One of the hottest trends in fitness today is Pilates. Pilates is a combination of different body movements that is designed to strengthen, stretch and balance the body.

This body conditioning routine is designed and founded by Joseph H. Pilates. He designed his exercise program by including precision, breathing, concentration, and control.

One of Pilates benefits is the improvement of lung capacity because the exercise incorporates deep and heavy breathing. The mind and the muscles are both coordinated in an effective Pilates workout so the strength and flexibility of the abdomen, back, and stabilizer muscles is achieved. Furthermore, the bodys posture, strength and balance are also improved. With these many benefits, overall health and well-being will surely be improved.

Many gyms, spas, and studios who offer Pilates training and equipment have sprouted everywhere. There is no doubt that it already gained a cult following.

The rich and the famous are also drawn to this mind and body exercise. Jamie Lee Curtis, Marissa Tomei, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts and Rod Stewart are few of the many celebrities who are practicing and reaping the benefits Pilates. So if celebrities are paying big bucks to certified trainers in the country, then this really must be a great exercise.

Yes indeed! It is one great workout. It would not be this popular if it isnt.

There are two ways on how you can exercise Pilates. One way is to focus on floor exercises. Most people are doing floor exercise because it is less expensive and more convenient. The only equipment you will need is a floor mat and a trainer. If you cant afford to hire a personal trainer, there are many home videos available in the market that features instructions on how to exercise Pilates. Just make sure that you select videos from reputable instructors. Also be careful when doing the exercises and routines yourself, doing Pilates without a trainer could cause you injury if you dont perform it cautiously.

The other way to practice Pilates is through the use of equipments that will tone and strengthen the body. Most gyms have these equipments and usually you have to pay a yearly fee to avail the use of their equipments and trainers.

During your workout it would be practical if you wear light and comfortable clothes. Tights and a tank top are a good choice.

Stay focused on the routines and exercises. Your instructor will teach you ways on how to breathe properly and combine it with the body movements. You would not be able to achieve your fitness goals if you do not stay focused and disciplined to practice the right way of making the routines.

Start from the simple routines and work your way up to the more advanced and more rewarding routines. This way your body could adjust slowly and possible injuries will be prevented.

Because Pilates focuses on strength and flexibility and new studies show that two 50-minute Pilates sessions only burn about 250 calories, it would be wise to combine it with other cardiovascular type workouts like running and step aerobics.

Lastly, dont join the Pilates bandwagon just because you think it is the in thing nowadays. Stick with the program, be disciplined and stay focused. Pilates has many benefits and soon enough youll notice that your body is improved. It is indeed one great work out, it not only helps in enhancing your daily tasks through flexibility and improved body strength it also make your mind and spirit feel relaxed and rejuvenated.

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Designed to challenge your strength, flexibility and coordination, Pilates aims to put your body in perfect balance. During WWI, Joseph Pilates served as an orderly at a military camp, working with bed-ridden patients. Many of these patients were not able to move, but that did nothing to deter Pilates’ determination to help them gain strength and mobility. Experimenting with his patients and on his own, Pilates devised a series of controlled exercises that engaged both mind and body. Watching patients carefully, Pilates saw them become more active and alert. The men taking part in Pilates’ exercise regime recovered more effectively than those who did not.

At one point Pilates removed bedsprings from beneath the beds and attached them to the walls at or above bed level. These springs were used to excercise. His contraption later inspired the Reformer, a popular Pilates exercise machine utilizing springs, straps, and a box to perform a variety of exercises.

Those who performed Pilates exercises developed a strong immune system and managed to escape a deadly plague that killed many at the time. Not one of Pilates students died from the influenza epidemic of this time which he claimed was due to the result of his work. None of Pilates’ followers succumbed even though the camps, where many were located were the hardest hit.

Becoming involved in a Pilates program will change the way you think about your body, exercise, and ultimately your total well-being.

Recently I hit my goal weight and moved to the Weight Watchers Maintenance Program. I’ve been thinking about it a lot as I continue to do my best to follow the program, and wondering how it is I was able to lose nearly 33 pounds in 8 months. So, I decided to write my Top 10 Strategies. I’ll list them Dave Letterman style.

