Pilates training method is a kind of physical fitness system-a kind of static fitness exercise, which was founded and popularized by Joseph Pilates in Germany in 1926. Westerners always pay attention to the training of body muscles and physiological functions, such as waist, abdomen, back, chest and buttocks, while orientals pay attention to the training of breathing and concentration, such as yoga and Tai Chi. Pilates absorbs the eastern and western cultures and is compatible with the related research results of physiology and psychology. At first, Pilates was only used in two major fields, namely, muscle training of professional dance groups and the recovery of physical function and muscle strength of patients after rehabilitation in medical rehabilitation institutions.

With the development of modern society, Pilates has continuously made some humanized improvements, incorporating some ideas of yoga, Tai Ji Chuan and ballet and the personalized content of coaches. The training method of Pilates is to follow the exercise principle of using one's own weight, many times, small weight and meditation. The breathing mode during training is nasal inhalation, which is an external training for muscle shape and joints. The purpose of training is to improve the human spine and lumbar spine by changing the muscle function.

The history of Pilates

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Pilates originated in concentration camps.

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.

Characteristics of Pilates

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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.

1. Pilates is a combination of eastern and western sports concepts.

Westerners have always paid attention to the training of physical muscle ability, such as waist, abdomen, back and chest. Orientals, on the other hand, pay attention to the training of breathing and concentration. Meditation, yoga and Tai Chi are good examples. Pilates combines the flexibility of the East with the fortitude of the West. Its movements are slow and clear, and every posture must be coordinated with breathing. Therefore, Pilates is suitable for people of any age, especially those who lack exercise, need to touch the computer for a long time and work from nine to five. Stretching and lengthening is also one of the most important exercises in Pilates. Its special feature is that the muscles will not thicken after exercise. By exercising the core parts of the body (waist and abdominal muscles, including transverse abdominal muscles, oblique abdominal muscles, oblique abdominal muscles, rectus abdominis and erector spinae), the spine will become soft and tough. Therefore, Pilates can not only improve the body lines, but also have a very good effect on correcting the neck and spinal cord.

2. Pilates is safe

Its movement speed is relatively peaceful, it is static, and it will hardly cause damage to joints and muscles. At the same time, the combination of static and dynamic movements makes the body nervous and relaxed, including the change of pace and meditation, which makes it easier for exercisers to control their own bodies and reduce the negative effects caused by posture errors. Pilates brings comprehensive exercise to your body with very simple equipment. As long as there is a quiet space and a soft carpet, you can practice and achieve the perfect combination of body and mind.

3. Pilates emphasizes the control process during rest.

This enables the trainer to enhance muscle strength without increasing muscle volume. Pilates' light equipment practice is to follow the principle of small weight and multiple times, so that the muscles are full of elasticity and will not be too prominent. Its exercise intensity is not particularly great, but it pays attention to control, stretching and breathing, which plays a very good role in shaping women's waist, abdomen, buttocks and other key parts. This is more suitable for women's requirements for physical beauty in real life.

In China, Pilates has quietly entered people's lives, opened corresponding courses in various gyms, and formed a certain scale group.

The Star Effect of Pilates

Elva Hsiao Elva, an Asian diva, is a fanatic of this fitness method.

Elva became attached to Pilates in 2005. When she first came into contact with Pilates, she was deeply impressed by this simple but effective exercise of muscle strength training. At first, Elva did Pilates for half an hour before going to bed every day, and lost 3 kilograms in 14 days. From then on, Elva fell in love with Pilates. Elvia is preparing a book about Pilates because of her success in practicing Pilates diligently. Among many Pilates moves, Elvia will recommend those that she has personally exercised and have remarkable effects to everyone to share the fun of Pilates.

Some big-name Hollywood stars, such as Madonna's pilates exercises to restore her figure after childbirth, have achieved amazing slimming effects. In addition, jennifer lopez, Sharon Si Tong, Julia Roberts and others also rely on persistent Pilates to keep their impressive figure. The huge star effect also makes the popularity index of Pilates rise sharply, which has set off an upsurge of Pilates movement around the world.

Let the muscle lines stretch

The main function of practicing other sports in the gym may be to exercise the heart and lungs. Pilates stretches your muscles directly, so it will make you feel awkward and uncomfortable during exercise. You want to turn left and right, you want to turn up and down, you want to inhale and exhale, and all kinds of postures incredibly strengthen your coordination and mobilize the muscles that you may not be able to mobilize in your life. If you think a posture is not so difficult to look at and uncomfortable, it is quite comfortable to do. Needless to say, it must be wrong.

