2 weeks Ago By Danielle Kate Wroe
If you've ever tried a Pilates workout, you'd surely agree it's lots of fun – but also a real challenge. Better Health has branded Pilates "a safe and effective method of rehabilitation and exercise that focuses on muscular balance and improves strength and flexibility." They added: "The workout consists of a variety of exercise sequences that are performed in low repetitions, usually five to ten times, over a session of 45 to 90 minutes.
" Pilates tends to be about performing movements in a slow and controlled way, focusing on form rather than on getting as many repetitions in as possible. Even still, it can be a phenomenal workout that really puts your body through its paces. However, not many people know how the rather unusual exercise was first invented, or where it got its name.
Joe Pilates (yes Joe Pilates) developed his famous exercise system while imprisoned in a WWI internment camp with limited access to traditional weightlifting equipment. It's funny how people dismiss a literal prison workout routine because it happens to be popular with women. https://t.
co/902J7gNjgg On X, a woman who had tried out her first-ever Pilates class said: "Girls who do Pilates are gonna be the last to die in the apocalypse, adding she had "worked muscles I'm not gonna need unless the world is ending." And turns out, that might actually be the whole idea behind the workout. Another person chimed in: "Joe Pilates (yes Joe Pilates) developed his famous exercise system while imprisoned in a WWI internment camp with limited access to traditional weightlifting equipment.
It's funny how people dismiss a literal prison workout routine because it happens to be popular with women." In the comments, one user quipped: "I always knew that Pilates was much more radical than the gym," while another admitted: "Not gonna lie, Pilates is really kind of challenging." So, what's the story behind Joe Pilates and his eponymous workout? Born in 1883 in Germany, Joe Pilates was suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever.
As a result, he faced bullying and sought ways to become as healthy as possible. The Pilates Collective Denver revealed: "Joseph explored many eastern wellness practices including tai chi and meditation," discovering that combining a "calm mind" with "physical activity" could lead to superior "overall health and mental wellness." Eager to share his findings, he developed 'Contrology,' which is what we know as Pilates today.
During World War One, Joe "refined his ideas and trained other internees in his system of exercise," even adapting hospital beds with springs to enable bedridden patients to exercise against resistance. "Joseph found the rigging of springs to hospital beds so beneficial that he improved the design to create the Pilates Reformer. When he moved to New York in 1926, he had several Reformers made and opened the first Pilates studio with his wife, Clara," according to the website.
His studio became a haven for dancers seeking rehabilitation from injuries and physical therapy. Pilates isn't just an exercise; it's a way to "maintain mobility, strength, and balance for life". Have you given it a go? Drop your experiences in the comments below.
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