Just like our lives, we have to keep our workouts fresh, swap things around, change it up a bit. If we do the same thing every day we get bored, stuck, and de- motivated. We can become lethargic and fatigued and we can also plateau, our bodies adjust to the fitness routine and we stop seeing and feeling the benefits of our workouts. Our calorie input can match our output, so it is a good time to have a look at your diet as well and see if you can make a few changes to help you move past this stage. When this happens, it’s a good time to take a break, we can stop, switch off, relax and rest. We go back to work, feeling energised and start the whole process again.

Our workouts are very similar to this, boredom sets in when people lose interest in exercising. Variety is essential as it allows you to continue your progress, to be constantly challenged.  This means you are more likely to stick to your exercise programme. When we start to see results and achieve goals, we feel great, endorphins are produced which make us feel really good and all of our hard work seems to be paying off, now is the time to keep setting new goals and upping  the challenge  in order to keep striving and moving forward.

A workout programme usually consists of the following,

• ENDURANCE – raising your heart rate. Keeping your heart, lungs and circulatory system healthy. Improving overall fitness levels.
• STRENGTH – to build muscle strength and tone your body.
• BALANCE – to have overall good balance, hand and eye co-ordination and good proprioception.
• FLEXIBILITY – for the body to move freely and be pain free. Flexibility enables the body to work more fluidly and have a good range of movement.

Pilates provides us with all of the above which makes it the all round super workout. The exercises we choose assist and synergise together, they flow from one to the next with an ease to make you feel that your whole body is focused and connected. Pilates has many health benefits, it gives you mobility, muscle activation and develops motor skills which we use every day. During the class there is a lot to concentrate on, enabling you to switch off from your daily to-do list. For example, activating your glutes, deep breathing, having and sustaining a good posture, not sinking into your hips, growing tall, shoulders down and counting very slowly (just a few things there).

Sometimes the exercise is quick, sometimes it’s slow, sometimes the range of movement is bigger, and sometimes you feel like you haven’t moved at all. We have to retrain our brain at times, what we feel is right, isn’t necessarily so – for example, we don’t always have to go to our full range of movement to get the right benefit out of the exercise, sometimes less is definitely more.

We add in equipment to enhance our workouts, to provide a more in-depth understanding of how our bodies work, build on strength, and add support and variety.  We go on a journey together every class, at each point we discover new ways and methods to move and build strength. We like to explore movement together, we don’t like to give up even when we experience tough days, we can take another route, there is always an easier option.  If today you just can’t get your leg where it needs to be, or you just can’t manage 5 more reps, that’s ok, we understand.

Getting the balance right includes different workouts each week, mixing it up with cardio, strength training and lots of stretching. Trying new Pilates classes and working with new teachers will inspire and help to push you into new directions and make new goals. This is one of the many benefits of being a KB member, you can pick and mix classes to suit your needs and you can try new things in the comfort of our studios. Each class offers a different focus and we work on a 12-week rolling programme. Every week our aim is to inspire you, offer variety as well as support and assist in all aspects of your wellbeing journey. 

Our promise to you is that we will keep updating our programmes and courses, where we will find new ways to challenge our bodies and our minds, equalling in a happy soul.

Pilates is designed to give you suppleness, natural grace, and skill that will be unmistakably reflected in the way you walk, in the way you play and in the way you work.  Joseph Pilates

For more ideas and inspiration on how to keep your Pilates practice fresh and exciting, check out the following video: