As many of us are goal orientated and want to know that the exercise we are doing is going to help us, we get asked this question regularly. Pilates results are just like any other exercise forms in regards to toning and strengthening. To quote Joseph Pilates, the founder of Pilates, “In 10 sessions you will feel better, in 20 you will look better, and in 30 you will have a whole new body.”
However when it comes to Clinical Pilates, I strongly believe you feel a difference much more quickly. As our Clinical Pilates sessions are individually tailored to suit your needs, most of our patients leave their first few sessions with a different awareness of their body. This may be that they are standing taller, that they feel their posture has improved, their body feels looser and many other factors. This is a result of the combination of mobility exercises, strengthening, postural cueing and stretching that occurs in each session.
In regards to a strength improvement, most pilates patients notice that their posture and overall strength improves in 4-6 weeks, and more quickly if they are attending more regular classes or completing home workouts. The best thing about this is peoples aches and pains normally start improving in this time frame also. This sensation of feeling better, having less pain, and feeling more in control of your body is what makes people feel hooked on Pilates!
Is it bad to practice Pilates everyday?
It is completely safe to practice most Pilates every day, however it is important to vary the intensity and primary focus of your workouts. Just ensure you are listening to your body and giving yourself adequate rest in between the more difficult exercises, especially if you have a specific injury. Your Osteopath/Pilates instructor will help tailor a home program that is safe for you to do unsupervised and give you specific recommendations about how often and how much to complete them. This is then added to each session if you want more of a challenge or variation as you see improvement. With any program, there will always be muscle and joint stretching exercises included to keep you moving pain free too!