People think that because I’m a Pilates instructor, I spend my days from morning till night working out. Wrong. Although I demonstrate things here and there, I actually spend most of my time watching my clients to make sure they’re moving well.
I love taking the time to work my own body. It makes me feel strong and energized. However, it’s sometimes tough finding a one to two hour block to dedicate to my own workout. I find that 10-15 mins before or between clients is a great alternative to not doing any movement.
Other than doing something healthy for myself, another little perk is that as I move and play, I think of new exercise variations and revive movements that have been out of sight and out of mind for a while.
Here are a few things I consider when doing my own mini-workouts.
- I listen to my body. I do what feels good and what my body’s asking for that day. Sometimes I need simple, basic exercises and other days I need to jump right into the big stuff.
- I make sure to move my spine, hips and shoulders in many different directions. This helps me work my “total body” in a short period of time
- I transition quickly. When I only have a short period of time, I want to make the most of it. Quicker transitions means more time to work on me.
- I often choose Pilates equipment or apparatus over Mat Work. The resistance of Pilates equipment helps me feel stronger faster – it’s a preference my body has. Pay attention to what you prefer and do what works for you.
Here’s a sample sequence I did this morning using the Pilates Cadillac to wake myself up this morning. I took me just over 10 mins, but I wish I would have taken more time and done a few more reps of each – I think it would be a great 15 min sequence. I’ve written it down below and sped it up on the video.
I hope you enjoy and it inspires you to get moving a bit more today!
If you have any favourite exercises or sequences you like to do, please share in the comments section at the bottom of the article.
[youtube id=”sFQ-DYrPOYU” width=”600″ height=”350″]
The workout
Push thru bar – no springs (2 min)
- Kneeling flexion/extension with push thru bar
- Kneeling push thru + rotation
Push thru bar, bottom loaded – 1 green spring (5 min)
- Parallel footwork
- Calf raises
- Tower 2/spinal articulation
- Turned out footwork
- Turned out > parallel footwork
- Single leg parallel footwork R & L
- Side lying foot work, turned out
Roll bar – 2 yellow springs (2 min)
- Side bend
- Roll back
- Side mermaid
- Roll back + rotation
Roll bar – 2 yellow springs (kneeling) (2 min)
- Chest expansion
- Chest expansion + forward flexion/roll down
Long yellow springs with triangle loops (seated) (2 min)
- Row
- Row + rotation
- Mid traps
Push thru bar, bottom loaded – 1 blue spring (2 min)
- Quadruped hip extension
- Quadruped flexion/extension + rib circles
- Quadruped hip and knee extension + mini push up
Seated spinal movements to finish up (anything that feels good)
