{"id":2719,"date":"2017-07-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/incorporate-pilates-weight-training\/"},"modified":"2022-10-19T16:24:21","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T14:24:21","slug":"incorporate-pilates-weight-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/personal-fitness-training-blog\/incorporate-pilates-weight-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Incorporate Pilates principles into your weight training routine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Pilates principles<\/strong> offer you some pretty impressive benefits. These\u00a0give you true core strength, balance and control. This is among other massive plus points. The question is, can you use the wisdoms of <strong>Pilates practice<\/strong> to improve your <strong>weight training<\/strong>? You can! Read more about how to incorporate Pilates into your weight-training routine &#8230;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Six Pilates\u00a0principles that guide good form<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>There are six principles that underpin the Pilates practice. These are:<\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0<em>Centring:<\/em> Every <strong>exercise<\/strong> in Pilates starts with the engagement and activation of the core (i.e. the centre of the body).<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0<em>Concentration<\/em>: This refers to your concentration on each exercise.\u00a0You have to concentrate heavily on each exercise\u00a0so that\u00a0you get the most out of it.<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0<em>Control<\/em>: All of the <strong>muscles<\/strong> in the <strong>body<\/strong> are controlled during each exercise. No part of the body is left out during Pilates\u00a0or is left to do its own thing.<\/p>\n<p>4.\u00a0<em>Precision:<\/em> This is about being aware of the whole body during each movement.\u00a0The whole movement needs to be 100% precise. It\u2019s about understanding where, how and why to move each limb.<\/p>\n<p>5.\u00a0<em>Breath<\/em>: Pilates principles state that you harness the breath to make the exercises more effective.<\/p>\n<p>6.\u00a0<em>Flow<\/em>: Your goal during a Pilates exercise is to achieve a kind of fluidity or flow through the movement. Perfection in Pilates\u00a0 is the result of balanced, centred, controlled and precise movement.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uzVmsMiUXSI\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s how to incorporate Pilates principles to your weight lifting<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Engage your <strong>core<\/strong> for each movement:<\/em> Before you pick up the weight, focus on engaging the core muscles. In addition, ensure that you keep\u00a0them engaged throughout the weight-lifting movement. This strong core will stabilise your body and prevent injury during exercise.<\/p>\n<p><em>Concentrate on every aspect of the exercise:<\/em> Let\u2019s take the <a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/8-tips-perfect-squat\/\">squat<\/a> as an example here. Once you\u2019ve engaged your core, concentrate on every bit of the exercise. Focus on\u00a0your <strong>legs<\/strong> and how they hinge and fold to lower your body. Concentrate on your <strong>glutes,<\/strong> how they contract to control the movement and help with balance. Focus on your\u00a0<strong>upper body<\/strong>, and how it has to remain engaged and upright to protect your <strong>spine.<\/strong> Concentrate on your <strong>shoulders,<\/strong> how they have to stay open and strong. And so on.<\/p>\n<p>This will not only intensify the exercise for you but it will force you to adopt the correct form and keep it. This heightened awareness of your body and its movements means fewer injuries and fewer imbalances.<\/p>\n<p><em>Control the <strong>movement<\/strong>:<\/em> Instead of focusing only on the limbs used directly in a particular <strong>weight-lifting movement<\/strong>, focus on the body as a whole (even the parts that seem to you to be idle). Your coordination and body awareness will improve, making you a better weight lifter.<\/p>\n<p><em>Be precise: <\/em>This is where your weight-lifting form becomes important as does the placement, trajectory and movement of every limb. To use the example of the squat again, it\u2019s about knowing how far apart to position the feet, how to hinge at the <strong>knees<\/strong> and the <strong>hips,<\/strong> how to avoid taking strain into the <strong>neck<\/strong> and shoulders, etc.<\/p>\n<p><em>Breathe correctly<\/em>: Before each rep, <strong>breathe<\/strong> in to fill the lungs and then breathe out to engage the core. Breathe in again and then start your movement. Initially, this breathing pattern is very difficult to master but once you\u2019ve got the hang of it, you can start using your breath to help you get into a rhythm (and do more reps!). Plus, it forces you to breathe deeply, which means your muscles get lots of oxygen. You\u2019ll notice the difference in your stamina, too!<\/p>\n<p><em>Flow:<\/em> Aim to make your movements fluid, rather than jerky.<\/p>\n<h2>What are the benefits of being flexible?<\/h2>\n<p>There are countless benefits to being flexible. Medical experts at Harvard University in the United States of America define &#8220;flexibility exercises&#8221; as the following:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;[Flexibility exercises are] Activities that lengthen and stretch muscles can help you prevent injuries, back pain, and balance problems.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>These experts go on to say the following about the benefits of being flexible:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;A well-stretched muscle more easily achieves its full range of motion. This improves athletic performance \u2014 imagine an easier, less restricted golf swing or tennis serve \u2014 and functional abilities, such as reaching, bending, or stooping during daily tasks.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Watch this video for more information.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YzPWwbsFSzM\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to limit the use of the Pilates principles to weight lifting alone. Incorporate Pilates during any exercise, to perform better and get stronger. And if you\u2019d like to learn to practice and incorporate Pilates like a pro, or to help others benefit from Pilates practice and principles, check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/course\/group-exercise-courses\/comprehensive-pilates\/\">Comprehensive Pilates Instructor Certification<\/a> on offer at Trifocus Fitness Academy. Click here for more <a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/course\/group-exercise-courses\/comprehensive-pilates\/\">information<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5M3NXAFChLI\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pilates principles offer you some pretty impressive benefits. These\u00a0give you true core strength, balance and control. This is among other massive plus points. The question is, can you use the wisdoms of Pilates practice to improve your weight training? You can! Read more about how to incorporate Pilates into your weight-training routine &#8230; Six Pilates\u00a0principles&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2116],"tags":[98,289,290,291,48,37,292,157,143,293,294,80,295,62,296,20,297,51,140,259,186,298,299,277,300],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2719"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}