Pilates is a course to relieve the muscles of the whole body and improve the control ability of the human trunk. Its origin can be traced back to the concentration camp in the 19 14 war.

Joseph Pilates, the founder of Pilates, was sickly since childhood. However, in his later work, he combined the eastern and western health-keeping methods, such as yoga, Tai Chi and traditional health-keeping methods in ancient Greece and Rome, and created Pilates with his own designed equipment and sports skills. 19 14 War broke out in Europe. Joseph Pilate, who lived in England at that time, was put in a concentration camp because he was German. In the concentration camp, he began to help those bedridden patients train and restore their muscle strength and control. Later, Joseph Pilates moved to new york to train with ballet dancers. This kind of training was further spread, and many celebrities came to practice, thus gradually forming Joseph Pilates' fitness studio.

"The first requirement of happiness is health. Our understanding of physical health is to achieve and maintain the unity of body and sound mind, abundant natural exercise ability, and happily and calmly complete various tasks in daily life. " Joseph Pilates wrote the above passage in 1945, which also fully explained the true meaning of Pilates.

Now, Pilates has evolved into a noun, referring to all courses that use Joseph Pilates to exercise. This course can be a group fitness course or a private training course set up by a coach to correct special injuries, muscle imbalance or other physical problems. Pilates group fitness classes are specially designed for people who work in offices. Because of working at a desk and computer for a long time, muscle development is unbalanced. This lesson mainly focuses on the muscle training of abdominal muscles, gluteal muscles, shoulders and back. Regular pilates exercises can correct body posture, relax waist and neck, solve shoulder problems and tighten loose muscles in arms and abdomen. Nowadays, many professional athletes also use Pilates to avoid sports injuries.

Pilates' fitness style

Exercise never means sweating all over your face. Today, when aerobic exercise is advocated, gentle and graceful movements are more conducive to the consumption of excess fat, just like Pilates.

Pilates is one of the most popular and fashionable fitness programs at present, and you can feel the full swing of Pilates atmosphere in major fitness centers. Its prosperity today may be attributed to its founder, Joseph Pilates, hence the name Pilates. He is a sickly man. For the sake of health, he gradually integrated the eastern and western health preserving methods, such as yoga and Tai Ji Chuan, with some movements designed by himself, and later gradually formed the Pilates of today.

The biggest feature of Pilates is that it is easy to learn. It not only moves gently, but also exercises the arms, chest and shoulders purposefully, and at the same time enhances the flexibility of the body. Moreover, this sport is not limited by the location of activities, and can be practiced in professional gyms and living rooms.

Common movements of Pilates

1. Leg circle lies flat on the mat, with arms at your sides. First lift one leg, put the other leg straight or bent on the ground, tighten the abdomen, and press the waist to the ground. When inhaling, lift your legs up and turn in circles, in any direction. When exhaling, return to the starting point and stop the action. Do this 4 ~ 6 times in one direction and 4 ~ 6 times in the other direction.

Tip: Don't loop your legs too much during the process, and keep your hips and hip joints still.

Function: This group of movements exercises the leg muscles and can keep the legs in a beautiful curve. At the same time, combined breathing can reasonably adjust the visceral function and make the movements more flexible and coordinated.

Step 2 stretch on one leg

Lift your upper body, lift your shoulders off the ground, straighten your left leg and bend your right leg. Put your ankle on the outside of your right leg and your knee on the inside of your right leg. Breathe 1 time. Switch legs and repeat the action. So the left and right sides exchanged 8 ~ 10 times respectively.

Tip: Don't relax your upper body during the whole process, and keep your upper back off the ground.

Function: This group of movements makes the body more coordinated, and at the same time exercises the toughness of the upper body and the flexibility of abdominal muscles, spine and bones.

Step 3 stretch your legs

Lift your upper body, put your knees on your chest and tighten your body. Then tuck your knees in your hands, inhale and stretch your body. Let the body return to a tight state when breathing. Repeat 6 ~ 10 times.

