Tag: pilates

Pilates & Power Pilates – What’s the Difference?

Posted on by Lisa S

Pilates and Power Pilates are both great exercises for toning your muscles, but they’re quite different. Let’s look at the similarities and differences in a little more detail.

Pilates
Pilates is an exercise that focuses on using your own body weight to strengthen the muscles in your core, back, hips, and thighs. It’s a great workout because it helps you build strength without putting too much stress on your joints. It’s also a low-impact exercise that doesn’t put too much strain on your body or leave you feeling sore afterwards. It focuses on developing core strength and flexibility, and can be performed without any equipment at all. It also emphasizes stretching which helps dancers prevent injury through increased range of motion. The goal of traditional Pilates is to create long, lean muscles and increase overall flexibility.

Power pilates
Power Pilates is a type of Pilates that uses weights or resistance bands to increase the intensity of each exercise. This makes it more challenging than regular Pilates and gives you better results. These workouts typically last less than an hour because they’re more intense than traditional Pilates workouts.  The classes involve more repetitions per exercise in order to increase endurance as well as build strength and stamina over time.If you’re looking to add some variety into your workout routine while still getting amazing results, this is definitely something worth trying out!

Both focus on core strength, flexibility, and balance—but they go about it in different ways. The equipment used in Power Pilates is different from what is used in traditional Pilates—the mat exercises from both workouts are similar though! In traditional Pilates classes, instructors will use resistance bands and dumbbells (or no equipment at all!), while in Power Pilates classes there are machines with adjustable resistance levels that mimic free weights like barbells or dumbbells but provide greater control over weight progression. So how do you know which one is right for you?

Pilates vs. Power Pilates – Which one should you choose?
Both forms of exercise are great for improving your posture and reducing back pain, but if you want a challenge or want to lose weight faster, then Power Pilates might be the better choice. Power pilates is great for those who are looking for an intense workout that will get your heart rate up in just one session—but it may not be ideal if you’re looking for something more relaxing like traditional Pilates offers!

As a pilates studio owner it’s helpful to know and educate your clients about the difference between pilates and power pilates. Another thing that can greatly help you with managing your business is investing in a pilates studio management software. My Best Studio’s pilates studio software is offered at a flat monthly price, with no hidden charges. Know more.

Pilates vs. Yoga: Which Workout is Better for You?

Posted on by Lisa S

Pilates and yoga are the two most popular forms of exercise in the world, but which is better for you?

Both workouts have their pros and cons. When it comes down to it, both can help you get more flexible, improve your posture, and even reduce anxiety.
But which one will give you better results?

What do they do?
Pilates focuses on making your body stronger by challenging your core muscles. It uses resistance bands and other equipment to build strength in your core while improving balance and posture through exercises like planks and crunches. Yoga focuses more onimproving flexibility than strength training—and many styles of yoga will even include some cardio-type movements as well!

We do know that these two workouts have a lot in common, and they both offer their own unique benefits. If you’re trying to decide which one is right for you, here are some things to think about:

1. Flexibility:
Yoga is more flexible than Pilates because it involves more stretching, but you can improve your flexibility with both workouts.

2. Variety:
Both workouts offer a wide variety of exercises and classes to choose from, but Pilates tends to be more focused on core strength and balance.

3. Physical demand:
Both workouts require balance, strength, and endurance, but yoga has you moving around more while Pilates typically has you in one position for longer periods of time.

4. Posture:
Yoga will help improve your posture by focusing on alignment and stability in each pose, while Pilates can help improve your posture through specific exercises that target the deep muscles supporting your back.

5. Breathing:
Both workouts also focus on breathing—a key component of any exercise routine. When done correctly, both yoga and pilates will help improve your cardio health by improving circulation throughout your body.

6. Health benefits:
Pilates has been shown to help relieve back pain by strengthening the muscles around the spine, while yoga can help improve posture by stretching out tight muscles that pull us forward from our natural alignment.

Ultimately, there are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to choosing between these two workouts—they’re just different ways of getting results! If you’ve been thinking about giving either one a shot but aren’t sure which one might be right for you, why not try them both?

Do  you own a yoga or pilates fitness studio? Discover how My Best Studio’s yoga studio software and pilates studio software can help you scale up your business.

Common Pilates Myths – BUSTED!

Posted on by Lisa S

Myth #1: Pilates is just another form of yoga.
Fact: Pilates was created by Joseph Pilates, a German immigrant to the United States who taught his method at his studio in New York City and later at the YMCA. While he incorporated some yoga-inspired movements into his program, he also incorporated elements from dance, gymnastics, and other physical activities.

