Pilates on Fifth Video Podcast A free weekly Pilates online video program to train your core muscles!

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Star is a variation of the original Pilates reformer exercise of the same name. Practicing the Star on the mat is a great way to increase core stability and arm strength so that your balance and control are solid by the time you get to the reformer! This total body exercise specifically targets the muscles of the arms, the shoulder girdle stabilizers and the deep core musculature.

A Pilates beginner often attends Pilates classes or tries Pilates online and wonders throughout the first few Pilates workouts what this Pilates exercise called “Spine Stretch Forward” is all about. If not done (or taught) properly, it may seem like a simple forward bend, designed to stretch hamstrings as opposed to deliver a special Pilates benefit. Because this exercise is difficult for a Pilates beginner to grasp, in the Pilates classes at our New York Pilates studio, we often teach this exercise with the back against the wall initially. By doing this, the Pilates performer can feel his/her spine move segmentally away from the wall, which is the goal of the exercise, something that is difficult to see or understand when learning Pilates online or attending Pilates classes as a Pilates beginner.

As a Pilates beginner, or as a student of Pilates aiming to become a Pilates instructor, it is vital to understand that each and every Pilates body might look quite different when performing this exercise. For example, if you have a very flat or tight lower back, it may take years of Pilates classes before the flexibility of the spine manifests, and you certainly don’t want to force it! In our Pilates online video website, www.ultimatepilatesworkouts.com, we have full-length as well as mini Pilates workouts such as “My First Pilates Workout”, and the “Morning Low Back Care Workout”, both of which are geared to the Pilates beginner and are a great substitute for Pilates classes if you can’t get to your nearest Pilates studio.

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Mat Pilates is one of the best ways to sculpt rock hard abdominals and long, lean muscles. But many complain that there aren’t enough arm and shoulder exercises in a mat Pilates class. Look no further! The Pilates exercise Side Plank strengthens the core and strengthens the muscles surrounding the shoulder – a great combination for both Pilates and yoga enthusiasts!

If you do Pilates and yoga, then you have probably also done a lot of planks! The side plank is actually a derivation of the Pilates exercise Side Bend, very popular in mat Pilates classes. At our New York City Pilates studio, Pilates on Fifth, we have discovered in our ten years of business that in a traditional mat Pilates class, no Pilates exercise prepares the Pilates performer to support the weight of the body on one arm before they get to the Side Bend. Now, if they’ve been doing Pilates and Yoga for a while, then they have developed the strength from poses such as “Vashistasana” (Side Plank).

Pilates and yoga both require strong arms and shoulders, though in mat Pilates, this requirement is not as obvious. Pilates on the equipment is usually where Pilates practitioners turn for arm strengthening Pilates exercises, but in our Pilates training program, we teach students that by incorporating a Pilates exercise such as Side Plank into a Pilates workout, you’ll have strong arms and shoulders in no time!

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Pilates beginner? No problem! This efficient Pilates workout will have you feeling those muscles you sit on all day long in just ten minutes! Women especially always ask for more thigh and hip toning exercises in their Pilates gym workouts, and this video packs all the great butt exercises into a workout you can do on the go!

Any Pilates beginner will appreciate the simplicity of the exercises included in this Pilates workout – no fancy choreography here! Structured more like a Pilates gym workout, this video leaves out the complex exercises and focus on delivering targeted work for the gluteal muscles and the upper hamstrings. Your lovely backside will be lifted for days! But because this is a Pilates workout, of course, you will tone the abdominal muscles, strengthen the core and increase flexibility.

The biggest complaint we get from many a Pilates beginner is “Pilates classes only work the abs!” True, Pilates classes tend to focus on the abdominals and the core more than anything, but every Pilates workout can and should contain exercises for the lovely derriere! If you’re new to Pilates, make sure you check out our podcasts on Shoulder Bridge, Heel Squeeze and Swan Dive as these are some of the Pilates exercises featured in this workout that will help sculpt a beautiful backside! And every Pilates gym goer wants a beautiful backside, right?

