12-week Pilates Program on Community-dwelling Middle-aged Women

The 60 min Pilates sessions were held twice a week for 12 weeks. Each session included three stages: 10 min of warm-up exercises, 40 min of floor-based Pilates training, and 10 min of cool-down exercises. Each stage was adjusted according to the participants' physical capacity. Only participants with an attendance rate of \> 80% were included in the final sample. The content of the exercise program was determined according to their muscular strength, flexibility, and fitness levels. The training course was divided into three levels: elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Each motion was performed in conjunction with a specific breathing pattern for effective muscle activations of each exercise.