Category: Full Body

Yoga and Pilates are arguably the two most popular and effective forms of mind-body fitness. Which is right for you will depend on your personal goals, both physical and psychological. You can attend the best yoga studio in Dubai, but if you’re looking for a workout that improves core fitness or helps rehabilitation from injury you may be left dissatisfied. Our guide to the key elements of each discipline should help clarify which class will be right for you.

The Many Forms of Yoga

The ancient practice of yoga has been around for thousands of years, and focuses on flexibility, strength, and stillness of mind. By moving through a series of poses called asanas, the body is stretched while mindfulness is cultivated. At Platform Studios’ yoga studio, we offer a variety of yoga styles, from the more dynamic Vinyasa Flow to the meditative calm of Yin Yoga.

Vinyasa Flow challenges you to sync your breath to your movement seamlessly as you fluidly travel through challenging sequences of postures. Our Gentle Flow classes have a softer more grounding feel, focussing on tranquil ease of motion. Meanwhile, for the ultimate in stress-relieving relaxation and inner calm, Yin Yoga helps take you deep within yourself. This practice centres around moving the body’s connective tissues with subtle motions, cultivating inner stillness, and achieving a deep, meditative peace.

The Pros of Pilates

Pilates was only developed in the early 20^th century but has certainly made its mark on the fitness world since then. Joseph Pilates designed the system of movements to help achieve total body conditioning, even after severe injury. A focus on core strength, impeccable posture, and lean muscle tone are hallmarks of this practice, as is the use of apparatus like the Reformer. Each move can be extended and adapted as your abilities develop, so you will always feel the burn of muscles reaching their point of fatigue in one of our Pilates Burn classes.

Which Tones Your Body More, Pilates or Yoga?

Pilates likely offers the better option for targeted toning, as it engages and strengthens the deep stabilising core muscles. This focus on core strength and proper posture while developing lean muscle mass is great for toning and shaping. Yoga practices tend to be based on lengthening, strengthening, balance, and flexibility, and don’t target specific muscle groups as intensely. That being said, the more dynamic forms of yoga, if practiced regularly, can still have a wonderfully toning effect on the body.

How to Choose the Right Class for You?

Which class is right for you will entirely depend on your aims, preferences, and personal tastes. If you’re after a more strenuous, vigorous workout with a focus on strengthening and posture, then Pilates is a great fit. If your focus is more on flexibility, flow, and finding your Zen, then yoga is where you should start.

Of course, there’s really no need to choose between the two- why not give both practices a try and find out which suits you best? Do be prepared, you might well fall in love with both disciplines and end up making each a part of your weekly well-being routine, as many of us have done!

Both the meditative flow of yoga and the core-strengthening burn of Pilates have so many benefits to offer our mental and physical health, it’s hard to pick a favourite. Why not come down to one of our classes at The Platform Studios to discover which one best resonates with you?

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Few workouts offer the same intense full-body training as efficiently as a barre class. They’re named after the use of the ballet barre for support in isolating specific muscles and the incorporation of ballet positions into the exercises. The benefits of barre classes include the strengthening of Pilates, the mobility and control ballet delivers, and the stretching and elongating of a yoga session.

In these sessions muscles are exercised to the point of trembling fatigue- it’s all about going for that burn! In exchange for pushing your body to its limit, though, you can expect serious results.

Can You Lose Weight with Barre Classes?

Yes, barre classes can certainly help you achieve your weight loss goals.  They help build lean muscle mass, which aids in boosting your metabolism and burning more calories, even when at rest. What’s more, a barre class gets your heart pumping, and the cardio workout this provides increases fat-burning long after you’ve stopped exercising. Such high-intensity strength training can achieve an afterburn lasting 72 hours. That’s a whopping three whole days of increased calorie expenditure after just one class!

Even better, barre workouts are suited to anyone, no matter where they are in their weight loss journey. The isometric exercises you’ll be doing involve minimal movement and are extremely low impact. Instead, you’ll adopt postures and brace in that position, doing high numbers of pulsing reps until the muscles are fatigued.

This high-rep low-impact formula means the risk of injury from barre is extremely low. It is also ideal for toning and elongating muscles, which will then be stretched out as part of the class. Great for toning and lengthening, these exercises strengthen without adding bulk.

Consistency is just as important for weight loss as your choice of exercise, and having fun is imperative for keeping motivation high. Our exercise community creates a fun and encouraging environment in which to pursue your body goals. Chasing that muscle burn as part of a group in one of our high-octane barre classes is the perfect way to keep exercise enjoyable.

What Are the Benefits of Barre Classes?

As well as building lean muscle mass and toning the muscles there, barre has many other benefits. Your cardiovascular endurance and metabolism are sure to improve, and with regular practice, your bone density will increase too. Protective against injury and preventative of osteoporosis, a barre class is great for anti-ageing.

Barre forces your core and glutes to hold the rest of your body in the correct alignment. This both strengthens those major muscle groups and also builds good posture. The chest and shoulder strengthening you’ll engage in improves posture further, elongating those muscles and counteracting slouching.

Each position adopted requires you to hold the rest of your body still while the targeted muscle groups are exercised. By improving your core stability in this way, your ability to balance is radically improved also.

By necessitating mental focus to hold each position and modify your posture according to technique cues, barre also promotes mindfulness. Maintaining correct form and sustaining the motivation to hold positions through the burn and tremble are excellent ways to forge a stronger mind-body connection, too. The intense focus a barre class requires is an ideal way to practice being fully present in each moment. Such mindfulness is known to assist with mood regulation and mental resilience, helping manage stress, anxiety, and depression.

A barre class offers an intense full-body workout with both cardio and strength benefits, while still being low impact and carrying minimal risk of injury. Even better, it’s great for your mental well-being too. Why not check out our class schedule and book a class today to learn what the hype is about?