5 Benefits Of Regular Exercise

Creating a structure around exercise is vital for mental health.  Pilates gives you space and concentrated time to not only makes you stop and think about what you’re doing physically the slow focused moves then allows you to focus your mind as well.  The 5 benefits of regular exercise and why Pilates is such an important part of your health journey.

Focus plus slower breathing stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system.

Pilates regulates your breathing which helps the parasympathetic nervous system which is rest, digest and heals.  A vital function for your body and reduces the stress response from the sympathetic nervous system which is fright, fight or flight and creates cortisol response.

The biggest bonus of Pilates sessions together is that it will relax you and take yourself away from your daily worries and issues.

And then the physical stuff is a bonus, as part of your physical weekly routine you need weights workout to help with bone density, and upper body strength, especially as we age our ability to produce protein for the muscles diminishes – ie we have muscle loss.  So some mindless thump and bash with some weights is good for you.  Cardio work like swimming or personally I run 4 times a week is vital for your heart and lungs but Pilates is a little more sophisticated than that.

She is the elegant one in the room because she makes use of internal resistance and is an extremely powerful way to tone the body and great shape. Outlined in my blog below is 5 groovy reasons why we should all be exercising our way out of Covid.  longer.   

Here are the five reasons to consider:

1. Reduces the risk of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a brittle bone disease, it can be very painful and normally occurs later on in life. However, you can avoid this painful disease by exercising.

How?

Well up until the age of 20 bone mass is laid down in your body, this is maximised by regular exercise. he more exercise you do, up to the age of 20, the more bone mass your body lays down. After the age of 20 bone mass starts to deteriorate

However if you carry on exercising then the bone density remains constant.

2. Reduces the risk of heart disease

Heart disease was originally thought to be caused by the build-up of cholesterol in your arteries. This was believed to prevent the flow of blood to and from the heart and body. However more recent research is suggesting that the blocks are created by inflammation and cholesterol is travelling to the site of infection to heal the site.

To find out more don’t miss my blog: Let’s be clear about cholesterol

Angina is the first stage of heart disease and if left untreated it can lead to a heart attack. A good diet with plenty of Omega 3 fish (yummy) will help to reduce cholesterol and the cause of inflammation as will regular exercise

How?  well simply because exercise helps to reduce inflammation and cleanse your system. It helps carry toxins around your body and Pilates in particular gently stimulates your lymphatic system that carries your lymph, a fluid containing infection-fighting white blood cells, throughout the body.

3. Decreases your risk of diabetes

Diabetes affects your sugar levels in your body.  It reduces your body’s ability to process sugar from your diet.  The diet over the last 50 years has meant we rely on processed foods more often, cereals and breads that your body doesn’t know how to fully degrade and use optimally in your body. In addition these foods are saturated with sugar, your body becomes overwhelmed and your insulin levels have to go higher and higher to mop up the sugar in your blood system. Insulin eventually becomes ineffective and you become diabetic.  Regular exercise increased your sensitivity to insulin, which helps to control your sugar levels in your blood.

4. Improves your body composition 

Body composition refers to your body’s ratio of lean tissue to fat.  The ratio of muscle and organs to your fat distribution. If you are carrying excess fat it puts a strain on your joints and of course your organs have to work harder. Being overweight also increases your risk of diabetes and heart disease. A certain amount of fat is required for energy and exercising can help to maintain an optimum amount of fat to ensure a good healthy life.  There goes that plug for oily fish again – Omega 3 (yummy)

5. Improves your wellbeing and lifestyle

How do you feel when you have finished a class of Pilates, or a swim, or a cycle?  Hopefully, you feel fulfilled and happy?  Regular exercise has all sorts of effect so your lifestyle it will:

• improve your sleep
• increase your overall energy
• increase your self-confidence
• decreasing your stress
• reduce your risk of illness

Pilates is a whole-body ‘groovy’ discipline

Pilates is fundamentally about integration: integrating movement into a flowing whole body experience and integrating the mind and body to create clarity and purpose. This whole-body movement is really the crux of mind-body exercise. It is not tuning out while running on the treadmill with your iPod – it is an interactive form of exercise.

By integrating your mind with your body you will rejuvenate your spirit and will be on your way to creating a life of balance. Next time you are sitting at a desk or participating in your favourite exercise notice where your body is tense and ask yourself if you can release even a little of that tension. You may find that your movements become smoother, your frustration level goes down and you can suddenly see a new way to approach the problem. This is relaxation at work!

If you are interested in a little more Pilates practice or homework  join me for a Pilates class at home

Find out what others have to say about Adele’s Pilates…

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