Exercise of all forms, Pilates included, is a great habit to build for a healthy lifestyle. While it’s not necessary to track your progress and simply being active and staying fit is fantastic on its own, intentionally tracking progress can provide benefits to some. 

Progress is achieved through consistent efforts, so it’s not always obvious when you’ve made progress. Intentionally tracking your progress can act as a great motivation then, as you’re able to compare your starting point with what you’ve achieved, and envision the new heights you’d like to reach in the future. Keeping track of progress is also a good idea if you have specific goals you’re trying to reach, as it can give you insights into your performance and whether you need to tweak your exercise routine to help you achieve those goals. 

So, how do you go about tracking your Pilates progress? 

Define Your Goals

First of all, it’s crucial that you define your goals and determine exactly what it is that you’re hoping to track. Pilates provides an array of benefits, and while you can approach Pilates with the intention of improving your overall health, you will likely see more significant progress if you focus on one or two areas of improvement to track. Some of these areas include: 

• General physique 
• Strength 
• Flexibility 
• Muscular endurance 

Consider what’s important to you and pick one or two areas to focus on improving. Use those areas to measure and track your progress as you regularly practice your Pilates routine. 

Tracking Physique Progress

If physique is one of your main motivators, you’ll want to begin by taking initial photos and measurements to determine your starting point. This can be scary for many people, as body dysmorphia is common and it can often be a source of discomfort to focus on the parts of your body that are not your favourite. Just remember that you’re beautiful and strong in every version of yourself, and appreciating the body you have now will only help you to recognize the progress you make in the future. 

There are a few tricks to taking quality before-and-after photos, like wearing the same clothes in each and standing before a plain backdrop. This resource tells you everything you need to know about snapping the right photos that will showcase your Pilates progress more than ever.  

When it comes to taking measurements, this video shows the right method for accurate and consistent measurements.  

When tracking physique, the scale is not a very accurate metric. Fat and muscle have different densities and losing fat does not always translate to losing weight if you’re gaining muscle at the same time. Ditch the scale and go for photographs or measurements for a more accurate indication of your physical progress. 

Tracking Strength

Tracking strength is fairly straightforward – how much weight is your body able to move, with correct form? Choose a handful of key weighted exercises, and mark exactly how much weight you can successfully lift for each. Return to those same exercises and write down your performance so that you can look back on where you started versus what you’ve achieved, and use that information to set goals for the future. 

Tracking Flexibility  

Tracking your flexibility is similar, and requires that you take initial measurements in certain positions and compare that data to measurements gained through the exact same positions at a later date. Just as with progress tracking in general, you can choose to focus on certain body parts, or tackle your overall flexibility as a whole. 

This article outlines specific positions to use to test the flexibility of various body parts. As you continue through your Pilates journey, return to those same positions and take measurements. While it can be hard to feel the progress on a daily basis, those numbers will undoubtedly show that you’ve been improving! 

Tracking Muscular Endurance

As with strength progression, tracking your muscular endurance requires you to pick a handful of exercises to compare over time. Muscular endurance tests are best done with bodyweight, static positions like a plank or a wall sit. Perform the exercise until failure, and make note of how long your muscles lasted before giving out. Routinely perform those same exercises until failure and you’ll see that your times are increasing, and your Pilates training is paying off. 

Maintain a Positive Attitude 

Tracking progress can be a great way to appreciate our efforts and recognize our achievements, but it can also be easy to get down on ourselves if the progress isn’t coming quickly enough for our liking. It’s important to remember that progress takes time, and we need to be patient with ourselves and our bodies. 

Pilates yields so many benefits outside of these areas, as well. It helps us to release endorphins, improves our quality of sleep, and allows us to meet friends, to name a few. Those are things worth celebrating, too! 

If you’re interested in signing up for an in-studio or virtual Pilates class, contact us at ABsolute Pilates. We can help you to reach your exercise goals, and have fun along the way! 

