Pilates is a form of exercise that can have significant benefits for those suffering from injury or who simply want to maintain their fitness level. This blog post details what Pilates is and provides some information on how Pilates could benefit you.

What is Pilates?

In the 1920s, physical trainer Joseph Pilates introduced Pilates into America as a way to help injured athletes and dancers safely return to exercise and maintain their fitness. Since then, Pilates has been adapted to suit people in the general community.

Pilates can be an aerobic or non-aerobic form of exercise. It requires concentration and focus because you must move your body through precise ranges of motion and find a centre point to control your body. Each exercise has a prescribed placement, rhythm and breathing pattern.

The workout consists of a variety of exercise sequences that are performed in low repetitions, usually five to ten times, over a session of 45 to 90 minutes. Mat work and specialised equipment for resistance are used. Classes are held in specialised Pilates clinics, physiotherapy clinics, or at your local leisure facility or community centre. 

The Benefits

Here are some of the benefits Pilates offers over other forms of exercise:

• Pilates lengthens and stretches all the major muscle groups in your body in a balanced fashion.
• In Pilates, your muscles are never worked to exhaustion, so there is no sweating or straining, just intense concentration.
• The Pilates method is taught to suit each person, and exercises are regularly re-evaluated to ensure they are appropriate for that person.
• Due to the individual attention, Pilates can suit everybody from elite athletes to people with limited mobility, pregnant women and people with low fitness levels.

Book a Pilates Session Today

Pilates workouts at Physio Melbourne Clinic consist of moving through a slow, sustained series of exercises using abdominal control and proper breathing. The quality of each posture is more important than the number of repetitions or how energetically you can move. To book in for a Pilates session, contact our clinic today.