Pilates For Building Core Strength

Exercise Ball Boosts Pilates Workouts

An exercise ball, also known as a fitness ball, Swiss ball, or stability ball, can be used to enhance many types of workouts, from resistance training to yoga to Pilates. Fitness balls are especially helpful in exercises to improve core strength.

Try this ab exercise ball variation on the Pilates pelvic curl mat exercise to develop core strength:

-Start with your legs propped up on a fitness ball, and your arms flat on the floor.

-Inhale and exhale.

-On your next exhalation, pull the belly button towards the spine and tilt the pelvis so the pubic bone is slightly higher than your hip bones.

-On an inhale, curl the tailbone towards the ceiling, gradually lifting the lower, middle, and upper spine.

-On an exhale, gradually roll the spine down to a neutral position, using your abdominal muscles to control the motion.

-Repeat 3-5 times.

Note: Keep your neck and shoulders relaxed during this exercise. Your abs should be doing the work.

Use A Ball To Ramp Up A Pilates Roll Over

A large fitness ball (55cm-75cm) is sometimes called a Pilates ball when it is used for Pilates exercises. Although Pilates moves are challenging on their own, adding an exercise ball increases the difficulty and helps increase core strength.

For example, the Pilates Roll Over is an intermediate exercise done on an exercise mat that engages the back, hamstrings, and abs. When you add a Pilates ball, the inner thigh muscles get involved, which helps keep the back centered.

Here’s how to add the ball to the roll over:

-Lie on your back with arms flat on the floor by your sides.

-Position the exercise ball between your shins, and extend your legs straight up.

-On an exhale, lower the legs slightly, and then raise them as you inhale.

-On an exhale, draw the legs down towards the body so they are parallel with the chest.

-Continue to roll onto the broadest part of your shoulders, then, on an inhale, flex your feet and extend the backs of your legs.

-Exhale and roll back to the starting position, with your legs at a 90-degree angle.

Maximize Your Pilates Moves With A Miniball

Some Pilates exercises involve a miniball. One with a texture that’s easy to grip, such as the FitBALL® Mini, is a good choice for Pilates ball exercises.

A Pilates miniball can be used as part of a core strength workout in an exercise that is a variation on the Hundred—a Pilates exercise to warm up the abdominal muscles.

To do an abdominal exercise with a miniball:

-Start with your knees bent and feet off the floor, and place the mini ball between your legs just above your knees.

-Keep your arms on the floor.

-On an exhale, straighten the legs and lower them close to the floor, squeezing the ball between your lower legs and contracting your abs to support your low back.

-Return to the starting position, repeat as desired.

For more Pilates ball exercises, check out the Pilates Mini Ball DVD by Leslee Bender.

Make Your Double Leg Lower Lift Deluxe: Add A Pilates Ball

You can add an inner thigh workout to several Pilates exercises by adding a Pilates miniball. A Pilates miniball can be any small fitness ball, usually 6-9 inches, such as the FitBALL® Mini. When you add a Pilates miniball to the double leg lower lift, you’ll be toning your legs and developing core strength.

-Start by lying on your back and extending your legs straight towards the ceiling, placing the Pilates miniball just above your knees.

-Place your hands behind your head and keep your elbows wide.

-On an exhale, pull your abs towards the floor as your curl your torso up.

-On an inhale, lower your legs towards the floor, keeping them straight and squeezing the ball between your thighs.

-Only lower your legs as far as you can before your back comes up off the floor.

-On an exhale, raise your legs up again, continuing to squeeze the ball, and lower your head to floor.

Chest Lift Challenge: Have A Ball

The chest lift is one of the core Pilates exercises. When done correctly, some trainers consider it more effective than abdominal crunches for increasing core strength.

Using a Pilates ball, or an exercise ball, instead of doing the chest lift on a mat adds an extra element of instability that makes the core muscles work harder.

Here’s how to do it:

-Start by sitting on the Pilates ball, or exercise ball, with your feet flat on the floor, then engage the abs and walk your legs out so the ball is just below your shoulder blades. Keep your spine in a neutral position—don’t arch your back.

-Place your hands behind your head so your fingertips touch, and keep your elbows wide.

-On an exhale, tuck your chin and start to curl your upper body away from the ball.

-Don’t try to come all the way up. You should feel this exercise in the upper ab muscles (just below the sternum).

