Pilates is a newer practice that women are falling in love with for it’s notoriety as a long, lean muscle builder. Women who want a “dancer’s body” are flocking to studios that teach pilates, and it’s become an overnight sensation, although admittedly years ago now, in Hollywood where the body is everything and people are obsessed with staying lean and mean.

So, what is this machine that can help you do pilates? I thought that you could do pilates on your own, on the floor, and the exercises were very simple and could be done anywhere, without any machinery or accessories? Well, that is true, but as with everything else, there was a machine made to help you through the exercises, the pilates machine. Let’s talk about what it is and what it does.

What does a pilates machine look like? Well, it looks like (to me), sort of a rowing machine. It is long and flat, and looks like it could be stowed away fairly easily, although not all of them, I’m sure, are foldable or stowable. It has bands coming off of it, almost like a bowflex machine (which, by the way, is noted for creating that same long and lean look in mean and women), which I assume are used as a form of light resistance, just as you would be doing if just doing pilates on the floor by yourself, accept this is a more guided and precise way to make sure your movements are correct.

A good pilates machine will be quiet and have smooth rolling tracks, for a smooth, friction free workout that results in smooth muscle tone and long and lean muscles. Some pilates machines come with rebounders, which is like a small trampoline for a nice light little cardio workout before you begin the muscle workout on the machine. It’s best to get a book or DVD on what exercises to perform and how specifically to perform them on the pilates machine, so you’re not doing them incorreclty, but these often will come with the better models of the machine.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 12:56 pm and is filed under Fitness Equipment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.