As a health coach and Pilates teacher of more than twelve years, you might think I am biased toward Pilates. And I am! Because Pilates IS so good for both your body and your mind.
In your 40s your hormonal balance changes
In your 40s your hormonal balance starts to change and you will get more sensitive to both sugar & stress hormones which will make it easier for you to store fat, especially around the waist.
This requires an adjustment in both your eating & exercise regime.
A lot of high-intensity workouts can lead to activating your stress response, leading in fact, to more fat storage. The stress hormone cortisol in fact, raises your blood sugar level, causing your hormone insulin to rise. Over time this can lead to insulin resistance, weight gain and fat stored around the waist.
Keeping stress under control is imperative to keep weight under control when in perimenopause or menopause.
These types of workouts can also lead to a slower recovery time, causing more fatigue and burnout. It is important to find a balance.
Pilates will help you rebalance your nervous system
Pilates, on the other hand, will turn that stress response down, contributing to rebalancing your nervous system, leading to less stress, better sleep, and better exercise recovery. In a nutshell less metabolic imbalance and less cortisol and fat storage.
Pilates is great for your pelvic floor
Let’s face it, most women have experienced that occasional leak, but if that happens often it means that something is not right. Contrary to popular belief, there is a lot you can do to reduce pelvic floor issues or even prevent them completely
Pregnancies, poor posture, & changing hormones can lead to a weak or dysfunctional pelvic floor.
With the help of an experienced instructor, and working in conjunction with a Women’s Physio, Pilates exercises can be appropriately modified, to tone and reduce pressure on your pelvic floor.
It is not all about Kegel: your posture, breathing, fascia, deep abdominals, and hip muscles balance, all work with or influence your pelvic floor, so a fitness method like Pilates that addresses all those components is ideal.
Pilates helps maintain muscle & bone density
Maintaining muscle tone is a fundamental element of metabolic health. Muscle burns more calories even at rest when you are not working out, meaning that low muscle tone leads to weight gain.
But muscle tone declines quickly after you reach 40 and so it is important to make sure that full-body exercises are part of your training routine.
Pilates will tone every inch of your body, including those muscles that you never thought you had!
Pilates is good if you feel tired or fatigued
Pilates is great for those who feel a bit “lazy”, or chronically tired, because of its relaxing component, and the fact that Pilates exercises are mostly performed “lying down” are great for burned-out women rushing all day to juggle a career with the demands of a young family!
My Pilates for Women class
With over 12 years of experience in teaching Pilates to women, I have developed a class and a method that will take care of all the issues specific to a woman’s body.
Tried and tested with all my London clients, and myself, this class is great for all women from post-natal to menopause.
Done with a couple of 1kg ankle weights, a 9in mini-pilates ball and a resistance band, this class will tone the whole body, creating muscle and bone strength, and focusing all those problem areas like arms, bum and legs.
We will incorporate exercises to tone your pelvic floor and reconnect to your deepest abdominals. If you want to have more info about booking a class with me, simply fill out the form below.
I just started doing Pilates last year, and it’s so good for my mind and body. This is such a great post and so informative!
Thank you Audrey. I am glad you started practising Pilates and that you are really feeling the benefits!
I’ve been toying with doing Pilates for a long time and now I’m over 40 this article definitely spoke to me. It’s definitely made me want to try it out. Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Hello Belle, I am glad you found the article helpful. I hope you can start your practice and feel the benefits soon!