Everybody experiences the occasional slump. Whether you’re a professional athlete, a longtime fitness enthusiast, or someone who is simply trying to lead a healthy lifestyle, everybody goes through periods where exercise is the last thing they want to do. 

Maybe your life is extra hectic at the moment, or you’re feeling more tired than usual. Whatever the reason, rediscovering your motivation for exercise is the key to getting back to it.  With these few tips, you’ll have your heart pumping again in no time! 

Focus on Why

When you’re not feeling motivated to exercise, it can be helpful to remember why you started in the first place. You might’ve started exercising because you wanted a stronger body, improved mental health, better sleep, or any other number of reasons. What’s your why? 

If it motivated you to exercise in the first place, it likely can motivate you out of your slump. Even if your life has changed and your initial why is no longer relevant, think about how exercise can benefit your body and your lifestyle. Focus on the results you’re chasing, and you might start to feel excited about exercise again! 

Change Your Perspective

Exercise can sometimes feel like a chore, and chores are no fun. If that’s how you’ve been feeling, it may be time for a change of perspective! 

Rather than thinking of your exercise regime as something you have to do, try thinking of it as something you get to do. If you can frame exercise as something that you’re lucky to have in your life and as an opportunity to celebrate all of the incredible things your body is capable of, you might find that you feel more motivated to get your body moving.  

Make It Fun!

If you have been lacking in motivation lately, the issue may be that your workouts simply aren’t fun enough. Take a minute to think about what you enjoy, and how to incorporate those elements into your workouts. 

If you usually run on a treadmill, consider hitting a trail for your next run to experience the fresh air and beautiful scenery. Try blasting some of your favourite tunes the next time you go to exercise, or even joining an exercise dance class. You might find that joining an adult recreation league does the trick, so that your focus is on winning a game with your teammates, and exercise is an added bonus (rather than the main focus).  

Join a Group

Lots of people find that they’re far more motivated to do something when they do it with friends. Joining an exercise group is a great way to keep up healthy habits, form new friendships, develop new skills, and add a level of accountability to your workout schedule. 

Whether it’s a walking group, a sports team, or a group workout class, joining a group of likeminded people is a fantastic way to stay motivated to exercise and have fun while doing it.  

If you’ve always wanted to give Pilates a try, or you’re looking for a place to meet some friends and work up a sweat, look no further than ABsolute Pilates. We offer a variety of classes in-studio, online, and in a hybrid format. Take a look at our current class offerings, and contact us if you’d like to find out more!  

Although Pilates was originally designed by a man, Joseph Pilates, for war veterans (who were, at the time, all men), it has since transformed to be geared primarily toward women’s health. So, we understand why men might be skeptical about taking up this exercise method. But Pilates is an excellent option for men in many different stages of life, and with varying fitness goals. Whether you’re looking to reduce back pain from an injury, improve your sports performance, or you’re a novice just looking to increase your overall physical fitness, Pilates is an excellent choice. We’ll walk you through 3 key Pilates moves specific to men’s health, their benefits, and how to perform the movements. They could be just what your routine is lacking! 

1. Hip Rolls

An excellent exercise for essentially any man, the hip roll is important for improving spinal mobility. It will also strengthen your glutes and open hip flexors, two key improvements that can help to relieve back pain.  

To perform: 

1. Lay on your back with your arms at your sides.  
2. Put your feet flat on the ground, knees bent.  
3. Press your arms into the floor, flat on either side of your body.  
4. Engage your abdominal muscles as you raise your pelvis and tailbone off the mat, and slowly add each vertebra of your lower spine.  
5. Squeeze your glutes and hold your body straight from knees to shoulder.  
6. Reverse slowly, bringing each section of the spine down, starting from the top this time.  

2. Shoulder Bridge

This exercise is a great option to challenge men with strong core stability to challenge themselves and improve even further. By maintaining the position with only one leg, you’ll feel much more stress on your core muscles.  

