When the time of year comes around when we are looking forward to the summer, the few months prior to your relaxation are sometimes filled with stressful thoughts of not being comfortable in our own skin. In order to relax and enjoy your time during summer vacation, you want to look and feel your best. Preparing your body for that bikini might seem like a stressful mindset to carry through the months leading up to the hot days.
Don’t get discouraged and don’t be too hard on yourself! If working on your body is really something that you want to do to look and feel more confident, let’s talk about it! You don’t have to resort to boring workouts that leave you feeling burnt out and unmotivated. One of my favorite ways to get my body beach-ready is pilates! The upbeat, dance-centered workouts never fail to leave me feeling hyped up and excited about my body. There are also different types and levels of pilates classes so no matter if you’re a beginner or a pro, you can find something you LOVE!
What is pilates?
Pilates is a form of exercise that focuses on centering the mind and the body together. A mixture of dance, yoga, and strength training, pilates will leave your body feeling amazing, but not overworked. Pilates will help balance your body and mind and allow for a number of benefits, both physical and mental.
So how will pilates help your body be the best it can be in time for beach season? Let’s look at several benefits of pilates to find out.
Tones Muscles
Many pilates workouts are bodyweight workouts and some prompt you to use equipment, both of which will help you tone your muscles in different ways. Targeting your muscles with dumbbells or resistance bands is a common practice in some pilates routines. Strength training in pilates also stems from its relationship to yoga. By honing in on specific muscles and their strengths or weaknesses, you can use pilates to help you tone your arms, legs, and abs with a quick 45 minute, low-impact workout. You’ll be toned and tanned this summer!
Burns Fat
Pilates is not going to leave your body feeling depleted and run-down. You’ll be able to feel your muscles growing and you might feel the burn a little, too! Since your body is almost constantly moving in a pilates workout, you are able to consistently burn fat easier than if you were strength-training alone. You might not see quick weight-loss results as you would in a more cardio-based workout, but pilates can help you consistently burn fat over time. Stick with it and you’ll see your body slim down as you take on more challenging moves.
Improved Coordination
Since pilates brings the mind and the body together for a cohesive workout, you’ll notice that over time your coordination will improve greatly. You’re likely going to be carrying a chair and a cooler onto the beach and going for a swim, so keeping up on your coordination and balance are imperative to make sure you can move around easily. Trekking through the hot sand is hard enough as it is, but the pilates moves that you can practice will ensure your safety and stability. Your joints will be strengthened and you’ll feel lighter on your feet!
Improved Flexibility
Along with coordination, your flexibility is likely to improve the more you do pilates. Flexibility and coordination are important in order to look fit because they both come with that mind-muscle connection. You will feel more limber and you’ll see that the strength in your muscles will help you carry yourself more confidently. Your flexibility will make it easier for you to get around and to feel your best doing so.
Pilates is one of the easiest workouts to do when you want to feel empowered and beautiful! Centering yourself with the yoga-based concentration practices and strengthening your body with some more intense moves is the perfect combination to make you feel strong. If you want to learn more about my fitness journey and how I can help you reach your fitness goals, contact me!
