For all those who believe wrong-headed to do Pilates is not male, know the story:
The method emerged in the early twentieth century as a method of physical and mental conditioning. Its creator was a German named Joseph Pilates. Born in 1880-1967 and a childhood marked by several diseases (asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever) encouraged him to create and develop this method to give the face of all these pathologies.
Their knowledge, experience and practice in "Martial Arts, Bodybuilding and Yoga" he facilitated the development of the popular Pilates method, which combines much of all these disciplines. It also incorporated elements of ancient Greek methods, Roman methods and dance to be overcome to perfect his own technique.
Before he was thirty, and had built a machine and designed its use mode. A machine called the Universal Reformer, Reformer for "reformed" and universal because in it, Joseph said, could make all possible moves. In his use called Contrology because he represented the control of mind over muscle.
During the First World War, was taken to a British Labor Camp, Does Capsiplex Work where they put all foreigners with a German passport. There he started his career with soldiers wounded in war. A lack of theoretical material and specialized studies, Pilates used his imagination and creativity and some elements found mattresses, springs, abandoned piano covers, pulleys, belts, elastic. After the war Pilates emigrated to America
In 1926 Joseph Pilates and his wife settle in New York where they continue to dig perfeccionandoo and carrying his method. At the outbreak of World War I, Joseph Pilates takes the opportunity to transform an old hospital bed adapted to support the method, and born the first device used to supplement your Pilates.
In New York Pilates attracted people from the street to spread his technique as a method of rehabilitation and conditioning. Also released his method in the ballet dance, and was later incorporated by elite athletes using the method as a means of training, hence many physical therapists and orthopedists also would come to Joseph Pilates and his method also proved very useful as a system recovery.
After the death of Joseph Pilates, his wife and later Roman and Ron Fletcher Kryzamowska opened a dedicated facility for this method in Los Angeles. Only at the beginning of the 21st Century Pilates was received with great social force since then, the practice of the method was reduced to very small circles of athletes, dancers and film celebrities.
The recent popularity of Pilates is due, among other things, the fame he has acquired through known movie stars but above all thanks to the results obtained with his practice as a method of rehabilitation and fitness based on postural and opening practices linking the body and mind.