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Posts Tagged ‘Muscles’

Pilates is the exercise of choice for dancers, gymnasts, and a host of famous Hollywood celebrities, and now it finds itself firmly entrenched in the mainstream. So why is pilates so hot?

Pilates incredible popularity can be traced to the fact that it provides its faithful practitioners with benefits that you simply can’t get through traditional aerobics/strength training format.

1. Makes You into Muscle Man

If want a long, lean look without bulky muscles, but with all the strength. Would you like to build strength and endurance without getting the muscle man look? If so, pilates may be just what you have been searching for.

There’s a reason that pilates is the exercise of choice for gymnasts and professional dancers. Most conventional workouts tend to create bulky muscle. Why is this? In most workouts, the emphasis is placed on repetition and building strong muscles.

This causes already-strong (think: big) muscles to get even strong, and thus bigger. Pilates does not rely on frequent repetition, and thus no overgrown muscles. Pilates focuses on the whole body, not just on sections of muscles.

2. Increases the Strength of Stabilizer Muscles

There are many benefits that one can achieve through a proper use of the pilates program. One of the most significant points of the pilates program is it’s ability to increase the strength of stabilizer muscles that may not commonly be worked out in a standard exercise program.

Also, since pilates stresses the use of graceful and fluid movements, it can be a great way to get a better sense of the kinesthetics of your body. The sense of body that you can achieve through pilates is quite significant, and many find that they are better able to balance themselves regardless of the position that they are in.

3. A Mind-Body Workout That Strengthens Your Whole Body

Another one of the benefits of Pilates is that it engages the mind and enhances body awareness. Like yoga, tai chi, and Asian martial arts, Pilates is not just a workout for your body. Joseph H. Pilates studied yoga, martial arts, and other ancient mind-body activities and included a strong philosophical foundation into the practice of Pilates.

Pilates not only helps tone your body, but your mind and spirit as well. The smooth, precise and flowing movements of Pilates are designed to make you more mindful of your body.

Breath movement is also emphasized to put you in touch with how breath moves through your body. Pilates has been demonstrated to reduce stress, anxiety, and helps lift depression. The mind-body connection is fundamental to the study and practice of pilates.

4. Pilates Strengthens Your Core like No Other Exercise

Another one of the benefits of Pilates is that the increased amount of strength that one can achieve in the ‘core’ of the body. The term core refers to the muscles in and around the area of the abdominal muscles and the back.

Proper breathing control is also stressed in pilates, adding to the numerous list of benefits that one can attain through regular use of the exercise program.

5. Prevents You from Future Injuries

Pilates strengthens your body and helps prevent future injuries. Pilates helps to condition the whole body, not just certain muscles. This helps balance the muscle and strength of the body. Since no set of muscles is ever over or under trained, there is less risk for injury. The body becomes more fluid and supple, protecting against injury.

6. Helps You Become Efficient With Your Body

Last, but not the least one of the benefits of Pilates is that it teaches you how to become efficient with your body. Very few exercises can help your body become more efficient in its movement.

Why is efficiency so important? Being efficient means that your body moves in a way, that is smoother, safer, and less prone to injury. By practicing pilates on a regular basis, you can train your body more to move in a much safer and more efficient manner.

Benefits of Pilates for Older Adults

The benefits of pilates have been particularly noted in older adults. Older adults are more likely to suffer from symptoms of arthritis, including stiff and painful joints. Pilates practice has also been lauded for its ability to help prevent injury.

Even adults undergoing serious rehabilitation therapy can use Pilates to increase their range of motion and overall muscle strength. But is Pilates safe for all adults? Who should avoid participating in a Pilates program, and who is more likely to benefit from the program?

Consult your medical professional if you have any doubts about your pilates program. If you are suffering from severe degeneration or physical pain, you should take extra care before beginning a pilates program.

You should never feel pain while practicing pilates. If you do, you know that there is something wrong. Don’t be afraid to pull back if you feel overwhelmed.

Pilates was designed to progress naturally from one movement to another. If you feel stopped at one movement, don’t give up. Start at the beginning and work your way back to the areas you found most challenging.

Other Benefits of Pilates

Tone and build long, lean muscles without bulk.

Reduce stress, relieve tension, and boost energy through deep stretching.

Restore postural alignment.

Create a stronger, more flexible spine.

Increase joint range of motion.

Improve circulation.

Heighten neuromuscular coordination.

Offer relief from back pain and joint stress.

Correct over-training of muscle groups which can lead to stress and injury.

Enhance mobility, agility and stamina.

Compliment sports training and develop functional fitness for daily life activity.

Improve the way your body looks and feels.

Finding the right bodybuilding workout can be a real headache, especially since there are dozens of bodybuilding routines and programs out there to choose from.

How do you know that the bodybuilding routines stated in any type of program really works? And how do you choose the most effective bodybuilding workout?

This article is a simple guide for you to choose the bodybuilding workout that suits you best.

The topmost standard in choosing the right bodybuilding routine for you is to see whether or not the program has been tested. A good and well thought out bodybuilding routine discusses all of the following key factors: Goals, training loads, progress monitoring, and recovery periods.

