Getting Fit: Can Pilates Workout Video Guarantee Great Abs?

by Guest Author on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 | No Comments

Everybody wants great abs, right? These days, it’s all the rage. We used to talk about hourglass figures and biceps and pecs and broad shoulders, and that stuff is great and all, but it’s really all about the abs now. If you want great, rock hard, lean, cut abs, a perfect six pack (and not the kind you drink), a pilates workout video can get you there.

Why pilates? Well, much like the martial arts, the technique goes a little deeper than simply working your muscles. You’ll also learn breath control, spine alignment and concentration. This is, of course, in addition to getting perfect abs if you keep working at it.

There will always be fitness fads. The only way to really determine what’s a fad and what actually works is by waiting. Nobody talks about the Atkin’s diet anymore because it didn’t really work all that well, and all that red meat just plain isn’t healthy for you (Case in point, the guy who invented it died of heart disease). Yoga, on the other hand, seemed to be a fad back in the sixties but has stuck around. Pilates is likely to stick around, too, and remain a major component of the American health and fitness vocabulary.

Now if you want to get started, there are actually somewhere around fourteen thousand so called “experts” currently instructing in the US alone. So why go with a training video? Well, do you really have the time and money to attend an hour or two hour long class every single day? Or are you looking for a workout program you can do at home, and for free?

Joseph Pilates, the German born physician who invented the system, developed it as a rehabilitation program for war veterans after WWI. The aim was to teach focus, coordination, to strengthen the midsection, and to help shell shocked soldiers learn to develop a better control of their own bodies.

That’s really what it’s all about: Precise movement, physical focus, and the best way to get that is with tight middle body control. The real goal of the system is to get your brain and your body thinking on the same wavelength, but along the way, killer abs are pretty much a guarantee as long as you stick with the program and couple it with good eating habits.

If you want to get started, take some time to check out a few books to develop a deeper understanding of the system. A video can show you the actual exercises, but you’ll want to read up on the system in order to know exactly what these exercises are doing, how they’re helping you, and what sort of mental benefits are there for you to pursue in pilates.

Interestingly, because the term is not copyrighted, literally anyone can step forward and call themselves a “Pilates Expert”, so it’s difficult to know what sort of qualifications you should look for in an instructor. The best you can do is, when browsing videos to rent or buy, just look for recommendations. See if you can find an unbiased, third party review site on workout videos and see how different videos rank. When it comes down to it, that’s the only thing that matters: The results people typically get from the instruction provided.

Locating great pilates workout video will be easy and fast when you have a single location to begin your search. When you are maintaining a healthy lifestyle, having pilates workout video that meets all your needs well make your efforts easier.