POP Pilates is a total body, mat-based workout choreographed to pop music. This low-impact, high-intensity workout strengthens and tones every muscle in the body!
Neither form of Pilates is better or harder than the other; it’s simply what works best for you and your specific needs. The goal is to find the right fit that helps you stay motivated, focused and healthy!
What is Pilates?
Whether you’re new to exercise or are an experienced athlete, Pilates can help strengthen and tone your whole body with a focus on the core. It’s a low-impact, slow-burn workout that requires concentration and precision to perform correctly.
The exercises are safe for many people, including the elderly and ill, but also improve balance and posture. Studies suggest that Pilates reduces back pain, including the kind that sports injuries can cause. It may even ease menstrual pain, such as dysmenorrhea, by enhancing the working of the abdomen muscles.
It’s important to note that while Pilates is a form of strength training, it doesn’t build muscles like other weight-training exercises and can’t be used to bulk up. But it can help make strong muscle groups that support your joints for better stability and endurance. And it’s an excellent foundation for another muscle-building exercise. It also enables you to develop greater functional fitness, allowing you to move more easily through your daily life, from reaching for a glass on the shelf to picking up the kids.
Mat and Pop Pilates
Mat and reformer Pilates both provide incredible full-body strength training. The choice between the two depends on your personal fitness goals and situation. If you’re new to Pilates and want a more basic workout, you’ll likely benefit from mat classes before transitioning to a reformer class. Mat classes at workout gyms like Fitness Evolution will teach you the core Pilates movements and techniques, including the hundreds, a variation on the common crunch; leg circles, which challenge core stability; planks and side planks; and more.
The popularity of Pilates has exploded in recent years. It has become a fashionable workout option among celebrities and models, with many citing it as a way to achieve a leaner physique. The workout also improves balance, flexibility, posture and cognitive function. It also reduces back pain and suits people of all ages and fitness levels.
Classic Pilates
The traditional system that Joseph Pilates created in the 1920s consisted of both mat and apparatus work. Students learn in the order they design and transition easily from one exercise to the next. This method builds a core of rock-solid strength and helps clients develop a natural, effortless body sense.
Pop Pilates Class is an incredible fusion of ab-chiseling moves choreographed to upbeat pop music that takes classical Pilates to the next level. This LOW impact workout challenges students to rhythmically flow from one exercise to the next, developing a rock-solid core while strengthening every muscle in the body.
More popular than reformer or mat, the tower is a unique, equipment-based workout that combines arm and leg springs, a push-through bar and poles. This workout has a more creative structure than the reformer and can build uniform strength. This is a great option for those who enjoy variety in their workout.
Equipment-Based Pilates
Pilates has a reputation for being a low-impact workout that helps build strong cores, sculpt bodies and boost confidence. But with so many Pilates classes, it’s easy to get confused about which is best for you.
Equipment-based Pilates is often taught in a studio or private setting and requires more advanced and expensive equipment than mat classes. This includes the famed reformer, which resembles a four-poster bed frame with springs, levers and a sliding carriage to add resistance to Pilates exercises.
These machines are typically only found in Pilates studios and gyms, but some instructors teach mat and equipment-based Pilates together. It’s important to seek out a studio or instructor with the right credentials to ensure your safety is not compromised. This is especially true for anyone with debilitating injuries or conditions exacerbated by the equipment used in some Pilates classes. A highly trained teacher should be able to provide clear instruction and offer options for making movements easier or more challenging.