Myth #2: Pilates is only for women.
Fact: While Pilates was developed specifically for women in mind by Joseph Pilates, who believed it could help them regain their pre-pregnancy bodies faster than traditional exercise programs, it is now widely used by men as well. Many gyms offer both male and female instructors who can teach you how to do the exercises correctly so you get maximum results from your workouts!

Myth #3: You should feel pain when doing pilates moves like the Hundred or Barrel Rolls—it means that they’re working!
Fact: While some muscles may feel sore after doing these moves for the first time (and even more so on subsequent days), this doesn’t mean they are working harder.

Myth #4: You should wear loose clothing when you do Pilates.
Reality: No, you don’t! A tight t-shirt is fine, as long as it doesn’t restrict your movement in any way.

Myth #5: You have to be flexible to do Pilates.
Reality: While it’s true that Pilates can help improve flexibility, you don’t need to be super-flexible to start. In fact, many people start on the reformer with just a few exercises and build up from there.

Myth #6: Pilates is only for people who want a slim waistline and tight abs.
Reality: While Pilates is an excellent way to get lean and toned, it’s also a great way to improve strength and flexibility in your whole body—including your back, hips, shoulders and arms (even if you don’t want those areas to look smaller).

Myth #7: You can’t do Pilates if you have a bad back.
Reality: The truth is that most people who think they have bad backs actually just need to work on their core. The reason their backs hurt is because they’re weak, not because they’re injured. And the best exercise for your core is Pilates!

Myth #8: You can’t do Pilates if you’re pregnant.
Reality: While there are some exercises that may not be appropriate during pregnancy (and we’ll let you know which ones those are), most of our clients find that they feel better after taking classes during this time in their life than before they were pregnant! Pregnancy is a great time to work on improving strength and flexibility.

Are you a pilates instructor trying to grow your business? Learn how My Best Studio can help with your pilates studio operations.

10 New Ways to Motivate Yourself to Hit the Gym

Posted on by Lisa S

If you’re anything like us, you have a hard time trying to motivate yourself to go to the gym. We’ve all been there: you’re sitting on your couch in your pajamas, watching TV, and suddenly you realize that it’s been hours since you’ve moved your body. And you’re asking yourself ‘How can I get the motivation to work out?’. All the gym marketing and advertising isn’t working on you!

Then the fear starts setting in. You start thinking about all the things that could happen if you don’t go to the gym. You might get fat! Or gain weight! Or be too out of shape to play sports! And then what will happen?

So we did some research and found out how to motivate yourself to exercise. Here are 10 new ways to motivate yourself to hit the gym—so that when it comes right down to it, all those fears will be banished from your mind forever.

1. Picture yourself as one of those people who looks amazing after they work out (and admit it: they always look amazing). See how with just a few simple changes, you can become one of those people too!

2. Listen to an audio book or podcast while you’re working out—it’ll make time fly by even faster than usual!

3. Get a friend to go with you—it’ll make exercise more fun and help motivate each other!

4. Decide what kind of workout will be best for you – yoga, pilates, martial arts, or dance fitness. Which of these or others are aligned with your fitness goals?

5. Make a list of all of the reasons why you want to work out (or why you want to feel good in general

6. Wear your workout clothes to bed. That’s one less thing to do when you wake up and you’ll be guilty for changing out of them if you skip your workout.

7. Get excited about how much better you’ll feel after your workout. The adrenaline-pumping effects of exercise are a real high!

8. Get some great music going before your workout starts and use that time to dance around like nobody’s watching!

9. Take advantage of any free classes at your gym—you can use them as an excuse to get moving!

10. Remember that everyone else at the gym is probably having as much fun as they are working out—so go ahead and smile

10 Mistakes You Need To STOP Making In Pilates Class

Posted on by Lisa S

Pilates is a great way to get fit, improve your posture and flexibility, strengthen your back and tone your stomach, thighs and bottom. The demand for pilates and pilates class scheduling solutions has picked up considerably in recent years and in fact many business owners are choosing pilates studio management software like this one to run their business.

We asked some leading pilates instructors for their top tips on making the most of a workout in pilates class – avoid these ten common mistakes and you’ll be well on the way to feeling like a pro.

Mistake #1: Getting your alignment wrong when you move between positions
Inpilates, the “center” is what you should be holding all your moves from, and should always be kept in alignment as you move through poses to avoid straining muscles or putting unnecessary pressure on any certain part of the body.

Mistake #2: Not breathing
Proper breathing is essential to proper core engagement, and the most common form used in Pilates is called lateral thoracic breathing. The focus on proper breathing can help you make the most of your core correctly, as well as help you to calm your mind.