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The use of a Pilates Exercise Band in your mat Pilates class can not only add variety, but also introduce Pilates reformer exercises that can be done in a Pilates mat class. A Pilates instructor can introduce reformer Pilates into his/her mat Pilates class without having to invest in a costly Pilates machine. In our Pilates in Ten: Arms video, we use the Pilates Exercise Band to simulate many Pilates Reformer Class moves to create long, lean and sculpted arms. By hooking the Pilates exercise band on your feet or behind your back, you can simulate the tension that a Pilates machine would create, and do many reformer Pilates moves.

At our Pilates training program, The Pilates Academy International, when we teach a person to become a Pilates instructor, we include in our Pilates training how to use Pilates props such as the Pilates Exercise Band. Thus any Pilates instructor from our Pilates training program knows how to create Pilates reformer exercises using the Pilates Exercise band, bringing reformer Pilates to any Pilates mat class that they teach. For clients and Pilates fans who want to use a Pilates machine like the Pilates reformer but aren’t able to, the reformer Pilates exercises using the Pilates exercise band enable them to tone their legs, butt and arms even more than they would in a traditional Pilates mat class. If you are a Pilates instructor or a Pilates enthusiast and would like more ways to incorporate the Pilates exercise band into your mat Pilates class, visit www.ultimatepilatesworkouts.com and select “Stretch Band” from the Workout Library.

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While we hope you enjoy the Pilates exercises we bring you weekly, we want to be sure that Pilates beginners and advanced Pilates practitioners alike know as much as possible about their abdominal muscles! Knowing more about these important muscles that support the spine and low back can help you perform Pilates exercises more effectively and get the most out of your Pilates workout.

All true Pilates exercises should engage all 4 layers of the abdominal muscles as much as possible. The key to core strength and thus the most effective Pilates workout is engaging the deepest layer of the abdominal muscles, the transversus abdominus, at all times. Even advanced Pilates practitioners will not see the results they could if they neglect the deepest abdominal muscle! So if you are a Pilates beginner, it is best to set yourself up with excellent Pilates exercise habits now so that you can enjoy efficient and effective Pilates workouts.

Pilates yoga enthusiasts can use this knowledge to make simple exercises much more difficult. For instance, Pilates beginners who feel that the Pilates exercises they do are too easy, but the more advanced Pilates exercises are too hard, can focus on drawing their belly buttons to their spines and narrowing their waists as much as possible while executing their Pilates workout. Pilates yoga practitioners can apply this knowledge to yoga exercises, Pilates exercises and all workouts for that matter! The more you practice engaging all four layers of the abdominal muscles in your Pilates workout as well as all your workouts, the more it will become a habit – a good habit! Your Pilates yoga workouts will be more efficient and effective!

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When can we Pilate again? When can we Pilate again?”A client of ours at our NYC Pilates studio, Pilates on Fifth, shared this amusing story with us the other day. Apparently, her three year old watched her doing a Pilates DVD and developed a love for one of the favorite Pilates mat exercises, Rolling Like a Ball. Anyone who’s seen this trademark Pilates move, even a Pilates beginner, would know why a three year old would gravitate to it, but many may not know its benefits, or the benefits of Pilates in general.

The benefits of Pilates, or, more specifically, the benefits of the Pilates mat exercise Rolling Like a Ball are many. First of all, you are contracting the full range of your abdominal muscles to hold the C-curve shape of the spine, and, on top of that, using your abdominal muscles to control speed and accuracy as you roll. A Pilates beginner might find this a little tricky at first, even more so than the three year old who likes to “Pilate!” But Rolling Like a Ball, practiced along with many other Pilates mat exercises will both tone your abdominal muscles as well as increase the flexibility of your spine. Joseph Pilates believed that a flexible spine was key to a healthy life and longevity. He also believed that the benefits of Pilates also included never being injured and never needing aspirin!

Even if you are a Pilates beginner and taking a Pilates class or trying a Pilates DVD for the first time, you will surely do Rolling Like a Ball. Simply remember to pull your abs in tight as you roll, without using momentum, and you are sure to experience the many benefits of Pilates. Whether you “Pilate” or do Pilates mat exercises, your abs will surely thank you. For more information on the benefits of Pilates or for a full library of Pilates mat exercises, visit our NYC Pilates studio, Pilates on Fifth, or log on to our Pilates online website, www.ultimatepilatesworkouts.com.

