BackPilates: strength and stability
Pilates is a full-body workout that focuses on the 'deeper' muscles. Here are some exercises, with the hows and whys of what they can do for you
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You have probably been doing some Pilates exercises without knowing they’re called that. These are exercises like tricep dips, pelvic raises or hip rolls, the shell stretch—where you sit on your heels and touch the forehead to the ground—and the side leg lift—in which you lie on one side and lift one or both legs—for example. The movements are often simple and you use your own body weight to get a stretch or provide resistance. To get the most out of a Pilates workout, however, it’s important to know the basics.
Pilates is a full-body workout that focuses on stability, exercising the smaller muscles and strengthening the core. Namrata Purohit, a partner at Mumbai’s Pilates and Altitude Training Studio and author of The Lazy Girl’s Guide To Being Fit, explains it like this: “Pilates can give you the strength of a soldier and the grace of a ballerina." The basic philosophy, she adds, is to work on the deeper muscles of the body, such as the multifidus, which are on either side of the spine and are important for strengthening the back, and the rhomboids, which run along the length of the shoulder blades—people who sit hunched over their computers for long hours often feel the soreness here.
While Pilates has various levels of difficulty, and has dedicated equipment like the reformer and cadillac, we asked Purohit to show us an easy- to moderate-difficulty workout using only “mat Pilates", or the no-equipment version, so you can try it.
Leg pull front
Starting position: Lie on your back. Extend the arms under the shoulders to lift the upper body, so your weight comes on your hands and feet (you are facing the ceiling in this position). Keep the toes gently pointed and pelvis raised off the mat. Inhale.
How to: Exhale. Keeping the toes pointed, lift one leg as high as you can without losing balance. Try not to drop the hip. Inhale. Flex the ankle and then lower the leg slightly (don’t touch the ground). Repeat three times on the same leg. Repeat on the other leg. Do five-six repetitions.
Works out: The abdominal muscles, hip extensors, hip flexors and the neck, shoulder and back (trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi and teres major).
Keep in mind: The body should be in a straight line; do not tip the head forward or back. Remember to flex the foot while bringing the leg down and point the toes on the way up.
Side bend
Starting position: Sit cross-legged. Place your left hand on the mat, shifting your weight to the left buttock. Bend the right knee, turning the foot out so that the inner thigh is now facing forward (the right foot should be in front of the left one). Now place the right arm over the knee, with the palm facing the ceiling. Make sure the shoulders and hips are facing forward. Look forward.
How to: Inhale. Leading with the right side, lift the pelvis towards the ceiling (your weight is balanced on the left knee and arm). Extend the right arm overhead. Now straighten the right leg, placing the foot on the mat. Straighten the left leg and place the left foot behind the right one. Squeeze the legs together. Exhale and descend gently on to the mat, returning to the start position. Do four-five repetitions on each side.
Works out: Shoulder stabilizers, latissimus dorsi (bottom shoulder), hip adductors (inner thigh and groin area), quadriceps (front of the thighs), gluteus maximus (buttocks), obliques and quadratus lumborum (lower back).
Keep in mind: The body should be in a straight line from head to toe when it’s lifted off the ground—watch the hips especially.
Shoulder bridge
Starting position: Lie on your back, keeping the pelvis and spine neutral. Bend the knees and place your feet on the mat. The feet should be hip-distance apart. Keep the arms by your sides, palms down. Inhale, exhale. Lift the pelvis off the mat.
How to: Inhale. Maintaining the level of the pelvis, lift one foot off the ground. Straighten the knee, and lift the leg up towards the ceiling. Exhale. Dorsiflex the ankle (it’s the opposite of pointing your toes, as you try to push the heel up) and bring the leg down to hip level. Inhale. Point your toes, and lift the leg up towards the ceiling again. Repeat twice more. Then exhale, bend the knee and bring the foot back on to the mat. Repeat on the other leg. Do three-five repetitions on each side. Now, inhale and lengthen the spine. Exhale and slowly lower the hips and pelvis back towards the mat.
