3 reasons to take your Pilates practice to a Paddle Board!

It’s summer in Iowa and there’s nothing I love better than getting outside and moving!  One of my new loves is doing my Pilates Mat Work on a stand up paddle board! Besides the fun of being outside and on the lake there’s a few things about it that really keep me coming back for more every time I do it!

1. Control and concentration … One of the things I love about the Pilates mat work is that once you start to learn the sequence of the exercises and the exercise technique you can really fine tune as you practice them. But like anything that you do over and over again I feel like it is also easy to just go into “automatic” mode when you already know an exercise and not give it your all.  The paddle board takes care of this.  In order to not fall off of the board you have to use the utmost control and concentration to do the exercise correctly, in a balanced way and at your working level!

2. Can you say core work?   Yes I know Pilates is always core work but there is no cheating on the Paddle Board!  When you find yourself fighting for balance, engaging those core muscles is the key to finding it!

3.  Summer Arms.… The paddle board challenges your body in a way that you have to use everything to stabilize (which is what we want in Pilates… whole body engagement and work!). Every time I do my Pilates mat sequence on the paddle board I realize the day after how much I had to use my triceps to help stabilize my shoulders and my body on the board. (in a good sore kind of way..)

Want to try out paddle boarding but a little hesitant to go out on your own?  Join Rivercity Pilates on August 19th at the Terry Trueblood Recreation Center in Iowa City at 6pm for our free Life Inspired Paddle Boarding event.  You can rent a board or bring your own if you have one.  We’ll go out as a group and play on the paddle boards.  Do as little or as much as you want!  We’d love to have you join us!!