Rigid-flexible exercise

One of the important reasons for the recent popularity of Pilates is that it is not limited by the venue. You can practice on the mat or even on the floor. Compared with yoga, it is more prominent in the combination of Chinese and western, which not only combines the "rigidity" of westerners who pay attention to physical muscle and functional training, but also integrates the "softness" of orientals who emphasize the integration of body and mind during practice, and each posture should be coordinated with breathing.

Pilates can not only improve the external shape of human body, but also have special effects in treating some diseases. For example: body edema, low back pain, constipation, fatigue, varicose veins and so on.

Relax in stretching and breathing.

Most people who work in offices have fat around their waists, and Pilates is a very targeted exercise. In any case, your muscles should be tense, and your legs should be stretched as far as possible to match your breathing. Imagine that your head is about to hit the ceiling. In the beautiful music, the fitness instructor is guiding you to practice. No pressure, no irritability, in this environment, I really feel that I am a person above everything, only intoxicated with sports.

Doing Pilates can get the following benefits:

A healthy and soft back

Pilates can give more support to your spine and create more space between your vertebrae. These extra spaces will not only make you look slimmer, but also give you more flexibility and turn your spine from a hard stick into a string of pearls. This new soft spine can help you avoid spinal degeneration problems, such as slipping. It can also help you become more elegant and relaxed in your activities.

Gentle training

If your figure is out of shape, Pilates can easily join any of your body-building plans. Pilates will not bring any pressure to your joints, and will not bring any damage to the cartilage and ligaments around your joints, especially your knee and shoulder joints. This will make your muscles more coordinated and draw your attention back to your inner worries. Pilates recovered quickly, more like going to physical therapy. In fact, unlike other sports, you can do it safely every day without worrying about excessive muscle and joint pressure. But in order to achieve the exercise effect, you only need to do Pilates three times a week. However, you must persevere, which is the key.

Improve your mental outlook and vitality.

Pilates can promote your emotional health. Smooth movements can calm your mind and relieve mental tension. When you lengthen and strengthen your muscles, it can help you to promote the operation of the circulatory system and eliminate your nervousness. Every movement will make you feel calm, coordinated and full of energy. Focus on getting rid of your stress, and you will get physical and mental health.

Better balance and coordination

When you are in your forties and fifties, your balance ability will deteriorate due to muscle atrophy and loss of sensitivity of nerve receptors. Pilates reverses this aging process by stabilizing your core. Pilates will move to your delicate deep muscles to help you keep your body stable and make your spine softer and stronger.

Relieve pain and stiffness

If you are troubled by the pain of osteoarthritis, you will find that doing Pilates can lengthen your body and reduce the pain. Proper exercise is very important for treating arthritis, because stretching can increase your flexibility and reduce your pain and fatigue. Stretching allows nutrients to flow to your muscles and tendons. They can make your muscles healthy and minimize the possibility of injury. Pilates can also stimulate the production of joint lubricants, which can relax the muscles of your legs, back, neck and shoulders and relieve pain and tension.

Quickly return to the body shape before pregnancy.

Many female friends will ask me why my stomach is still so flat after giving birth to two children. It's not long, but you need to do some exercise often and you will see the effect. Muscles have a good memory. You just need to do a little exercise and they will return to their original state.

Matters needing attention

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Pilates' movements must be accurate, so we should pay special attention to the following aspects:

Correct posture:

The correct posture is to keep the abdomen and back concentrated with proper strength and let the muscles support the spine. Powerful abdominal muscles form a "strength area" that supports the spine. When you straighten your abdomen and back correctly and strengthen the strength of other muscles, the whole body will reach a natural and ideal state. This posture will contribute to proper muscle exercise.

Good breathing:

A good way to breathe is to keep the mind, body and spirit in step, so that the physical and mental pressure of the practitioner can be swept away. Breathe at the right time. Unlike our usual breathing, Pilates requires inhaling when you breathe (when your abdomen is stretched) and exhaling when you tighten your abdomen.

The Pilates movement demands the harmony of thought and spirit. In Pilates practice, the decompression of the mind can actually be done naturally.

Practicing Pilates has a special set of movements that need to be completed under the guidance of a coach, but you can also do its simple exercises at home:

Action 1: Lie on your back on the floor, relax your neck and keep your spine naturally bent. Inhale for 5 beats, exhale slowly for 5 beats, and at the same time tuck in and lift up.

Action 2: Lie on your back on the floor with your abdomen contracted and your feet off the ground. The back needs to be as close to the ground as possible, while the neck is relaxed. When exhaling, hold your neck, keep your head on the ground, lift your knees and get close to your upper body.

Action 3: Lie face down. Push your head forward and your shoulders sink. Contraction of abdominal muscles, lifting navel off the ground. You must keep this posture throughout the exercise. Inhale and raise your head, lift your arms and chest off the ground and tighten your back muscles.

