5 ways pilates can keep you young
Our body and ageing: it’s just a fact of life… or is it? As we get older, we tend to fear the inevitable effects that ageing will have on our bodies. Gone are the days when we could run faster, work harder, and feel stronger. But does this always have to be the case? While there’s no way to stop time altogether, practising pilates can act as a preventative and transformative measure to help keep us feeling our best for as long as possible. Here are our top five reasons practising this strength-training exercise will keep you feeling younger, longer.
1. Flexibility
The older we get, the further away our toes seem, right? Well, they don’t have to be. Pilates is a stretch-intensive exercise. With prolonged practice, exercisers can improve their long-term flexibility and bone alignment to keep feeling lithe and limber.
2. Deep breathing
Much like its Zen counter-part, yoga, Pilates focuses on deep breathing. Unlike jogging or jumping rope, which may make you out of breath, deep, measured breaths are imperative to the pilates practice. Well-oxygenated cells are associated with improved cognitive ability and higher levels of energy, to keep you feeling alert.
3. Pilates for osteoporosis
For some of us, ageing means the threat of osteoporosis. Luckily, pilates can help with that too. Using either your body weight or additional weights as resistance, pilates can help to strengthen your muscles and improve skeletal alignment, which puts less pressure on your bones. Pilates is also a low impact exercise, which means your knees and other joints will remain strong with less risk of future damage.
4. Physique
One of the inescapable truths of life is that as we grow older, our metabolism slows down. As a result, it can become harder to maintain the physique we had when we were younger. Pilates can help with that, too. Regular practise helps build muscle, which in turn burns more calories for energy. This will help keep you feeling and looking trim no matter what decade you’re in and can be more effective than cardio alone for weight-loss purposes.
5. Strength
Moves such as planks, pilates push-ups and squats, with or without added resistance, can help to strengthen your muscles and increase your load bearing tolerance. In short? Pilates can get your body feeling stronger than it ever has, regardless of your age.