Practicing Pilates is usually thought of as an adult's method of exercise, but it can be an effective way for kids to keep fit as well. The same benefits that practicing Pilates offers to adults apply to children, so renting a Pilates DVD or enrolling your child in a Pilates class may be a good idea. Through the mastering of Pilates concepts and exercises, your child can fulfill his daily physical activity requirements while improving posture and flexibility.
Physical Activity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children get 60 minutes of exercise each day. While a child's exercise should focus mostly on aerobic endurance, strength training is also recommended three times per week. Pilates can be as high-impact or low-impact as you want, meaning that it can fill both requirements. The slow, steady movements taught in Pilates can help fulfill the strength training requirement, while faster positions like The Hundred can raise your child's heart rate to fulfill the aerobics activity requirement.
Flexibility
Children are usually much more flexible than adults, and Pilates can help foster that flexibility. The three facets of fitness are cardiovascular strength, muscular strength and flexibility, but all too often flexibility is forgotten. The positions and poses taught in Pilates help to keep your child's muscles and tendons limber, even as she ages. This is especially important if she takes part in extracurricular activities that require flexibility, such as dance or gymnastics.
Mental Concentration
Pilates can help teach your child how to properly focus on a task. Many of the poses and postures taught in Pilates require your child to focus on one part of the body, count breaths and move slowly. This can teach greater focus in other areas of his life including school and sports. Joseph Pilates, the creator of Pilates, founded his exercise regimen on concentration, focus and precision. Pilates can teach your child to concentrate more effectively.
Improve Posture
Modern kids spend a large percentage of their lives in front of screens, points out Vitality online journal. Televisions, computers and cell phones can all cause your child to become lazy in posture. Hunching over electronic devices may cause poor posture and subsequent back pain later in life. Pilates requires perfect posture and a neutral spine. As your child learns what it means to maintain a neutral spine, those techniques can be integrated into everyday life, improving posture at school and at home.
Member Comments