For many of us, working out and staying active is a top goal for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and reaching our fitness goals. However, making time to get our bodies moving during the day, may feel like an exercise of patience all in itself.
Life’s demands are never ceasing. From our jobs and education to our children and relationships, there’s always something that could take our attention away from hitting the gym or rolling out our mats at home to get our heart pumping and muscles flexing. But who says that every workout has to be a grueling one- to two-hour body-building session?
According to a study by the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, just 20 minutes a day of exercise can be significantly beneficial to your mind and body. And with classic forms of exercise like Pilates becoming more accessible and increasing in popularity, you’ll be able to turn those setbacks into reps before you know it.
Pilates is a form of exercise that focuses on developing strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination through a series of controlled movements. With exercises typically performed on a mat or with specialized equipment, such as the reformer, pilates puts an emphasis on proper alignment and posture, breath control, and smooth, flowing movements that help target the abdominal, hip, lower and upper back, and inner thigh muscles; giving you an all-around burn that hurts so good.
It’s basically the love child of yoga and strength training.
Most notably re-popularized by chief hot girls Lori Harvey and Normani, Pilates is a good way to shape your booty, sculpt your abs, and tone those arms, all while fitting into your schedule.
To help get you started, we’ve shared a few Black woman-led exercises to get you to your fitness goals in 20 minutes or less.
Micki Price Havard
GRND. Pilates by Jharde
Issa Welly
Alexa Idama, Low Impact Fit
PilatesBodyRaven
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