If you’re looking to lose weight, pilates may be just the answer. This type of exercise can help build muscle strength and tone throughout your body, helping improve your posture and increase your muscle endurance. A stronger, more toned body will burn more calories than a weaker one, which can help in your weight loss efforts when combined with healthy eating habits and other exercises like cardio or strength training workouts. Here are some ways pilates can help you achieve your weight loss goals.
What Is Pilates?
Physical fitness doesn’t just mean working out for an hour or two every day. It also includes activities you do throughout your day, like walking and gardening. And, if you’re looking to improve your overall health, diet is a big part of it as well. Incorporating Pilates into your routine can help give you a good workout with better results than other exercises, which will lead to better dieting habits as well.
Benefits of Adding Pilates to Your Workout Routine
If you’re looking to kick-start your fitness routine, Pilates can complement your workout. Beyond toning and strengthening muscles, it can also improve posture and help increase balance. The goal of any workout routine is to look and feel better in your clothes and when naked. If you eat healthy food at dinner but lack muscle tone in certain areas, it’s more difficult to feel comfortable without clothing. Maintaining a strong body helps enhance confidence as well as self-esteem.
The Best Moves For Weight Loss
Many kinds of exercise can help you lose weight and keep it off, but if you’re just starting, it’s important to find a workout routine that fits your lifestyle. One type of exercise in particular – Pilates – can complement a weight loss program nicely. So how exactly does Pilates help you drop those pounds? Here’s what you need to know.
3 Easy Pilates Workouts
There are dozens of pilates moves, but you don't need to be familiar with all of them to see the benefits. The three beginner-friendly exercises described below will help provide muscle tone and improve posture, which can lead to a healthier life and weight loss over time. But for weight loss benefits, you'll also want to maintain a healthy diet and include other strength training and cardio exercises into your workout.
Getting Started with Pilates
So what can Pilates do for you? It can help strengthen your core, improve posture and also give you muscle tone. In addition to feeling great, these benefits will also help complement a weight loss program and provide long-term health benefits. For best results, look for a reputable instructor and check out several studios before committing to one program. With any diet or exercise plan, consistency is key!
Try These Other Strength Training Exercises
For best results, mix up your strength training routine to work for different muscle groups. Each session should include a warm-up, one to three exercises for each large muscle group and one or two abdominal exercises. One set of eight to 12 repetitions is generally enough. Focus on exercises that use more than one muscle group—such as squats and lunges, which can target your quads while also working your hamstrings, glutes and calves. Also, try weight machines that allow you to perform several movements using just one machine.
Try These Cardio Workouts
Cardio is a great way to burn calories and lose weight, but not all workouts are created equal. Here are four cardio activities that can complement your current weight loss program: walking, jogging, swimming and cycling. Adding these exercises into your workout routine will help you burn more calories while adding muscle tone and improving overall health. These easy-to-follow exercises are also healthy options for dinner breaks or lunchtime workouts because they can be completed without spending much time at all in a gym!
Take Action Now!
It's never too late to start a healthy diet. Since exercise alone can only help you lose weight if you’re cutting calories, it’s important to focus on eating healthy food that will keep your energy levels up and help burn calories faster. Here are some of our favourite ways to get started
Bonus Tips
Want to lose weight? Then you'll want to make sure that your workout routine includes a mix of cardio and strength training. Try incorporating these exercises into your routine for great results: aerobic exercise, like walking, jogging or running; resistance training, like push-ups or bicep curls; yoga, which can help improve flexibility as well as body alignment; and pilates. If you don't have time for both a gym membership and group classes—don't worry!