Most people, regardless of their age or physical activity level, can benefit from Pilates. Pilates as an exercise program can have amazing health benefits, but it can also increase your self-confidence and over all well-being.  Through strengthening the core of the body, you achieve great physical results, but you also will be surprised with the betterment to your mental health too.

Pilates strengthens the core of the body. Your core is the muscles in the back, tummy and rear, and these muscles affect your entire body. With each pilates move, you are actually working the entire body, not just one muscle group. Pilate's exercises lengthen and de-compress the spine. With increased strength in your core and increased stability, and elongated core muscles your posture will improve and your body will appear longer and leaner, not bulky. And, of course, a strong core results in a smooth, toned belly. Through Pilates exercises you will be feel more stable standing, walking and sitting. Great posture and a firm belly will always result in an increase in self confidence.
 
Pilates also increases your mind body connection. To successfully benefit from Pilates, you must properly perform the exercises. The rythme of your breath is an important part of Pilates exercises so your mind must be engaged in the activity and focused on your breathing. While some moves require inhaling, others require exhaling and proper breathing requires a mental focus that many other exercise programs do not require. The focus of Pilates is on controlling your entire body, not exercising to death. Proper focusing abilities are tools you can use in any area of life, not just your exercise program.

Because Pilates is a low impact workout, anyone can participate. If you suffer from joint pain or muscle issues you can do the movements to your own level of control. There is no impact on those sore muscles and joints. Pilates greatly increases your flexibility, while strengthening muscles at the same time. Everyone from senior citizens to growing children can benefit from Pilates exercises.

Many people have been injured while doing their favorite aerobic activity. The most important thing is that you give your body proper time to heal from the specific injury whether it is  a sprained ankle, damage to the knee joint, broken toes, or even shin splints. If it is a serious injury from a pain and/or mobility standpoint always consult with a doctor.  They will guide you regarding when to begin rehabbing and/or exercising again. Remaining positive though is the goal as most people who take a break from aerobic exercise or weight training exercise, realize even more results after starting up again.

For most people aerobic exercise injuries are the result of bad posture, and for aerobic exercise this is generally related to your lower body form. Standing flat footed, knees bending in during squatting or lunging movements, and rounding of the lower back rounding are the leading causes of how we might get injured while doing aerobic activities. Following are some tips to strengthen our lower bodies.

Try walking backwards on a treadmill. This is going to give you a great workout for your glutes and hamstrings while also strengthening the muscles in your feet. Make sure that as you walk backwards you're extending back far, standing tall, while making sure you are stepping back an equal distance with each leg. Also try walking sideways on the treadmill (changing directions halfway through your workout) to exercise your adductors (inner thighs) and abductors (outer thighs), while also strengthening the muscles in your feet. Another good idea is using the elliptical backwards (same principle) or just doing any of the treadmill exercises listed above on the ground. Challenge your muscles with different movements like these to strength and stabilize the lower body areas most prone to injuries.

Core exercises refer to those exercises that target the abdominal and lower back muscle groups. You will also find that including some exercise for the glutes (butt) will help, too, as these areas function together as your core.

Pilates classes or exercises specialize in the core group, but some traditional strength exercises like crunches, lunges,  and back extensions also are effective. You can and should work these areas every other day. As always with any exercise program you should start slowly.  Maybe do one set of crunches, an exercise for the oblique abs, an easy back extension, and set of lunges. If you are out of shape or beginning rehab due to surgery contact a fitness professional at Answer is Fitness to get proper guidance and direction.

As you progress you should increase degree of difficulty (resistance, reps, etc) slowly. However If you're already in good shape, start at an appropriate level. Remember, you will not see abdominal definition unless you have a low percentage of body fat, which requires a good nutrition or diet program. However, it's important to have strong abs anyway as they impact back health, posture, stability, etc.