You may have heard a lot about Pilates. It is one of the fastest growing trends in fitness. You may even have come to the conclusion that you should be practising Pilates. You’re not alone in feeling this; from celebrities to students; every woman can benefit from Pilates. Top benefits of Pilate’s exercise that people report are that they become stronger, longer, leaner, and more able to do anything with grace and ease.
Use this simple Pilates workout anytime you want to go through a quick routine designed to give you a balanced and challenging set of Pilate’s exercises. This workout is appropriate for all levels. If executed in the morning it’ll wake your whole system up; or in the afternoon it’ll rejuvenate!
Exercises:
- Pelvic Curl
- Spine Stretch
- The Hundred
- Single Leg Stretch
- Swimming
- The Plank
- The Saw
PELVIC CURL
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Make sure that your feet, ankles, and knees are aligned and hip-distance apart.
This exercise starts in neutral spine. In neutral spine, the natural curves of the spine are present so the lower back is not pressed into the mat.
Inhale. Bring your breath into your chest, then belly, and down to the pelvic floor.
Exhale. Release the breath from the pelvic bowl, the belly, and then the chest.
Do a pelvic tilt by engaging the abdominal muscles and pulling your bellybutton down toward your spine. Let that action continue so that the abs press the lower spine into the floor.
In the pelvic tilt position, your back is very long against the floor and the pelvis is tilted so that the pubic bone is a little higher than the hip bones.
Press down through your feet allowing the tailbone to begin to curl up toward the ceiling. The hips raise, then the lower spine, and, finally, the middle spine.
You will come to rest on your shoulders at the level of your shoulder blades, with a nice straight line from your hips to your shoulders. Do not arch beyond this point. Be sure to support this movement with the abdominals and hamstrings.
As you let your breath go, use abdominal control to roll the spine back down to the floor.
Begin with the upper back and work your way down, vertebrae by vertebrae, until the lower spine settles to the floor.
Release to neutral spine. Prepare to repeat the exercise by initiating the pelvic tilt on the exhale.
Repeat this exercise 3 to 5 times.
SPINE STRETCH
The spine stretch is useful anywhere in a workout. It is a great stretch for the back and the hamstrings, as well as a moment to centre oneself before moving on to more challenging exercises.
Sit up tall on your sitting bone – pull your buttock cheeks out from under you.
Your legs are extended about shoulder width apart, and your feet are flexed.
Reach the top of your head to the sky but let your shoulders stay relaxed.
Inhale and extend your arms out in front of you, shoulder height.
A modification here would be to place the fingertips on the floor in front of you between your legs.
Exhale as you lengthen your spine to curve forward. You are going for a deep curve. Allow a deep release in the hips as you keep your shoulders down and reach your fingers toward your toes.
Inhale and reach a little further as you enjoy the fullness of your stretch.
Exhale and initiate your return by using the lower abdominals to bring the pelvis upright. Roll up through the spine to sitting.
Modifications for Spine Stretch
If your hamstrings are tight, sit on a little lift, like a folded towel. You can also try this exercise with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
It also works quite well to do this exercise with the fingertips running across the floor in front of you. This variation will take some pressure out of the shoulders and upper back.
THE HUNDRED
Lie on your back with your knees bent, and make your shins and ankles parallel in height with your knees. For now, put your hands behind your knees.
Bring your head up with your chin down and, using your abs, curl your upper spine up off the floor. Keep the shoulders engaged in the back. Your gaze is down and you are scooping your abdominals in.
Stay here and inhale.
Exhale: At the same time, deepen the pull of the abs and extend your legs and arms toward the wall in front of you. Your legs should only be as low as you can go without shaking and without the lower spine jumping up off the mat. Your arms extend straight out low, just a few inches off the floor, with the fingertips reaching for the far wall.
Hold your position.
Take five short breaths in and five short breaths out (like sniffing in and puffing out). While doing so, move your arms in a controlled up and down manner – a small pumping of the arms.
Be sure to keep your shoulders and neck relaxed. It is the abdominal muscles that should be doing all the work.
Do a cycle of 10 full breaths. Each cycle is five short in-breaths and then five short out-breaths.
The arms pump up and down a few inches, in unison with your breath.
Keep your abs scooped, your back flat on the floor, and your head an extension of your spine, with the gaze down.