Exhale and then slowly put it down. When exhaling, the upper body is still, and the legs are lifted off the ground to a height where the back muscles are not too tense.

Action 4: Hold your hands on the ground and do push-ups The abdomen and buttocks are tightened, and the body and trunk are in a straight line, and they are still for 20 seconds. The center of the body moves the trunk up and down gently, lifting it and doing it repeatedly 12- 15 times.

Action 5: Take a push-up posture, which is the same as the first half of Action 4. Lift your left leg and exhale at the same time. Hip joint can't move. Note that the leg lifting action is driven by the contraction of abdominal muscles. Inhale when the left leg is down and exhale when the right leg is up. Make sure your hips are still and your back is straight. Also sink your shoulders and lengthen your neck as much as possible. Gently lift and lower your legs alternately, keeping a constant speed. These movements can be practiced two or three times in cycles.

skill

1. Pilates has no age or gender restrictions and is suitable for anyone.

2. Because most of the movements are done by lying on the mat, it is suggested that female friends should not practice by braiding.

Without dietary restrictions, many people will be tempted, but don't eat too much.

4. Try to wear tight sportswear to practice, and you can check whether your muscles are in a state of tension at any time.

Pilates main population:

Office workers who lack exercise sit in the office all the year round, making their muscles lose strength and prone to backache. Over time, even their body lines are out of shape. Pilates helps to re-stretch tight muscles, just like doing deep massage, and at the same time practice muscle endurance to evenly distribute body pressure.

Many people "sit" on the computer every day, and the "lifebuoy" formed on their waistlines is getting bigger and bigger. Pilates exercises the muscles of the abdomen, side waist, back and buttocks, which can not only remove the "life buoy", but also relieve psychological pressure.

Practical principle

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People who have really come into contact with Pilates will find that in just 5 minutes, their bodies will be hot and sweaty. Every movement of Pilates is slow and clear, focusing on control, stretching and breathing. By exercising the core parts of the body, the body becomes soft and elastic. It makes the body move left and right together, which can gradually correct the bad habits of ordinary people who are used to turning left or right, and make the body more harmonious and balanced.

The principle of breathing: ① Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth, pay attention to the depth of exhalation, and try to breathe through the abdomen. ② Breathing speed is not easy to be too fast, which is basically consistent with the movement speed. Don't hold your breath for training. (3) Pay attention to exhaling during exercise and inhaling during rest. This can relieve the pressure brought by muscle exertion to the inside of the body. ④ By controlling breathing and focusing on breathing, people's sensitivity to muscle soreness is reduced.

Body control principles: ① Slow exercise speed, prolonged muscle control time and large energy consumption in all parts of the body, thus achieving the purpose of reducing fat and shaping. Grasp the posture of the body and let it experience the stimulation brought by long-term training. ③ Fixation of abdomen and trunk is the core of Pilates training.

basic elements

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"Concentration, control, center of gravity, breathing, fluency, accuracy, relaxation and persistence" are the basic elements of Pilates.

1. Focus

When training, you should concentrate and listen to your body's feelings quietly.

control

Move in place and try to reach the position required by the coach.

3. Center of gravity

Use the resistance brought by your own gravity to achieve the effect of exercising muscles.

breathe

Pay attention to the depth of breathing and use abdominal breathing as much as possible.

fluent

Smooth movements and even speed.

accurate

Accurate posture, better effect.

relax

Feel the body parts carefully while meditating.

8. Sustain

Consciously contract the muscles that need to be exercised, keep nervous and consume energy.

Young or no longer young ladies dream of having a smooth and soft body, slim and strong legs and a flat and firm abdomen, which they will have after tasting Pilates' "dessert".

Basic training of Pilates

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Before practicing martial arts, you should learn to tie horses, and Pilates also has its basic skills. But don't worry, you don't have to spend three months learning the basics first. You only need to read them carefully and move them into Pilates, and you can get the maximum effect of practice.

Lateral respiration

Pilates with lateral breathing can promote correct exercise patterns and make your lungs absorb the most oxygen. When inhaling, the lower part of the sternum expands laterally and sinks when exhaling. Breathing in this way can help you keep your abdomen contracting and bending during exercise.

Sit up straight or stand up straight. Put your hands next to your sternum. Inhale, the sternum expands horizontally, but the stomach does not rise. Feel the movement of the sternum. Shoulder sink.

When inhaling, try to sink into the body under the sternum. Feel the sternum on both sides close to the center.

Cohesive Axis/Dominant Area Core/Power Station

Axis or strength zone refers to a series of muscles that form and stabilize the center of the body. These muscles include abdominal muscles (especially transverse abdominis), lower back muscles and pelvic floor muscles. A strong shaft can not only reduce the chance of back injury, but also improve posture and adjust the balance of the body. Ordinary people tend to ignore these muscles. Pilates teaches you to find and use them.

