I have been somewhat overweight and out of shape for quite many years. My height is 165cm and my weight has been about 95Kg with some short dips every now and then. My weight is not a problem for me, but I do not like that I get out of breath easily. I also have some problems with my back and have had occasional periods of lower back pain. Any regular physical exercise has not been part of my life for a very long time. I have done some light weight lifting every now and then, cycling during summertime, and some brisk walking occasionally. I have enjoyed those occasional activities, but I have not done any excercise regularly.
Last autumn I decided to start to gradually improve my health. I took motto “Men sana in corpore sano” to be part of my regular life review and also enrolled into local Pilates class. At first I was suspicious whether Pilates would have any real impact on my health. I was also not sure if I could enjoy this kind of group exercise. My dislike of group exercise turned out to be easy to overcome, and suprisigly the exercise sessions gave immediate results. I felt very energetic after each class and my long lasting periods of lower back pain disappeared. I was amazed of the results and studied some books and videos to see why Pilates worked for me and how I could improve my own performance. Soon I decided to continue Pilates excercises for the rest of my life and gradually improve my skills on it.
I am now in better physical condition than before but I sill have weak muscles and I get out of breath quite easily.