Pilates and Cardio Fitness | Is Pilates Taking Over the Fitness Scene?
Pilates is a type of exercise that has been taking the nation by storm in recent years. Due to its versatility, it can be an ideal form of exercise for people of all ages and fitness levels. It can also be great method for rehabilitation. Mixing Pilates with a routine form of cardio can help boost you toward your fitness goals!
Pilates Means Balance
Pilates is the science of controlling one’s movements naturally through body-mind-spirit. The main idea behind creating this exercise was to combine both eastern and western approaches to working out, the eastern approach dealing with calmness and centeredness. And the western approach dealing with motion, muscle tone and strength to create what is known today as Pilates. The principles that guide Pilates are concentrating on each movement, involving steady movements and controlled breathing. Pilates is different compared to aerobic exercises, like swimming or cycling. Pilates reduce the overall stress in individuals, which result in long term heart health.
Pilates and Cardio a New Thing
Pilates and cardio go hand in hand when it comes to getting results in the gym, there are many other fitness methods out there but Pilates has become worldly renowned. Even, the stars in Hollywood and sports leagues use Pilates and cardio in their workout regimen. Pilates has taken over the United States by storm, there are over nine million people who are actively using Pilates, as a part of their workout method. Pilates focus on all the movements of your body, comparing it with other fitness machines there is no other fitness exercises that can produce results like the Pilates can. Working out on machines such as the treadmill, the bicycle and elliptical only provide one forward motion, while a Pilates exercise targets key parts of the body. Mixing both Pilates and cardio exercise prove to be beneficial, and will give you better posture, core strength and balance.
Health Benefits of Pilates and Cardio
Pilates and cardio both have benefits to individuals who include them in their fitness training. Benefits such as, weight loss, better posture, injury prevention and increased energy levels are a result of Pilates and cardio exercises. Pertaining to weight loss Pilates is not comparable to cardio, incorporating cardio into the Pilates routine will produce weight loss results. Determined by health experts doing 2-3 Pilates and cardio workouts per week for 30-minute sessions will help with weight loss. However, it is the complete opposite with posture awareness, where cardio has a less of an impact on posture while Pilates are great for posture. Injury prevention is very avoidable when workouts are mixed with Pilates, for example if we worked the same muscle group every time we workout, the body falls out of alignment, which can lead to an injury. Having a couple days out of your weekly exercises to replace with Pilates, will decrease the risk of having an injury. Pilates and cardio do impact energy levels because of the chemicals like dopamine and serotonin which are released from the brain, when we workout.
Pilates Helping with Heart Disease Prevention
Pilates and cardio prove to be beneficial towards long term heart health, Mat Pilates is effective of lowering blood pressure in women with hypertension. Hypertension is more prevalent in women above the age of 55. Women should incorporate Pilates twice weekly into their workout regimen, this will lead to lowering their diastolic and systolic numbers. Specifically, Pilates isometric exercise has proven to help reduce blood pressure. Isometric exercises deal with holding the muscles in contraction under pressure to challenge strength. Pilates was also used in a recent study where patients who had chronic stroke participated in using Pilates for eight weeks. The results proved to be worthwhile the patients reported an increase in cardiopulmonary function, which increased their working ability. Pilates are easy on the joints and help strengthen the immune system.
HIT Pilates and Cardio
Pilates and cardio are combined in what is called a high intensity interval training, this specific type of fitness workout has two phases; one phase is where you do the high intensity cardio for 30 seconds, and a low intensity Pilates workout in the “rest” phase. Pilates allow you to align your body and start the core for the next high intensity exercise. Which in return allows you to get the high intensity cardio training as well as the core muscle activation from Pilates. The benefits of HIT are that the Pilates are quick, fun and high energy. After a session of HIT Pilates, it is said that you will burn calories for up to 24 hours beyond the workout. Most importantly you will keep muscle mass, lose weight and boost your metabolism.
Looking for an Excellent Pilates Studio in the Upper East Side Area in Manhattan?
At ChaiseFitness, we believe that anyone can be fit—no matter what skill level or body type. This belief inspired the creation of our patented Reinvention Method, which is for everyone—the athlete, the dancer, the beginner, the advanced, the rebuilder. We blend Pilates, ballet, and strength training and equip you with a chair and overhead bungees so that you work out all your muscles every time. We are located in the Upper East Side in Manhattan. For more information, you can contact us at (973)996-2063, or visit our website.