{"id":2064,"date":"2015-05-28T09:10:37","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T09:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/?p=2064"},"modified":"2021-02-19T17:34:46","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T17:34:46","slug":"pilates-for-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men","title":{"rendered":"Pilates for men – Why real men do pilates"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a growing number of elite and professional sportsmen making Pilates<\/a> part of their training regimes, \u2018Real Men Do Pilates\u2019 is an increasingly common subject for articles in many Fitness and Men\u2019s Lifestyle magazines.<\/p>\n

Probably for that reason, more and more men are asking me about Pilates. Here are some of the most common questions \u2013 and my answers.<\/p>\n

Q<\/strong> \u0007 Should I try Pilates?<\/h2>\n

Absolutely. The benefits may vary, but most people \u2013 whether a sedentary office worker or an elite athlete \u2013 find that building Pilates<\/a> into their training regimes delivers improvements in a number of areas, including muscle strength and control, balance, posture, flexibility and injury prevention.<\/p>\n

Q<\/strong> \u0007 Pilates is a bit, well, easy, isn\u2019t it?<\/h2>\n

Hardly.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s technically difficult, requiring you to achieve and maintain good form and posture while moving through a range of exercises. It requires continual mental and physical effort as you focus on correct muscle engagement and activation, often across several muscle groups at the same time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s physically hard, too. The Pilates Reformer creates both load and instability, requiring you to push your endurance and challenge your muscles in ways you never have before. Your muscles will burn, and your limbs will shake, and yes, you will sweat. (Just ask any of the members of the London Irish rugby squad who are regular visitors to Ten.)<\/p>\n

Q<\/strong> \u0007Will Pilates help me \u2018build muscle\u2019?<\/h2>\n

Pilates exercises alone won\u2019t necessarily help you \u2018bulk up\u2019. But the improvements in flexibility will help increase your range of movement through many compound lifts (squats, deadlifts etc), while the increase in core control will enable you to control more weight through this range \u2013 thus helping you build muscle mass in the gym. Pilates will also keep your body balanced and the muscles working correctly, helping you avoid injuries. If you can\u2019t lift because you\u2019re injured, you can\u2019t improve your physique.<\/p>\n

Q<\/strong> \u0007How does Pilates help with back pain?<\/h2>\n

Pilates is focussed on improving posture and muscle function. The aim is to lengthen tight muscles that pull the body out of ideal posture and to strengthen the muscles that hold the body in good posture. For example, to help alleviate lower back pain, the hamstrings and hip flexors need to be stretched and the lower abs and glutes will need to be activated. We then use more \u2018functional exercises\u2019 (eg squats) to train the body to maintain good posture whilst moving. The same principles apply to postural issues in the upper back and shoulder.<\/p>\n

Q<\/strong> \u0007Will I see a difference in my body from Pilates?<\/h2>\n

Simply, yes. Dynamic Pilates on the reformer provides a number of benefits, both functional and aesthetic.<\/p>\n

Firstly<\/strong>, the improvement in posture will make you look taller, broader and leaner.<\/p>\n

Secondly<\/strong>, the Reformer provides a platform to give your abs and obliques an intense workout. The sliding platform can be used to isolate muscles in a way which is difficult to replicate elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Thirdly<\/strong>, building a balanced body will help you avoid looking out of proportion. Pilates works muscles that are commonly forgotten in the gym (possibly because they\u2019re the ones you can\u2019t see in the mirror).<\/p>\n

Lastly<\/strong>, a body that works looks a lot better than one that doesn\u2019t!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a growing number of elite and professional sportsmen making Pilates part of their training<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":7840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,101],"tags":[68,62],"class_list":["post-2064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-pilates","tag-pilates","tag-training"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPilates for Men - What are the Benefits? - Ten Health & FItness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With pilates for men becoming an increasing part of training for elite sportsmen, we look at the benefits of why you should consider taking up pilates.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pilates for Men - What are the Benefits? - Ten Health & FItness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With pilates for men becoming an increasing part of training for elite sportsmen, we look at the benefits of why you should consider taking up pilates.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ten Health & Fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/pages\/TenPilates\/181187291162\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-28T09:10:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-19T17:34:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/pil36-pilates-for-men.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1125\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Team Ten\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TenPilates\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TenPilates\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Team Ten\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men\",\"name\":\"Pilates for Men - What are the Benefits? - Ten Health & FItness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/pil36-pilates-for-men.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-28T09:10:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-19T17:34:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/21a7582cddb43cb11f955d7e2a48530c\"},\"description\":\"With pilates for men becoming an increasing part of training for elite sportsmen, we look at the benefits of why you should consider taking up pilates.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/pil36-pilates-for-men.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/pil36-pilates-for-men.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1125},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/pilates-for-men#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pilates for men – Why real men do pilates\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Ten Health & Fitness\",\"description\":\"Giving you a slimmer figure and lean, toned muscles, fast. 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