In a bodybuilding routine, the “just do it and see” attitude will not likely drive any major results. What a bodybuilding workout needs is a program that allows progressive training.

Guidance on changing your workout loads and periodic progress monitoring is essential to know if the bodybuilding routine you have is working. Now often, in bodybuilding routines, recovery periods are frequently overlooked.

Keep in mind that it is just as important as working out and performing your bodybuilding routine exercises. Your bodybuilding routine plan should cover rest on a regular basis and across the training phases.

A good bodybuilding routine is one that specifies its target population, age, training level, and effective duration.

Different people have specific needs in a bodybuilding routine. Some bodybuilding routines might be too taxing for teenagers who have smaller and less developed muscles.

The same thing applies in the training level of a bodybuilding routine. You do not want to train under a bodybuilding routine for novices when you’re a bodybuilding veteran of 10 yrs.

So if you are serious about achieving your ultimate bodybuilding potential, the guide above should give you a better idea in what to look for in bodybuilding routines.

The first logical step to take for any bodybuilding fitness beginner is goal-setting. A high percentage of bodybuilding fitness programs are successful mainly because its participants are looking to improve themselves.

You can also keep a bodybuilding fitness logbook to record your progress and the goals you have set and achieved during the program. Below are a few more bodybuilding fitness tips to get you going:

To ensure success in your bodybuilding fitness plan, make a commitment to yourself and make the effort to change your habits.

As a matter of fact, the best bodybuilding fitness plans continue on indefinitely.

Bodybuilding fitness means going to the gym on a regular basis, adapting strenuous exercise routines, and tearing up muscles here and there as a result. But all that pain and discomfort is what makes bodybuilding fitness work for you.

Change your diet is one of the most important keys to success. Drink more water to optimize muscle volume. Limit your salt intake. Sleep. Never ever forget your goal in taking up bodybuilding fitness in the first place.

Get that ideal muscled body you’ve always wanted and remember to do a body full workout.

If you are an enthusiastic fan of most aerobic exercises, you may have considered escalating your workout intensity with step aerobics equipment. The objective of participating in step aerobics are the mostly the same as other aerobics workouts which is to raise your heart rate and maintain it for at least twenty minutes and at the same time toning your muscles and burning fat. Step aerobics will help you achieve al these goals, while adding an extra dimension to your exercise program. To start with step aerobics program, you can sign up for a step aerobics class, or you can purchase the stepper with the instructional videos learn to do it at home.

The advantages of step aerobics are:

1) It adds extra fun to your regular exercise routine

2) It is simple and easy to learn

3) The equipment is fairly cheap

4) It utilizes the large muscles of the lower legs which helps strengthen those muscles

5) It strengthens the tendons and ligaments that connect the muscles and the bones to each other

How To Use Step Aerobics Equipment

You can buy a book or video or even join the local gymnasium to learn step aerobics. However, you can also simply begin with simple exercises by just stepping onto the platform and then stepping down. These simple exercises can then progress steadily from simple steps to more complicated aerobics routines.

Besides that, you can also increase the rapidity of the steps or raise the aerobics step platform which will result in increased fitness and skill. The step aerobics exercises can grow in complexity as you become more proficient.

The step aerobics exercise are usually choreographed to music just like other aerobics routines, but instead of exercising with side to side movements on the floor, you will be exercising vertically by stepping up and down from the platform of your stepper. The most important thing to an effective workout is to be observant of your posture. Always keep your head up, your shoulders back, and your back straight as you do your workout. When stepping onto the platform, your foot should be solidly on the surface and when you step down from it, your feet should stay close to the back of the stepper. This is to avoid the back strain of lunging backwards.

When you step on a steps aerobics platform there is no shock experienced by your joints.

Cost Of Step Aerobics Equipment

If you have decided to purchase your own set of step aerobics equipment, you should know that it will cost you anywhere from $30 to $100. However, if you can afford to purchase a higher end model, you will get some advantage. These more expensive models are usually adjustable in height so that it can accommodate different skill levels or workout intensities.

For a beginner a four inch step is sufficient, but when you increase your intensity, you can raise the aerobics stepper in two-inch increments. This is why the more expensive model which is adjustable may be more economical in the long run.

However, if you have a low budget, or you want to try out step aerobics without buying the equipment first, any household item can be an adequate substitute. You can use things such as a block of wood, a milk crate, or, even a short stool which can act as a raised platform for you to start practicing step aerobics.

Precautions To Take During Step Aerobics

As with any regular exercise activities, there are certain precautions that you should take when participating in step aerobics. One such precaution is to make sure that you execute step aerobics exercise routines properly.

Some of the proper techniques of working out with step aerobics are:

1) Stepping up onto the platform using the entire soul of your foot

2) Being close to the step when stepping up

3) Alternate the legs used to step up and down

4) Perform no more than five consecutive step ups per leg

5) Do not allow your knee to lock

6) Step up to and down from the step softly

Other precautions you must take include utilizing a step or platform that is at the proper height. This range is usually determined by the expertise of the step aerobic exercise participant. A height of four inches is usually suitable for a beginner and a 12 inches high platform only suitable for an expert.