Pilates builds strength to achieve fitness level

Combining resistance and stretching, Pilates is an exercise form that has garnered devotees from dancers to dads.

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The program is similar to yoga but concentrates much of its movements to strengthen the core muscles of the body – muscles used to keep your stomach flat and your back pain-free.

Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates, who created a system of exercises in the early 1900s to help patients at an English internment camp stay physically fit even when they were confined to a bed.

According to the Web site www.pilates.com, Pilates emigrated to the United States in 1926 and opened a fitness studio in New York.

Over the years, Pilates refined his exercise program, which now is offered in two versions: mat work and equipment use.

Mat exercises are done on the floor and can include apparatus such as fitness balls.

Equipment, designed by Pilates, is called reformers and offers users more resistance for faster results.

If you're looking for a low- to no-impact fitness program that promotes a long, lean look, Pilates might be the ticket.

Cost to get started

Cammy Fisher, a Pilates instructor at the Synergy Center in Augusta, said people starting Pilates should consider buying a good mat for floor work; it ranges in price from about $16 to $90. Ms. Fisher said fitness balls, which look like large beach balls, also are helpful. The balls cost $10 to $30.Class prices vary from $60 a month and $10 a class at the Synergy Center, $20 a class or free with an Omni Health and Fitness membership, to $30 an hour at the Augusta Pilates Studio.If you don’t want to take a class, there are plenty of high-quality video and DVDs available that can walk you through the Pilates principles, including the very popular Windsor Pilates series and Classical Pilates Techniques: The Complete Mat Workout Series.Exercise, health benefits

Ms. Fisher said the exercise program strengthens and tones muscles, improves posture and increases flexibility and balance, creating a streamlined shape.

Calories burned

According to the Web site www.foodanddiet.com, a 150-pound person can burn 200 calories an hour with light Pilates, 300 with moderate and 400 with an intense workout.

WHY participate

Ms. Fisher said Pilates works the body’s core muscles, including the pelvic floor, hips, lower back and buttocks. Strengthening these muscles helps people with lower-back problems. Because the exercise is no-impact, it’s great for beginners, people with injuries and those with lower-back problems.

For more information

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