Top 10 Weight Watchers Weight Loss Strategies That Worked for Me

10. I make sure to have lots of 1 and 2 point treats in the house. I work at home and I’ve learned that I like to snack and nibble during the day so it’s important to have low point treats available so I don’t feel guilty.

9. I let other people know my friends, family and colleagues what I’m working on so they can support me and give me kudos when I succeed.

8. I share my success and challenges on a blog

7. I use the Weight Watchers online etools. I’m a nut for details so the online program is great for me. I work at home and sit in front of a computer all day. It’s no problem for me to add my food immediately to the online points tracker. I also enter my weight every Saturday after my weekly Weight Watchers meeting. I get an immediate visual representation of how I’m going as I view the graph.

6. I attend the weekly Weight Watchers meetings without fail. I think in 8 months I’ve only missed two due to being out of town on business and unable to get to a meeting. Though, when I know I’m going to be out of town, I will usually at the very least go the day before and weigh in.

5. I weigh and measure my food. I learned quickly that what my eye thinks is 2 ounces usually is a lot more. I’m not consistent about this but more often than not I do weigh or measure what I’m eating and drinking.

4. I track my points. I write down what I eat. I hear Flora in my head saying, “You bite it, you write it.” I’ve learned that when I slack off from writing everything down, I either don’t lose or I gain weight that week. Again, my eyes are not a good judge of quantity.

3. I work out 4 times per week. Before Weight Watchers I took Pilates classes 3 times per week. Though I was getting stronger, I was not losing weight. In fact I was gaining weight due to hormones, a sedentary job and eating too much. I switched to 2 days of Pilates and 2 days of cardio workout. I started the cardio workout the same day I joined Weight Watchers and I know it has make a big difference. Last week I even started walking to my Pilates studio since it’s only a 10 minute walk. Up until now I’ve been driving, if you can believe that.

2. I have a buddy. My dear friend and I joined Weight Watchers together, as well as joined the gym together. We go to the meetings together. We work out 2 times per week together. We talk about food and how we’re doing all the time. We evangelize about Weight Watchers. Without my buddy I don’t think I would have stayed with the program. No, I know I would not have stayed with the program.

1. And number 1. I made the decision to join Weight Watchers. I had heard a lot of success stories about Weight Watchers and after putting on 30 pounds over the course of 3 years, I decided it was time to take action. I had been telling myself it was age and hormones that contributed to the weight gain and that may be partly true, but I had to take action and do something so I could feel good about myself, my body and my health.

That’s it. There are probably more things that could be added to this list. Now my challenge goal is to maintain for 6 weeks and get to Lifetime Member.

Oh, I just remembered one more thing I did. I read an article, I think on Weight Watchers Online, about rewarding yourself when you do well. So I set up a savings account and deposited 10 every time I lost a pound. I call it the “Pamper Me” account. Now, I will add 10 every week I maintain my weight. Then, eventually, I’ll do something wonderful to pamper myself!

Good luck and best wishes to you in your journey to weight loss!

Pilates were invented by Joseph Pilate in the early 20th century. Yoga Pilates can prove to be of great help if all the necessary rules related to Pilates exercises is followed properly. Yoga Pilates is a regimen of exercise that can be equally beneficial and enjoyable. Very simply, Pilates is the contemporary part of the older Yoga movements. The number of Pilates exercises can be as many as five hundred exercises that can be performed by using only five chief instruments. Each pose of yoga has great significance similar to its Pilates equivalent. The important yoga Pilates basics that one must master are movement to and fro from center and revolving around center.

Maintaining good health and proper well being is the chief point of proper and regular practice of yoga Pilates. Regular action will definitely leave a deep, positive impact in your physical as well as mental life. After some days of practice you will find that your bodys flexibility is enhanced. The stretching that is involved in Pilate yoga helps in lessening the threat of injuries.

One of the biggest benefits of Pilates exercises is that your bodys balance is improved. With the passage of time, your body aches will reduce to a great extent as well. With regular exercise, the muscles are strengthened, resulting in the stimulation of your endurance, stamina and your energy level.

One great thing that you will experience as a result of Pilates yoga is that you will find that your body and mind is much more relaxed compared to how you felt before. Pilates yoga involves certain breathing patterns that help a person to calm down and relax, resulting in sounder sleep.

Now days Pilates are often prescribed by specialists like osteopaths, physical therapists, chiropractors and many holistic practitioners as a principal, practical taming process. Pilates indeed rank first in the western chart of fitness. The viewpoints of Pilates teachers and Yoga instructors are somewhat the same on the workings of the exercise. Many consider Pilates to be yoga on the machines while others see it as neuromuscular education or strength conditioning.

Basically Yoga and Pilates are reciprocally supportive Yoga gives Pilates litheness and mobility while Pilates offers constancy and mobility in the movement. When united with Yoga, Pilates doctrine augments the practice by bringing central stabilization into light as well as training and substance for yoga postures particularly in the strength to seize. Since Pilates is more about length and potency, Yoga helps to amplify the litheness capability.

Many people whose job demands sitting at a desk or driving almost 8 hours a day, gain a lot from Pilates Yoga. With easy ideas of figure and postural doctrines, it will support the backbone and unlock the oomph channels. It edifies consciousness and centering, suppleness and mobility. It is a coordination of associated exercises that are also helpful separately.

Dancers and professional athletes practice the Pilate form of exercise. This helps them to achieve flexibility of body and gain strength. Recently this form of exercise has become very popular among celebrities and models for keeping fit. There is no harm in practicing yoga Pilates. In fact, it is considered to be safe even when practiced during special conditions like pregnancy.

Yoga is a union of body, mind, and spirit. The history of yoga is long and steeped in tradition. Yoga is an ancient system of health and fitness which originated in India. The word yoga has its first mention in the Rig Veda, the oldest of the sacred texts. Those that study Yoga estimate it’s age to be four thousand year.

The history of Yoga can be divided into four main periods which are the pre-classical period, classical period, post-classical period and modern period. In the history of yoga, the book is called the yoga sutras. The history of yoga would not have been completed in the classical stage of yoga.

The word Yoga literally meant the Yolk that joins something together, such as an ox to a cart. The idea is that yoga unites all aspects of being into one.

What most people envision to be Yoga, those contortionist postures, is really only one small aspect of a much larger field of practices. The methods of yoga includes ethical disciplines, physical postures, breathing control and as well as meditation.

The 20th century witnessed a renaissance of yoga that caused a globalization of this ancient tradition. Modern approaches to yoga have created a clear delineation between the Hindu religion and the practice of yoga. Through the practice of yoga, an individual can gain information about physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being.

Over the long history of yoga, different schools have emerged, and there are numerous examples branches and philosophies that have spawned. Ultimately, all agree on one common element the fundamental purpose of yoga is to foster harmony in the body, mind, and environment.

Today yoga is accepted as a comprehensive exercise to promote control of the body and mind. More than just a means of being fit and trim, yoga can help you live a healthy, whole, and empowered life. In recent decades, yoga has greatly and swiftly evolved. Yoga is the most diversified spiritual practice in the world. The living tradition of yoga now recognizes no borders as it continues to spread globally.

According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 80 percent of Americans will experience back pain at some time in their life.

The traditional treatment for low back pain is increasing core strength to increase flexibility on tight muscles, provide better stabilization of the spine and exercises to correct the muscle imbalances. The muscles surrounding the spine provide stability and support of the spinal column. All the muscles between the hips and shoulders are included. These muscles are referred to as the core muscles. Back pain can be caused by muscle imbalances of any of these muscles. If the back of the thighs are weaker than the front of the thighs, there will be uneven pull on the front of the spinal column. This muscle imbalance can be caused from long periods of standing or sitting, improper strength training or running, this lordotic curve or sway back of the vertebral column can be painful.

