You can perform Pilates mat exercises without any equipment at all, and adding flex bands to your workout can provide additional support and resistance, according to Ellie Herman, author of "Ellie Herman's Pilates Props Workbook." To prepare for the Pilates roll-down series, sit upright on a mat. Bend your knees slightly and loop a flex band around your feet, holding the ends in your hands. Check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise program.
Basic Roll-Down
Press your elbows against your rib cage to stabilize the flex band. Scoop in your navel and tilt your waist back. Round your spine backward, creating a "C" shape. Hollow out your stomach, as if you were cradling a basketball. Tilt back and drop one vertebra at a time onto the mat, pulling the flex band with you. Take a breath here. Lengthen your spine and pick your head up, peeling one vertebra at a time off the mat. Return to a seated upright position. Use the pull of the flex band to assist you in your movement. Repeat this exercise up to 10 times.
Biceps Boost
Tuck your elbows in to your rib cage while holding the ends of the flex band. Drop your shoulders away from your ears by drawing your armpits toward your hips. Turn your palms to face inward. Scoop your belly in and roll halfway toward the mat. Bend one elbow to bring your fist to your shoulder. Keep your torso still as you switch your arms, performing alternating biceps curls. You can make this exercise more intense by holding your elbows forward of your rib cage. Pretend your elbows are on a shelf. Do not raise and lower them as you open and close them. Perform 10 biceps curls on each arm, and then return to upright.
Rhomboid Roll-Down
Extend your arms in front of you at chest height with your palms facing down. As you roll back one vertebra at a time, bend your elbows out to the sides. Draw your shoulder blades together. As you peel one vertebra at a time off your mat, extend your arms forward, in front of your chest. Perform 10 repetitions of this exercise.
Oblique Roll-Down
Extend your arms and reach them out to the sides, next to your hips. As you roll your spine halfway to the mat, rotate your rib cage a quarter turn to the right. Rotate toward the center as you return to upright. The flex band adds tension and support to the rotational movement, notes Herman. Rotate to the left on your next roll down. Alternate your rotations to either side for 10 repetitions.
References
- Pilates Association of Canada: Pilates Method
- "Ellie Herman's Pilates Props Workbook;" Ellie Herman; 2004
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