The basics of Pilates are based on a series of exercises that Joseph H. Pilates designed to help the soldiers of war to regain their strength. After serving the broken and injured soldiers of the war, Joseph eventually bought his new exercise program to the United States where he gained a loyal following in the state of New York.

Pilates basics are designed around helping you to get stronger, more flexible and even to have improved coordination. Pilates also uses specific sequential breathing methods combined with intense concentration on a specific body part to create an effective exercise routine. These are the basics of Pilates.

One of the keys to Pilates is your ability to focus on your powerhouse or your abdomen. This Pilates secret allows you to direct your concentration on the core of your body and by doing so Joseph Pilates taught that your body would begin to work more efficiently as a whole unit. This causes your muscles to work through their full range of motion.

With the focus of Pilates being on the abdominal muscles, these muscles must get stronger in order to allow you to fully execute the movements of Pilates. The spinal and abdominal muscles make up the powerhouse muscles and should be your focus throughout each movement. The abdominal muscles are made up of the rectus abdominis, the transverse abdominis, and the internal and external obliques.

Pilates basics focuses on creating strong abdominal and spinal muscles which work together to improve strength, coordination, flexibility and balance.

If all of this sounds a bit to soft for your exercise taste, make no mistake, Pilates is not a soft and fluffy exercise. If you have any doubt, then take the time to pick up a DVD of Winsor Pilates. In this particular slant to traditional Pilates, Mari Winsor has developed a series of Pilates exercises which she calls "dynamic sequencing" which even on a good day will leave you with your tongue hanging out!

One of the best things about Pilates is that it is gentle on the joints. For this reason it can be practiced by the majority of all folks, even those who are just getting started with a fitness routine. Many Pilates practitioners believe this form of exercise will leave you feeling better and not worse.

Pilates will leave you feeling taller, leaner, energized and confident. The breathing exercises that accompany all Pilates movements will help you to feel calmer and more centered.

If you are looking for stronger muscles, better tone and even longer and leaner muscles, then consider the Pilates basics and see if you don't find that it works well for you too. With this basic set of specific exercises, many of those who practice Pilates find rather quickly that their body responds well to these type of exercises.

More energy, confidence, strengthyes, that makes Pilates basics sound like a plan for me!