{"id":4068,"date":"2013-05-31T05:05:04","date_gmt":"2013-05-31T09:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fatlossaccelerators.com\/site\/?p=4068"},"modified":"2014-04-10T21:36:58","modified_gmt":"2014-04-11T01:36:58","slug":"the-truth-about-pilates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fatlossaccelerators.com\/site\/the-truth-about-pilates\/","title":{"rendered":"The Truth About Pilates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is a travel day for good ol’ KV – I’m taking off on a quick weekend trip to Bermuda.<\/p>\n

Island + Sun = Total Awesomeness<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, I met an awesome Cali chick, Sylvia Favela. While hanging out and watching the sunset on the rooftop of the HardRock Hotel, we got to chatting about Pilates.<\/p>\n

I had never officially tried Pilates before, so I was intrigued. To be completely honest, I thought it was a bit soft. You know, a girly workout. So when I got back to New York, I decided to give one of Sylvia’s follow along workouts a shot.<\/p>\n

I was bloody surprised when I woke up feeling sore.<\/p>\n

Pilates 1 – KV 0<\/p>\n

Sylvia kindly sent over a Pilates workout you can try today. Lesson of the day: don’t judge a workout before you try it.<\/p>\n

It’s not as easy as it looks…<\/p>\n

——-<\/p>\n

The Truth About Pilates<\/h1>\n

By Sylvia Favela<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pilates has often been misinterpreted as just a \u201cstretching\u201d exercise.\u00a0 Let me be the first to tell you. Yes. But not really.\u00a0\"pilates\"<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a fair amount of flexibility required and some of the movements do involve stretching but that\u2019s only the tipping point of how dynamic this technique is.<\/p>\n

Another common misconception about Pilates is that it\u2019s only for gymnasts, dancers or girls.\u00a0 Again none of that is true either.<\/p>\n

Pilates is the GO-TO exercise when it a tight strong core is desired.<\/p>\n

Below are a few questions commonly asked and the benefits you can expect with these Pilates moves:<\/p>\n

Q: Does Pilates only work your core or can you use it to work your whole body?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A:<\/b> Pilates works the body as one whole unit. What I mean by that is when you doing a move you have multiple muscles firing at the same time to work the core, the legs, and torso.<\/p>\n

\"bodyweightPilates requires full body awareness and control.
\nUnlike other exercises when you are lifting a dumbbell to do biceps you aren\u2019t aware or thinking about your spine, your shoulders your hips, etc.<\/p>\n

By using the body\u2019s own gravity to create resistance, these moves can be adjusted by changing angles or position to increase challenges at any fitness level.<\/p>\n

Bottom line, yes, it\u2019s a full body exercise.<\/p>\n

Q: How and why are Pilates exercises more effective than traditional ab exercises like crunches and sit-ups?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A:<\/b> If I were to ask you how many crunches and sit-ups would you need to do to really start feeling the burn? This can be upwards in the 30, 50 maybe even 100 reps.<\/p>\n

The lack of proper deep abdominal muscle engagement is the main culprit when doing hundreds of crunches.<\/p>\n

I often see people doing these traditional moves and mindlessly thrashing their body around with no control of what\u2019s happening.\u00a0 I see heads being yanked down to the chest and hips thrusting up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s painful for me to watch because I know what the long-term result is\u2026Neck pain, tight low back, tight hip flexors and lots of wasted time doing hundreds of these moves.<\/p>\n

In the video below I demonstrate a Pilates Ab Workout that you can start to practice right away. Please pay careful attention to my key points as I explain each move.<\/p>\n

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