How To Create Your Own Pilates Exercise ProgramPilates exercises are famous for their focus on developing three core components, namely strength, flexibility and stability. But to achieve the maximum results from of your pilates exercise program, you need to follow specific routines and also work out regularly. In this article, we will briefly introduce some of the basic foundational exercises starting right from the warm ups to exercises that deals with special areas. Warming up is are very important practice to get into no matter what form of exercise you are doing. Warm ups in pilates can be anything from stretching to even modeling some of the postures. The basic objective of the warm up exercises, as the name implies is to prepare the body for the more challenging exercises later. Also, a good warm up helps in loosening up the muscles in your body so that possible injury is prevented during exercise. One basic pilates exercise is the Chest Lift. This is a very popular form of Pilates exercise because of the fact that the main concentration of the exercise is on the core abdominal area, specially the upper abs. This exercise is very similar to that of a crunch, but here the abdominals are required to be given an extra scoop. Control during the curling up and down is also very essential. The Hundred is another common Pilates exercise. The main focus of this exercise is on the whole abdominal portion and also on breathing. In this exercise you will need to use your abs to hold up the whole body. The abdominals in this exercise are pulled to a great extent, thus your lungs should be used to their full capacity. Also you need to watch your neck and shoulder in this exercise and remain cautious as these parts of the body can take a real pounding. The Mermaid is another often practiced Pilates Exercise. Here the muscular focus is on building the side strength. In this exercise you need to lie completely flat and then stretch sideways slowly. While stretching you need to keep the hip on that side. These are some tips and advice on the most common Pilates movements, but to get the maximum results out of your workouts you need to follow a specific step by step plan. The mechanism consists of first making a plan, warming up and centering, adding interest and modifications and finishing with "presence". If you are planning for a solo workout then you need a "game plan" as well as some utilities like a pen, paper, video and/or DVD. By watching exercises demonstrations on your TV monitor, it is much easier to learn and follow proper form. Also you can write up your plan while watching instruction on them. This helps to saving time if you are working out alone. Outside of the warm up, the essence of the next steps comes with adding variety to your chosen regime. Often people stop exercising because they become monotonous and uninspiring. So the idea here is to make the exercises and routines more varied and challenging so that you sticks with it. Finishing the exercise with some self assessment is very necessary to get the maximum result and continue your progression and growth with these routines. The best way to finish a Pilates exercise program after a short cool down, is by analyzing the workout, finding creative ways to modify it, and above all, appreciating the impact of new movements and experiences on the body. |