Pilates Reformer: is it a worthy thing to buy for doing sports? from Maxim Nikitin
Hi everyone! Recently I have heard about the Pilates Reformer, and I am thinking to buy it for my home gym. Due to the fact, that this equipment is expensive enough, I think if it is worth to spend this big amount of money on this!
Pilates classes on the reformer will not help lose a lot of extra pounds or build muscle. Is it really so? A good workout with a personal trainer or in a mini-group in intensity is like an hour in the gym. Pilates consumes 200 to 300 calories per hour. Pilates classes will fit even in the tight schedule. Plus, besides leggings and t-shirts, you basically don’t need anything anymore!
In Pilates, all muscles are consistently worked through, and strength and stretching exercises are combined. Classes provide general and local health effects: improve the condition of all body systems, relieve stress, relieve pain and tension in the body, normalize sleep, eliminate the effects of the injury. And of course, they give an aesthetic effect – they sculpture the silhouette, correct the posture, correct the asymmetry of the body, and struggle with excess weight. By improving the blood supply to the brain, removing the clamps in the spine, exposing the spasmed nerves, stress is removed, and sleep is normalized.
Pilates can do everything, regardless of gender, age, and level of physical fitness. Sports overload or injury is also not an obstacle. From this, it turns out that Pilates is a very good thing for both weight loss and recovery. Sometimes pilates on the reformer is called “pilates on the bed” because of the similarity of the structure.
The main question is:
This is all well and good, and I understand all the benefits of Pilates. But is it worth the money? Is it possible to practice another sport with about the same positive effect? Is it possible to replace Pilates with another sport in order to keep the body in shape and improve health? What effective sports do you know for weight loss? How much does the cheapest pilates reformer for home workouts cost?
Is it possible to do pilates at home without the supervision of a trainer?
When developing a dynamic Pilates program, the main task was to optimize the load for people who have to spend a lot of time in a sitting position. This was also one of the reasons why I chose the Reformer as equipment. Many exercises on it can be performed while lying, that is, without an axial load, and since the surface is unstable, the stabilizer muscles still work quite effectively.
I hope you will help me with this quite difficult question and I will make the right choice! Waiting for an answer!
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Alina Ross
Published: | Modified: October 15, 2019
You can make your body slim and pump up all muscle groups without heightened panting in the gym. This will help Pilates – gymnastics, based on – smooth and controlled movement. It was developed at the beginning of the 20th century by the American Joseph Pilates. Below are the main reasons why you should do Pilates as soon as possible.
- Pilates tightens muscles well
Unlike traditional strength exercises, where each muscle is pumped separately from the others, all the main body muscles are involved in Pilates. This allows you to achieve significant results after a short time after the start of training. It has been proven that after 36 weeks of training, women strengthened the rectus abdominis by 21% more than those who trained in the gym. - Pilates relieves back pain
In Pilates, there are special exercises for the back and spine, which help to solve several problems at once – to strengthen the muscles of the back, make them more elastic, and thus return the lost flexibility to the back. This, in turn, relieves stress on the spine, relieving back pain.
- Pilates teaches to concentrate
While practising Pilates, you should simultaneously concentrate on 1) your breathing, 2) the technique of performing, and 3) how well the first and second points work together smoothly. You simply will not have time to think in class about work, boyfriend and some of their problems: only you and your body.
- Pilates improves athletic performance
Thanks to Pilates, you will learn to focus your attention on the work of each muscle in the abdominals. And thanks to the taut abdominals, you can do various exercises and engage in various types of fitness. And even the most incredible asanas will be on your shoulder!
- Pilates makes you more flexible
According to a study conducted by Brazilian scientists, the woman who was involved in Pilates, after 20 lessons, was 19.1% more flexible. Therefore, if you only want to relax, relieve tension in the muscles, but also become more flexible – running on Pilates!
- Pilates boosts brain activity
Joseph Pilates called his method “exercises for human thinking”. And indeed it is! Now, Chinese scientists have measured changes in women’s brain activity after 10 weeks of Pilates classes and found an increase in alpha peak brain power associated with memory and other cognitive performance. Moreover, researchers believe that Pilates could potentially be a good treatment option for people with cerebral and cognitive impairments.
To replace Pilates yoga can be suitable.
What is similar to yoga and pilates
Both workouts are tuned to the deep and thoughtful study of each muscle in a state of complete awareness of what you do with your body. Smooth movements, complete control of the work of the joints and muscles, a slow pace of implementation – this is what unites these two directions.
Yoga is recommended for those who are limited in the mobility of some joints, suffer from osteochondrosis, vascular dystonia, whose body is weakened after an illness or a long period without exercise. Group yoga training will be a great solution to tighten your figure, to become more resilient and flexible.
Pilates was created to restore the body after injuries and contusions. This technique can and should be used with health problems, as well as if you have weak muscles and with loads, there is a high risk of damaging the ligaments and overloading the joints.
The problem of many people during intense workouts is poor control of movements due to the fast pace and great effort during the exercises. Pilates, like yoga, makes you move slowly, with a small amplitude, a large number of repetitions, and the movements are simple and do not cause overstrain.
If you do not have extra money on Pilates reformer, then you can try to deal with improvised appliances or yoga – also a great option for the replacement. But the Pilates reformer is a really good thing for both the body and health in general!
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