There are more effective ways to integrate core strength training exercises into every exercise you perform, than by doing traditional crunches. One way is to use effective breathing. The following “Pilates” style breathing technique can be added to any strength training exercise. While performing a leg press, inhale during the bending part and exhale during the press. This deep breathing technique needs to be incorporated with the resistance or force of the exercise. You will utilize the diaphragm muscles which help to provide spinal support and lengthen the spine, by breathing from your diaphragm instead of shallow upper chest breathing.

The tummy tuck and bridge lift and can help reduce back pain and strengthen the core muscles. The tummy tuck is simply a pelvic tilt drawing the abdominals away from the floor. Simply lie face down and squeeze the glutes to lengthen the spine. Reach the tailbone down towards the heels instead of pressing into the thighs. Perform 10-12 repetitions of each exercise alternating them until you have completed 2-3 sets. For the bridge, simply place the feet on a bench or on the floor and scoop the pelvis upward; the rib cage should stay low to reduce the spine muscles irritation. This will relieve stress on the back and focus the muscle contraction into the hamstrings and glutes.

The lumbar side stretch, hip flexor stretch, and calf stretches can help to alleviate pull on the spine.

For the hip flexor stretch, bring one foot forward in a bent knee, 90 degree angle knee to hip and knee to ankle while the other leg is on the floor behind with foot pointing toward the ceiling. This stretch helps to open the muscles in the back on the sides of the spine near the hips. Squeeze the glutes to deepen the stretch with each exhaled breath. You should feel a stretch on the back leg, in the front of the thigh and the hamstrings on the front leg.

For the lumbar side stretch bring the legs wide with knees bent while sitting or standing. Bring one hand down towards the foot inside the thighs and the other behind the head.

The last stretch opens up the Achilles tendon; the most distant pull on the spine of the body. Place an object under your foot and lean your body weight forward. Keep a fluid breath while holding all stretches for 10-30 seconds .You should feel a stretch behind the knee and shin.

By exercising core muscles you will be able to continue working out without sacrificing your back. Check with your doctor before starting ANY exercise program!

Its summertime, and the living is easy except when you have to think about putting on an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny yellow polka dot bikini! But dont worry, theres still time to get in shape to strut your stuff on the beach or the boardwalk!

These tried-and-tested exercises can give you quick results with just 10 minute focused workouts every other day. If youre on a serious mission and feeling really motivated, feel free to go for it every day! And dont forget to mix up these moves with some cardio work, even if its a game of soccer with the kids or a brisk walk to the park. Take advantage of the extra quality time youre spending with the kids, family or friends this summer – whether at home or on vacation – and put the fun things you do to work to stay active. Every calorie counts!

And after a few weeks with these exercises, you can look your best in the seasons latest teeny-weeny bikini fashions! Have fun in the sun but dont forget the sunscreen!!

Dolphin Kicks

For this exercise you want to balance your weight on your forearms with your elbows directly underneath your shoulders. Make sure to pull your shoulder blades down towards the hips away from your ears this will keep the stress off your shoulders. Extend your hips and spine, pull in your abs this supports your torso and bend your right knee slightly off the floor for more support. First Inhale, and then as you exhale extend your left leg straight out to hip height, contracting the glutes and hamstrings. Your hips should be facing forward at all times. With a slight bend, return the left leg to meet the opposite supporting leg.

Reps
Repeat up to 20 repetitions, keeping the torso still, then switch to the other side.

Muscle Focus
Glutes, hamstrings, abs, and lats.

Super Butt Kicks

Lay down on your back, placing your arms down by your side. Lift your hips off the floor in a bridge position. Your right knee should be bent with the heel in line with your sit bone, and your left leg should be extended straight up. As you inhale, lower your left leg to the floor. Be sure to keep your hips still and maintain the bridge position. Exhale and bring the leg back up to the start position

Reps
Repeat up to 20 reps, then lower your left leg to the floor in the same bent position as the right. Lower your butt to the floor, rest, and change over to the other leg.

