I think I may have told you that in the past I wasn’t a big Pilates fan…my best friend, Sylvia, is always trying to change that. I could see the benefits of Pilates, I just didn’t enjoy doing Pilates much, until now…

Sylvia has some cool information on Pilates for us that helped me change my tune….This is what I’ve learned from her:

First and foremost, doing Pilates doesn’t mean walking into a fancy studio and jumping on any elaborate looking equipment.  All you need is a mat and the floor to do an intense Pilates workout.

Pilates will ‘make your day’. By that I mean, make your day ‘easier’. You’ll be far more ‘functional’ in your day to day activities if you do Pilates.

Daily activities such as picking up a heavy bag of groceries or bending over to pick something off the floor can be a challenge for anyone who struggles with an extremely tight lower back with limited range of motion of the hips.

Body weight Pilates incorporates the necessary movements to strengthen without undo stress on the joints.  Pilates will teach full body control  which creates body awareness.  This transcends to daily activities and workouts in the gym.

What is Pilates? Is it just a bunch of sit ups to strengthen the core?

I’m sure that you know that doing hundreds of hundreds of sit ups won’t strengthen the core, the sad truth is with traditional sit ups, you’re only working the superficial layer of the abdominals and the hip flexors.

Pilates is more than ‘sit ups’. Oh so much more…

Sylvia told me about one of her clients name Rho. She is 31 and a mom and is extremely active as a Crossfit athlete.  Rho can easily bench press more weight than what she weighs and easily pull her herself up for countless pull-ups.  After one full body weight Pilates workout she was shocked.

It challenged her core strength and muscles in her body she never knew existed.  Even though she initially struggled through the workout, now she is addicted to the Body Weight Pilates system. It helps her with her day to day activities and especially helps to  advance her strength training and Crossfit workouts.

The increased core strength has helped to increase Rho’s endurance and performance in her weekly training regimen.

Sylvia has a new program called the Body Weight Pilates System that she’s got at a special price this week:

With the Body Weight Pilates system you can expect to…

*Challenge You!  Regardless of what your fitness level is, doing a traditional sit up is a breeze when compared to the body weight Pilates ab workouts.

*Sweat in less than 3 minutes with these Pilates challenges.

*Strengthen your core; no other workout targets and works the deep transverse abdominals and the root of the body to strengthen it as a whole.

*Reduce the risk of injury, the body works better as a whole with Pilates training.

*Increase your physical performance and endurance.  When you have a strong foundation, which means your core, your body performs at its optimal level.

Pilates core workouts targets the intricate muscles that surround and protects the low back, spine, pelvis and hips.

Here’s a video of Sylvia and her good friend Justin. Justin is a seasoned athlete. He is a former Pro Baseball Player and is a L1 Certified Crossfit coach. He demonstrated a series of the Pilates moves, (he’s proof that Pilates is tough stuff, check out how he falls apart…).

Here is an overview of the body weight moves in the above video….

*  X-Push Up Back   – 15 reps, 3 sets, 10 sec rest between each set
*  Ab Kick Push Up   – 15 reps, 3 sets, 10 sec rest between each set
*  Ab Cincher              – 15 reps, 3 sets, 10 sec rest between each set

Get more out of your workouts. You can get a ton of workouts done with no equipment and with just your body weight. Your core will help you. Head over to Body Weight Pilates for more information and to see if it’s right for you.

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Posted in Workouts by Shawna 2 Comments