To perform:  

1. Lay on your back, knees bent, just as when starting the pelvic curl.  
2. Activate your abdominals and extend to the top of the pelvic curl, so you form a straight line from knee to shoulder.  
3. Lift one leg off the ground, keeping the knee bent. Only go as high as is comfortable.  
4. Lower and raise one leg from 5 to 10 times. 
5. Repeat with your other leg. 
6. End the exercise as you end pelvic curl, by slowly lowering to the mat.  

3. Obliques

Those who work office jobs or who spend the majority of their day in one spot can use this exercise to help reduce certain kinds of pain they may be feeling from sitting all day. Also called bicycle crunches, the obliques exercise activates – you guessed it – the obliques, along with the hip extensors. The latter are particularly neglected when a lot of time is spent sitting at a desk.  

To perform: 

1. Lay on your back with your legs in the air, knees bent, and abdominal muscles engaged. This position is called tabletop.
2. With your hands behind your head, lift your head, neck, and shoulders.  
3. Move one elbow towards the opposite-side knee. 
4. Bend that knee towards the elbow, while extending the other leg out straight, foot pointing towards the wall.  
5. Switch sides, bringing your other elbow to the other knee and extending the other leg.  
6. Repeat 8 to 10 times.  

 Ready to learn more about how Pilates can improve men’s health? Talk to us at Absolute Pilates or sign up for a class today.  

Have you stumbled across the concept of Reiki, or perhaps had it suggested to you by friends or family members? This increasingly popular healing technique is usually grouped into the same category as New Age healing techniques, but is becoming mainstream. For some, it is a healing method that can help move energies through the body. Here is everything you need to know about Reiki.  

How Does Reiki Work?

Reiki comes from the Japanese words for “universal” and “life force of all living things.” It is an eastern medicine technique that is supposed to work by moving blocks in your energy fields. Those who practice Reiki believe that everyone has energy fields within and around the body such as aura and chakras. Reiki healers move energy in the person they are healing, improving flow and often removing blocks in their energy.  

Reiki is simple and non-invasive. Practitioners use no touch, or gentle touch, hold their hands near your body, or even heal from a distance without hand gestures at all. Reiki healers will focus on their healing intention while they do so. You will remain dressed during treatments and there is no use of invasive techniques.  

How Much of Reiki is Evidence-Based?

Research has found that Reiki can have a positive effect on those who are treated. The strongest evidence is for its ability to reduce anxiety. There is also evidence Reiki can reduce pain and fatigue. Some people report feeling more relaxed after Reiki, suggesting their anxiety has reduced, while others report being energized which may explain a reduction in fatigue.  

Research conducted in 2015 found that those who were being treated for cancer by conventional means reported that Reiki helped them tolerate the treatments, with lower levels of pain, anxiety and fatigue. Another study found that Reiki helped women feel more relaxed and less pain in the days following a cesarean delivery.  

Reiki has also been studied for its ability to help with more chronic sources of pain, including herniated disks. A 2018 study found that Reiki was effective in relieving some pain in those with lower back pain caused by herniated disks, and that Reiki was more cost-effective than other pain relief methods.  

While Reiki is a great supportive treatment, it is important to note that it is not a replacement for conventional medical treatment of the underlying medical condition. No one recommends that you forgo other treatment to pursue Reiki instead. In fact, one of the significant benefits of Reiki is that you can use it alongside any other treatment.  

What About Side Effects?

There is very little risk of negative outcomes from Reiki. That’s because this is a noninvasive practice generally meant to be supportive, and improve a patient’s experience and level of comfort as they undergo other means of treatment.  

ABsolute Pilates has recently added a Reiki master to the clinic, who is able to answer any questions you may have and guide you through the Reiki healing process. If you’re curious about learning more about Reiki, you can contact us at Absolute Pilates today.  

May 7th is Pilates Day! It’s a day where the whole Pilates world, across the globe, celebrate Pilates and the impact that it has on all of our lives. The goal is also to promote awareness of Pilates and the benefits that it can provide to anyone, from any walk of life. We want everyone to know how Pilates can make them feel: strong, empowered, energetic, and much more.  

