Pilates is an accessible way to boost your strength and improve your flexibility. One of the most appealing qualities of this exercise is that it’s easy for beginners to get started!
When trying outanything new, beginners are prone to making mistakes, but this shouldn’t discourage you from trying out Pilates. As with most new ventures, being prepared can go a long way toward success.
Here are the top four mistakes most beginners make and how you can avoid them to find the greatest benefits with your Pilates workouts.
Forgetting About Form
In any physical exercise, it can be easy to want to push harder. No pain, no gain, right? While it is true that exerting yourself can be good for your body, it should never come at the cost of correct form.
Similar to weightlifting, the best results come when proper form is a priority. Exercising with correct form decreases the chance of injury, increases performance, allows you to move more efficiently, and enables you to have a full range of motion.
In Pilates, a key part of correct form is proper alignment. Alignment refers to the positioning of the entire body, including the hands and head.
The head is one of the three places where people’s bodies hold the most weight, along with the rib cage and pelvis. Controlling these three weight points helps to engage the core muscles and maintain controlled movements.
Monitoring your body’s alignment allows you to target and engage the specific muscles you want to use, rather than engaging all of your muscles for the duration of the exercise. This will produce better and longer-lasting results.
Not Focusing on Breathing
When exerting any pressure or holding our muscles, we often forget to breathe or forget to do it correctly. Proper breathing practices are the second key part of correct Pilates form.
Breathing is easy to forget when there are other things to focus on, such as alignment and muscle contraction.
Intentional controlled breathing is associated with many health benefits, such as lowered blood pressure, decreased stress, better circulation, and more.
Pilates encourages engaged breathing to help unite body and mind and give muscles the power they need to keep performing.
There are two main types of “Pilates breathing”:
Lateral breathing involves outwardly expanding the rib cage while consistently contracting the deep abdominal muscles. This causes the diaphragm to lower, allowing for a deeper breath. This will enable you to take deep, full breaths while also keeping the core engaged.
A set breathing pattern is common in many Pilates exercises. This means that inhalation and exhalation happen intentionally at set moments in the exercise. You may be instructed to inhale during the beginning movement and exhale during the ending movement of your exercise. This prevents you from unintentionally holding or restricting your breath.
Competing Against Other People
Even in Pilates, comparison is the thief of joy. It can be challenging notto feel self-conscious when you’re dripping with sweat and just trying to get through the workout.
It’s easy to assume that everyone is looking at you, studying how you’re doing your exercise. You may want to overexert to match the person working out next to you. Luckily, the most likely reality is that no one cares!
Other people’s attention is probably not focused on how hard you work in Pilates class. It’s important to remember that everyone is on their own journey, and the person working out next to you may have started their journey long before you did.
Comparing yourself to everyone else instead of focusing on perfecting your own movements could lead to burnout or even injury.
Focusing on things you can control, such as alignment and breathing, will help strengthen endurance and produce more positive results.
Expecting Overnight Results
Learning to enjoy the journey is a challenging part of any exercise. It’s easy to focus on seeing physical changes, which could lead to discouragement if results aren’t visible right away.
Remember that consistency is key. Exercising two or three times a week consistently will gradually grow strength and lead to long-lasting results.
Having an overall goal of improved health is a helpful way to stay motivated. When people focus on seeing physical results, it can be easy to feel discouraged and want to quit.
Pilates has numerous overall health benefits, such as a strengthened core—which is valuable, because the core muscles affect the entire body, including balance, posture, coordination, and flexibility.
The entire body works together better when the center of gravity is strong. Pilates helps hone this area and more; choose to feel the many benefits rather than focusing on specific physical features.
Prioritize Your Health with RTR Pilates
Life is busy! Choosing to fit exercise into an already cluttered schedule can feel overwhelming or even impossible, and provides an excuse to those who are self-conscious about learning a new type of exercise.
However, the RTR Pilates community is made for people in every stage of their exercise journey, with various locations and classes to accommodate most busy schedules.
Whether you’ve seen Pilates in videos or are encountering it for the first time, the professionals at RTR Pilates are ready to explain and help you develop your skills. Contact RTR Pilates to sign up for a Pilates class and learn how you can start prioritizing your healthtoday!