Pilates - Your Secret Weapon As You Age
Oct 31, 2021
All around the world from Brazil to Belgium, Singapore to South Africa and right here in Australia, older people have discovered a secret weapon for staying strong and moving with ease as they age. This secret weapon is, of course, Pilates. It's no wonder that the majority of my clients over the past 16 years have been highly recommended to me by a satisfied client who wanted a friend, family member or colleague to experience the same life-changing results from Pilates as they had. I'd love to get the word out there to as many people as possible so they don't have to rely on word of mouth to discover that Pilates is one of the keys to enjoying a healthy, active life, well into your retirement years. So what makes Pilates so ideal for older people and how does it help you to stay strong, flexible and energised as you age?
Pilates Strengthens You from the Inside First
One of the signs of aging is poor posture and the inability to hold your body upright. This is a lack of core or abdominal and glute stability and these important postural muscles have become weakened over time. Pilates focuses on keeping these core muscles strong which helps you to not only maintain excellent posture but to support the back, hips knees and upper body too. Once you have developed a strong core, then you can focus on strengthening the outer or larger muscle groups too. Strengthening the outer muscles first without a strong core is a bit like constructing a house without any foundations. There is no inner strength and eventually, the house will collapse when any load is placed on it such as a strong wind or heavy rain. So always ensure you strengthen from within first before strengthening the outer muscles and Pilates is famous for this.
Faster Recovery from Unexpected Illness or Injury
If you find yourself facing an unexpected injury or illness being trained in Pilates will make your recovery so much easier and quicker. I sincerely hope that you never find yourself in this situation but if you do, it's comforting to know your Pilates training will be enormously beneficial at this time. Several years ago now, one of my clients injured her knee during martial arts training when she landed heavily on it at the wrong angle during a complicated move. She ruptured her ACL and required surgery. The rehabilitation was laborious but at every stage, her body awareness and knowledge of how to activate particular muscles really helped make the recovery period smoother. She was able to keep working on strengthening the rest of her body at Pilates too, so she didn't lose her overall fitness. The physiotherapist she worked with initially couldn't believe she already knew how to activate her VMO (Vastus Medialis Oblique) and had been strengthening these stabilisers of the knee joint at Pilates. He said she saved herself 2 weeks of rehab by already knowing her to do this. So as you can see PIlates is not only highly beneficial right now but is also like an insurance policy for the future.
Stay Stable & Prevent Falls
My current clients know just how obsessed I am with balance training and how much I incorporate balance into every one of their sessions. Hearing stories about people falling who are seriously injured or killed is just so tragic because in most cases this is preventable with appropriate training. Our balance starts to decline around the age of 40, but the good news is, if you actively work on improving it you will be amazed by the results as it improves quite quickly. JS Mind Body Pilates, my online studio is packed with plenty of balance challenges for absolute beginners to the advanced and everything in between and I'm dreaming up new balance challenges all the time!
Don't Forget Your Feet
Feet are of the forgotten body part when it comes to the majority of exercise programs, but definitely not in PIlates. Incorporating footwork for strong flexible feet was a priority for Joseph Pilates and something you will find features heavily in my online Pilates studio. We've all seen elderly people struggling to walk and their ankles and feet are rigid as they hobble from side to side. This is a tragedy and something that could easily be prevented with appropriate foot exercises. Our feet are necessary for walking, running and jumping. They play an important role in helping us balance and are important for giving us information about where our bodies are in space. They also support all the structures above them. On many occasions re-aligning and strengthening the feet can improve knee, hip and lower back issues. As you can see good foot health is essential as we age and in my online Pilates studio, you can be sure you will be strengthening your feet too.
Practice Pilates at a Time That Suits You
Everyone is busy with work or family commitments and sometimes it seems like there aren't enough hours in the day. JS Mind Body Pilates my online Pilates studio was personally designed by me to help you achieve the maximum benefit from your Pilates training in small daily doses of 10, 15 or 20 mins of Pilates per day. My library of on-demand videos caters to people of all levels of ability who are recovering from pain or injury. Many of my current members are using my site to overcome and manage back, hip and knee pain. Some have conditions such as MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoporosis. I'm passionate about helping you to live a pain-free, independent life as you age. If you are ready to start your Pilates journey these are the ways you can start working with me here.
Neither of my grandmothers owned workout wear or walking shoes because they never exercised and during that era, it was extremely rare unless you were an athlete. They always wore dresses and sensible shoes and didn't know the importance of movement for their health. They also had a lot of health issues and both sadly passed away at 65 and 70 which is very early by today's standards.
Times have fortunately changed and it's common to see grandmothers of today in their workout wear enjoying walking, going to the gym and of course Pilates. We now have a thorough understanding of just how vital movement is for our health and fitness. If you already practice Pilates, you have discovered the secret weapon for successful aging, congratulations and keep going! If you want to keep enjoying all your fun activities in life, well into your retirement years then you will need a secret weapon too. Now is the time to start Pilates and join a community of like-minded people who are taking control of their own health and fitness and aging successfully using their "secret weapon!"
Click HERE to read about what options I have to offer you. Alternatively, email me at info@jsmindbodypilates - I'd love to help you start your Pilates journey!
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Learn more about what sort of people benefit from Pilates and how it can help you too. I separate the myths from the facts and share actual case studies of my clients who have achieved life-changing results from my unique Pilates program.
