Benefits of Pilates for men

There is a huge misconception that Pilates is just for women.  That it is gentle and just involves stretching. Nothing could be further from the truth, after all Joseph Pilates was a man.  While remedial Pilates is great if you have an injury, Pilates can be tailored to your ability where it can be very gentle and progress to be incredibly challenging.  Here are just a few reasons why men should do Pilates.

Pilates builds strength. In the gym most of the exercises work on just the surface muscles. Pilates also works on the incredibly important stabilising muscles of the body.  If your shoulder stabilisers are weak there is no way you can build strength in the arm, upper back and chest, and you are at risk of an injury if these stabilisers aren’t working correctly.  In Pilates every exercise makes sure those stabilisers are working as they should.

Flexibility, this is where men miss out, women are generally more flexible.  Flexibility is important to not getting injured. For example tight hamstrings at the back of the thigh cause an increase tension on the lower back, not only making it difficult to put on shoes you also increase the risk of back strain. Something has to give!   

There is way more to improving your core than Planks.  Every exercise in Pilates works your core. We start with the core and use the core the whole time. A plank is static and often involves bracing, not really useful for everyday activities and sports that involve movement. Unless you job is to be a statue in Bourke Street Mall.  In Pilates we work on dynamic stability working the deep spinal stabilisers, pelvic floor (yes men have there too!) and deep abdominals.

Poor posture can lead to many injuries.  Pilates improves posture by lengthening the muscles which are short and tight and strengthening muscles which are weak.  If you a forward head position, where your head juts forward of your torso, this not only put additional strain on your neck and upper back but also your lower back.  If your spinal alignment is not as good as it could be this also can effect certain sports such as golf, where you need the ability to rotate the torso easily to get the power to hit the ball.  Poor posture also affects how well you use your lungs, a compressed posture also compresses the lungs making running and cycling harder than it should.

Pilates Relieves Stress by being mindful of every movement in the exercise, how the limbs are placed and the sequencing of muscles worked.  You have to focus, and concentrate and not think of other STUFF.  This is an active form of meditation and calms the mind. You should leave a Pilates class feeling relaxed but energised.