Men's Health Week: 5 Reasons Why Men Should Do Pilates.

One of the exercise types that has recently been gaining more and more attention and participants is Pilates with social media showing off some of the phenomenal movements and skills some very dedicated individuals can pull off. There is still some stigma associated with the modality and many believe it is made specifically for women and that it is not suitable for men. Part of the reason for this is the growing misinformation that Pilates was originally developed for dancers, specifically female ballet dancers back in the early 20^th century.

However, and this is number 1 on our list of reasons, it was actually developed for recovering soldiers post WWI. The reason why dancers gravitated towards it was because people were releasing that Pilates was allowing them to have much better control over their body and movements (which is why it was originally called contrology), even after being sick or injured post war.

So, with that little history lesson, lets discuss some reasons why men should do Pilates:

1. It was made originally for men AND women. There is no gender preference to Pilates.
2. Improve flexibility and reduce stiffness.
3. Increase core strength. As well as a general focus on improving strength and control globally throughout the body, one of the primary goals of Pilates is to improve your ability to use your core to perform essential movements that you may not be able to currently.
4. Reduce back pain- Pilates has been shown repeatedly in studies to reduce back pain either as well as, and even better than every other modality.
5. Its fun and challenging- new movements, reformers and trap tables; there are endless exercises and ways your instructor can challenge you and make you better.

Everyone benefits from Pilates, and given its Men's health week, maybe it could be time to look into a new way to improve your wellbeing.