Mistake #3: Equating strong abs with a strong pelvic floor
Pelvic floor exercises are the only way to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Period.

Mistake #4: Doing only the moves you like instead of the moves you need
Know what you need to get out of your exercises. To counteract the desk life and reverse the look of our rounded shoulders, do your darts, your back extensions. If facing a computer all day, do arm openings and rotations – don’t do more stomach crunches that bring you back to where you started!

Mistake #5: Not being consistent with the workout
Many people believe that one pilates class per week is enough to create big results for your body over time. Only when you are consistent will you start seeing significant health improvements.

Mistake #6: Competing with others
Exercise is not a competition, so don’t compare yourself to others. Strive for progress and not perfection.

Mistake #7: Hurting your neck during crunches
For years when it came to crunches, the experts warned against putting your hands behind your head. But now certified fitness instructors agree that when it comes to curl-ups, you should use your hands to help hold your head up!

Mistake #8: Over engaging your pelvic floor
When you over recruit your pelvic floor, it basically means that the muscles of your pelvic floor are working too hard or in an imbalanced manner.

Mistake #9:Rushing through movements
Sometimes it’s actually more difficult to do something slower than it is quick. If you’re doing a hip roll and you’re doing it very slowly, you’ll need to really control it over a period of time. If you do it quickly then it’s just your legs doing the work. You should try to focus and work slowly and precisely.

Mistake #10: Giving up after the first class
People often give up on pilates classes too soon after only one or two classes. Mental preparation and not quitting too soon are essential for giving any new exercise a real shot.

If you own a fitness studio and offer pilates classes, a pilates studio management software is a great investment. Pilates software such as the one offered by My Best Studio helps you manage basic functions such as bookings, attendance, payments, so you can reduce the paperwork and focus on your business growth.

Last 10 Years Fitness Trends

Posted on by Lisa S

As we move towards the end of 2019 we also move to the end of another decade. These 10 years have shown immense growth and diversity in the methods and techniques of different workouts and trends. This one is for the last 10 years that have got us here today.

2010

Fitness boxing and specialty classes such as Zumba, Bollywood, Afro-Cuban, and ballroom dancing grew in popularity – encouraging more people to become involved in physical activity, but in a slightly different way. This period saw personal training to increase significantly in popularity (and continues to be up until this day). It was less for the rich and famous, and more for the everyday gym user, and as a result many gyms and fitness centres moved away from having ‘floor-based’ gym instructors to service their clients.

2011

It was during this time that the age demographic of those involved in physical activity began to broaden quite dramatically, with a large focus on providing fitness programs for both older adults and children. With obesity at epidemic levels for both children and adults in Australia, more families were looking for programs to help them lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

2012

trends like intermittent fasting, low carbohydrate and gluten-free diets became popular to follow (and continue to be up until this day). The first examples of successful wearable technology were also starting to hit the market at this time, giving people an insight into information about their health and fitness that was previously unobtainable.

2013

With the functional fitness movement becoming increasingly popular, traditional gym equipment was still being used, but was now sharing space with innovative equipment such as kettlebells, battle ropes, suspension trainers and many other unique tools that could be used as a part of an exercise program. Primal, body-weight training, movement-based, whatever you want to call it, functional fitness was at the forefront during this time.

2014

This period also introduced the world to a new type of ‘fitness centre’, one that was determined to capture the atmosphere of large group-training while incorporating high intensity strength and aerobic based exercises – all in short, pre-determined and repeatable workouts.

2015

High Intensity Interval Training was trendy and there are lots of people seeing fabulous results in the fitness club and with home regimens using these high and low intensity moves. Strength Training remained a popular form of exercise workouts, especially among males interested in fitness and better health. More and more women continued to hit the fitness clubs for various strength training exercises as well, in the hopes of building or improving their strength.

2016

Bodyweight training included the use of minimal equipment makes it a super convenient and affordable do-anywhere workout. And it’s not limited to just push-ups and pull-ups-put a fresh spin on bodyweight exercises with different routines.

2017

Group Training.
Some things are just more fun in a group. Group exercise instructors teach, lead and motivate their students through classes designed for a specific intention. Experienced and educated group instructors help people of varying levels achieve their fitness goals. They use a combination of leadership, teaching and motivational skills to accomplish this. Group programs appeal to a wide demographic because of the variety of choices available, camaraderie and social aspects. Thus group training was immensely popular in 2017.

2018

Wearable Technology
Activity trackers, smart watches, and heart rate monitors were as popular as ever in 2018 for people who—were into seeing their workouts by the numbers, wearable technology can give them interesting feedback about how you move. Many estimate your steps, sleep, standing time, calories burned, and time spent working out.