Tip: During the movement, keep your upper body unchanged and your shoulders off the ground. When opening the body, the arm is from front to top, and when retracting, the arm is retracted from the side and hugged by the knee.

Function: This is a group of stretching movements, similar to swimming movements, which can stretch the body and body joints and get complete relaxation.

4. Side kick

Lie on your side with your head, shoulders and hips in a straight line. Lean your legs forward slightly, push your left toe to the ground, lift your heel, lift your right leg to hip height, inhale and spread your right leg back, clamp your hip, and kick forward twice when exhaling. Switch legs. Say it again. Do it 6 ~ 8 times on both sides.

Tip: During exercise, the shoulders should be relaxed, and the upper body should not be relaxed.

Function: It can strengthen upper limb muscles, including pectoral muscles, upper back muscles and transverse abdominis muscles, and improve muscle flexibility.

Step 5 lift

Hands and feet fixed, legs bent, left leg in front, right leg in back. When inhaling, one arm supports the body. At this time, the whole body is in a straight line and slowly falls when exhaling. Practice changing legs. Do it 4 ~ 5 times each.

Tip: Slow action and strong control. If it is difficult to finish, you can support it on the ground with your elbow.

Function: This is about the exercise of body balance, which can make the body stronger. At the same time, the flexibility of each joint of both legs was exercised.

Other forms of Pilates

1. upright pilates

This movement has changed the traditional mat movement, and the whole movement process is carried out in an upright posture.

Feet apart, hip width apart, arms straight up, palms facing each other. Straighten your right foot and lift your right leg at a 45-degree angle with your left foot. Draw three circles clockwise with your right foot, and keep your crotch balanced during this process. Then reverse. When finished, the right foot is put back to the ground, the right foot is lifted to the right, the instep is bent, and a circle is drawn in two directions. Left foot. Repeat, right foot.

Function: This kind of exercise is a good way to exercise legs and buttocks. At the same time, upright can improve the balance and agility of the body.

2. Fitness ball Pilates

This kind of exercise is always carried out on the fitness ball.

Kneel on the floor with your right side leaning against a big fitness ball. Stretch out your left foot to support your body, and your right foot is still kneeling in place. Put your right hand on the ball, bend your left arm, put your left elbow behind your head and hold your neck. Bend sideways, try to touch your left hip with your left elbow, and retreat when you can't get close. * * * Do this 8 ~ 12 times. Then do it on the other side.

Function: It is conducive to shaping the muscles of abdomen, crotch, buttocks and lower waist, and can also establish good balance and coordination.

3. Elastic rope Pilates

This set of movements requires an elastic rope.

Lie on your back on the floor with your legs straight and your instep bent. Wrap the elastic rope around your feet and grasp both ends of the elastic rope with both hands. Take a deep breath and try to stick your belly button on your spine. Exhale deeply, biceps brachii contract, raise your hands to your chest, and curl up your back little by little. Take a deep breath, then slowly lie back on the floor and take a deep breath. Take a deep breath and put your hands down. Repeat the above actions for 5 ~ 10 times.

Function: It can exercise the muscle flexibility of chest, back and arms.

4. Little Pilates

First prepare a soft ball with a diameter of 20 ~ 30 cm.

Lie on your back on the floor and hold the ball with your ankles. Lift your legs until they are perpendicular to the ground. Rotate your legs slowly, draw a circle the size of a plate in the air, rotate clockwise and counterclockwise 10 times, palms down, and put them at your sides. Keep your back straight when you turn your legs.

Function: It can shape the curve of hip, crotch and outer thigh.

Health tips

Pilates is a safe way to exercise. Even so, not everyone can do it. Because this sport depends largely on the flexibility of joints, if there are injuries or diseases in the sports system, such as arthritis, muscle strain, ligament injury, etc., it is best not to practice for the time being. Patients with platelet dysfunction or coagulation dysfunction may get worse after exercise and should be avoided.

Don't have a full meal before exercise, otherwise it will lead to digestive system dysfunction. However, some mineral water or other drinks can be prepared during exercise to supplement the water lost during exercise.