What is Pilates?

Pilates has a storied history and began as a program to help veterans, but it has morphed since its beginnings. Today, Pilates is a low impact non-aerobic exercise program that focuses on building strength core strength for any member of the population. Your core muscles are essential to balance, strength, flexibility, and overall health. In our world, where people are tied to desks and always looking at screens, core muscles often go neglected. Pilates can fix that.  

Pilates is a particularly useful exercise program because it scales. You can start out with Pilates even if you are a complete beginner to this kind of exercise. Over time as you gain control, strength, and flexibility, you can continue to challenge yourself with new poses and exercises. You can also expect to see benefits in your arms and legs, your overall energy levels, and your range of motion, when you regularly practice Pilates.  

Pilates is often compared to yoga, as both can focus on the core. You can certainly bring the mindfulness techniques of yoga with you to Pilates, but you’ll also get a more intense core workout. Plus, with Pilates you can use equipment to further challenge yourself or help you target specific areas.  

The Benefits of Pilates

There are many potential benefits of Pilates, including: 

• Improved posture 
• Improved flexibility 
• Improved balance  
• Improved range of motion 
• Injury prevention 
• Increased body awareness 
• Increased energy levels  
• Decreased stress 

Pilates can also reduce pain, depending on the cause of that pain and where you’re experiencing it. For example, Pilates has been known to reduce back pain, as well as alleviate menstrual cramps. 

The benefits of Pilates don’t stop there – the exercise is known to have many other positive effects. For example, reduced pain and increased flexibility and bodily awareness can in many cases lead to a healthier sex life. More energy and reduced stress can improve your motivation across the board. Overall, practicing Pilates can have a significant and wide-ranging impact on your life.  

Celebrate Pilates Day Yourself

Newcomers and long-time lovers of Pilates can both celebrate Pilates Day with us by signing up for a class. Or consider these personal challenges you might take on to enjoy Pilates Day: 

• Journal about what Pilates has meant to you and how it has changed your personal journey.  
• Challenge yourself to try a new Pilates exercise or perform one longer than you might normally.  
• Invite close friends or families to join you in some Pilates movements.  
• Share parts of your Pilates journey online over social media.  
• Practice Pilates in a new place, like a riverside, meadow, or other natural place.  

If you want to get in on a class, you can sign up for one with ABsolute Pilates. Contact us today!  

From TMJ dysfunction to lower back pain and everything in between, there’s a whole spectrum of ailments which can be caused by, or exacerbated by poor posture.It’s hard to blame anyone for having poor posture these days, as we sit cramped in desks looking at screens or hunched over our phone for so much of the day. Even with that, there are ways to become more conscious of your posture and work to correct it. Pilates is an exceptional exercise regime which can help you correct major posture problems, and reduce the stresses impacting various muscles and joints in your body.  

The Research on Pilates and Posture

Several studies have demonstrated that even just a few weeks of Pilates exercises can positively impact a person’s posture. One study focused exclusively on middle-aged women and found that their posture after 12 weeks of Pilates had improved on both the horizontal plane and the sagittal  plane (which runs vertically and segments our left and right side). Further research focused on adults of both genders and found that even after one session of Pilates, their postural alignment had noticeably improved. At the end of the 16-week study, participants had statistically significant posture improvement in six different dimensions, including posture of the head, pelvis, and lower back. This study also found that the participants experienced a significant reduction in pain.  

The Core of the Issue

We know that Pilates does help improve posture, but how exactly? Muscle mass supports our body and helps to keep good posture. However, the most supportive muscles for healthy posture, in the core, are often underdeveloped as a result of our desk-bound lives. These are the muscles in your stomach, abdomen, and along your side.   

Even those who remain active in their day job may find that they are not often activating the core muscles, which means that their back, neck, head, hips and more do not have the muscle support they need to maintain strong posture. This can even create pain as other muscles work to compensate for the core, but aren’t really able to provide the required support.  

