Extreme Pilates

So why would Pilates be associated with some of these other outdoor, hardcore adventure-type sports?

I don't know for sure, but it may be just to attract some of these adrenalin pressed people to the benefits of Pilates.

I am an adventure racer myself and enjoy doing many of these outdoor sports and know first hand of the many benefits I get from practicing Pilates regularly.

Pilates, done properly, can greatly improve your balance and coordination which is highly needed for these types of sports, as well as for our daily living activities.

Physically demanding or "Extreme" Pilates is not normally a word I would connect with Pilates.

Pilates is more of a gentle, flowing, concentrated, core-type exercise system.

Because I am an adrenalin junkie myself I find Pilates to suit me better than Yoga as it keeps your mind occupied with breathing and concentration on quality movements, and the flow is faster and more energetic than Yoga.

Before you begin your Pilates core workout you should always start with the fundamentals just as you would in any other sport or activity.

Why?

Because these are the basic movements that you need to learn to do correctly before you even begin the beginner sequence of Pilates-based exercises.

All the Pilates exercises from the beginning to the advanced levels build on each other through layering of muscles from the inside out.

If you start with extreme Pilates, or doing more advanced movements, you only get the feeling of working hard to perform the movement correctly and forget the main benefit of the mind-body connection, which trains the subconscious mind to do without thinking.

This subconscious training is very important for extreme sports where most of the time you don't have time to think before you perform.

This is why when you jump into an extreme Pilates exercise workout you may not get the full benefits of working from the inside out on the deeper endurance muscles. This could lead to possible injuries.

Remember to progress through the layers of Pilates classes before you jump ahead to more advanced Pilates exercises.

You will be much happier, healthier and reap more of the benefits in the end if you are patient and diligent in the beginning stages.

Check out some of my Exercise of the month pages here for progressions of all exercises.

And, See some of my Equipment workouts by going here.

Just like anything else; a solid foundation is your best defense against pain and injuries later.

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