Don’t have time to exercise? Try these five Pilates exercises, which can be done at home, and which will help improve your well-being and fitness.
Pilates is a modality that contributes to the improvement of flexibility, posture, strength and balance. With proper care, it can be practiced by people of any age and anywhere. To get started in this modality, Débora Muro, marketing manager of Vivafit, a partner gym of the Montepio Association, suggests 5 pilates exercises that she can do at home and the benefits they bring to the body and mind.
1.Cat Stretch
This exercise improves flexibility in the neck, shoulders and spine. The movement stretches the muscles of the hips, back, abdomen and chest. By staying in this position, the Pilates practitioner releases tension from the neck and upper back.
2.One Leg Stretch
Also known as a single leg stretch, this is a classic Pilates exercise that can be done anywhere. It is a resistance exercise and helps to tone the abdominal muscles. In this stretch, the trunk is stabilized and supported, with only the arms and legs moving. This exercise develops full-body coordination, challenges body awareness, control of the center of the body, flexibility and muscular endurance.
3.Shoulder bridge
Known as a bridge, this exercise can be done with the help of a ball and works various parts of our body, the main one being the spine. The practitioner lowers the hip and curls the spine while using two breathing cycles. The bridge is a great exercise to gain thoracic mobility and lessen the strain on the lumbar spine. It is also a good exercise to train the interaction between the pelvis, ribs and waist, strengthening the glutes and hamstrings.
4.Swimming
This is a classic exercise that works on strengthening the muscles of the entire posterior chain, trunk stability and coordination. It’s another exercise that works on the breathing, playing with the inhalation and exhalation between the lifts of the limbs. The purpose of this exercise is upper limb extensions and spinal stability.
5.The Hundred
Used sometimes to warm up the class, this exercise requires coordination of breathing, while the arms move and the abdomen is constantly contracted. You can see why practitioners are properly warmed up, rest takes place only after counting 100 arm movements. This is also where the name of this exercise comes from, which works, like few others, all the main muscles of our body.
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