Pilates exercises focus heavily on the core and all of the additional muscles that support it, from the pelvic floor to the shoulders. With Pilates you’ll gain the strength you need to automatically stand, sit, and walk with better posture.   

Other Pilates Posture Support

Of course, not all postural issues are corrected by core work alone. Your poor posture may stem from your hips or neck, for example. These can also improve with Pilates, which does strengthen muscles across the body. If you have specific concerns about the posture in different areas of your body, your Pilates instructor can show you which movements may help the most. In addition, the benefits of Pilates beyond improved strength can help with building and maintaining good posture. Those include: 

• Improved joint mobility 
• Reduced weight  
• Pain relief  
• Improved circulation 
• Improved bodily awareness  

You might also find that Pilates starts you on a quest of self-discovery, where you pay more attention to your body, how it moves, and what it may need, leading to other supports that could help with posture too. Get started on your journey to better posture today with a class from Absolute Pilates.  

Attention all Pilates enthusiasts: we invite you to join us in the social media phenomenon known as March MATness! All through the month of March, we are celebrating alongside other Pilates practitioners the traditional set of movements that Joseph Pilates, the original creator of Pilates, invented. For the last nine years, Pilates fans have been celebrating their progress. In recent years, people have been sharing it on social media, with dedicated hashtags for each pose. From the studio or from your home, you can join us in celebrating the powerful impact of Pilates! 

How Do You Participate in March MATness? 

Every day during March, you can take a picture of yourself in a Pilates pose and post it online with the relevant hashtag. You can explore the list of poses and hashtags here.  

You don’t have to necessarily stick to just photos. Let your imagination run wild and post anything you like that is Pilates-related and inspires you! Previously people have made visual art, poetry, prose, and other art depicting the poses or Pilates in general. Others take a more educational approach, giving out tips to complete different Pilates poses, and even adjustments you can make if you can’t quite capture the pose at your level. It’s really enriching to take a look through the posts online and see if you can get more inspired in your Pilates practice!  

And, if you’d rather keep it private, make your March MATness journey a feature of your journal. We know you’re with us in spirit!  

The Spirit of March MATness  

While you’re working through the month, remember that March MATness is not supposed to be a challenge or a competition. While you might challenge yourself to perfect your form, do Pilates every day, or meet other personal goals during the month, it isn’t necessary.  

March MATness is a “come as you are,” celebration. That means that we’re focusing less on winning or challenging ourselves, and more on accepting who we are and where we are in our Pilates journey. You do not need to fuss over how you look, what poses you can achieve, or whether or not you can complete the whole month. Instead, just finding your own personal joy in the poses is enough.  

Feel free to join us, even if you’re late to the party, with whatever Pilates inspiration you happen to enjoy.  

This Year’s Theme  

Every year, March MATness has a specific theme. This year it is #pilateshereandnow. With this theme, we’re challenging everyone who loves Pilates to think about how Pilates looks for them today, in their everyday life. Especially after potentially not being able to get out to the studio as much as you might have liked in the past two years, you may have found that your Pilates routine has changed, or the place Pilates has in your life has changed.   

Need some studio time to get into the spirit of March MATness? You can join us for classes at Absolute Pilates. Contact us today to sign up!  

Women who are considering getting pregnant, who are pregnant, and who just gave birth are right to be concerned about how this will impact their exercise regime. As you approach pregnancy, improving your physical fitness is recommended to improve your chances of conception, and the health of both mother and child. However, most women also want to pick up exercise that they can continue throughout pregnancy, and which can help them to strengthen the muscles involved in labour. Even better if that exercise can also help recovery after childbirth! Pilates fits the bill and is widely considered to be one of the best exercises to meet the needs of mothers, both prenatally and postnatally. Learn about the important role Pilates can play in your health during and after pregnancy.  