To finish: Keep your spine curved as you bring your knees in toward your chest. Grasp your knees and roll your upper spine and head back to the floor. Take a deep breath in and out.
Modifications for The Hundred
To make the hundred more challenging: Lower your legs. Do not lower your legs past where you can control the movement. Don’t let your spine peel up off the floor as you lower the legs.
To modify the hundred for back or neck problems: Do this exercise with your knees bent and the feet flat on the floor.
You can do this exercise with the legs extended but the head left down on the floor. This modification is often used by people who need to protect their necks.
Single leg stretch
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your shins parallel to the floor. This is tabletop position for the legs.
Take a few moments to breathe deeply into the back and lower abs.
Pull your abs in, taking your bellybutton down toward your spine, as you curl your head and shoulders up to the tips of the shoulder blades. As you curl up, your left leg extends at a 45-degree angle.
The right leg remains in tabletop position with the right hand grasping the right ankle and the left hand moving to the right knee.
You will maintain your upper-body curve throughout the exercise. Be sure to keep your shoulders relaxed and your abdominals deeply scooped.
Switch legs on a two-part inhale. Bring air in as the left knee comes in, and bring more air in as you gently pulse that knee toward you.
Now the left hand is at the left ankle and the right hand at the left knee.
Switch legs. Bring the right leg in with a two-part exhale/pulse and extend the left leg.
The hand to leg coordination continues with the outside hand of the bent leg going to the ankle and the other hand moving to the inside of the knee.
Switch legs up to 10 times. Release the exercise if you are finding tension in your shoulders and neck or if your lower back is taking the strain.
SWIMMING
Swimming is a fun Pilate’s exercise, but it is also quite challenging as it brings every part of the body into play.
Lie on your stomach with the legs straight and together.
Keeping your shoulder blades settled in your back and your shoulders away from your ears stretch your arms straight overhead.
Pull your abs in so that you lift your bellybutton up away from the floor.
Reaching out from centre, extend your arms and legs so far in opposite directions that they naturally come up off the floor. At the same time, get so much length in your spine that your head moves up off the mat as an extension of the reach of your spine.
Keep your face down toward the mat; don’t crease your neck.
Continue to reach your arms and legs out very long from your centre as you alternate right arm/left leg, then left arm/right leg, pumping them up and down in small pulses.
Coordinate your breath with the movement so that you are breathing in for a count of 5 kicks and reaches, and out for a count of 5.
Hopefully you feel like you are simulating swimming!
Do 2 or 3 cycles of 5 counts of moving and breathing in, and 5 counts moving and breathing out.
Modifications for Swimming
Keep everything long, long, long, reaching from your centre.
Keep your head and neck working as extensions of your spine and don’t break the line at the neck.
Protect your lower back by keeping your tail bone moving down toward the mat.
If the breathing pattern is too complicated at first, leave it out.
THE PLANK
Begin on your knees and walk your hands out on the floor, allowing your legs to stretch out behind you. Place your forearms, parallel to each other, on the floor. Many people find that making a fist with the hands is helpful. Your shoulders should be directly over your elbows.
Lift your belly up away from the floor as you extend your spine so that it’s very long.
It is important that you keep pressure out of you lower back by pulling up the lower abs.
Anchor your pubic bone to the floor, and allow your tailbone to move down toward the floor as well. This move will create more length in spine and protect your lower back.
Keep your shoulder blades and collarbone broad, and make sure that your shoulders are away from your ears.
Your neck is a long extension of your spine, so your head is not dropped or tilted up.
Breathe fully as you hold the pose for 30 seconds.
If your weight is starting to drop into your shoulders and arms, release, rest, and try again.
THE SAW
Sit up straight on your sitting bones.
Your legs are extended in front of you, about shoulder width apart. If you have tight hamstrings you may need to prop your hips up on small lift, like a folded towel.
Arms are stretched out to the side, even with your shoulders.
Inhale: Get taller as you turn your whole torso, but use your abs to keep your hips even with each other.
Exhale: Let your gaze follow your back hand as you stretch forward and reach the pinkie finger of your front hand across the outside of the opposite foot.
Exhale a little more as you reach a little further.
Once your reach extends to its furthest point, maintain your turned position as you inhale and return to sitting.
Exhale and undo your turn, coming to the starting position.
Repeat this exercise 3 times to each side.