Pilates is a great way to improve strength and flexibility. It's particularly useful for building core muscles and helping with posture and balance.
It's cheap, too, as you can practice it at home on a mat.
I love a 30-day challenge so I decided to do 10 minutes of Pilates a day for a month to see what would happen.
I did a mixture of workouts, some from the Pilates Prescription app and others from YouTube. Here's what happened.
My experience doing 10 minutes of Pilates every day for 30 days
My core got stronger
Many people think that the core is just the abdominal muscles, but it also includes the pelvic floor and lower back muscles.
They all work together to stabilize and move the spine, while helping support the body as a whole.
In the first week of my daily Pilates challenge, I focused on building up my core strength with workouts like the Side Body Core Flow on the Prescription Pilates app.
After a few days of serious delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), I noticed that my core felt so much stronger, not just during Pilates workouts but when I was doing other types of exercise too.
I could hold a plank for longer and mountain climbers felt easier.
My posture improved
Pilates engages the deep core muscles—the diaphragm, pelvic floor, transverse abdominis (the deepest ab muscle) and multifidus (in the back)—which are crucial for spinal stability, posture and body support.
After doing 10 minutes of Pilates every day for a month, my posture had noticeably improved, especially after a couple of weeks of doing the workouts in The Back Lab section of the Pilates Prescription app.
These sessions focus on back-strengthening movements that also mobilize the spine and improve the body's flexibility.
A recent systematic review looking into the effects of doing Pilates found that Pilates has a positive impact on improving spinal deformity and posture.
I found the same and noticed that I had much better posture while working at my desk.
I’ve got more energy
One of my favourite perks from practicing Pilates was my increase in energy.
I’ve always loved the way exercise can make you feel alive, but this was next level.
Pilates focuses a lot on breathing through the moves, and this kind of deep, diaphragmatic breathwork improves circulation and increases the amount of oxygen getting in the blood flow—helping to make my mind and body more alert.
Deep breathing also increases lung capacity, which can make you feel less tired. Plus, increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery to the muscles and brain releases mood-lifting endorphins.
If you are feeling wiped out, even 10 minutes of Pilates will give you a much-needed energy boost.
My back doesn’t ache as much
Slouching over my laptop at my desk, hunching over my phone on the couch, and just living in a 47-year-old body, means that my back isn’t what it used to be.
After 30 days of daily Pilates however, my usual aches and pains have softened.
As my core got stronger and my posture improved, I felt less pressure on my lower back.
I feel the exercises have improved my spine alignment and joint mobility. This is reason enough to carry on with regular Pilates sessions.
If you’d like to add Pilates to your routine, a subscription to Pilates Prescription costs $25.50 a month.
You can also start with these free Pilates YouTube classes, recommended by a Pilates teacher.
