Where did Pilates all begin?

Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born in Germany in 1883. As a child, Joe suffered many ailments including asthma so he turned to exercise and athletics to help. He studied various exercise routines and was transfixed with the idea of the classical Greek ideal of man with a balanced mind, body and spirit. Hence Pilates was born.

In 1912 Joe went to the U.K working as a defense instructor at Scotland Yard but at the outbreak of World War I he was interned as an “enemy alien”. Rather than wallow he refined his ideas by training other internees by rigging springs to hospital beds to enable patients to exercise against resistance. These contraptions were the innovation behind later equipment designs. 

In 1926 Joe headed to America meeting his wife Clara along the way. When they arrived they opened a studio near the New York ballet. This lead to many dancers and other athletes becoming his clients. Some of those clients then went on to open their own studios throughout the U.S.

Then Hollywood came calling and where the stars go the media follows. The pilates business boomed and entered the fitness mainstream. These days over 10,000 million Americans and many more around the world participate in the exercise. 

What makes Pilates so good”?

• improved flexibility
• increased muscle strength and tone, particularly of your abdominal muscles, lower back, hips and buttocks (the ‘core muscles’ of your body)
• balanced muscular strength on both sides of your body
• improved stabilisation of your spine
• improved posture
• rehabilitation or prevention of injuries related to muscle imbalances
• improved physical coordination and balance
• relaxation of your shoulders, neck and upper back
• safe rehabilitation of joint and spinal injuries
• prevention of musculoskeletal injuries
• increased lung capacity and circulation through deep breathing
• improved concentration
• increased body awareness
• stress management and relaxation.

Here at Vitality 4 Life we strongly believe that holistic exercise is a crucial cornerstone to living a healthy happy life. For the past ?? years we have developed and designed some of the best quality Pilates equipment for our customers. If you are a beginner or a professional with a studio our Pilates equipment is for you.

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