one of the key components of Pilates exercises. You will be more aware of the alignment or placement of any much-neglected opposing muscles.
6. Works on your core strength
The core (powerhouse) is the center of the body for all movement stems. It is surrounded by muscles of the trunk, which help to stabilize and support the body.
Pilates exercises concentrate on core strength, which is vital in reducing hip and back pain, and pelvic floor dysfunction.
7. Stronger bones
Stronger bone density is important to prevent osteoporosis and studies show that practicing frequent Pilates can help in increasing bone density and relieving pain.
The Pilates Exercises For Beginners At Home
There are a lot but I will just narrow it to the simpler Pilates exercises.
No equipment is required!
These are:
1. Plank rock – Start on a high plank with your hands directly under your shoulders.
Rock your whole body forward a couple of inches toward your hands and then back toward your heels. Make sure to keep your quads, butt, and core engaged all the time.
Watch this short video tutorial.
2. Scissor kick – Lie faceup. Extend your right leg up and bring your hand behind your right leg, and pull it towards your face. Curl your head up.
Lift your left leg off the floor a few inches. Then switch the entire process with your left leg and repeat by switching between your legs.
Learn the basic skill from this short video.
3. Double leg stretch – Lie faceup. Bring both knees towards your chest. Curl your head up and place your hands on your knees. Extend both legs out in front of you as you reach both of your arms overhead.
Try to get your legs straight while still keeping your lower back on the floor. Circle your arms out and around the back of your knees as you pull your knees back towards your chest.
Check out this short video tutorial.
4. Crisscross – Lie face up and bring both knees in toward your chest. Place your hands on the back of your head, keeping your elbow wide. Curl your head up.
Bring your left shoulder towards your right knee as you extend your left leg. Then bring your right shoulder towards your left knee as you extend your right leg. Repeat on the other side.
Study this short video tutorial.
5. Leg circle – Lie face up with arms by your side and palms down. Bend your left knee and place your left foot flat on the floor.
Extend your right leg straight up, circle your right leg out to the side, down toward the ground, and return to your starting position.
Make the circle as big as you can while keeping your lower back on the ground. Repeat the circle. Finish all reps on one leg and repeat on the other leg.
Check out this short video tutorial.
6. The one hundred – Lie faceup. Lift both legs toward the ceiling. Lower them halfway, so that they are at an angle. Curl your head up, reaching your arms long alongside the body with palms down.
Then, pump your arms up and down, as you inhale for 5 counts and exhale for 5 counts. Repeat this circle 10 times.
Look at the short video tutorial.
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Pilates Exercises?
Pilates is a great core exercise and the most common advantages are:
* easy to practice and require less flexibility, suitable for beginners.
* no equipment needed, all you need is your body weight to begin.
* a low-impact exercise where mostly are performed by lying or sitting on an exercise mat.
* if customized according to each person’s requirement, Pilates is very useful for injury recovery or rehabilitation.
How about its disadvantages?
* Pilates is a non-cardiovascular workout, so if you need to lose some weight, then a cardio workout might work best for you. Even though Pilates helps to strengthen and build muscles, it is not so ideal for losing weight.
* If you are looking for exercise that uses a high-energy level, then Pilates which is a form of slow and focused exercise is not suitable for you. You might as well look into aerobics, Zumba, or running.
* For physical rehabilitation purposes, Pilates exercise might not be the answer. You cannot just go into a Pilates exercise and hope for fast results.
You need professional custom-designed exercises for the road to recovery. It is very different than just a normal Pilates fitness exercise.
* If you are a newbie to Pilates, do expect a longer period to achieve the best physical results. Not a few weeks but takes months or more and the results are very much worth it.
Patience will win over frustration here.
* It is very important that Pilates exercises need to learn correctly to avoid any possible injury to the body.
They required slow, steady, and correct posture movement plus deep concentration. Never rush into your Pilates exercise, or else you will hurt yourself.
* Pilates is a form of exercise that is NOT meant for daily exercise.
As it is so well-focused and concentrated form of exercise, you may suffer some minor pain or aches. This needs a bit of time for recovery, a day or two before you can start your practice again.
* Sadly, the term Pilates continues to be used for marketing purposes, though some of the exercises that the original creator of Pilates did not invent. This seems to decrease the authenticity of this exercise.
* Many users also tend to mix up Pilates as a way to relieve stress, which is not the case.
If you choose this exercise purely for mind relaxation or relieving frustration, then I will suggest looking for other forms of exercise such as meditation or yoga.
* As more people are developing a deep interest in Pilates, it becomes more exclusive and expensive classes for membership in the gym or studio.
Not everyone can afford it, so that’s why you can consider starting at home, learning by watching on Youtube or getting Pilates DVDs.
Nevertheless, don’t be discouraged by all the negativity of starting your own Pilates home workout.
Always put this in mind before you make a wise decision – do the Cons outweigh the Pros here?
If this is right for you, then go for i
My Overall Impressions On The Pilates Exercises For Beginners At Home
While Yoga is more to ancient traditional techniques, Pilates is a western exercise regime, not aerobic or Zumba exercise.
If you are a Pilates newbie, you may want to consider adding this form of workout into your regular fitness routine too. You can start 20 – 25 minutes per session, 3 times a week, and progress slowly from there.
Do Yoga and Pilates look like the same exercise? Not sure?
Check out my blog on the differences between Yoga and Pilates exercises
Pilates exercise is for everybody, any gender, race, size, age, and all fitness levels. Just roll out your gym mat and get into a series of movements that helps to stabilize and strengthen your core.
It is still considered one of the best exercises for developing strong and healthy muscles, plus (#Ad)reducing depression, and could be your new favorite home exercise!
Don’t you think so?
Do leave me a comment, and as usual, I will reply within 24 hours.
To your awesome home exercise!
***This post may contain affiliate links or advertisements. I receive a small commission when you make a purchase using the links. Prices are the same for you if your purchase is through an affiliate link or a non-affiliate link. You will not pay more by clicking through the link. Please see my Affiliate Disclaimer for more details.