In order to achieve good axial stability, you need to contract the pelvic floor muscles while pulling into the lower abdomen and start the transverse abdominis. The pelvic floor muscle is located in the pelvic floor (see Figure A), while the transverse abdominis muscle is an inner band around the lower abdomen and waist. To start the pelvic floor muscles, the pelvic floor should be pulled inward and upward, which feels a bit like forbearing urine. When you slowly tighten the pelvic floor muscles, the multifidus (which is hard to feel) and the flat abdomen contract at the same time. Continue to tighten the lower abdomen, and this contraction will progress upward and inward to the spine (see Figure B). Don't shrink with all your strength. It is the standard strength of setting shaft to achieve 30%-40% complete tightening.

Put your shoulders down/down

Many people will accumulate stress on their necks and shoulders. Coupled with bad posture, such as sitting in front of the computer for a long time, hunching your back and protruding, a round arch and tight upper back will be formed over time. The tip of the scapula is outward away from the sternum. Pilates emphasizes that the back muscles sink the shoulders during use to help straighten the upper back.

You can use this little exercise to practice shoulder sinking. At first, raise your shoulders and put them down a few times. Note that when you shrug your shoulders, the tip of your scapula moves outward. When the shoulder is lowered, the tip of the scapula contracts downward and inward. We use this action to fix the position of the shoulder. When the tip of the scapula sinks down to the midline of the back, you will feel the neck stretch naturally at the same time, relieving the pressure and tension on the neck and shoulders.

Axle box trunk box

Imagine four straight lines connecting two shoulders and two pelvis. This "box" implies the arrangement and symmetry of the body. When doing every Pilates exercise, ask yourself, "Is my box square?" Many people habitually rely on one side of their bodies, and you can even notice that you are leaning or rotating to one side. When doing all kinds of daily activities, you often feel that one side of your body is easy to control. Pilates makes you more aware of these imbalances and then correct them.

Chin to chest

The movements of cushion Pilates are mostly supine head-up and hands and feet-up. Correct head position is very important for increasing abdominal muscle use and reducing neck pressure. The head should be lifted forward to the clavicle and the chin should be pushed to the sternum. There should be a distance of about a fist between chin and chest, and the line of sight should be fixed on the axis. Raising your head like this also helps you check the alignment of your torso and feet with your eyes during exercise. Beginners often make the mistake of putting their chin too close to the sternum, or leaning their heads back, so they feel their neck hurts.

Stretch the spine and limbs.

Pilates and dance teachers often tell students to "lengthen their spine" and "grow taller". Can adults "grow taller" like this? It can be! Studies have shown that participants can really stretch their spine and reduce the compression between vertebrae through simple verbal instructions. There are two key positions that can help you "grow taller". First, increase the distance between pelvis and sternum. In addition, pull the head away from the direction of the tail keel. When you learn to "grow taller", you must learn to keep this height. Pilates is to awaken the muscles that maintain sitting and standing posture.

As for stretching limbs, it helps to strengthen the muscles of limbs. Pay attention to the alignment of limbs and don't lock elbows and knees.

Natural axial position of spine and pelvis Neutral spine/pelvis

The natural axial positions of the spine and pelvis are complementary. When the basin is in the natural axis, the lower back bone will automatically fall into its axis position. In order to find the natural axis of the pelvis, put the bottom of the palm on the pelvis and the fingertips on the pubic bone to form a triangle. When this triangle is horizontal, the pelvis and lower back are on the natural central axis (see Figure A). Try to keep this natural central axis position in every pilates movement.

Spine rolling/peeling

A healthy spine should be not only strong, but also soft. Many pad pilates focus on the average movement of the spine segment by segment. In this book, we use the words "rolling the spine" and "moving away from the spine section by section" to bring out the clear and controllable activity pattern of the spinal segment.

Pilates posture

The ankles meet to form a V-shape. Pilates starts from the pool. You should tighten your hips, bring the back of your thighs close to each other, and turn your thighs outward from the pelvic cavity before your feet open into a V-shape. Although the hips and thighs are tightened, the calves and feet should be relaxed and stretched.

Integration integration

One of the characteristics of mat pilates is to participate in thinking about one's own activity mode. A common method is to focus on a set of muscles or areas during activities. But Pilates requires you to expand your attention, even other parts of your body, and realize that your body is actually an integrated activity. Only in this way can your movements be more effective and balanced.

Common movements of Pilates

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1. Leg circle

Lie flat on the mat with your 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 wrap your legs too much during the process, and keep your hips and hips 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

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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.