Pilates: The Creation of a Physical Fitness System

Pilates is a method of physical fitness that was first developed in the early twentieth century by a German born man named Joseph Pilates. He began studying gymnastics and body building at age 14, and wrote books about his Pilates Method called Return to Life through Contrology and Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising That Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education.

His method called Contrology referred to the manner in which using the mind to control the muscles was encouraged and the exercise program focused on the core postural muscles which are able to keep the balance of the body and are vital for providing support for the spine. Pilates exercises, in particular, are able to teach the student awareness of breath as well as aligning the spine and strengthening of the deep torso muscles that are important if one wants to alleviate and prevent back pain.

A German National of Greek Descent

Joseph Pilates was born in Düsseldorf, Germany in the year 1880 and was a German national of Greek descent. He was an avid exercise enthusiast who was fond of skiing, gymnastics, diving, and was a martial arts student as well. He developed his body into excellent physical condition and was, in his teens, a fitness chart model.

During the 1918 influenza pandemic, he spent a great deal of his time investigating ways to rehabilitate bed-ridden victims. As a result, he was able to create a series of movements which anyone could practice in closed confines. He later began to train professional boxers, among them was Max Schmeling, the noted heavyweight champion.

The Theory Behind Pilates

Rather than performing many repetitions of each exercise, the Pilates method uses lesser and more exact movements that require control as well as form. In this endeavor, he designed at least 500 specific exercises with the most frequent of these being the mat work that involved a series of callisthenic motions that did not require any weights or apparatus and could be performed on a padded mat.

Pilates was a firm believer that both mental health and physical health were vital to creating an attention-free union of mind and body. He created a method of total body conditioning that was based on correct spinal alignment, centering, concentration, control, precision, breathing and flowing movements. He called these The Pilates Principles which resulted in greater flexibility, strength, toning of the muscle, awareness of the body, more energy and better mental concentration. In addition, Pilates was also able to design five key pieces of unique exercise equipment which would, according to him, give better results.

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