I’ve had clients say that Pilates isn’t for them. And while it’s true that not everyone enjoys certain workouts, everyone can benefit from incorporating Pilates-inspired exercises into their routine — especially if you’re looking to strengthen your core.
As a young child, I suffered from severe back pain. For 10 years, I tried massages, stretching and other fitness modalities. It wasn’t until I discovered Pilates that I was finally able to teach my body to turn on my core and learned to strengthen my core properly, alleviating my chronic back pain.
Now as a certified Pilates instructor, I always recommend that my clients work their core with Pilates exercises. In Pilates, the focus is on precision and smaller movements that challenge the core to stay stable. The subtle movements with our arms and legs challenge the core and force it to engage to keep us steady. I am a big fan of abdominal exercises done in this way, especially for beginners who need to train their core to engage.
You can try them at home with these simple Pilates exercises. I do many of these exercises every day to keep my core tight and trained to engage properly in my daily movements once I get off of the mat, too! Pick and choose a few or do them strung together as a routine for a well-rounded core and ab workout.
Pilates pelvic tilt
Lying on your back on a mat, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the ground. Make sure your feet are open as wide as your hips. Reach your arms down toward your feet. Take a deep breath. As your stomach rises, feel your low back arch slightly off of the ground. Then exhale as you tilt your pelvis forward and press your low back into the ground. Pull your navel in toward your spine as if you’re zipping into a tight pair of pants. Release and repeat 10 times.
Pilates ab crunch
Come into the pelvic tilt position from the exercise above. From this tilted position with your low back pressed into the ground, place your hands behind your head. Exhale as you…
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