Aero Pilates Exercises

Aero Pilates exercise machines consist of an inclinable bench, hand grips, a head rest and a foot bar that may or may not have a mesh mini trampoline, or rebounder, on the end. The specifications between models may vary slightly, but the Aero machines are similar to each other as well as to the Pilates Power Gym and Total Gym with the Pilates accessory packages. You can choose from dozens of Pilates machine exercises when exercising on your Aero machine.

Triceps Press

The triceps press trains the tricep arm muscles. This exercise involves only the bench and the hand grips. The height of the bench, or glideboard, of the Aero Pilates machine can be moved to an incline from a flat position. You can incline the glideboard to make your exercises harder because when you press against the hand grips it causes the glideboard to move upward against gravity. The greater the incline, the more difficult this becomes. Since you are only working one muscle group, and a small one at that, you may wish to use a lower incline for the triceps press. To perform this exercise, lie on the glideboard with your head on the head rest in the flat position. Bring your legs to tabletop position with your knees above your hips. Hold your elbows at your sides and bent to 90 degrees with your palms touching the hand grips and facing forward. Point your fingers to the ceiling. Next, press your arms flat next to your sides. Bend them back to 90 degrees to complete a triceps press.

Press Away

The Pilates press away on the Aero Pilates machine trains the core muscles to support your torso while sliding on the glideboard. To perform this exercise, kneel on the glideboard facing the foot rest bar. Grab the top of the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart and your back and thighs in a straight line. Position your knees a few inches from the bottom of the glideboard and lean forward slightly to assume the starting position. Even though you lean forward, your body is still straight so that you do not incline from the waist. Pull in your abdominals, then, press your knees away from the bar to slide the glideboard toward the top of the machine. Keep your straight-body alignment. Use your stomach muscles to pull your body back to the starting position.

Narrrow Squat

The narrow squat exercise involves the foot rest bar at the bottom of the glideboard and not the hand grips. This is a lower body exercise that trains the thigh, calves and hips. To perform the narrow squat, lie face up on the glideboard with your head on the flat head rest and your arms on the glideboard next to your hips. Bring your heels to touch the top of the bar with your knees bent and in line with your hips. Point your toes at the ceiling. There should be no distance between your feet. Tighten your glutes and thighs and press your body upwards, causing your knees to straighten but not lock. Slide back down to the starting position.