2019

Yoga
The ancient practice has been on the list for many years. ACSM notes that in 2019, yoga has taken on many forms, like “Power Yoga, Yogilates, yoga in hot environments,” and more. Now that we’ve seen goat yoga, who knows what other forms of yoga the future holds? Yoga became immensely popular with a 32% increase only in 2019. It is on of the hottest forms of workout right now and will continue to be for some time.

Health Benefits Of Pilates

Posted on by Lisa S

Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. It is practiced worldwide, especially in Western countries.

As of 2005, there were 11 million people practicing the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States.
Pilates developed in the aftermath of the late 19th century physical culture of exercising in order to alleviate ill health.

Evidence from studies show that Pilates improves balance with regular practice. Regular Pilates sessions can help muscle conditioning in healthy adults, when compared to doing no exercise.

Health benefits of Pilates:-
1. improves concentration
2. relaxes body muscles
3. improved posture
4. improved stabilization of spine
5. increases lung capacity and circulation
6. increased muscle strength and toning of body
7. improved physical strength and balance
8. rehabilitation and prevention of injuries with respect to muscles
9. improved physical coordination and balance
10. enhanced muscular control and increase in hand eye coordination.

The Pilates method is taught to suit each person and exercises are regularly re-evaluated to ensure they are appropriate for that person. Due to the individual attention, this method can suit everybody from elite athletes to people with limited mobility, pregnant women and people with low fitness levels. It helps everyone and is suitable for every body type.

 

Finding the right kind of workout for you

Posted on by Lisa S

Any bodily activity that enhances and maintains physical fitness is considered a work out. People work out to get in their desired shape or even as a hobby. There are multiple different kinds of ways in which one can give off some sweat, but if you can’t find the right one, you won’t enjoy it. Here is a list ways to know which work out is best for you.

1. Pen down your goals
The kind of work out that will be best for you will depend on what you’re looking to get out of it. Do you want to get in shape? Or do you want to let out some steam? Or do you want something that will help you relax? Ask yourself what you want. This will make it easier to narrow it down for you.

2. Do your research
Once you know what you want, you need to do some homework on it. Find out what you are attracted to the most. These work outs should help you achieve your goals and still be fun! Trying different things will give you an insight on how it will be.

3. Fix a routine
Once you know what work out you want to go for, set a routine. It may be weights, yoga, pilates or even dance, but consistency is key! If you don’t give enough time to this, you will not be able to ever enjoy it.

Check out My Best Studio for an insight to get any kind of studio organized. Their management softwares help any size and any kind studio.

Easy Pointers To Grow Your Pilates Studio

Posted on by Lisa S

One of the most popular forms of exercise these days is pilates. And with the increasing competition in pilates studios, being on top of the ladder is crucial. You need to work harder and constantly strive for more and in order to stand out, extensive knowledge and skill is not enough. Even after all that, everyone is bound to make a mistake or crack under pressure. Small mishaps can cost you even the biggest of clients and instead of helping you grow your business, it will only deteriorate your progress.
So here are a few easy pointers that will help you grow your pilates studio–

1. Consistency is key
Being consistent is a very important task as the owner of a pilates studio. Make a list of things to get done every week that benefit your business and stick to it. If you keep on reverting for the smallest details yourself, people will notice your effort and take you seriously.

2. Give regular clients attention
Your regular clients should be given attention so that they keep coming back and stay loyal. Don’t lose these clients in order to get new ones or in the end you will not be left with any. Give out offers and discounts once in a while or on special occasions. After all, everyone loves a good discount!

3. Upgrade, upgrade and upgrade.
After every few months, find a way to upgrade your studio. It does not mean to get your entire studio renovated, but even the smallest things don’t go un-noticed by people. Even if it is just a new music system or sign outside it will make a difference. Customers will notice that you are bringing in more capital to the business.

4. Easy access
It is not possible for you to go around giving customer support to every client. And one of the best ways to grow your studio is to establish a reliable connection between the both of you. You can do that with a pilates studio management software like My Best Studio. Not only will you get an easily accessible customized app but also many other management and organizational functions like customized schedules, client efficiency, analyzed reports and unlimited staff log in options that will grow both your pilates studio and increase your customers.

From LA to New York, ‘My Best Studio’ will make managing and booking pilates classes a piece of cake. This pilates studio software offers many things from a personalized app, 50 different types of analyzed reports, easy client management and even unlimited staff access. With customer friendly services, effortless studio management and a guaranteed increase in sales, your pilates studio will thrive with us. So what are you waiting for? Sign up now!