Age Gracefully with Pilates Exercises

Pilates Programs Strengthen Muscles Without Strain

Nov 4, 2009

As we grow older, our joints become fragile and our muscles begin to deteriorate, complicating our ability to exercise. Pilates is a perfect exercise option.

The secret to feeling good and enhancing our ability to perform daily activities as we grow old is to keep the body supple and strong. One way to do that is to exercise. Pilates is an especially beneficial form of exercise, because it promotes a comprehensive approach to exercise that is low-impact. It focuses not only on strength, but balance, flexibility and coordination as well.

Low-Impact Exercises Strengthen Muscles Safely

Low-impact training should be considered for individuals as young as 40 years old. In the 2009 October/November issue of ACE Certified News, author and educator Amy Ashmore cites research from the National Council for Physical Activity & Disability. She writes that "joints begin to show evidence of degenerative change around the age of 40 to the degree that almost all elderly persons show some signs of osteoarthritis."

Pilates exercises are typically low-impact, joint friendly exercises. They are also comprehensive; they focus on strengthening not only the large muscle groups, but the stabilizing muscles. Strengthening the stabilizing muscles is crucial to overall muscle health, as strengthening these smaller muscles enables the larger ones to function properly.

Regular Pilates Sessions Keep Muscles Healthy

Writer Robert Roy Britt, editor for LiveScience, recently wrote about muscle degeneration in older adults. In his article, "Clock Turned Back on Aging Muscles, Researchers Claim," he details findings from the European journal EMBO Molecular Medicine. Researchers found that muscle in adults aged 68 to 74 declines significantly after being immobilized for as little as two weeks. While younger muscle recovers quickly after immobilization, older muscle experiences inflammation and scarring both during immobilization and in response to exercise after immobilization.

These findings demonstrate the importance of exercising diligently and, particularly as we grow older, without prolonged interruption. Starting an exercise program early and making it a habit is beneficial to muscular health. Pilates offers exercisers a great range of exercises using multiple apparatus. Exercises can be modified to the needs of the student whether she is an advanced exerciser or a novice. The variety of exercises is great, keeping students interested and challenged for years.

Stay Young With Pilates Programs

Because of our sedentary lifestyles, good health requires that we exercise. In his book Return to Life Through Contrology, Joseph Pilates writes that "since we are living in this Modern Age we must of necessity devote more time and more thought to the important matter of acquiring physical fitness." Pilates offers an option that is gentle, challenging, and promotes muscular health. The exercises are powerful tools that condition the body and can take years off the age that we feel.

The copyright of the article Age Gracefully with Pilates Exercises in Pilates is owned by Christine Harmon. Permission to republish Age Gracefully with Pilates Exercises in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.