This is a question I get asked alot.
It depends on your health, fitness and wellbeing goals i.e. do you do pilates to de-stress, or to improve your core & spinal strength? Improve your health? To shape up?
Are you a beginner, or at an intermediate or advanced level?
Are you motivated by attending classes, or do you practice at home/online?
And of course it depends on how much time you have.
Pilates is a total body conditioning method, it does not strain the muscles or joints, so you can practise everyday if you wish.
Pilates strengthens the whole body, mixing dynamic & static strength training, using your own body weight to create resistance with each muscle group being worked evenly.
If you have injuries, or spinal issues check with your doctor first.
If you’re practising at home take time to understand the key techniques, principles & exercises.
To shape up
If you want to use Pilates to shape up, ideally you will be aiming to do about 150mins per week (2 1/2 hours). If that sounds daunting , build up slowly, or do shorter, more frequent sessions.
If you can’t commit to these timings don’t despair, do what you can, everything is a bonus.
Although Pilates is a fabulous body conditioning method, it does not provide a cardiovascular workout.
Certain exercises such as the Hundred, dynamic lunges & squats will raise your heart rate throughout workouts, but it is not recommended to do only these for 30 minutes!
Instead compliment your Pilates with another activity that you enjoy, that will raise your heart rate for at least 20-30 minutes, three times per week i,e, cycling, running, gardening, brisk walking
This will have the added benefits of burning more calories, increasing muscle mass so you burn more calories at rest, improve muscle tone & body shape, make you feel more energised, improve your heart health, get stronger muscles and feel healthier.
Add in healthy eating to maximise your ‘shape up.’
Claire x