How Pilates Benefits Pregnancy

First, it is important to clear up some misconceptions. Pilates is not about increasing the strength of your contractions, and developing your core muscles will not make labour harder or more painful. Instead, through Pilates work you can focus in on the muscles that support your uterus and the baby, before and during childbirth. This can make labour easier, less stressful on various parts of your body, and aid with recovery afterward.  

For example, pelvic floor muscles will guide the baby’s head as it moves through the birth canal, but they won’t contract. Strengthening them can help with labour indirectly. Another great example is the transverse abdominis muscles, which are like a sheet of muscles all across your stomach and pelvis. These support your uterus and every other organ in your abdomen, and they offer essential support during labour. Pilates can help to prevent the damage and separation of these muscles, and since they do not contract during labour, developing them will not increase pain. Both of these muscle groups, and many more, are targeted, strengthened, and lengthened through Pilates.   

Muscle development is not the only benefit that you’ll see from Pilates. Prenatally, Pilates can help with: 

• Breathing focus 
• Breathing technique 
• Flexibility  
• Pain reduction  
• Mental health  

As Pilates has a low impact on your joints and is not as demanding on your cardiovascular system as many other types of exercise, it is more suitable to continue late into pregnancy. This can help you maintain your health throughout pregnancy, which will simplify all aspects of recovery.  

Postnatal Pilates can help to: 

• Strengthen weakened muscles 
• Improve recovery times  
• Regain posture 
• Reduce muscle pain  
• Improve mental health  
• Facilitate weight loss  

Pilates is easily adjusted to various levels of fitness and strength. That means that postnatal Pilates can be easily adjusted to accommodate your condition, and help you work back into exercising at a pace that makes sense for you. While some women are ready to exercise at their normal pace shortly after birth, most need to gradually build back up their routine. Pilates can help.  

Join Us to Better Your Pre and Postnatal Health

While Pilates targets many muscles groups that are essential in pregnancy and childbirth, the often-overlooked pelvic muscles are among the most important. We periodically run a pelvic health workshop that we strongly encourage women to join, and the next one is taking place on March 29th, 2022 – send us an email at info@meadowlandsphysio.ca to sign up and reserve your spot!  

At Absolute Pilates, we are dedicated to offering resources and support for women before, during, and after pregnancy. Reach out to us with your questions about how Pilates can benefit your health, or to sign up for a class!  

We’re seeing more and more Pilates studios offering at-home options for people to join online classes and follow along virtually with a Pilates instructor. While virtual Pilates may have gained popularity through stay-at-home orders, now that the option is so widespread and accessible, you have the choice to join these virtual classes even when you can leave the house. Or you could head into the studio to get that in-person experience. Which is best for you? Let’s compare your options.  

Why Choose Pilates at Home

The convenience and comfort of doing Pilates at home through our virtual classes can’t be beat. Those who sign up don’t need to leave their home to exercise, and don’t even need to share their camera with the class. You gain privacy, which is great for those who might feel anxious about their Pilates performance.  

Although, if you are comfortable sharing your camera, you can get better support from the instructor as they can still check to see your form.  The instructor is there to help and guide you through the exercises, after all! 

If you are just starting out with Pilates, you can use basic equipment that you may already have at home. Or you can purchase more advanced Pilates equipment for yourself – though it’s certainly not required. The advantage to compiling your own equipment is that you can then do Pilates whenever you want, without the need to ever go to a studio.  

Performing Pilates at home has many conveniences, but it’s not without its drawbacks. Pilates in a studio can be safer, and many find a group environment to be more motivating.  

Why Choose Pilates in Studio

The in-studio experience is hard to match. Sure, you have to drive into the studio, but many people find that the physical environment of being in-studio is what helps them to follow-through on their workout.   

