Pilates challenges the deep lying, stabilizer muscles of the body and encourages the body to perform with symmetry and flow. The stabilizer muscles are endurance muscles, which, when strong and balanced improve our posture, significantly decrease our chance of injury and give us overall better athletic performance and general fitness and strength.
My favourite core reformer pilates exercise, which I teach in KX classes for a stronger leaner core, include; extensor planks, pikes, oblique planks and box teaser. However if your timetable doesn’t allow you to get to classes or you just want to practice at home before you head into studio, these key exercises have simple modification that will allow you to do pilates at home.
By Amie Skinner, KX Pilates Trainer
Extensor Planks
Back strength is incredibly important for posture and to avoid back aches and pains. When the deep laying spinal extensor muscles are weak and long people tend to adopt a rounded posture through their upper back and lose mobility and stability in their lower back (lumbar spine). This exercise is brilliant for improving your overall back endurance and stability.
In class:
Laying prone over a short box with your heels hooked underneath the footbar to hold you in place. Hold a neutral plank position with your torso hanging off the front of the box and arms crossed over your chest. Aim to hold for 60 seconds and do 2-3 repetitions.
At home:
Back extensions on the floor
Lay on your stomach on the floor, with arms in towards your nose, pointed toes, chin gently tucked.Breathe in and tighten belly button to spine, then exhale and lift the body up into a ‘banana’ like shape. Be careful to not throw the head back, keep the chin gently tucked. Inhale to relax and exhale to repeat. Perform 10-20 times.
Pikes
Pikes, targeting that magic muscle, the transversus abdominal, a deep abdominal muscle which works to stabiles the pelvis and ribcage in position. This exercise also gives a gentle hamstring stretch and requires shoulder strength and stability too. A great combination!
In class:
Start in a high plank position, hands on footbar and feet against shoulder pads. From this neutral position, inhale to prepare, then exhale to lift through the tummy muscles (imagine you are being punched in the stomach) and lift your hips high to the ceiling with straight legs. Look through the feet when the hips are high. Then inhale to lower the hips back to neutral plank, eyes looking between the hands.
The lighter the spring, the harder it gets!
At home:
Get into a plank position with your feet on top of a swiss ball and hands on the floor. Inhale to hold plank, then exhale to lift the hips up high, pulling the ball up to your hands and making a triangle shape with your body. Use your lower tummy muscles to lift the hips, like you are being poked in the stomach. Then inhale to return to the plank position. Repeat 10- 15 times.
Oblique Planks
This exercise primarily targets the oblique’s (waistline), but also hits the transversus abdominal, shoulders and butt muscles. It is a great toning exercise and should definitely be part of any core workout program.
In class:
Start is a high plank, both hands on the platform and feet against the shoulder pads. From this position, move one hand across to the center and turn onto the side edge of the body, keeping your hips up and twisting your feet onto their sides. The top arm can reach up for the ceiling or lay along the side of the body. Hold for 45- 60 seconds and repeat 1-2 times on each side of the body.
Tip: watch out for shoulders or hips rotating as you fatigue. Try to keep your body square on and facing ahead.
At home:
All the same as above, except you are on the floor. Feet staggered, rest down on one elbow to lift up from the floor.
Box Teaser
Accomplishing this exercise is a great self -esteem booster as well as an awesome abdominal workout. It requires rhythm, co-ordination and a smile!
In class:
Laying supine on a long box on the reformer, with short straps in your hands. Lay back in a relaxed position with your butt positioned to the bottom of the box. Breath in to prepare, then exhale to press the hands against the straps, lift the head, upper back, middle back, legs and lower back into a V like sitting position, arms pointing straight out in front of the shoulders (shoulder flexion). Balance, and then slowly lay back on the box and keep repeating with a smooth rhythm.
At home:
Laying on your back on a mat, legs straight along the floor and arms wide to the side on the chest. Inhale to prepare and squeeze abdominals, then exhale as you lift the head, chest, arms, feet and knees, and sit up into a V pose position, balancing on your bum (ischium bones) with your arms stretched forward in front. Repeat 8- 12 times, and option to have light dumbbells in each hand to advance.
