There’s a reason Pilates workouts are becoming so popular: they work your deep, internal muscles, improve your posture, reduce back pain, and work on your flexibility and mobility. Pilates has been around for years – it was created by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century – but its popularity has exploded recently, with a number of celebrities crediting Pilates with creating toned muscles. Here’s what an hour of Pilates can do for your body.
The best part? Pilates is low impact, so it’s suitable for almost anyone. It is often recommended by doctors and physiotherapists for athletes recovering from injury, and most instructors will be able to suggest modifications in classes. Although it doesn’t leave you sweating, Pilates strengthens your body through small, repetitive movements. Classes can be done on an exercise mat, a Pilates reformer machine, or if you can’t travel, or don’t have the budget for a class, from home for free! Check 9 of the Best Pilates Exercises to Target Your Core here.
If you’re looking for a free class to add to your routine, we’ve rolled out our exercise mat (check out the best yoga mats here) and tried a 15-minute full-body sculpting Pilates workout from instructor Lilly Sabri. It’s part of her free two-week Pilates class, which we’ll be trying out soon. Read on to find out what happened.
15 Minute Full Body Sculpting Pilates Workout
Like all of Sabri’s workouts, she cuts to the chase. There’s a warm-up (which doesn’t really feel like a warm-up), followed by a leg section and an abdominal section. The good news is that you’re done in 15 minutes. The bad news: this one hurts!
Here are some of the exercises involved:
Knee and toe shells:
To begin, lie on your right side with your feet, legs, and hips stacked on top of each other and your knees bent at 45 degrees. Rest your head on your right arm (or straighten up and rest your head in your hand) and engage your core to help you maintain stability during the movement. Lift your top leg off the bottom, keeping your knees together, pause at the top, then lift your top knee toward the ceiling and tap your heels together. Continue to alternate between tapping the knee and tapping the ankle.
Here is what happened when this fitness editor made resistance band shells for a week.
Lateral leg lift:
To do side leg raises, start by lying on your side, with your core engaged and your forearm supporting your head. Slightly bend with the knee closest to the floor, then engage your abs and glutes, and lift your top leg, keeping your foot bent. Pause at the top, then lower your leg down to touch your other leg.
Double tap and leg extensions:
For this exercise, start lying on your back with your lower back pressed against the floor and your legs in a tabletop position and your arms at your sides. Engage your core, remembering to draw your navel into your spine. Keeping the knee bent, lower both legs to the floor slowly and with control, tapping your toes on the floor and then returning them to your starting position. If your lower back begins to lift off the ground, reduce your range of motion. Once they’re back in tabletop position, extend one leg away from your body, then the other. Then repeat.
I Tried This 15-Minute Full-Body Sculpting Pilates Workout – Here’s What Happened
I’m currently in the downsizing phase for my fifth marathon, so I do one Pilates class a week to help keep my muscles working, without loading them too much so close to running. It only took a few minutes of warming up for this workout to get my glutes warmed up, and it was a real reminder of how simple and effective Pilates is when it comes to toning and sculpting muscles. strong.
The single leg work at the start of class reminded me that I needed to do more Pilates because after running a lot my left side was much weaker than my right. An aspect that is especially important if you spend a lot of time sitting behind a desk, Pilates focuses on proper body alignment, supported by a strong core. That’s why it’s ideal for runners, cyclists, or anyone who plays sports, as it helps you work on weak areas of your body and prevent injury.
15 minutes later, as I got up from my mat, I had this wonderful post-Pilates pain in my heart. For me, a strong core is more than just an aesthetic goal. Core strength can help you run harder, lift heavier, sit with better posture, and avoid injury. If working on your core is your goal, Pilates is a good choice – in fact, a study found that two-hour weekly Pilates classes for 12 weeks improved abdominal strength and upper back posture.
This class reminded me that once the marathon is over, adding a few Pilates classes a week to my routine is a must. Looking for more inspiration? Discover below our other Pilates classes that you can do from home.