Have you heard of PiYo fitness plans? The philosophy behind PiYo fitness marries the mind body exercises of yoga or tai chi with high energy cardio movement, similar to Pilates (notice, the name itself is a combination of Pilates and yoga), which provides both greater mental and core control and clarity, as well as fat burning, toning, and weight loss, in a single fitness plan. So what exactly does PiYo fitness entail? If you are interested in learning more about the next up-and-coming system of getting healthy, we’ve put together a quick overview for you below.
A One-of-a-kind Philosophy
While many of the established principles of mind-body stretches and classic cardio techniques are utilized in PiYo workouts, it can’t really be categorized as either. One of the most unique aspects of PiYo is that in addition creating an extremely intense system of exercise, it incorporates martial arts movements as well as hip-hop dance steps, which makes the fitness plan engaging and fun. This aspect of PiYo helps participants want to stick with it, as doesn’t have the “ugh it’s time to go to the gym” feeling of other exercise plans. In contrast to the somber, zen rhythms used in traditional mind-body exercises, PiYo incorporates entertaining and contemporary music that connects it with the millennial generation.
Muscle Toning
One of the biggest aspects of the PiYo fitness plan is its muscle toning workouts. Much of the stretches incorporate core-strengthening poses that are designed to tone the whole body. Stretches like planks, lunges, and core work, which use the body’s own weight as resistance are big components in PiYo workouts. These types of muscle-toning exercises lend themselves to perfect the natural tone of your body, without giving you a unnatural muscle bulk that other intense workouts result in.
Fat Burning
Most mind-body exercises focus on static poses that improve your muscle tone, but do not address the fat above your muscle. On the other hand, PiYo fitness plans involve a lot of cardio, which burns calories and melts the fat above the muscle, while it is being toned. The dynamic movement from one pose to the next does not put a strain on the body, but it does increase the heart rate and help slim participants down. Not to mention, this new take on an ancient fitness routine is fun to participate in!
Improved Physical Health
In addition to the weight loss and muscle toning aspects of PiYo workout routines, they also lend themselves to greater overall physical health. Through PiYo, participants gain a better sense of balance, improved flexibility, and grace. Some studies show that the exercises used PiYo fitness plans improve cardio health and reduce the risk of heart disease. The exercise routine used in PiYo also increases the activity of endorphins in the brain, which gives participants a better outlook on life, with lower instances of stress and anxiety.
PiYo Develops Healthy Diet Habits
PiYo fitness plans take a holistic approach to helping participants develop healthier lifestyle, and even include a PiYo meal plan. Nutrition is a huge part of fitness; all the exercise in the world will not give a person the results they want if their diet is terrible. This is true both for weight loss and for total health. When going through a PiYo fitness plan, participants are encouraged to develop a diet plan that provides the nutrients they need to promote a healthy body, while eliminating processed foods and simple carbs, and sugar.
While the caloric intake of a PiYo meal plan depends on the participant’s activity level, goals, and size, the underlining principle behind it is to develop a lien, healthy diet: PiYo meal plans involve a lot of vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats, and whole grains. This total healthy lifestyle transformation helps participants detox, achieve their fitness goals and maintain a healthy body after they’ve concluded the fitness plan. There are a few other fitness plans that offer the total lifestyle improvement that the PiYo transformation offers.
Have you participated in a PiYo fitness plan? What did you love about it? What did you hate? What results did you achieve? We want to hear all about your PiYo experience in the comment section below!