ActiveWorkoutsImprove your posture and strengthen your entire body with this 8-move Pilates workoutIt’s also beginner’s friendly and all you’ll need is a matWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
ActiveWorkoutsImprove your posture and strengthen your entire body with this 8-move Pilates workoutIt’s also beginner’s friendly and all you’ll need is a matWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
It’s also beginner’s friendly and all you’ll need is a mat
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
If you spend most of your days sat slouched over a screen, chances are your posture isn’t the best. Poor posture can lead to pain in our back, shoulders and neck, and it can even effect our balance. Need to give yours a bit of a re-fix? This eight-move Pilates workout can help and all you’ll need is yourself and a mat.
This workout comes from Lotty Campbell Bird, a Pilates and barre instructor, and founder of TheCollective Fitness Studiobased in the Cotswolds. “These movements are a great way to mobilise the joints, so we can work them through a full range of motion and move freely without tension,” she says. “Additionally, each exercise trains us to use our muscles efficiently to improve strength and increase flexibility.”
Ready to improve your posture and feel that full-body burn? Grab a mat or a towel and give Lottie’s workout a go…
1. Ab prep
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
Benefits:Finding stability in a neutral pelvis provides the most efficient and effective way to engage the abdominals and pelvic floor muscles and the flexion in the upper back helps to improve mobility in the spine.
How to:
Reps/sets:10-12 reps, repeat two times
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2. Pilates Hundred
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
Benefits:This exercise is named after the 100 pulses that you make with your arms. It deepens the work for your abdominals and pelvic floor muscles as well as your shoulder stabilisers in the back to maintain the upper body flexion.
How to:
Reps/sets:Aim for 24 pulses, with a short 10-second rest between, repeat two times. Slowly build this up to 100 pulses in on go
3. Bridge
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
Benefits:This exercise strengthens the posterior chain of the body, engaging the glutes and hamstrings to offer increased stabilisation and mobility in the spine.
How to:
Reps/sets:6-8 reps, repeat two times
4. Half roll back
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
Benefits:This exercise strengthens the posterior chain of the body, engaging the glutes and hamstrings to offer increased stabilisation and mobility in the spine.
How to:
Reps/sets:8-10 reps, repeat two times
5. Spine twist
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
Benefits:One of the best exercises to improve mobility of the spine as you find rotation, as well as working the obliques, pelvic floor and upper back muscles.
How to:
Reps/sets:5 reps, repeat two times
6. All fours
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
Benefits:This movement is a great way to engage your abdominal muscles to stabilise the pelvis and work the muscles in the arms and back to stabilise the spine.
How to:
Reps/sets:8-10 each side, repeat two times
7. Plank
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
Benefits:Think of the plank as a full-body exercise, where every single muscle is engaged to support the body and also as an opportunity to lengthen and strengthen the spine.
How to:
Reps/sets:hold between 30-90 seconds, repeat two times
8. Upper back extensor
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
(Image credit: The Collective Fitness Studio)
Benefits:This movement enables you to stabilise the mid and lower back as you lift the upper back into extension and improves mobility and strength in the shoulder stabilisation and erector spinae muscles, which run down the length of the spine.
How to:
If you enjoyed this workout, make sure you give Lottie’sthree-move glute workouta go (the glutes are key in helping us move efficiently, contribute towards good posture and improve athletic performance). Alternatively, if you fancy a Pilates core workout,this one from Lottie is perfect for beginners and will leave your mid-section on fire (in a good way).
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