No matter your age, core muscles are important and can be strengthened. Pilates is one way to accomplish this. It doesn’t matter if you are in your 20s or 30s or even your 60s, try pilates workouts to strengthen your core and manage pain.
What Are the Advantages of a Strengthened Core?
Improving your core muscles provides added upper body strength, hamstring flexibility, and better abdominal endurance just for starters. It will help you run quicker, lift heavier objects, and more importantly support the lower back and enhance posture. Wouldn’t it be nice not to be dealing with frequent lower back pain? Ask the team at Lokahi Physical Therapy and Wellness for some personalized recommended exercises.
Pilates Is Safe for Chronic Pain
Our Pilates program is an individualized, one-on-one, reformer based session for this very purpose. Pilates exercises are low to no impact and definitely not a cardio workout. When doing pilates the focus is more on the way your body moves rather than the number of repetitions. Don’t over-stress your muscles; you don’t have to be sweating for this to be effective. It’s more about concentration and breathing.
Pilates is beneficial for:
- Chronic low back pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Arthritis
If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease or diabetes, you can participate in pilates workouts, but it’s important to check with Lokahi Physical Therapy and Wellness before beginning.
What Are Some Pilates Exercises to Try?
Let’s look at some easy pilates exercises to achieve a strengthened core.
The Plank Warm Up
- Position your forearms on the ground, ensuring that your elbows are directly beneath your shoulders and your arms are parallel to your body, spaced approximately shoulder-width apart.
- Firmly plant your toes into the ground and squeeze your glutes to support your body. Utilize your leg strength to keep yourself upright in a pushup position.
- Maintain your neck and spine neutrality by looking at a spot approximately one foot past your hands.
- Stay in this position for as long as possible without adjusting your form or breathing.
One Hundred Warm Up
- Begin by lying flat on your back, ensuring your lower back is firmly against the ground.
- Keep your thighs pressed together as you lift your legs to a 45-degree angle, pointing your toes outward.
- Activate your core muscles as you lift your head and shoulders off the floor, forming a gentle curve with your neck.
- Extend your arms down by your sides.
- Proceed to perform a series of arm pumps, completing 100 repetitions, while inhaling deeply for 5 counts and exhaling for 5 counts after each pump.
Tips for Doing Pilates for Chronic Pain
Before jumping in, keep the following advice in mind:
- Work out in the mornings when you start as this can help with fatigue.
- Keep repetitions to a minimum.
- Consider having a personalized program from an instructor.
- Modify any exercises that are too challenging.
- Remain patient.
You can do pilates workouts at home, watching videos online, YouTube, or joining a nearby health club. There are plenty of exercises for beginners so don’t be afraid to jump into it.
Contact Lokahi Physical Therapy and Wellness for clearance if you want to begin a pilates regimen for your chronic pain and to explore additional pain management options in Huntington Beach, CA.
Sources: Pilates For Seniors (betterme.world)
4 Exercises to Strengthen Your Core – Fit 4 Life (fit4lifetampa.com)
Benefits of Pilates for Chronic Pain | An oasis from the darkness of pain | Hope Instilled