Works out: The abs, obliques and muscles beneath the obliques—the transversus abdominis—as well as the glutes, back (specifically, the multifidus muscles that run along the spine and provide joint stability) and shoulder blades.
Keep in mind: Once you have attained the bridge position, don’t move the upper body or arch the back. Also ensure you do not put pressure on the neck.
Side leg lift
Starting position: Lie on your side, ensuring the body is in a straight line from head to toe. Relax your head on the bottom arm. Ensure your core is engaged and you are not sinking into the mat. Inhale.
How to: There are three easy to moderate-level variations of this exercise:
u Straight up: Exhale. Slowly lift the top leg, keeping your core engaged and glutes squeezed. Inhale. Lower the leg. Go slow—it’s not as much about taking the leg higher as it is about keeping the core engaged and the glutes squeezed. Avoid falling forward or back. Do 10-20 repetitions on each leg.
u Circle: Lift the top leg and make a circle in the air—take your leg forward only as much as you can take it back. Remember to breathe throughout and try not to rock the body forward and back. Do 10 repetitions each clockwise and anti-clockwise. Do the full set on the other side.
u Lift both legs together: Keep your feet together. Exhale. Lift both legs up. Inhale. Lower them back to the mat. Do 10-20 repetitions.
Works out: The hip extensors as well as hip flexors. This exercise also works the obliques and multifidus to stabilize the torso. When you lift both legs up together, it also works out the adductors to maintain the inner thigh connection.
Keep in mind: The body should be in a straight line throughout. So at the start, relax your head on the bottom arm and not the palm, as this changes the alignment and causes undue tension on your wrist.
Rocking
Starting position: Lie on your stomach. Bend the knees, bringing the heels close to the sitting bones. Push the arms back towards the ankles and hold the top of the feet. Keep the pelvis and spine neutral, and the core engaged.
How to: Inhale. Press your feet into your hands. Extend the hips so that the knees come off the mat. Exhale. Lower the upper body slowly on to the mat, getting the feet back towards the sit bones. Do five to 10 repetitions.
Easy option: The Breast Stroke Prep can be done as both a warm-up and an easy alternative to rocking: Lie on your stomach with your arms on your sides and toes pointed. Lift the upper body by arching the back, slowly extending the neck, upper back and middle back—keep the bottom ribs in contact with the mat. Inhale. Exhale and gently come down. Do five-eight repetitions.
Works out: The back extensors, the core area, shoulder stabilizers, glutes and hamstrings.
Keep in mind: Warm up before doing this exercise. Do not go beyond your comfort zone and do not use your knees for the workout.
Hundreds
Starting position: Lie on your back with legs in the tabletop position—with knees bent at 90 degrees. Point the toes and raise the arms towards the ceiling. Keep the back in the neutral spine position; that is, following the natural curvature of the spine.
How to: Inhale, exhale, and come into the “ab-prep" position, as if ready to do a stomach crunch. Lower the hands to your sides without touching the floor. Simultaneously, extend your legs to a 45-degree angle. Inhale for five counts while doing small vertical pulses with your arms—this is a short-range up and down movement. Don’t actually touch the mat. Exhale for five counts while continuing to pulse the arms. Do this for up to 100 counts. Keep the upper body still while doing the arm pulses. Inhale and bring the legs back to the tabletop position. Exhale and relax.
Easy option: This entire exercise can be done with the feet in tabletop position, or keeping the feet on the mat hip-distance apart and knees bent.
Works out: This exercise works on the abdominal muscles, strengthening the core area, including your transversus abdominis (the deep muscles underneath the obliques). The exercise also works the hip flexors and shoulder stabilizers.
Keep in mind: When you come into the ab-prep position, your eyes should be in line with your knees. If your neck starts hurting, put one hand behind your head and rest it gently.
As told to Chanpreet Khurana.
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