Muscle Focus
Glutes, hamstrings, abs

Dead Bug

Lay down on your back with knees bent at a 45-degree angle. Head, neck and shoulders should be off the floor and hands resting on your knees. On an exhale, draw in your abs and simultaneously extend your left leg out and your right hand over your head. Repeat this move, alternating your arms and legs. Keep your eyes focused on your belly button at all times, and if you start to feel tension in your neck, lower your head down to the floor. This will get easier as you build more strength in the abs.

Reps
Build up to 20 repetitions completed twice with a 30-second to 1-minute break. Make sure not to sacrifice form.

Muscle Focus
Abs

Side Plank Leg Lifts

Lay down on your side, balancing on your right hip and resting on your right forearm. Your right elbow should be directly underneath your shoulder and your knees bent and stacked on top of each other. While exhaling, contract your abs, and lift your hips off the floor. At the same time, extend your left arm and leg out to the side of your body, making sure to keep the knee and toe facing forward.

Reps
Try for 10-15 reps, then turn over onto your other side and repeat.

Muscle Focus
Glutes, abs

Around the House

1. When you go outside to pick up your morning newspaper, take a brisk 5-minute walk up the street in one direction and back in the other.

2. If you’re housebound caring for a sick child or grandchild, hop on an exercise bike or treadmill while your ailing loved one naps.

3. Try 5 to 10 minutes of jumping jacks. A 150-pound woman can burn 90 calories in one 10-minute session.

4. Cooking dinner? Do standing push-ups while you wait for a pot to boil. Stand about an arm’s length from the kitchen counter, and push your arms against the counter. Push in and out to work your arms and shoulders.

5. After dinner, go outside and play tag or shoot baskets with your kids and their friends.

6. Just before bed or while you’re giving yourself a facial at night, do a few repetitions of some dumbbell exercises, suggests exercise instructor Sheila Cluff, owner and founder of The Oaks at Ojai and The Palms, in Palm Springs, CA, who keeps a set of free weights on a shelf in front of her bathroom sink.

While Waiting

7. Walk around the block several times while you wait for your child to take a music lesson. As your fitness level improves, add 1-minute bursts of jogging to your walks.

8. Walk around medical buildings if you have a long wait for a doctor’s appointment. “I always ask the receptionist to give me an idea of how long I have left to wait,” Cluff says. “Most are usually very willing to tell you.”

9. While your son or daughter plays a soccer game, walk around the field.

10. Turn a trip to a park with your child into a mini-workout for you. Throw a ball back and forth and run for fly balls.

We all know how difficult it is to stay in shape and find time to exercise – but most especially for women with babies or small kids. Theres the sleep-deprivation factor, no time and priority changes. So what are the fitness options for busy Moms?

The fact is, the more you can take of yourself and the better you feel, the stronger you will be physically and emotionally to take on the day with the little ones and all of lifes challenges.

Below are some quick, but effective, exercises – specifically designed for the busy Mom – for the back and shoulders to keep you strong and prevent future injuries that may occur with poor lifting biomechanics and poor posture. The heavy weight of not just the baby, but also all the fun gadgets youre expected to lug around. Its no surprise that our bodies need a little help to get through the day.

Rotator Cuff Strengthener

For this workout you will need a light theraband. The beauty about this piece of equipment is that its small enough to carry in your bag or your stroller. Now you have no excuses – you can do these exercises on the go, at the park or when you have a few moments to spare.

You can do this exercise either seated or standing; hold the elbows close to the waist with palms facing the sky holding the theraband. Pulling the hands away from each other externally rotating the shoulders

Reps
3 sets of 10-15 reps

Muscle focus

Rotator cuff muscles are the small muscles that stabilize the shoulder joint. If these get weak from over use you could end up with bicep tendonitis or other potential injuries. This is very common with Moms as everything is usually done with one hand while holding the little one in the other.

Tricep push-up extension

This is the one time in your life you are going to need arm strength, the biceps are going to get over worked from the motion of picking up the baby so its important to balance these out and keep the triceps strong as not to put unwanted strain on them.

Hands are directly under your shoulders and knees are on the ground in a modified push-up. The pelvis is slightly pressed forward creating work in the abdominals that stabilize the spine. Place the theraband under the right hand on the floor and extend opposite arm in a tricep extension. Whilst extending the working arm be careful to keep the wrist in line with the hand not to create any unwanted tensionstrain.

