WHY PILATES TONES BETTER THAN WEIGHT TRAINING

We are making a big call with this title, we know! However, Chris and myself have not taken one step inside a gym since practicing Pilates consistently, as Pilates is a fantastic form of exercise that both tones and strengthens your muscles. Please note that Pilates should be practised alongside cardiovascular exercise and a healthy balanced diet. 

Why Pilates tones better than weight training: 

1. Core Strength

The fundamental principle of Pilates is learning how to tighten your deep stomach muscles (your tranversus abdominis) and your pelvic floor correctly. Once you have learnt how to activate these muscles simultaneously, your core strength will develop and improve. The action of activating your core muscles tightens and draws in your waist and lower abdominals, which will in turn tone them. Weight machines will not assist you in activating and turning on your core muscles, hence you may find that you are overworking your superficial abdominals and will wind up with a very noticeable '2-pack' of tone, while the rest of your stomach will not change in size or tone. 

2. Lean & Long Muscles

Pilates will reshape your muscles by enhancing the fluidity of them, whilst lifting weights will not. Every single movement in Pilates is designed to lengthen your muscles, instead of shortening them. Whilst you unfortunately will not grow centimetres taller by practising Pilates (sorry to burst some readers' bubbles!) you will certainly feel taller, longer and leaner. 

3. Body Weight as your Resistance

To perform Pilates exercises correctly, whether you are on a mat or on a reformer machine, you must utilise your entire body weight. When using weight machines, you are able to rely on the machine to do the work for you. Free weights are better, however they do not tone as many muscles as specific Pilates exercises do, nor do they result in fluid, controlled movements like Pilates exercises will. Pilates was designed to isolate those difficult and hard-to-tone muscles more efficiently than weights/weight machines. 

4. Breathing

By combining your movement with breath in Pilates, you are increasing how well you train your muscles, as Pilates breathing utilises several muscles. In addition, Pilates requires you to breathe specifically in a way that engages and contracts your abdominals every movement, which will tighten and tone your muscles more efficiently than heavy breathing when lifting weights. 

5. Flexibility

Do you think that being flexible has an effect on how toned your muscles appear? Absolutely! In addition to preventing injury, flexibility increases how toned & taut your body looks and feels. By increasing your flexibility your posture will improve, as you will hold your body more upright which in turn will make you look taller and leaner. In addition, as your flexibility improves you will find yourself being able to perform more advanced Pilates exercises, which will tone different parts of your muscles that you wouldn't be able to work on if not for your improved flexibility! 

6. Improve Posture

As mentioned above, Pilates vastly improves one's posture. However, did you know that by practising better posture you are training your muscles to hold your body upright and are therefore toning them? Have a practise right now. Sit upright by pulling your shoulder blades down your back and by drawing the tips of your shoulder joints back. Pull in your lower abdominal muscles and squeeze your pelvic floor, whilst drawing your ribs towards your hips to stop the ribs flaring. You should be able to feel that your stomach is drawing inwards and is much flatter than when you were slouching a few seconds ago. 

7. Inner thighs exercises

Pilates is the only form of exercise that myself and Chris have tried that has toned our inner thighs effectively (and we have tried a lot!). There are specific Pilates exercises designed to lift and engage all of the inner thigh muscles, without allowing the other bigger and stronger leg muscles to take over. 

To conclude

Chris and I have discovered these benefits of Pilates, plus many more! As mentioned above, Pilates is not a replacement for cardiovascular exercise or healthy eating, but should be practised in addition to these. Come give Pilates a try with us at Premium Pilates Studio and tell us where you want to tone! We will work with you to isolate these areas! Call 0402 680 724, visit us online at premiumpilatesstudio.com or email inquiries@premiumpilatesstudio.com today. 

x the Premium Pilates team 

Images by http://everything-about-pilates.com/~everythi/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/pilates-for-men1.jpg and http://cdn.vogue.com.au/media/articles/8/8/0/8887-1_n.jpg?150428

THE LOW DOWN on MUSCLE CRAMPS

This winter I have witnessed a vast increase of clients experiencing muscle cramps during their Pilates workouts. Muscle cramps occur when a muscle becomes tight (contracts) without you consciously trying to tighten it and will not relax. This involuntary tightening of a muscle most frequently occurs in the back of the lower leg (the calf), the back of the thigh (the hamstring) or the front of the thigh (the quadricep). Cramps in the feet, hands, arms, abdomen and the rib cage are also common. 

Muscle cramps can be caused by a multiple of things, such as injury, overuse of this muscle, staying in one position for a long time, strain and low levels of particular minerals in the body. The most common cause of muscle cramps is dehydration. Because we live in such a hot and humid climate in Brisbane (and most parts of Australia) we are more susceptible to muscle cramps during activity, as we experience more fluid loss. Fluid is vital as it assists muscles to contract and relax in addition to hydrating muscle cells. 

If the body does not maintain an adequate supply of water throughout the day, muscles will not work as effectively as they should and hence strain and cramping will occur. Drinking water throughout the entire day is a great proactive step to take to avoid muscle cramps during physical activity. The fact that it is winter and cold is no excuse not to drink water! Place a large water bottle at your desk in your eye line and/or make the effort to take a water bottle in your bag with you wherever you go. A lot of our clients drink Green Tea Hawaii, a highly concentrated form of green tea and noni, with their water pre and/or post workouts, which keeps their muscles hydrated and their energy levels high. Click here to find out more about Green Tea Hawaii. 

These inconvenient cramps can also be subdued by stretching the muscle when you feel it about to cramp. Or better yet, take a proactive approach and try to stretch the muscles that you feel are tight throughout the day as well as before and after your workout. See our blog post from last week about stretching for more information! 

Muscle cramps can also occur when your body experiences low levels of minerals such as potassium, calcium and/or magnesium. 

Potassium is essential for muscle cells to function at their greatest efficiency. Low levels of potassium will result in these cells being unable to re-energise as quickly as is required. The best water to treat low potassium levels is to eat potassium-rich foods, such as bananas, strawberries, avocados, kiwifruit, oranges, apricots and cantaloupe. Beef, turkey and fish are also full of potassium and are absorbed more effectively when eaten alongside green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, mushrooms, peas and/or beetroot. Oral potassium supplements can also be taken to ensure that one's potassium level stays within a healthy and steady range. Many multivitamins on the market contain potassium. Ask your doctor and/or a specialist about which supplement they recommend. 

Calcium is fundamental for normal muscle and nerve function, among other things. To increase your calcium intake try to consume more green leafy vegetables such as spinach, sardines and salmon, red beans and/or seaweed. Dairy products also contain high levels of calcium, as do oranges and several cereals. 

Magnesium regulates numerous biochemical reactions in the body, including muscle and nerve function, blood glucose control and blood pressure. This mineral can be found in green leafy vegetables as well as legumes, nuts and whole grains. This mineral has also been added to some cereals and other fortified foods. Magnesium supplements are another way to go to get your recommended daily intake, however we suggest that you go to a health food store, pharmacy or see a doctor for assistance instead of buying online. Bottled, mineral and tap water also contain magnesium, so drink up! (NB: the amount of magnesium in water varies due to the brand and source of the water). 

In summary: Get on the water, get into the habit of stretching and fill your body with foods rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium to avoid those pesky muscle cramps! 

x the Premium Pilates team 

image from http://ksi.uconn.edu.