Pilates for Pro Cheer Fitness: How to Get Started
You’ve probably heard, seen, or read about pilates as you surfed the net or talked with others on the topic of fitness. It’s not a new fitness trend. In fact, it’s been around since the end of World War I and various research has been conducted about its efficacy in improving one’s health.
A study done in 2011 found that regular Pilates sessions lower a person’s body mass index (BMI), helps in losing weight, and tones muscles in the waist area. It also improves one’s core stability, coordination, flexibility, blood circulation, posture, and decreases stress.
These are results that greatly benefit women in the pro cheerleading community. But what exactly is Pilates? How does it work in terms of improving your pro cheer fitness? And what should you do to start doing it? All these questions will be answered below.
What is Pilates?
Pilates is a mind and body exercise developed by Joseph Hubertus Pilates, a German physical trainer. He was an asthmatic and believed that athletics and exercise could fight his ailment and other similar conditions.
His exercise system was based on the classical Greek concept of a man balanced in body, mind, and spirit. As a result, he developed 500 repetitive physical exercises to sharpen a person’s mental and emotional condition while improving bodily strength, flexibility, and stability.
There are different types of pilates. Some can be done with just a yoga mat. Others require specialized equipment. And there are those that don’t need any fitness paraphernalia at all.
The 5 Benefits of Pilates
1. Improves core muscle condition
Most of Pilates’ exercises involve small, short movements, and controlled breathing while emphasizing the contractions of your core muscles. With regular sessions, your core becomes stronger and your sense of balance improves. This helps make you a better dancer.
2. Improves posture, mental, and emotional health
Pilates decreases pain in your back and hips. Once it’s gone, maintaining a good posture becomes a natural part of you. The good thing about having good posture is that it improves your mood, digestion, and boosts your self-confidence.
3. Increases limb strength, flexibility, and mobility
It’s widely known that regular stretching increases your body’s flexibility. However, it’s only that. What makes Pilates a better exercise program is that it’s a combination of strength training and stretching.
As a result, your arms and legs don’t just become stronger and more flexible, their mobility also increases. It’s important to remember that mobility and flexibility are different. Mobility is about your muscles’ ability to reach a stretched position without any form of assistance.
Flexibility is your muscles’ ability to reach and hold a stretched position with assistance. In pro cheerleading, mobility is more important than flexibility, especially for your legs. It’s because higher levels of mobility allow you to execute explosive high kicks during a dance.
4. Increases energy
Because Pilates improves your posture, it leads to the improvement of your breathing and cardiorespiratory capacity. When your lungs and heart are in tiptop condition, you’re less likely to be tired during squad dance practices and game-day performances.
5. Weight loss and better overall figure
Here’s an interesting fact: Pilates burns more calories than yoga even at a beginner level. And as mentioned, it tones your muscles and improves your posture through a combination of strength and core muscle training. Overall, it’s a fitness program that changes your body shape making you look slimmer and taller.
How to Start Doing Pilates
- Learn from a certified Pilates instructor through one-on-one in-person classes to understand the essence, philosophy, principles, and basics of the program.
- Choose the right Pilates type for your pro cheer fitness needs.
- Take online classes or watch videos for additional self-learning.
- Practice and master the principles of Pilates.
- Advance to challenging levels while investing in necessary equipment.
Here at PRO CHEER LIFE, we discuss a lot of fitness programs to follow that would make you a better pro cheerleader. But that doesn’t mean we require you to do them all. Our point is to introduce you to multiple ways on how to be fit.
Because you might find one fitness program to be ineffective and we don’t want to waste your money and time sticking to it. So try until you find something that works for you and stick to it. If you want, you can also explore other fitness regimes to keep things interesting.
Need a Great Workout Routine for Your Pro Cheer Audition Prep?
Pro cheerleaders stay fit, flexible, and strong so they can give out their best performance in the arena. However, achieving that wow-worthy, toned physique doesn’t happen overnight. You need to arm yourself with the right daily workouts.
Thinking of becoming a pro cheerleader?
We are offering you our fun, FREE (for a LIMITED time) POM FIT™ INTRO CLASS that teaches you beginner-friendly cardio moves.
To take your cheerleading fitness to the next level, we also have POM FIT™: GAMEDAY1™ - a series of challenging full-body cardio classes that include a body stretch class, kick stretch class, abdominal workout class, and more.
Join a POM FIT™ class below:
POM FIT™ INTRO CLASS (Free for a LIMITED time)
POM FIT™: GAMEDAY1™ (USD 27.00)
