You’ve likely heard all of the good things about Pilates. It’s a low-impact workout that builds muscle strength and tone all over, but particularly in your abs, lower back, hips and bum. Sign us up! Right? You may have also been apprehensive about jumping into a studio setting to try out this miracle workout. If this sounds like you, start with this at-home, four-week plan that will help you lock down the basics of pilates so that you can keep it up...with confidence.
Week 1: Wake Up Your Core
The science: Your core is made up of four different muscle groups: abs, obliques (the muscles on the sides of your midsection), back, and pelvic floor. “Many times we focus on one specific muscle group or area of the body and we forget the entire body is connected and how one area or group performs, it effects the other.” says Washington D.C.-based yoga therapist Samantha Parker, who is author of Yoga for Chronic Pain…WTF, and your coach for this month’s Dream Big fitness challenge.
So, in our quest to have flatter abs, we will be calling on Pilates exercises that help train our entire core. This is because Pilates exercises have been shown to improve abdominal muscle endurance. In fact, a 2016 scientific review published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found that when Pilates is practiced two to three times a week, for five to 12 weeks, an increase in core strength is inevitable.
Move-the-Needle Monday: “You do not need to start off with a lot of crazy challenging movements or spend hours doing ab exercises,” Parker says. This week is all about understanding your core muscles and how they relate to each other.
Here’s a quick exercise that you can do right now that illustrates that relationship. Place your hands on your hips, while sitting or standing, and draw your belly button to your spine. Do you feel your pelvis slightly tilting forward? “Now your skeleton is stacked and aligned better, and your muscles do not have to work as hard to keep you in a slumped position,” Parker says.
The plan: Squeeze in mini-moves like these throughout each day and before you go to bed.
Each day: While in the car place hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel and every time you are at a stop light (or stuck in traffic) draw belly button to spine, sit nice and tall sitting back against the seat. Keep the muscles in an isometric contraction throughout the duration of the light and release when you resume driving.
Working from home? Set a timer every hour that reminds you to stand up nice and tall and do this: Draw your belly button toward your spine and then focus on rolling your shoulders back and down away from your ears. Hold this position for two minutes (don’t forget to breathe) by imagining that you’re holding an apple between your shoulder blades. “You may be surprised at how tiring you will feel at the end,” Parker says.
Each night: Do the following exercises; keep doing them until you can no longer hold good form. Take note of how long you are able to do each one.
One Hundred prep: Lay on your back, feet flat on the ground, ankles under knees. Draw belly button to spine and hold for 1 minute. Then lift your right leg so that your thigh forms a 90-degree angle with your hip. Hold 1 minute and repeat on the left side. Too easy? Repeat the sequence again.
Plank: Assume the top position of a push-up with your hands, elbows, and shoulders stacked, and your body in a straight line from the tip of your head to either your knees or your heels. Hold for one minute, being mindful of drawing your belly button towards the spine the entire time.
Superman: Lay on the floor belly down, with your arms in front of you extending straight from your shoulders and your legs resting on the floor straight behind you. Squeeze your bum to lift both legs together off the ground while simultaneously lifting your chest, shoulders, and arms off the ground. Hold just a couple of inches off the ground for 30 seconds. Relax and repeat.
Week 2: Build on Your Foundation
The science: “Strong abs lead to supporting our spine and can help decrease chronic low back issues,” says Washington D.C.-based yoga therapist Samantha Parker, author of Yoga for Chronic Pain…WTF. Research published in Clinical Biometrics found that a regimen of pilates can significantly improve the pain, flexibility, resistance, and strength of the core muscles in those who experience low back pain.
Move-the-Needle Monday: This week you will be progressing the moves you did last week, while adding a couple more moves to your workout. You will be building on last week’s foundation to add more endurance to those muscles and more balance and stability to each exercise you are doing.
Today (Monday), jump right in and do the daily core check-ins and the new nightly exercises. Tomorrow (Wednesday) you’ll take a rest from the nightly exercises and pick them back up on Wednesday.
The plan: Squeeze in mini-moves like these throughout each day and before you go to bed.
Each day: While in the car place hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel and every time you are at a stop light (or stuck in traffic) draw belly button to spine, sit nice and tall sitting back against the seat. Keep the muscles in an isometric contraction throughout the duration of the light and release when you resume driving.
Working from home? Set a timer every hour that reminds you to stand up nice and tall and do this: Draw your belly button toward your spine and then focus on rolling your shoulders back and down away from your ears. Hold this position for two minutes (don’t forget to breathe) by imagining that you’re holding an apple between your shoulder blades. “You may be surprised at how tiring you will feel at the end,” Parker says.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday nights: Do the following exercises; keep doing each one until you can no longer hold good form, and then move to the next. Take note of how long you can do each one.
