In Pilates, every part of your body plays a role. This efficient workout can tone your lower abdominals, stretch your back and align your body with your mind. Add breathing techniques and equipment to this mix and you have a complex method of exercise. Take private lessons or classes with a certified Pilates instructor to learn proper form, and then an hour of authentic Pilates a day at home can change your life.
Mat Exercises
Founder Joseph Pilates drew on his knowledge of body building, gymnastics and yoga to create a beginning mat routine of 12 exercises to work your entire body. Many of the exercises involve using your deep lower abdominals to hold your torso still while you move your legs. For example, with Leg Circles, you lie on your back with your lower abdominals drawn in. One leg extends along the mat and the other extends straight up. Use your inner thigh and your lower abs to circle this leg as though you were drawing on the ceiling with your toe. Keep the movement symmetrical and controlled. Circle in the other direction, and then change sides and repeat.
Wunda Chair Exercises
The Wunda Chair resembles a stool with a padded seat and a hinged paddle on springs beneath. Unlike the mat series in which most of the exercises are done lying down, chair exercises can also be done sitting on or stepping onto the seat. As a result, the chair workout can feel more aerobic than the mat. In the exercise Going Up Front, you stand in front of the chair with one foot on top of the seat. Place the ball of your standing foot on the base of the paddle. Contract your abdominals and buttocks to raise the paddle and your body without relying on your quadricep. Control the movement back down.
Reformer Exercises
The Reformer is the most recognizable Pilates apparatus. It consists of a padded platform that you slide horizontally on a frame by pulling on straps. Springs or elastic cables provide resistance. As with the routines on the mat and the Wunda Chair, the beginning Reformer series has exercises to be done in a specific order. As you master them, you add the intermediate and the advanced exercises. Many of the Reformer exercises appear in the mat routine, too. For example, in Leg Circles on the Reformer, the emphasis is still on keeping your torso stable. The main difference is that you place your feet in the straps and circle both legs at the same time, sliding the carriage as you move your legs.
References
- ACE FitnessMatters: Can Pilates Do it All?
- "Pilates' Return to Life Through Contrology;" Joseph H. Pilates and William Miller; 1998
- "The Pilates Body"; Brooke Siler; 2000
- "Ellie Herman's Pilates Reformer"; Ellie Herman; 2007
- FindYourMove.net: Exercises: Wunda Chair: Going Up Front
Member Comments