There are so many benefits to fitness and movement for your mind and body and even productivity and wellness in an office environment. At Insight Wellness Works, we know all about workplace wellness programs to help employers attract and retain quality employees and boost employee engagement and productivity in the workplace.
This is a series called Workplace Group Fitness. It is comprised of blogs dedicated to educating employers and businesses about the best fitness and movements programs available in Tampa Bay. Each week in this series, we will cover these different group fitness and movement classes :
- Yoga
- Dance
- Pilates
- Tai Chi & Qigong
- Strength Training and Core Conditioning
- Walking & Running Programs
This is a continuing blog series on Workplace Group Fitness. This blog is about Pilates.
What is Pilates?
Pilates is a form of exercise that consists of muscular strength, low-impact flexibility, and endurance movements. It specifically emphasizes proper core strength, muscle balance, and postural alignment.
It is a series of about 500 exercises inspired by calisthenics, yoga, and ballet. In a balanced fashion, Pilates stretches and lengthens all the major muscle groups in the body. It improves flexibility, strength, balance, and body awareness. Pilates is known for promoting weight loss and long, lean appearance. Pilates will change your body if you practice it regularly.
Joseph Pilates
In the 1920s, Joseph Pilates developed the exercises now called Pilates. He was a physical trainer and introduced this form of exercise into America as a way to help injured athletes and dancers safely return to exercise and maintain their fitness. It is now used widely in communities throughout the US.
Exercise
This form of exercise can be aerobic and non-aerobic. You move your body with precise moves which require concentration and focus. It requires concentration in finding a central point to control your body through movement. In Pilates, there is no sweating or straining, just intense concentration. Your muscles are never worked to exhaustion.
Pilates is customized to each person, and exercises are regularly re-evaluated to ensure they are appropriate for that person. That is why this method of exercise can fit everybody from elite athletes to people with limited mobility, pregnant women, and people with low fitness levels.
Health benefits of Pilates
The health benefits of Pilates include:
- Improved flexibility
- Increased muscle strength and tone of your core muscles (abdominal muscles, lower back, hips, and buttocks)
- Equal balanced strength on both sides of your body
- Improved control of your limbs and back
- Improved spine stabilization
- Improved posture
- Prevention or rehabilitation 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
- Improved lung circulation and capacity through deep breathing
- Improved concentration
- Increased body awareness
- Stress management and relaxation
- Caters for most people, from beginner to advanced
Workplace Group Fitness Programs
At Insight Wellness Works, we have a variety of group movement classes for all levels of fitness. Our fitness instructors are CPR-certified, fully-credentialed, and are trained to conduct group fitness classes safely.
Our classes include yoga, dance (everything from salsa to hip-hop), Pilates, strength training, and core conditioning. Classes are offered in 4- to 8-week sessions and can be run year-round. The program can be initiated by an employee or employer and funded by an individual or corporate budget.
If you are interested in finding out how you can incorporate a Workplace Group Fitness Program in your office, Contact us today at 727-742-9137.
Contact
Insight Wellness Works is based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and has been serving employers in Tampa Bay and its surrounding cities since 2010. We have a large team of credentialed wellness professionals offering a variety of workplace wellness services that focus on health promotion and disease prevention. We change lives and transform the culture of health in workplaces. Contact us today at 727-742-9137 to discuss how we can help your business and employees achieve wellness goals.