One hundred prep: Lay on your back, feet flat on the ground, ankles under knees. Draw belly button to spine and hold for 1 minute. Then lift your right leg so that your thigh forms a 90-degree angle with your hip. Hold 1 minute and repeat on the left side. Too easy? Repeat the sequence again.
Plank: Assume the top position of a push-up with your hands, elbows, and shoulders stacked, and your body in a straight line from the tip of your head to either your knees or your heels. Hold for one minute, being mindful of drawing your belly button towards the spine the entire time.
Superman: Lay on the floor belly down, with your arms in front of you extending straight from your shoulders and your legs resting on the floor straight behind you. Squeeze your bum to lift both legs together off the ground while simultaneously lifting your chest, shoulders, and arms off the ground. Hold just a couple of inches off the ground for 30 seconds. Relax and repeat.
Cross crunch: Lay on your back, feet flat on the ground, ankles under knees. Draw belly button to spine. Place your thumbs behind your ears (you should be able to see your elbows in your peripheral vision). Leading with your right shoulder, lift your shoulders slightly off the ground towards your left knee. Pause at the top of the movement (where you can’t lift anymore) and hold for one second. Reverse the movement to return to start and repeat on other side.
Standing half moon: Stand up nice and tall. Lift collar bones towards the sky and then lift your arms up above your head and grasp your hands together. Holding this position, lean towards one side and hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on opposite side. Continue three times on each side.
Week 3: Take It With You
The science: At this point, you’ve had a couple of weeks of practice with the fundamental Pilates move of “pulling your abdominals in.” (Refresher: It’s when you feel like you are pulling the pelvic floor up and in, toward the centerline.) Now that you’ve got it down pat, take the move and use it in all the physical activity you do. “If you are doing other types of training, become more mindful of contracting your tummy and creating a nice long line throughout your spine,” says Washington D.C.-based yoga therapist Samantha Parker, who is CEO of Neoteric Movement Systems and bestselling author of Yoga for Chronic Pain…WTF.
Using the Pilates pull-in move outside of Pilates will help provide stability and activate other muscles more efficiently, according to research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. In the study, researchers had athletes do squats using the drawing-in breathing technique of Pilates and found that it increased the activation of the lower body muscles used during the exercise—more so than when the athletes just breathed normally.
Move-the-Needle Monday: This week you really want to focus on active Pilates breathing during each move. Practice the breathing technique today (Monday) by laying on the floor with knees bent and feet under knees. Bring your belly button toward your spine. Inhale for five beats, focusing on bringing air into the intercostal muscles (those are the muscles that surround the lungs and hold our ribs together). Then, exhale the air for five beats while leaving your belly button drawn towards your spine. Repeat the cycle five times.
The plan: Squeeze in mini-moves like these throughout each day. Don’t forget to do your Pilates breathing.
Each day: While in the car place hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel and every time you are at a stop light (or stuck in traffic) draw belly button to spine, sit nice and tall with your back against the seat. Keep the muscles in an isometric contraction throughout the duration of the light and release when you resume driving.
Working from home? Set a timer every hour that reminds you to stand up nice and tall and do this: Draw your belly button toward your spine and then focus on rolling your shoulders back and down away from your ears. Hold this position for two minutes (don’t forget to breathe) by imagining that you’re holding an apple between your shoulder blades. “You may be surprised at how tired you will feel at the end,” Parker says.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday: Do the following exercises; keep doing them until you can no longer hold good form. Take note of how long you can do each one.
One Hundred: Lay on your back, arms straight at your sides, feet flat on the ground, ankles under knees. Draw your belly button to the spine. Keeping the feet on the ground, lift your neck and shoulders off the ground (try not to strain!), keeping your arms along the sides. Hold 30 seconds while inhaling for five beats and exhaling for five beats. Lower back to the start position. Repeat the sequence five times. Throughout the week work your way up to repeating the sequence without taking a break in-between.
Plank: Assume the top position of a push-up with your hands, elbows, and shoulders stacked, and your body in a straight line from the tip of your head to either your knees or your heels. Slowly lift one leg up and hold it for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side. Continue alternating legs in this manner for as long as you can.