Arguably the best benefit of doing Pilates in-studio is that you have all of the support that you need, which can make it a safer activity and help to prevent injury. Our instructors can actually see your whole form from all angles and can give you tips on how to better perform the exercises or how to adjust them based on your goals and limitations. Plus, we have all of the Pilates equipment that you need right in the studio, so there’s no need to invest in your own! We will show you how to use all equipment the correct way, even the Reformer. You’re more than welcome to make use of our equipment, and the techniques you learn are all transferrable if you do ever decide to purchase your own. 

As you don’t need equipment when you join us in the studio, in-person Pilates classes can be less of an initial investment. With the support of your instructor and the other people in the class, many also find that they are more likely to follow-through with their classes, showing up consistently and making the most of their time in class. If you’re partly into Pilates for the social element, or as a way to bond with friends you bring to class, then in-person undoubtedly provides a better experience to connect.  

That said, in-person isn’t for everyone. You need to drive out, bring your water bottle, and then head home before you even get to shower. If that will stop you from attending class, virtual may be a better option for you.  

Practice Pilates with Us 

Whether you feel like in-person or virtual classes are a better fit for you, we provide both at ABsolute Pilates. Sign up for our classes today.  

Although many view Pilates as a women’s exercise, when Joseph Pilates invented it in the 1920s, he did so in an attempt to support men’s health, specifically veterans. He developed a series of exercises that support core strength, flexibility, and many other key facets of physical health. That’s why Pilates is no longer targeted towards veterans and has been adopted by a wide range of people, from professional athletes to those bound to office chairs for most of their day. You might see a lot of information about how Pilates supports women’s health, because it does. However, it is also an exceptional tool to help support men and their overall wellbeing. Here are some reasons why men should consider Pilates, based on their various health goals.  

Support for Chronic Pain 

Many men suffer from chronic pain, whether it’s caused by sitting at a desk all day, performing repetitive motions at work, or persistent old injuries. Pilates strengthens the core muscles, which are needed to support the back and prevent poor movements that exacerbate certain kinds of chronic pain. When you have stronger muscles to rely on, you put less strain on injured muscles. You can also develop better posture which can help to prevent chronic pain, particularly in the back and neck. Pilates can help with the knees, arms, and any other spots in which you might experience chronic pain. Your physiotherapist can show you which Pilates movements will help with your specific problems, helping to minimize pain and better manage chronic conditions.  

Balance Weightlifting Exercises  

Men who lift weights develop mass, but they may neglect their flexibility and smaller muscles groups. Pilates helps you to build strength in smaller, potentially neglected muscle groups. Strengthening these stabilizer muscles helps significantly with posture, and it can improve your strength and performance when executing compound lifts to a surprising degree. It will also help you to maintain or improve flexibility as you bulk, which is critical for safe movement and performance. Pilates encourages you to move in ways that you don’t typically move while weightlifting, and by diversifying your movements you create a stronger body and improve your overall fitness.  

Faster, Better Injury Recovery      

Whether you play sports professionally or simply for your own enjoyment, you may eventually face injury. Even those who don’t partake in organized sport are at risk for injury through the strains of everyday life! The core strength, balance, and flexibility developed through Pilates can help you to avoid these injuries in the first place. However, if injury does occur, Pilates can provide a safer outlet to begin moving the affected muscles and slowly restore strength, balance, and flexibility to the area. Your physiotherapist can help you to tailor Pilates exercises to your specific needs, based on the type and location of your injury.  

Improve Sports Performance  

Depending on your specific sport, you may focus a disproportionate amount on the major muscle groups involved and not enough on the more minor muscles which have the potential to enhance your performance. Pilates will help you to focus on the muscles in your core, which are neglected in many sports but which can significantly enhance your performance by supporting the other muscle groups.  

Develop Pelvic Floor Muscles        

Men may not use the pelvic floor muscles in the same way as women, but they are still vital to your overall health. A strong pelvic floor helps you to maintain control of the organs in the area, and pelvic floor exercises may even improve sexual performance.  

Ready to Try a Pilates Class? 

Men are more than welcome at the Pilates classes hosted at ABsolute Pilates. Please feel free to reach out to us for more information, or take a look at our class schedule here!