Pilates small equipment can help you in a number of ways.
Pilates small equipment will add variety, intensity & resistance to your workouts, which in turn have a number of health benefits.
Many of my class regulars have bought magic circles & small balls, as they enjoy using them so much in class.
Small equipment can be balls, magic circles, stretchy long bands, mini looped bands, small weights & foams rollers.
Here are some of the benefits;
1.Helping you focus & use key areas of the body by having a stronger connection to your ‘centre,’so the exercise often feels more challening & deeper e.g. circle ,ball.
2.Helping alignment as you have a physical point to reference from and to when performing the exercise
3.Challenges balance, control & joint mobility (being unstable and having a limited base of support e.g. balls, foam rollers, magic circle)
4.To make more complex exercises easier, providing support to the areas of the body connected & supported e.g. bands.
5.To alter the muscles working in an exercise, by changing the directional force being applied.
6.Adding resistance, so increasing the physical challenge of an exercise, all small equipment does this. It challenges the movement, joint stability, and more focus is needed to maintain control of the movement.This helps to improve bone density & muscle tone. Bone density is especially important as we age, increasing bone density helps to fight against osteoporosis & osteopenia.
7. Small equipment can add a mild cardiovascular benefit to classes, which helps with overall fitness levels, as well as helping fat burning & weight loss. Many of my class regulars have reported losing inches & having an improved body shape.
8. Small equipment will help improve upper body strength, women tend to be a lot weaker in their upper bodies. This will help improve posture as well.
9. It makes the class fun & provides lots of variety.
Personally I love using small equipment both individually and in class. My clients seem to love it too & the favourites are bands & small balls.
Claire x