The Pilates technique has been around since the 1920sbut exercise is resurgent thanks to social media — Pilates has 5.3 billion views on TikTok.
While the exercise craze has literally existed for decades, I never tried it — until now.
I went to my first Pilates class at Spring in Tenafly, NJ, I opted for the more challenging class, Sculpt Pilates, which is “designed to work your core muscles, improving your posture, mobility, and toning your muscles” , according to The Spring.
“I try to encourage some cardio and balance challenges in class to spice things up,” says Pilates coach Noa Harari, who leads my class.
And, she’s not joking. This class doesn’t include the use of a standard reformed Pilates machine, but Pilates on the floor is still extremely challenging and I enjoyed it.
14 Pilates moves you can try at home
We start by warming up the joints and muscles, says Harari, which is important for improving performance and preventing injury. Right after that, we jumped right into the movements, and I definitely felt like burning in my core.
Here are 14 moves we did in class that you can add to your routine at home:
- Scroll down
- squat variation
- genuflect
- Side stones and circles
- Hip hinge variations
- the opposition quadrupled
- Plank variations (including side planks)
- cat cow
- roll up
- Stretch one leg
- Stretch your legs
- Straighten one leg
- leg lift
- saw
What I love most about Pilates is that if something is too difficult for me, my instructor always offers alternatives that help me achieve the same goal. As a beginner, it’s great to have affirmation and support.
I will definitely see another Pilates class in my future!
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