Men’s Health and Pilates
I once heard from another Pilates instructor that Pilates was started by a man for men. It just happens that it has become an exercise regime that is dominated by women and leggings, and there is nothing wrong with that! I am one of those women… ha! But, why do so many professional male athletes ranging from Formula 1 drivers to NFL players do Pilates? The answer is simple, Pilates is awesome. How can Pilates benefit men’s health?
First, let's talk about flexibility/ mobility. I know that most males love to workout and lift weights at the gym. The men look great, but often their joints are not feeling good at all, and their low back often feels tight. Well, Pilates is a solution. It offers so many great ways to help with your mobility and balance which in return will help your joints and low back feel so much better. One solution is to stretch the hamstrings. Often, the hamstrings are why the low back feels tight. Pilates offers a lot of different ways to stretch the hamstrings with exercises like lunges, feet in straps and roll downs. Another huge area of concern can be shoulders. Pilates is amazing to keep shoulders healthy. Exercises like kneeling arm work, chest expansion and pulling straps force the shoulders to move in a variety of ways so that shoulders can stay strong, mobile and injury or surgery free, and will help you lift a lot!
Second, Pilates will connect you with your core. A lot of men love to work their rectus abdominis aka the six pack, but they fail to realize that the core goes far beyond this. Meaning that they are missing a lot of potential power, balance, and, again, some low back pain relief. Pilates offers exercises to find the deep core muscles like obliques, hip flexors, and glutes. So many men have the “hot girl bod” aka a six pack and nice arms but have no clue what to do with them or can’t apply their muscles to real life like when it is time to lift something heavy. Pilates will help keep that bod but also work your core in so many different ways that goes far beyond the six pack with exercises like supine arms, deep breathing, 100’s, long stretch and rollbacks.
With core connection and mobility work, Pilates is the tool needed to keep the everyday athlete/ weekend warrior going. This is a huge reason why so many of the male clients at The Studio on Third do Pilates. They want to keep moving in their everyday life. Pilates helps them to keep their game going. It teaches them how to breathe, how to engage their center, glutes and how to move their spine in different directions especially for Pickle Ball and golf. When working at The Studio, we cater to our clients needs and athletics so that they can play their best games! Pilates offers so many exercises for all the sports. That could be a whole other blog.
And, finally, it is a hot one, but Pilates will help create a better sex life. Why? How? There are multiple exercises that target hip mobility, pelvic floor and breathing which in turn gives men better stamina and gives both parties a much more enjoyable and intimate experience.
To all men, during this month of June, start adding some Pilates into your workout routine. You will lift more weights, your joints will start to feel relief, and your love life might be a little better. Sign up at the Studio on Third.