We have been exercising in one form or another for centuries. Throughout these centuries we have our environment and created wonderful machines that take away the need for a lot of physical exertion in our daily life. Along the way, we have learned that physical activity is important to our overall health.

As we have moved to a more sedentary lifestyle, we’ve had to come up with ways to get exercise on a regular basis. Today there are hundreds of different ways to exercise. Exercise have been developed to accomplish one or all three things. These are:

Strengthening the Heart Muscle and Circulatory System

The heart is the organ that pumps vital blood throughout the body. Blood contains nutrients that feeds all of the body’s organs. When your heart is weak, it cannot pump a sufficient amount of vital nutrients everywhere in your body. The nutrients flow through the circulatory system, that’s why good health is very important. The heart is a muscle, and like every other muscle it’s strengthened when it is pushed hard. The types of exercises that strengthen the heart are aerobic exercises. By elevating your heart rate for a prolonged period, the heart responds by becoming a stronger muscle in order to accommodate the increase needs to circulate blood around the body. This is why aerobic exercise is important for the overall health of the body.

Strengthening the Muscles

Having strong muscles allows you to function better in daily life. Strong leg muscles allow you to easily carry yourself throughout your day, strong abdominal and core muscles allow you to maintain good balance, and strong arm muscles help you to lift and move things easily. The second component of an exercise regimen is strengthening exercises. These exercises should focus on the important areas of the body and be rigorous enough to cause your muscles to grow, firm and tone.

Gaining Flexibility

Flexibility is a key component to good exercise. As we move through our days, our joints become compacted and our muscles become tight. Flexibility exercises focus for loosening of those muscles. Loose muscles work better and allow the skeletal system to be more flexible and functional.

The Benefits of Pilates

The best types of exercises for the human body are those that accomplish these three goals. Pilates is an exercise regimen that accomplishes these goals and is effective for all body types, all ages and sexes. Pilates uses slow and precise movements to tone and strengthen all areas of the body. It focuses on the body’s core which are the muscles around the back and front of the midsection, because these muscles are critical for good balance, coordination and strength.

The Pilates approach is to provide an exercise regimen that gradually improves the entire body. It’s sometimes strenuous movements strengthen the heart and circulatory system. It will also firm and tone muscles in all areas of the body. One core element of Pilates exercises is its focus on flexibility. Those who practice the discipline find themselves much more flexible, yet stronger. As an added advantage, Pilates also focuses on your mental health. Students find themselves calmer and more relaxed after practicing Pilates after only a short while.

Some say Pilates is the perfect exercise because it provides all the elements of great exercise and provides a sense of well-being, too.

fitness, health, wellness