Tips for a Good Pilates Warm-up
How to Avoid Injuries and Become More Flexible
Pilates is best done in a calm and quiet place as it is important to focus on what you are trying to achieve. Some points to bear in mind are:
- The area should be quiet and comfortable with no distractions and there should be enough room to move properly.
- Try to keep lighting as natural as possible. This could be soft light from a lamp or simply sunlight.
- Use a good, firm, exercise mat which is thick enough so your spine feels comfortable against the floor.
- Wear loose clothing - 100 percent cotton clothes are ideal so the body can ‘breathe’ too.
- Listening to soft music is fine. This could be classical or simply natural sounds such as the ocean or falling rain.
- Make sure you have drunk enough water, but not too much, before starting.
- Do not eat too much before a session and leave at least two hours after a main meal.
Pilates is done bare foot, although there are some ‘Pilates socks’ available if you prefer. Take around five minutes to think about your body before you start and focus on any areas that feel tight, or tense, so that you can concentrate more on that area during your workout. The more you concentrate on doing the exercises correctly, the more you will gain from Pilates.
Before starting any form of exercise, it is essential to warm-up properly. This warm-up process supplies blood to various parts of the body, prepares them for exercise and protects from any potential injuries. Stretching also helps increase flexibility and avoids over-extension injuries. As muscles and tendons are naturally flexible, stretching helps extend them so they do not experience any unnecessary stress during exercise.
Stretching should be done slowly and smoothly. Jerking movements will not help relax muscles or extend them to their limit. Ten minutes of warming up and ten minutes of stretching is enough for most people unless you have an injury that may require more. One minute per exercise is generally enough.
Advantages of stretching
- Decreased risk of injury
- Reduced stress
- Increased agility
- Increased flow of nutrients and blood in the stretched area
- Help avoiding muscle stiffness
The following are basic Pilates warm-up exercises and include a mix of standing warm-up exercises as well as seated and mat warm-up exercises:
- Shoulder and Neck Warm-up
- Knee Bends
- Pilates Bridge
- Half Roll-down - Upper Spine Mobility
- Full Roll-down - Spine Mobility
- Lateral Stretch
- Cervical Nod - Supine
- Chest Floating - Supine
- Arm Cross
- Pectoral Stretch
- Shoulder Stretch
Spend about 15-20 minutes doing these to warm up the body before your Pilates workout.
Before starting remember the following:
- Relax and keep any distractions to a minimum
- Stand in neutral spine
- Double check you are standing properly in neutral with your neck aligned
· Practice your Pilates breathing for five minutes to compose yourself and get ready for your routine.
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