Superman: Lay on the floor belly down, with your arms in front of you extending straight from your shoulders and your legs resting on the floor straight behind you. Squeeze your glute muscles (a.k.a. your butt) to lift both legs together off the ground while simultaneously lifting your chest, shoulders, and arms off the ground. Hold just a couple of inches off the ground for one minute. Relax and repeat.
Cross Crunch: Lay on your back, feet flat on the ground, ankles under knees. Draw belly button to spine. Place your thumbs behind your ears. Lift your right shoulder slightly off the ground towards your left knee. Pause at the top of the movement (where you can’t lift anymore) and hold for one second. Reverse the movement to return to start and repeat on other side. Continue alternating sides for 40 total reps.
Standing Half Moon: Stand up tall. Lift collar bones towards the sky and then lift your arms up above your head and grasp your hands together. Holding this position, lean towards one side and hold for 40 seconds. Repeat on opposite side. Continue three times on each side.
Week 4: Put It All Together
The science: In addition to being able to sit and stand taller since starting this challenge, you also might notice you are cognitively or mentally more focused. “When the mind is focused on the discomfort we create physically through poor posture and weak abs, our brain may not be able to focus on the tasks at hand,” says Washington D.C.-based yoga therapist Samantha Parker, who is CEO of Neoteric Movement Systems®, bestselling author of Yoga for Chronic Pain…WTF, and your coach for this month’s Dream Big fitness challenge. Now that some of that core and back discomfort is gone, so is some of the brain fog.
Move-the-Needle Monday: Today you’re preparing for your Hundreds, building upon the breathing portion by adding to last Monday’s drill. Lay on your back with knees bent and feet under knees. Bring your belly button toward your spine. Inhale for five beats, focusing on bringing air into the intercostal muscles (those are the muscles that surround the lungs and hold our ribs together). Then, exhale the air for five beats. Repeat the cycle, 10 times (that’s double the reps from last week).
The plan:
Each day: While in the car, place your hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel and every time you are at a stop light (or stuck in traffic) draw your belly button to your spine, sit nice and tall with your back against the seat. Keep the muscles in an isometric contraction throughout the duration of the light and release when you resume driving.
Working from home? Set a timer every hour that reminds you to stand up nice and tall and do this: Draw your belly button toward your spine and then focus on rolling your shoulders back and down away from your ears. Hold this position for two minutes (don’t forget to breathe) by imagining that you’re holding an apple between your shoulder blades. “You may be surprised at how tiring you will feel at the end,” Parker says.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday: Do the following exercises; keep doing them until you can no longer hold good form. Take note of how long you can do each one.
One Hundreds: Lay on your back, arms straight at your sides, feet flat on the ground, ankles under knees. Draw your belly button to the spine. Keeping the feet on the ground, lift your neck and shoulders off the ground (try not to strain!), keeping your arms along the sides. Pulse arms up and down for 100 counts—inhale for five and exhaling for five. Lower back to the start position.
If you feel comfortable, lift your legs to a 90-degree angle while pumping your arms. Then, progress by extending your legs straight up. The final progression, when you feel comfortable, is to extend your legs out towards the point where the wall meets the ceiling in front of you.
Plank: Hold a full plank (basically the up of a push-up balancing between your hands and toes with your body as straight as a board from your head to your heels). Slowly lift one leg up and hold it for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side. Continue alternating legs for as many reps as you can.
Superman: Lay belly down on the floor, with your arms extending overhead in front of you and resting your legs on the floor straight behind you. Squeeze your glutes to lift your legs off the ground while simultaneously lifting your chest, shoulders, and arms a couple of inches off the ground. Hold for as long as you can, relax and then repeat once more.
Bicycle Crunch: This is a progression to your Cross Crunch. Lay on your back, feet flat on the ground, ankles under knees. Draw your belly button to your spine. Lift both legs so that your thighs make a 90-degree angle with your hips. Place your fingertips lightly behind your ears. Leading with your right shoulder, lift slightly off the ground towards your left knee while simultaneously straightening your right leg out. Pause and hold for one second. Reverse the movement to return to start and repeat on other side: left shoulder lifts toward right knee as left leg extends out. Continue alternating this motion for 20 total reps. TIP: If you start to feel fatigued instead of pushing through, lift shoulders slightly off the ground without the rotation and hold while moving the legs, Parker says.
Standing Half Moon: Stand up tall. Lift collar bones towards the sky and then lift your arms up above your head and grasp your hands together. Holding this position, lean towards one side and hold for one to two minutes. Repeat on opposite side. Continue three times on each side. TIP: “Remember to keep your belly drawn in and tummy tight,” Parker says. “This will protect you from bending too far into your low back and causing strain.”