Pilates Sheffield

Pilates is most famous for strengthening the core of the body — in other words, the deep muscles of the back, the abdomen and pelvic floor. These are the muscles we rely upon for good posture and efficient movement patterns. When the core is strong, the frame of the body is supported, thus allowing the neck, shoulders, and other surrounding muscles and joints to relax.

Although the core is the focus for most movements in Pilates, it’s not the only body part to benefit from this type of workout. Hips, pelvis, glutes, back, shoulders and arms are all targeted during Pilates. In fact, Pilates is one of the best workouts for discovering muscles you weren’t even aware of (or haven’t been used effectively in years).

The fact that there are dozens of different styles of Pilates is testament to how adaptable the workout is to challenging different areas of the body, as well as achieving different fitness goals. To provide an example, we’ve recently introduced Barre Pilates classes at our Sheffield Pilates Studio, which is an amazing combination of ballet barre work, pilates and cardio.

Pilates is known for creating long, strong and lean muscles. Therefore, whilst it’s not a cardiovascular workout in the same sense as a spin class or a 20-minute run, it’s fantastic for improving muscle tone and restoring musculature balance, and thereby creating the posture that helps you look and feel extremely fit. Our clients often report that Pilates was the key to them achieving the shape they’ve been working towards for years.

Not only this, there are also adaptations to Pilates that can increase the number of calories burnt. Winsor Pilates, for example, which was started by a dancer who studied under a first-generation teacher, shares many aspects of Classical Pilates but differs in its focus on maintaining continuous movement, thus increasing the cardiovascular benefits and number of calories burnt.

Here at Katie Bell Physiotherapy & Wellness we have several Cardio Pilates classes each week for those of you wanting to focus on losing weight as a goal.

Combined with positive changes to your diet, you should start seeing benefits from Pilates in just a few sessions. This is the result of Pilates targeting and strengthening muscles that have often been left untrained for long periods of time. This is why so many of our clients are so surprised by how such a controlled workout can leave their muscles feeling so tired and sore the next day.

To continue seeing improvements and advancements in your Pilates practice, though, it is important that your instructor vary the movements used from week to week, and that the class is also small enough for your instructor to be able to provide you with individual feedback.

By offering dozens of different small group classes each week led by some exceptionally talented and experienced instructors, we are able to perfectly guide you upon the path to continually improving your Pilates practice.

Here at Katie Bell Physiotherapy & Wellness, we have a huge number of different Pilates Classes each week — from Cardio Pilates and Power Pilates, to Barre Pilates and Improver Matwork Pilates. We are able to provide for all different types of abilities, situations and objectives. Importantly, our highly experienced instructors always make sure to incorporate different principles of pilates and yoga into the classes each week, making sure to keep the sessions up-to-date, varied and highly effective.

On top of this, the team of pilates instructors are overseen by an extremely well-respected and experienced women’s health specialist physiotherapist. Although the classes are by no means exclusively for women, this added level of experience and expertise can be of huge benefit to any ladies suffering from certain conditions where pilates is known to help manage, improve and remove symptoms, especially for anyone interested in completing 1:1 or 1:2 classes.

It is recommended that you wear clothes that are comfortable, easy to move in but not too baggy. All mats and small equipment (balls, bands, etc.) will be provided for you in our stunning Pilates studio, along with plenty of water if needed. Socks are optional.

There is no minimum level of fitness required, and we can easily tailor the exercises to start at a level most suited to you – complete beginners are more than welcome. We would, however, recommend an initial assessment with a physiotherapist if you have any particular needs or concerns before undertaking any exercise. Alternatively, please speak to us first about any reservations you might have so that we can place you in the most appropriate pilates class.