Old age should be 100 years old! Did you know that Pilates is a person? I don't.

I always thought Pilates was invented by fitness trainers somewhere in Hollywood and beautifully named to lure stars. So, it turns out that it is more correct to say “the Pilates system”, or “the Pilates method”. Pilates is the name of the man who invented this system of exercise a hundred years ago.





Joseph Pilates believed that one can be an old man at 30 and a young man at 60, because every man is only as young as his spine is flexible. He practiced his own system and lived a long and healthy life, although he was frail and weak as a child.





“A human-like lion in swimsuits, with incredibly muscular legs and a stack of white hair,” wrote Pilates in New York newspapers in 1959. By then, the fame of his method had already reached far beyond the studio on 8th Avenue.

Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born (1883-1967) in the suburb of Düsseldorf, Menchengladbach, into a poor family of Greek and German. As a child, the boy suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. Peers often teased Joseph because of his poor health.





That’s what made Pilates play sports. Over a few years of hard training, the squirrel Josef turned into an athlete: gymnastics, skiing, boxing, swimming, diving... He developed his muscles so much that local artists invited him to pose for anatomical drawings.

Even then, he thought about a training system that would allow him to achieve the perfect combination of flexibility and strength of the body. In 1912, Pilates moved to England: he worked as a sparring boxer, a circus gymnast and even a self-defense coach in Scotland Yard.





During World War I, he was interned as a citizen of a hostile state on the Isle of Man. Conditions in the camp were harsh and many sick and debilitated people were among the prisoners. Pilates insisted on working with them in his own way, and he was allowed to.





Some of the wounded German soldiers could not get out of bed. Pilates did not give up and created a simulator in which bedridden patients could engage. He attached springs to the beds, which created resistance during exercise, thus helping to maintain muscles in tone.





These advanced training beds were the precursors to the Cadillac and Universal Reformer spring trainers. During the great flu epidemic of 1918, none of the soldiers under Joseph’s care died. Pilates was confident in his technique, which he later called Counterology.





After the war, Joseph Pilates left for New York. In America at this time there is a surge of all kinds of sports activity and there are many fitness centers. Josef decides to take a risk: he invests all his savings in a sports studio in the same building as the New York City Ballet and begins to train dancers and artists.





From now on, his business is going uphill. Joseph’s studio is becoming popular among Americans, and many celebrities are eager to get into it. Thus, the complex of Pilates exercises is widely spread.





Nowadays, the Pilates system is experiencing another surge in popularity. It is clear, simple and at the same time very effective: proper breathing plus carefully designed gymnastics, which forms a muscle scaffold around the spine and joints.

Since everything is done smoothly, injuries are practically excluded. Pilates is suitable for everyone: old and young, healthy and sick, and especially for those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. But to help you, you need to study regularly.

Himself. Joseph Pilates He said that after ten sessions, any person will feel much better, after twenty will look better, and after thirty will find a new body. And having put the body under control, a person gains self-confidence and begins to control his life.

Josef Pilates lived to the age of 84 and trained with his students until the end. After the death of Pilates in 1967, his technique was forgotten for a while, but soon became popular again thanks to the ballerina Romana Kryzhanovskaya.





In 1970, Romana opened a Pilates studio and gained popularity. Among her students were Madonna, Jodie Foster, Tom Jones, Patrick Swayze, John Travolta and many others.





Today, Pilates is one of the most effective methods of treating various diseases of the spine. According to 2005 statistics, the United States alone pilates More than 11 million people attend 14,000 schools.





"Such gymnastics is good for everyone - it, like a tuning fork, adjusts the body in the right way, - says the soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Ilze Liepa, - Every morning I do an hour of Pilates.

This is warming up, stretching, and the ability to tone the body - with the right training regimen, Pilates allows you to work out the muscles from the tips of the toes to the upper shoulder girdle. Only then do I go to the machine. By the way, it’s not just me who builds my day: Mikhail Baryshnikov lives on the same schedule in New York.



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Jennifer Aniston has been doing Pilates for 20 years. She started with the simplest exercises, and now she can safely teach herself. Aniston admits that this training allows her to remain attractive and fit for so long.





On the site of the house in which Joseph Pilates was once born and raised, his grateful followers erected a memorial and annually hold the Pilates Day conference in early May.

Fans of the Pilates system from all over the world exchange professional experience, spend evenings in a cafe, right in front of the memorial, drink wine for the health of the teacher and, passing the plaque, gratefully say: "Hi, Joe!".

Pilates Philosophy: Pilates is a philosophy. Philosophy of healthy lifestyle, beauty, intelligence and creativity.



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Developing a set of exercises for personal needs, the author took into account not only the physiological, but also the mental component of training. Even a very young inventor of the system understood that it is necessary to influence your body not only physically.

During training, the coach often gave instructions to his wards. This is how the Pilates philosophy came about. One of the main postulates says that the ability to own your body is an important component of happiness. The essence of the complex is to achieve not only physical perfection, but also internal balance.



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Many diseases are the result of wrong thinking and unhealthy lifestyle. The system pays much attention to psychological attitudes: to achieve the desired effect, you should mentally set the desired goal. Pilates believed that good health was not for the elect.

People often find numerous excuses for not taking care of themselves. It can be a lack of time or money to visit gyms. The set of exercises proposed by Pilates does not take much time and allows you to practice at home.

The obligatory spiritual component of the complex allows you to compare it with yoga. Both systems recognize not only the need to maintain health in the body, but also help to achieve mental balance.

Pilates quotes
  1. We retire very early and die too young. The heyday of life should come in 70 years, and only closer to 100 - old age.
  2. Physical activity is the first condition for happiness. Fitness helps to get a healthy body and a strong mind and allows us to do our daily affairs easily, naturally and well. I'd love to.
  3. If your spine has lost its flexibility at 30, you're an old man. If you’re 60 years old and flexible, you’re young.
  4. Every moment in life can be the beginning of a big change.
  5. A mind that is in a healthy body manifests itself in all its brilliance.


If you want to get a healthy, beautiful body, a boost of vivacity, a feeling of free and energetic movement, as well as just communicate with interesting, creative and beautiful people - you definitely need to go to Pilates!

Home Pilates is 5 exercises that can work wonders with the body. "Site" offers you a set of exercises for mature women and men, which will help to maintain the body in shape and slow down the aging process.

This light gymnastics is simply indispensable for every person. It is suitable for both women and men. Remember to do it every day and you will notice how your body changes.