Is Pilates Good for You? My initial response is YES, Pilates is good for every body!  In fact, I think that every body should be doing Pilates. Joseph Pilates believed this too! He wanted the world to do his exercises at least 4 days a week, as outlined in his book Return to Life through Contrology.

But it’s expensive, there’s equipment that I don’t have at home, I can’t afford Personal training, I don’t have time, It’s too hard, I’m not fit enough… These are just a few of the excuses I’ve heard from people who are trying to justify why Pilates is NOT good for them.

If you don’t like to exercise, Pilates might just be the best, most efficient workout you can do.  If you do like to exercise, Pilates is going to help you do every other sport and activity you enjoy better!

10 Reasons Why is Pilates Good for You?

1. Pilates helps develop better whole-body health
2. Every Pilates exercise involves both strength and flexibility
3. Pilates focuses on improving functional movement
4. Pilates develops longer, leaner muscles, not bulk
5. Pilates can help improve posture
6. Pilates can help reduce your risk of Injury
7. Pilates can help alleviate body aches and pains
8. Pilates improves core support
9. Pilates reduces stress
10. Pilates Improves balance and body control

I could list thousands of additional reasons why Pilates is good for you, this is the short list…  What do you want to improve in your life?  Whether it’s big or small, or seemingly insignificant, I’d bet my life on the fact that somehow, and in some way Pilates could make a positive impact on improving whatever it is.

Heck, I started Pilates for a career change… Little did I realize that the voice injury I had that was forcing my career change was going to be fixed by doing Pilates!  You never know the power of Pilates until you dive in and discover what it has to offer you.

Yes, Pilates training is an investment.  But it’s an investment in YOUR HEALTH!
And without good health, nothing else matters.

Even if you cannot afford to take private Pilates lessons for the rest of your life, I’d encourage you to find a great Pilates teacher and schedule at least a series of 20-30 sessions to get you off to a great start.  This would be 2-3 sessions a week for a couple of months.  It just might be the best investment you’ve ever made in your body.  Getting help from a well-qualified Pilates teacher to become more aware of your good/bad habits and getting expert help re-learning how to find and use the right muscles to support your health can mean the difference between going through the motions and doing exercises that are reinforcing your bad habits vs. developing new and better habits and ultimately better whole-body health.  What you learn during your Private Pilates sessions and while using the Pilates equipment can then be applied to other sports and activities you do.

If after a few months of private instruction you love Pilates and see the value in your investment, you just might find a way to make Pilates – in a studio, on equipment – a regular part of your life.  On the flip-side, if you know affording regular instruction is not an option, ask your Pilates teacher to develop a personalized at-home program for you to continue with on your own.  Maybe you’ll invest in a Pilates Arc Barrel, Magic Circle, or other small equipment to use at home.  Or perhaps all you’ve got at home is a Mat to continue with Pilates Matwork on your own.

By working with a Pilates teacher, you’ll have more confidence to exercise at home on your own and will be able to make wiser choices if you’re following along with a workout video to know what exercises are safe for your body or need to be modified or omitted.  You might do 95% of your workouts solo, and every so often schedule a tune-up session with your favorite Pilates teacher to keep learning new exercises and fine-tuning your technique to progress your Pilates program.

Ask any Pilates participant why they do Pilates and what benefits they’ve received from their workouts. I bet each individual will most likely give you a slightly different response.  But, within each response will be an overwhelmingly positive thread of how good Pilates is for achieving and maintaining whole-body health.  The subtle things that make each of us unique, also make the benefits of Pilates unique to each individual.

But here’s the catch… Not every Pilates exercise is good for every body…  And that’s where getting help from a well-qualified Pilates teacher can make the difference between getting great benefits from your Pilates workouts, and getting hurt.  Any exercise done incorrectly can lead to injury.  It’s not just Pilates exercises that can be risky.  Learning what your body can do safely based on your health history, past injuries, and health conditions, and selecting the most appropriate Pilates exercises along with learning how to do them correctly to avoid injury is a huge part of developing a safe and effective Pilates training program.

What are you waiting for?   Yes Pilates is good for you!  And it just might be the best gift you’ve ever given yourself.  Find a good Pilates Teacher and get started today… Your body will thank you for doing Pilates.

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