Introduction

Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by German-born Joseph Pilates who described his method as the art of controlled movements. If practiced with consistency, Pilates will improve flexibility, muscle strength, endurance, and motor control in the whole human body. It puts emphasis on developing a strong core, body alignment, coordination and balance. Pilates’ system allows for different exercises to be modified in range of difficulty and intensity from beginning to advanced as the body conditions and adapts to the exercises. At first, to the beginner, Pilates may seem easy, that it does not produce a good work out. However, as your proficiency in performing the exercises improves Pilates gets harder and harder. As your body changes and your skills increase, your ability to work with precision and at a higher intensity will change the nature of each exercise. It is said that there are no plateaus in Pilates. Pilates can be safely and successfully used for post-injury rehabilitation, post pregnancy conditioning, to serve as a safe environment to begin an exercise program for the older adult, and to enhance athletic abilities, especially in sports that require higher levels of muscle control, balance and coordination such as dance, gymnastics and figure skating. Read more…