When starting an exercise regimen, one of the first things we learn about is the importance of taking breaks. For instance, if you lift weights, you are supposed to go at least 48 hours, on average, before you lift again for whatever muscle group you were exercising. Rest days are important and crucial to many areas of fitness.
Pilates, on the other hand, can be done daily. In fact, you can find even greater benefits from your Pilates workouts if you do them every day.
What About Rest Days?
As mentioned above, rest days are often highly recommended by personal trainers and others with expertise in fitness. This gives our bodies time to recover. So why should you do Pilates daily, and how can you do so?
The main thing is to avoid exercising the same muscle groups day in, day out. For instance, if you worked out your biceps on Tuesday, do not incorporate them on Wednesday. At the very least, do not work your biceps at a moderate or high intensity; remaining at a low intensity can be okay, especially because some of our muscles are almost always used whenever we engage in movement.
This means you can vary which muscle groups are worked per day, allowing you to fit in a Pilates workout each day, if you want. You can also vary the intensity to ensure you do not over train your body, such as high intensity on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, followed by lower intensity on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The workouts can also be shortened as needed.
Pilates Can Enhance Your Balance and Flexibility
A great reason for doing frequent Pilates exercises is to improve your balance and flexibility. The type of movements you have to perform encourage you to focus on your body’s position in space and holding yourself upright.
The exercises also encourage a lot of stretching, which can increase your level of flexibility. This also helps with things like avoiding injury!
Pilates Can Reduce Your Risk of Injury
As noted above, Pilates increases flexibility, which aids in reducing the chances of injury. Furthermore, Pilates builds a strong core and helps you maintain better posture, both of which help you avoid aches, pains, and more severe injuries.
Pilates is generally low impact, meaning that this form of exercise itself is a low risk for injury. It is a great option for individuals who have an injury and cannot participate in more intense forms of exercise.
Pilates Can Lower Stress and Boost Mood
You have probably heard that exercising can help you feel better, as it is associated with the release of chemicals in our brains that make us feel good. In addition to this, yoga and Pilates in particular have been found to be relaxing, even reducing blood pressure.
In other words, Pilates can help you in feeling better, both physiologically (blood pressure levels) and emotionally (reduction in stress, as well as the positive emotions often experienced post-workout).
Pilates Can Help Your Circulation
Because Pilates has such a strong focus on proper posture and breathing deeply, it can even improve circulation. This will improve your overall health, as optimal blood flow is necessary for us to feel as good as we can.
We need oxygen and nutrients to reach our tissues at the right time, and good circulation also means you are at a reduced risk of common diseases related to improper or lackluster circulation.
Conclusion
So Pilates can be safely performed daily, provided you vary the muscle groups, intensity, or even duration of your workouts.
There are several benefits that improve your overall health and make it a good choice for a low-impact, low risk exercise!