Reps
3 sets of 10-15 reps on each side

Muscle Focus
Drawing your shoulder blades down activating your upper back muscles, engaging abs at all times. Keeping your abs strong and being aware of contracting them is very important as they play an important role in stabilizing and protecting the back.

Translating this in to functional activities such as picking the baby up out of the crib will really save your back.

Spine extension with pulses

Over time in pregnancy our posture completely changes due to the increased weight of the baby bringing our body forward and causing the spine to round forward with the shoulders. This causes the back muscles to become very stretched out and weak.

Seated up right with legs in front of body shoulder width apart, hands over your head. Hinge forward from the hips leading with the sternum, biceps are by your ears. Hold this position and slightly pulse the arms behind the body mobilizing the shoulders and working the upper back. Return back to an upright position to repeat the movement again.

Reps
3 sets of 10 Pulses

Muscle Focus

Upper back and hamstring flexibility. This exercise will strengthen the mid upper back and open up the tight thoracic area of the spine, correcting bad habits that the body formed through pregnancy.

Butterfly ab curls

Keeping you abs strong is essential for keeping your whole body strong and restoring poor posture left over from pregnancy.

Lying on the floor with heals of feet together and knees bent to the side in a frog like position. Arms are straight over you head, circle arms around and lift the head neck shoulders off the floor exhaling pulling in the abs hold for 5 seconds and return back to starting position.

Reps
3 sets of 10 reps

Muscle Focus

As you exhale and bring the head neck and shoulders off the floor think of pulling your abdominals in up and back to the spine. Moms, this is a time you can practice doing your kegal on the contraction working the pelvic floor.

If youre highly informed or even if youre one of those people that just stay home, no doubt youve heard of the Pilates Exercise. The purpose of Pilates Exercises is to stretch and to strengthen your body. That is why Pilates is so popular with most contortionists and ballet dancers.

But just because people are using Pilates for physical improvement, and weight loss, it doesnt mean that a Pilates exercise is a cardiovascular exercise. Pilates is basically a low intensity exercise. Most instructors recommend Pilates with aerobics and other forms of exercise for best effects.

The Pilates Exercise was invented by Joseph Pilates, a German National, as a self exercise. Pilates was born a fragile child, sickly and asthmatic, so he took to exercise to improve his body. When he was a bit older, he was living in France, and was arrested as an enemy alien. During his internment, he was assigned in the medical facilities of the prison and this is where he put Pilates into use, as rehabilitation exercises for the sick.

Since then the Pilates exercises has gained its reputation for helping improve the overall physical state of the body. Pilates exercise is a series of breathing techniques combined with stretching and a simple machine. Pilates exercises designed to improve the bodys core. This includes the muscles in the abdomen, back, and buttocks. Some say it is better than yoga overall because it strengthens the body through improving posture strength and flexibility through stretching. The machines used in Pilates, are there to challenge the body, by making it stay in certain positions while moving the other parts in differing directions, thereby training the body to endure strain, thus increasing strength.

The basic Ideology of the Pilates Exercise is the use of the bodys mental ability to improve movement, efficiency and muscle control, which is also why they say that Pilate exercise somehow improves ones mental state. Pilates also makes you aware of proper posture. Due to the exercises that you do, it also develops the muscles in the back and abdomen, further promoting good posture.

Pilate exercise also uses breathing techniques, which further increases mental focus. And probably one of the greatest focuses of Pilates is flexibility strength of the muscles. It is this ideology that made Pilates popular among dancers in the begining.

Many Pilates enthusiasts and users have testified to the effectiveness of this program. With regular classes, the bodies become well balanced and stronger. Some say that after each workout, you can instantly feel the difference it has made to the parts of the body, mainly the legs back and abs.

Aside from increased strength, weight loss is what many people aim for when they do Pilates exercises. Other benefits of Pilates include increased energy levels, higher endurance, better flexibility, great abdominal workouts, and overall physical well being.