-Hold for a few seconds, and then lower down, continuing to engage the abs to lower the torso in a smooth, controlled motion.

Pump Up Pilates Knee Folds On The Ball

Knee folds are a type of classic Pilates exercise usually done on a mat. But they can be part of a Pilates fitness plan that involves Pilates on the ball, too.

Knee folds are excellent Pilates exercises for core strength, whether you do them on a mat or on the ball, but using a ball promotes balance and stability, as well as core strength. This is a beginning Pilates exercise, but it takes concentration to do it correctly.

-Start by sitting up straight on an exercise ball, with your feet flat on the floor.

-Keep the abs pulled in and spine straight.

-Lift one foot about 6-8 inches off the floor. Keep the rest of the body as still as possible.

-Place the hands on the ball just behind the hips, or make this move more challenging by extending the arms out from the shoulders so they are parallel to the floor.

-Lower and repeat on the other side.

Get In The Loop: Try Pilates Exercises With Resistance Bands

Fitness professionals are always looking for ways to make core strength workouts different and interesting. If you have a fitness client who likes Pilates, try using some Pilates props for variety, such as resistance bands. The criss cross strengthens the hips and hamstrings, and if you concentrate on contracting the abs, it helps develop core strength, too.

-Start by lying on your back with your legs pointing up to the ceiling.

-Wrap the resistance band around the feet.

-Cross the bands in front of the legs and hold each side with the opposite hand.

-Open your legs out to the side as much as possible, squeezing the gluteal muscles.

-Keep your back and head flat on the floor.

Start with one set of 8-12 repetitions and increase up to 3 sets. When this gets too easy, make it more challenging by using a band with a higher level of resistance.

Kick Up Your Pilates Fitness

Not everyone has access to Pilates machines, but you can improve your Pilates fitness using Pilates accessories such as a resistance band.

The kickback exercise is among the core Pilates exercises, but it develops leg strength in addition to developing core strength. Caution: Be careful getting into position for this exercise—you don’t want the band to snap back on you.

-Start by looping the band around the ball of your left foot.

-Carefully hold the ends of the band in each hand and take a position on your hands and knees.

-Keeping the band looped around the ball of the foot, straighten the left leg out behind you, keeping the left foot flexed.

-Don’t rotate the left hip up or out, and remember to engage the abdominals to keep the back flat.

-On an inhale, bend the left, knee, and straighten it again on an exhale.

-Repeat as desired, and then switch to the other side.

Note: You can make this move easier or harder by varying the resistance level of the bands that you use.

Accessorize Your Core Training With Pilates Props

Although many Pilates exercises require nothing more than a mat, there are many Pilates accessories available than can enhance your core strength workouts. If you or your clients want some new exercises to improve core strength, try using some of these Pilates props in your routine:

-Pilates ball: A Pilates ball, also known as a fitness ball or exercise ball, is a large ball (55cm-75cm) that can be used to add a balance challenge to a Pilates exercise. Pilates ball exercises include the bridge, pike, and chest lift.

-Resistance band: Resistance bands can enhance certain Pilates exercises, such as kickbacks. The term “resistance band” for Pilates exercises is used interchangeably to refer to the large loops that look like wide rubber ribbons, or the tubing with handles on each end. Either type of band can be used for Pilates exercises.

-Pilates mini ball: A Pilates mini ball (approximately 9 cm in diameter) adds an inner thigh exercise to core Pilates exercises such as the Hundred or the double leg lower lift—try them with a mini ball between your thighs, just above the knees.

Core Strength Builder: The Pilates Plank

The Pilates plank pose is similar to the plank pose in yoga, both in technique and in its role as one of the best exercises to build core strength. The plank is also a building block on the way to a more challenging exercise, the Pilates push-up. One of the keys to correctly performing the Pilates plank is to engage your abs and core muscles. They should be doing the work—you shouldn’t feel excessive strain in your shoulders.

Here’s how to do this Pilates exercise:

-Start on your hands and knees. Walk the hands slightly in front of you, about a palm space, with your fingers pointed straight ahead.

-Make sure your shoulders are lined up with your wrists.

-Curl your toes under and raise your hips. Some weight should be on the balls of your feet, but you are also activating the hamstrings.

-Focus on keeping the body in a straight line.

-Breathe deeply and hold the pose for 3-5 breaths, then lower down to your knees.