At home Pilates for busy bodies

In this day and age, the word “busy" is the modern individual’s usual status. With time and budget constraints, exercise becomes a luxury few of us can afford. I had always wanted to exercise but my busy lifestyle gave me lots of excuses not to do it. Fortunately, the time came when I was finally determined enough to get fit and to accomplish my goal. I started by searching for the right exercise for me. My road to Pilates I did not relish the idea of sweating it out in the gym so I wanted an exercise which I could do by myself at home and one that wouldn’t cost me much. I searched online for recommendations and discovered yoga and pilates to be the most recommended. The positions in yoga looked very challenging and something I would not likely attempt without an instructor to guide me. But pilates sounded just right. It also satisfied my other requirements for an at home exercise routine.

It does not take up too much time (about 15 minutes tops).

It includes stretching exercises

It's a low impact exercise. No aching knees from too much jumping or running.

It does not require a lot of equipment. No treadmills but weights are okay.

It develops strength, flexibility and muscle tone, a multitasking workout is a definite plus.

It provides a total body workout.

I know my requirements were pretty ambitious but I was convinced that I had found the perfect match in pilates. I looked for basic or simple pilates exercise videos on Youtube and there were thousands of them. To narrow down my search, I only focused on those that were not more than 15 minutes. I also chose routines that target specific problem areas. But first, a caveat. I am not a fitness instructor, a health care provider or a seasoned practitioner of the exercise routines I am recommending. I am merely a busy individual who wishes to spread the word about the goodness of exercise and its benefits as I have experienced it. The exercises I am recommending are just examples of the many ways one can stay physically fit. Choosing an exercise routine is a matter of preference and unique personal considerations and these suit my own. My Pilates workouts I had already determined that my problem areas were my abs, my arms, my butt and my thighs. So I started to use these videos to work out at least 3 days a week. I alternated these exercises but when I felt inspired, I completed all three of them in about 45 minutes. Tone your core From the very first time I did this exercise, I could already feel the burn on my abdominal muscles. I was aching all day afterwards but by the second time around, the exercise felt more pleasant. I noticed that the more I moved the muscles that were aching, the better my body felt. This motivated me to keep up the routine. My abdominal muscles definitely felt tighter after a few weeks. I had become addicted to doing it and thankfully, this was a healthy kind of addiction. This is also a good workout if you are pressed for time as the routine works out your whole body in just 10 minutes. Tone your arms I figured that I definitely had to work on my arms because, while waving to myself in the mirror one day (never mind why), I noticed that some jiggly parts of my arms also seemed to wave back at me. This confirmed that I already had the jigglies and, thankfully, nobody had bothered to tell me about them. This means people haven’t noticed yet and there was still hope to banish the jigglies before anyone does. One of the steps in this exercise involved weights which I had wanted to try too, but not the very bulky ones at the gym. So I bought a pair of 1.5 pound weights and really enjoyed how my arms and shoulders felt good afterwards. My arms became noticeably less jiggly after a few weeks and the rest of my arm muscles actually showed some definition. This exercise also lessened the constant pain in my right shoulder which I've had since college. My shoulder muscles never seemed to relax and always felt strained. This exercise helped ease the pain, it became almost unnoticeable which helped me concentrate on my work better. Tone your butt and thighs Who doesn’t want a great looking butt and toned thighs? I wanted them for sure so I had to include this in my workout. I was not blessed with the genes for a noticeable rear. It’s only because I can sit that I’m sure I have a butt but it doesn’t protrude like it does on most people. So the least I could do was try something to lift them up so another person besides myself actually notices that they’re there. Squats are a great way to tone and lift your butt and this routine incorporates this step. It also tones the rest of your legs and works out your abs at the same time. You can actually feel the muscles in your butt, thighs and abdominals working while doing this exercise. My butt didn’t grow bigger after a few weeks of this but it did feel a lot tighter. These are the pilates routines I have been doing for some months now and I must say that I am quite satisfied by the results I am seeing. Important things to consider However, it must be noted that Pilates may not be for everyone. You may have health considerations that would make it difficult to do the exercises so it is best to consult your doctor first before doing this. Pilates also requires synchronizing your breathing with your movements. If you find it difficult to follow the breathing technique, then it is advisable that you enroll in a beginners’ class first until you can successfully coordinate your breathing with your actions. This will also help you learn the right positions for each of the steps so you don’t hurt your neck, back or other muscle groups. When doing the exercise, especially during the first time, do not strain yourself. Follow the recommended number of repetitions or lessen them if you're struggling to do them. Once you feel comfortable with the routine and the number of repetitions, gradually add more, maybe 5 counts, to the repetitions to make it even more challenging. Remember to hydrate yourself before any form of exercise and rest for at least 10 minutes after exercise before taking your bath or eating. Stick to your exercise schedule and be patient with the results. Transforming one’s body is not an easy task and it takes time to produce noticeable changes which also varies for each person. Of course, exercise will give you much better results when combined with a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle. Most important of all, don’t give up. If this exercise doesn’t work for you, there are other ways to stay fit and healthy. You just need to look around and open your eyes, heart and mind, to welcome all the possibilities. - GMANews.TV