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5 Pilates Exercises to Start Your Day!



Pilates is such a great form of exercise because you can do it anywhere using just your own bodyweight as resistance.

It helps to keep the body strong and supple and if you make it a daily routine you will feel the benefits of it within a couple of weeks.


Our top picks for you to add to your daily routine are:


Pelvic Curls

Works the glutes and hamstrings and stretches the thighs and opens the front of the

hip.

Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor sit bone distance apart. Have your arm long beside you. Draw your tummy down to your spine and curl your spine up off the floor starting with the tail bone as you exhale your breath.


Stop when just your shoulder blades are on the floor and breath in to feel length through your thighs. Then exhale and melt your spine backdown to the mat one vertebra at a time. Repeat 12 times


100’s

Works the tummy muscles, core, and strengthens the neck.



There are four options for your legs in 100’s.

  • The easiest is with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

  • The second is to have your legs in tabletop.

  • Third is to have the legs going straight to the ceiling with knees and feet together

  • and the fourth and most difficult is to take the legs out on a 45-degree angle heels together toes apart.



Lay on your mat. Lift your head and shoulders and lengthen you arms to reach past your hips. Choose your leg position and start pulsing your hands gently up and down with a small range of movement.


Breath in for 5 beats and out for 5 beats. Repeat this breathing 10 times (totalling 100

beats). Focus on keeping your shoulders away from your ears and tummy muscles drawing in towards each other. If your neck gets tired you can place one hand behind the head and keep pulsing the other hand



Clams

Works the glutes.


Lay on your side with your arm reaching up through the centre of the mat, head rests on the arm and move your tailbone to the back of the mat. Bend your knees bringing your feet to the back of your mat.


Lift your waist off the mat slightly squeeze your heals together and rotate your top leg to separate the knees on your exhale breath. Then on your inhale you lower the top knee down to touch the lower knee. Keep moving like this for 1 minute.


Focus on squeezing the bottom to rotate your leg from the hip joint.

Repeat on the other side.


Pilates Push Ups

Works shoulders, arms, chest and abdominals.



Kneeling on your hands and knees (or toes) in the plank position, hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Separate the shoulder blades lifting the chest away from the mat. Tummy muscles drawn up to the spine and tail bone reaching for the back of the knees.


Inhale as you bend the elbows and lower the body for three counts.

Exhale to press back up and straighten the arms. Repeat this 14 times.


Swan Prep

Works upper back muscles and spine stabilisers.


Lay on your belly on the mat, with legs straight and elbows bent, hands beside the head on the mat with palms facing down. No downward pressure applied through the arms at all.


Gently tuck the pubic bone down to the mat and lift the abdominals away from the floor.

On your inhale breath, slide the shoulders down and back an extend through your upper spine lifting the head and chest off the mat. Exhale as you lower back down. Repeat 12 times.


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