Has curiosity ever gotten the better of you? It gets the better and the worse of me all the time. I've been waiting to try out the last of the six workouts for a few days. My options were between some variation of dance, aerobics, and pilates.
So, there I was on Saturday morning, sweating to the bone after my spin class, standing under the aircon outside the pilates studio. I'd watched these classes in motion a few times because most of my spin buddies run for pilates over the weekend. Shalini was ushering everyone in, and screaming for Anupa—our power yoga trainer—to join her, when she suddenly narrowed her eyes at me. "What are you doing this morning?", she asked. I shrugged and said nothing much. "Come do this class with us. It won't take long".
Pilates helps build your core. It is basically strength training. You're not running around like you would during aerobics, or struggling with your breath like you would in power yoga, you're just lying on a mat and focusing on a single part of your body. Each and every bit of you is stretched to the max.
It is prime that your posture and form is perfect when you do these exercises. I learned this when Shalini's leg, shoe and all, landed on my thigh to keep it straight. We did a few variations of stretches for the upper body that morning. Combined with deep breathing, pilates relaxed my body and made me focus on muscles I couldn't generally have focused on.
 | ||||||
| Cycle, people, cycle! |
Pilates helps build your core. It is basically strength training. You're not running around like you would during aerobics, or struggling with your breath like you would in power yoga, you're just lying on a mat and focusing on a single part of your body. Each and every bit of you is stretched to the max.
It is prime that your posture and form is perfect when you do these exercises. I learned this when Shalini's leg, shoe and all, landed on my thigh to keep it straight. We did a few variations of stretches for the upper body that morning. Combined with deep breathing, pilates relaxed my body and made me focus on muscles I couldn't generally have focused on.
Recommendation level: It's the right level of intense. I'm definitely going back.
Good for: strengthening your muscles and "WHO WANTS STRONG ABS!?"
Pain points thus far: My stomach hurts every time I try to laugh. The whole of my stomach region pretty much hates me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Out of all the workouts I've tried, I've stuck with power yoga twice a week, and spin class once a week followed by pilates. I feel great and can see my body changing for the better. Also, two people have told me I look fitter. Gain is happening, after all that pain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Out of all the workouts I've tried, I've stuck with power yoga twice a week, and spin class once a week followed by pilates. I feel great and can see my body changing for the better. Also, two people have told me I look fitter. Gain is happening, after all that pain.
No comments:
Post a Comment