Home and Garden Guide: A Pilates Exercise Machine Has Muscle Toning Benefits

When you like working out and want to set up a home gym you definitely need to consider the range of exercise equipment made for Pilates fans.

Pilates has been a popular exercise for strengthening and toning the entire body for several decades.

Pilates is geared towards not just a healthy body but a healthy mind and spirit as well.

It focuses on toning muscles without all the bulkiness often associated with working your muscles.

Pilates encourages proper form to help keep your body in shape and functioning at it's best.

There are many accessories and pilates exercise machines that can be used and they are so helpful that they are often used by people undergoing rehab for an injury or after a surgery.

Pilates can be done on the floor using a mat and some bands too, but for many, the use of a machine can offer additional benefits and help them get more out of their workout.

Here are a few of the benefits of using pilates machines:

1. With any type of exercise it's all about form, if you don't use the right form you won't get the desired results or in extreme cases you can even injure yourself. Using machines like the reformer is a great way to ensure that you are in correct alignment since the machine will 'force' you to use the proper form. This will allow you to get maximum benefits in minimum time while virtually eliminating the risk of injury.

2. The machines will make it easier for you to concentrate on the move itself as well as the position of the rest of your body. It's really easy when you work out to get moving too quickly and lose some of your form, especially if you're plugged into an MP3 player. The pilates machines will make it easier for you to slow down and fully concentrate on any areas of your body that are tight, or sore. This will make it easier for you to focus only on those areas.

3. The machine will allow you to slowly and gently stretch out your body. It's vital that these movements are controlled and smooth. Using the machine in this manner can help to relieve a myriad of chronically painful areas of the body, most commonly the back and joints.

4. The increased flexibility you will gain using the pilates machines can greatly help reduce, or totally eliminate, common injuries. Since these exercises focus on strengthening and increasing the flexibility of your muscles it makes them much less susceptible to injuries.

5. Incorporating machines into your workout will also have the added benefit of adding resistance to your workouts. As you get stronger, you can increase the resistance which will help keep your body challenged so that you can continue to see improvement. The resistance will allow you to achieve a much deeper stretch than you could normally do without the aid of a machine.

While it's not imperative that you use a pilates exercise machine, using one will enable you to ramp up your workouts and help protect you from injury by making sure you are using the proper form. You can learn more here about how to do Pilates if you are just a beginner.

Before you go out and purchase some equipment though take some time to learn the best way to use it and to find the best machine for your budget, skill level and available space.

Below are a few Pilates accessories and exercise machines featured for you to learn a bit more about them: