The gift of fitness that is Pilates exercise has been with the fit world for some time. Though many people are only recently getting turned on to Pilates, many others have been doing it for a very long time. Many tools can be used in this fitness practice. However, here are some examples of Pilates mat exercises which may help the beginner get started.
Pilates is a form of physical fitness. It was first established in the early part of the twentieth century. The country the exercise comes from is Germany. Though the exercise was created decades ago, as of 2005 it was being practiced on a regular basis by more than eleven million people. In the United States fourteen thousand instructors were teaching Pilates. Many say that certain tools like balls were not intended to be part of the Pilates method. Mats, however, are quite acceptable, and Pilates mat exercises are used to strengthen and tone the body.
Inner thigh lifts are one of the Pilates mat exercises that requires the mat to be laid out straight. The spine will line up with the mat’s back edge as you lay on your side. The lower arm can support the head or stretch along the floor, while the lower leg is extended with hip to the mat. The upper leg will bend and the foot put on the mat in front of the hips. The upper arm will pull at the bottom of the bent leg as the knee pushes away. The inner thigh muscles of the lower leg will lift it off the ground a small amount. And the exercise is about lowering and lifting that lower leg with control, not letting it rest on the floor.
Another one of the many Pilates mat exercises is the Teaser One maneuver which is started on the back. Arms are above the head, and the legs are lifted up, straight and together, to a forty-five degree angle. Slowly the abdominal muscles are tightened and the spine curls up. The hands float over the legs, then lift up. At one point, when the movement is complete, the body is in a V shape with just the bottom and lower spine on the mat. Slowly and with control, the upper body is lowered back to the mat and the legs are raised to a ninety degree angle above the hips. This exercise helps to articulate the spine and roll through flexion into extension.
The ‘walk out and push up’ is also one of the Pilates mat exercises, though it starts with the person standing at the foot of the mat. The arms extend above the head, the spine curls and the hands descend to the floor with the pelvis pushing out. When the hands are on the floor, they ‘walk out’, first the right, then the left, keeping the hips steady. With the hands evenly spaced beneath the chest, the arms push up the body. The crown and spine and legs align, and then the elbows bend an inch, then straighten, doing the ‘push up’.
Another type of push up that is included in the Pilates mat exercises many people do is that of the Leg Pull Front Support. This is started face down on the mat and would be uncomfortable on a straight floor. The palms are at the sides of the body, near the shoulders. The legs are extended and the knees are lifted, with the toes pushing on the mat. While keeping the body in alignment, the hands push up until the shoulders and chest are over the thumbs. The shoulders press down the back and release, so that the area above the heart in the back is soft while the same ‘head to heels like steel’ position is used. With the abdominal muscles tight and the ribs pulled back into the spine, this position is held for several seconds before slowly being released, with control, and the body comes to the mat again.
Pilates mat exercises should be done with a genuine Pilates mat, not a yoga mat. Yoga mats are thinner because they intend for yoga practitioners to feel the floor. For Pilates, exercisers need to be padded from the floor, so the mats should be half an inch thick and made of good quality foam. Pilates mats can be rolled up or folded. They should also be about four feet by eight feet in size.
Pilates mat exercises can be a very practical method that can be used by people of many different physical abilities. There are exercises for people who have injuries, as well as those who aren’t as flexible or agile yet. Doing Pilates mat exercises is a safe way to get fit, become stronger and increase flexibility.
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