Most people will find doing Pilates exercises on a Total Gym XL more affordable and convenient than joining and traveing to a Pilates studio to use a Reformer. The Total Gym XL has a padded glideboard and platform on the bottom that can be used in lieu of a Pilates bar.
Seated Bicep Curls
The seated bicep curl works your arms and core. The core muscles stabilize your body on the Total Gym XL just as they would when using a Reformer. To perform this Pilates exercise, sit cross-legged on the glideboard facing the upright, or hang your calves off the top end of the glideboard. Sit up straight and squeeze your abs. Hold your arms straight in front of you and grab the handles with an underhand grip, your palms face up. If you face your palms down, you can do reverse curls for your forearms. Bend your elbows slightly. Then, flex your elbows to move your wrists toward your shoulders. This causes your glideboard to slide upward, so keep your abs tight so you can maintain your posture. Extend your elbows back to almost straight, where they began.
The Serve
The serve exercise works your arms, chest and the front of your shoulders. The upper back muscles stabilize your body during the serve and of course the core works to keep you sitting up tall. There is no slouching in Pilates. Sit with your legs crossed on the glideboard facing the platform of the Total Gym XL to begin the serve. Grasp a handle with each hand so your palms face forward and your fingers point toward the floor. Hold your arms straight and then bend your elbows slightly. Do not bend your elbows as you would for a bicep curl. Next, bring your arms forward and up until your fingertips reach eye level. Lower your arms to complete one serve.
Salute
The salute works the sides of your shoulders and your triceps. Keep your shoulders pinched back during this exercise to challenge your back muscles, too. To perform a salute, sit with your legs crossed on the top of the glideboard. Reach to your sides and grab the handles. Bring your arms overhead with the palms facing forward. Incline forward slightly from the hips and align your arms at the same angle as your upper body. Next, bend your elbows and lower your hands behind your neck. The elbows point out to the sides and the palms stop just above your shoulders with your fingers extended so they are behind your neck, but not touching. Raise your arms back up straight to complete a salute.
Member Comments