When dealing with obesity, an integral part of getting back on a healthful track and losing the excess weight is exercise. In fact, regardless of whether you're obese, it's important to include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended 150 minutes of exercise each week into your routine. If the idea of walking or jogging on a treadmill seems boring, you can change your routine by adding a social exercise element, such as Pilates.
Accessible
Pilates is an accessible form of exercise for those who are overweight because the exercise can be adapted to problems associated with excess weight. For example, situps, rollups, stretchers and rockers can be modified to address the additional weight resistance that comes with carrying excess pounds. Other movements can be eliminated all together from your routine and brought in later as you lose weight and gain strength. The range of movements within the exercises can also be modified to address areas and moves where fat can get in the way of completing the full movements of the exercises.
Calorie Burning
Pilates is an efficient way to increase your weekly calorie burn while increasing body strength. As you work your different muscles during Pilates, you increase the overall energy being used by your body. In order to create new energy, your body must burn calories, either from the foods you have recently consumed or from other sources, such as the fat stored on your body. When you burn more calories through Pilates than you take in through your diet you create a calorie deficit, which can result in weight loss.
Strength Training
The movements of Pilates are developed to strengthen and elongate muscles through specific low-impact movements. These movements largely target your core muscles such as your abdominals, but also work most of the major muscle groups as you move throughout the workout. As you strengthen your muscles, you increase the amount of muscle tissue in your body. The more muscle tissue you have, the more efficient your body becomes at burning calories, which can increase your weight loss.
Benefits
The strength gains and calorie burning from Pilates provide a range of benefits for obese people. The weight loss from Pilates can help decrease your risks for a long list of diseases including diabetes, heart diseases, some forms of cancer like cancer of the breast and colon, osteoporosis and arthritis. The strength building and stretching from Pilates can also help alleviate lower back pain, as well as can increase your overall range of motion. The movements of Pilates are also designed to help improve balance, posture and overall flexibility.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Physical Activity Guidelines
- Pilates.com: The Benefits of Pilates
- MayoClinic.com; Pilates -- A Low-Impact Way to Build Core Strength ...; June 2009
- MayoClinic.com: Pilates for Beginners
- American Council on Exercise: Pilates Primer
- MayoClinic.com: Strength Training -- Get Stronger, Leaner Healthier.
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