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Golfers, take note! Spine Twist is of the best Pilates exercises you can do to increase the flexibility and strength of your spine in rotation and improve your Pilates for golf practice. This will help you improve the power of your swing safely and effectively. Pilates beginners and advanced Pilates practitioners alike benefit greatly from the simplicity of this exercise. In true Pilates exercises, spinal rotation is the least represented spinal motion, so Spine Twist must be part of your Pilates workout and your Pilates for golf regime!

Unlike other Pilates exercises that involve rotation, in the Spine Twist, you must keep your pelvis (or hips) completely still and focus on using your oblique abdominal muscles – not momentum – to create spinal rotation. (Though momentum is never intended to be part of a Pilates workout, because some true Pilates exercises like Rolling Like a Ball and Open Leg Rocker utilize gravity, momentum can be something your working against!) Pilates beginners should take care not to use force when performing this Pilates exercise: the three inhales are intended for you to explore increased range of motion safely, not ballistically! Using the oblique abdominal muscles in this way helps to shrink your waistline and strengthen all the inner muscles that surround the spine, making this an important exercise in a Pilates for golf practice. Because strengthening the spine in rotation is important before combining other spinal motions with rotation, Pilates beginners should master the Spine Twist before moving on to other true Pilates exercises like “Saw” and really advanced Pilates exercises like “Corkscrew” and “Twist.”

Keep in mind that because there are many more Pilates exercises that involve flexion of the spine, balancing your Pilates workouts by including spinal rotation is important even for advanced Pilates practitioners!

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Some people think that Pilates is only about the abs, but any good Pilates instructor will tell you that the way to get a trademark Pilates body is not only by doing Pilates exercises for the abs, but also by doing Pilates exercises for the legs & butt, like the Side Leg Lift Series. In fact, the Side Leg Lift Series is a key Pilates exercise featured in Pilates for golf, done with or without the enhancement of a Pilates ring.

Let’s talk about getting that fabulous Pilates body first. How does the Side Leg Lift Series do this? Used with or without the Pilates ring, this Pilates exercise targets the glutes, which helps give the derriere that lift that we all see and envy in the Pilates body of many a Pilates instructor. Saddlebags be gone! But don’t forget that to get a true Pilates body you must also add cardiovascular exercise to your Pilates workout regime in order to burn fat.

Now let’s move on to Pilates for golf. It may seem surprising that such a seemingly simple Pilates exercise can pack so much bang for the buck, but it does. Because the Side Leg Lift Series targets the glute medius in particular, it is especially vital in a Pilates for golf program because it strengthens the hip joint against the repetitive motion of the golf swing and the pressure it places on the hip (particularly of the opposing side). By using a Pilates ring when performing this Pilates exercise, a Pilates instructor can increase the resistance, and thus make the Side Leg Lift Series and even more effective part of a Pilates for golf program, giving even golfers a great Pilates body.

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A precursor to the true Pilates exercise Leg Pull Front, the Long Plank Series is a great addition to any Pilates workout as it targets the body part most often overlooked in Pilates exercises – arms! Yes, Joseph Pilates himself had great arms, but most of the Pilates exercises that strengthen and tone the arms are Advanced Pilates exercises and too challenging for the Pilates beginner. Because the true Pilates exercise Leg Pull Front involves a lot of coordination, the Long Plank Series breaks down the movement into simple, strengthening moves to make your Pilates workout effective – without frills!

The Long Plank Series is for Pilates beginners and advanced Pilates practitioners alike. Pilates exercises in the long plank position help strengthen the scapula stabilizers, the core and the arms. Also, make sure you energize your legs throughout your Pilates workout to make sure the legs don’t get left out of any exercises! When performing this exercise for the first time, however, the most important thing for the Pilates beginner to remember is to keep the torso and spine in neutral while lifting the legs. More advanced Pilates practitioners can challenge themselves by seeing how high they can lift the leg without changing the shape of the spine. Just remember the goal is not the height, but the stability of the torso and spine!

Joseph Pilates always said Pilates exercises are about quality not quantity: so make these count! Before you attempt the true Pilates exercise Leg Pull Front, make sure you practice the Long Plank Series so that your quality is the best it can be.

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