Sunday 23 October 2011

Pilates classes in Clapham/Pilates classes in Balham - Daily routine for clients

Hi Everyone,

Here is a daily routine for you to follow to do as well as the classes as doing the sessions once a week is great.  However, making the exercises your daily routine will make a huge difference to your body and also how you feel in your mind.  The list of exercises are for non pregnancy below.  The pregnancy Pilates exercises will be posted tomorrow for pregnancy pilates clients coming to pregnancy pilates classes in Clapham and also pregnancy pilates classes in Battersea.

Pilates Exercises




8 Principles of Pilates



Alignment – You will build an awareness of the correct alignment of your spine and also the joints in your body. Your posture will improve.



Breathing – In Pilates we use thoracic breathing to help maintain our core stability and to massage our internal organs. Generally we breath in to lengthen the spine and breath out to stabilise. For beginner exercises we always breath in to prepare, breath out as we scoop and hollow our tummy muscles and pelvic floor and then move. Use this method throughout.



Concentration – Focusing on what you are aiming to achieve and feeling the connections in your body.



Relaxation – Relaxing the body and mind to help with wellness and the release of tension.



Co-ordination – Progressing the moves so that you develop your co –ordination and improve the body mind connection.



Flowing movement – Developing the correct movement patterns in the body to progress to flowing movement of one exercise into another.



Stamina and strength – With the constant movement of progressively harder exercises you will build up cardiovascular stamina as well as stamina in your muscles. Strengthening weak muscles using Pilates as a methodology. Your inner core muscles will be strengthened to help your outer muscles do their job properly and not have to overwork.



Flexibility – Lengthening tight muscles will help prevent compensations in the body and also allow the correct alignment of the spine so that muscles are not potentially held constantly taught and can work more effectively.



Neutral Pelvis and Spine – Keeping the natural curves in the spine.



Find your neutral when you are laying on your back with your knees bent. The back of your head, back of your ribcage and tailbone is heavy into the floor. Make a diamond shape between your two hip bones (asis) and your pubic bone. This should be parallel to the floor.



Pilates Exercises



All exercises are done laying on your back with your feet on the floor unless otherwise stated. Aim to do these exercises everyday.



Rib Cage Closure – Aim – To keep the front of the ribcage down as you stretch your arms over your head and maintain neutral pelvis and spine.



Breath in to prepare lifting your arms and breath out as you allow gravity to take your arms up and over past your head towards the floor behind you. Keep the front of the ribcage down and make sure the ribs do not flare. Using your thoracic breathing to knit the ribs together at the front and soften the breast bone down. 8-10 reps



Curl ups - Aim - works the deep abdominals and pelvic floor; whilst mobilising your upper back.





Start position - Laying on your back. With knees bent and feet on the floor. Hands interlocked behind your head with the elbows in the periphery of your vision. Pelvis and spine in neutral.



Breath in to prepare, Breath out as you draw in your pelvic floor and scoop and hollow your tummy muscles. Chin tuck as you slightly nod your head and curl up and over the breast bone so that you end up looking down at your belly button. (N.B the head is heavy in the hands and breath in to the sides of the ribs and back. Keep the back of the ribcage on the floor to prevent the ribs from flaring at the front)

Breath in to hold at the top and breath out to lower. 8-10 reps each side





Oblique Curl Ups – Aim – Works the sides of your waist and deep waist muscles, whilst improving your rotational movement.



As above, curl up to the centre but rotate from the breast bone bringing one shoulder blade off the floor as you rotate your ribcage away in opposition from your pelvis. Hold in this position as you breath in and breath out to come back to the center and lower back down to the start position. Alternate sides.8-10 reps each side



Spine Curls – Aim to mobilise your spine whilst working from a strong center and works deep into the back of the legs and the bottom muscles (glutes).



Breath in to prepare, scoop and hollow and draw up the pelvic floor. Breath out to move. Tilt the pelvis and imprint the lower back into the floor; wheeling the pelvis, continue to lift your spine, bone by bone until you just have the lower border of your shoulder blades on the floor. The front of the ribcage is flat and you have length through your waist from your breastbone down to the pubic bone at the front.

Breath in here and breath out to lower down, bone by bone, from the upper back first, then the lower then the pelvis and tailbone last, increasing your segmental movement of the spine. 8-10 reps



Hip Rolls Aim – Mobilise the lower back whilst working from a strong centre and strengthening the waist muscles.



Start position- Laying on your back, knees bent with your feet on the floor and arms at shoulder height, reaching out to the sides.





Breath in to prepare, breath out as you scoop and hollow your tummy muscles and rotate your knees and pelvis over to one side keeping your shoulder blades grounded on the floor. Keep the ribs closed at the front by softening the breast bone down and keeping the front of the ribcage down. Allow the legs to be heavy and tailbone heavy. Breath in to prepare, scoop and hollow and breath out to bring the back of the ribcage, the lower ribs, lower back, pelvis and then knees back to start position. Alternate sides. 8-10 reps



Knee folds – Aim – Working from a strong center to stabilise the muscles surrounding your pelvis and working your pelvic floor muscles. Making sure you maintain neutral pelvis and spine as you knee fold. 8-10reps.



Breath in to prepare. Breath out to stabilise (scoop and hollow tummy muscles and pelvic floor) then knee fold one knee up peeling the heel and then the toe of the floor bringing your leg at a right angle over your hip joint. Then repeat with the other leg into a double knee fold. Make sure there is no shift in the lower back and that the tummy muscles do not bulge as you knee fold the other knee in. If they do stick to alternating the single knee folds.



100 – Aim – Works deep into the abdominals as you stabilise your pelvis, increase your circulation by beating the arms working from the back of the shoulder blades whilst being stabilised here too.



Double knee fold with the correct breathing! Curl up as you place your arms by your sides. Breath in for five as you beat the arms and breath out for five keeping the arms beating. N.B the arms should be straight working from the back of the shoulder blade and keep the front of the ribcage down. Do this working up to 100 beats of the arms. Then stop beating the arms and curl back down and unfold the knees with stability and stretch out your whole body to release.



Single leg stretch – Aim to stretch out the back of the leg and work from a strong center. Also working into the deep neck flexors to help improve posture.

Double knee fold with stability. Curl up as you lengthen one leg away and hug the other knee in towards the chest maintaining length through the waist and keeping the tail bone heavy. As you hug the knee in reach to the outside ankle with the outside hand and placing the other hand on the inside of the knee. Alternate this movement with arms and legs working on your co –ordination and improving stamina and strength. Do 16 repetitions and then come out of the knee fold with stability and uncurl. N.B look down the whole time at the belly button, keep the shin parallel to the floor as you hug the knee in. Bring the elbows out to the sides to stretch the chest.



Window Arms Aim – Mobilise your shoulders and opens out the chest whilst stretching the upper back. Start position on your back, your knees are bent with your feet on the floor and your arms in the air level with your chest. Palms are facing away from you.



Breath in to prepare, breath out as you bend your elbows at right angles to the side of you, level with your shoulders. Breath in to rotate the arms back from the top of the shoulder maintaining the right angle. Breath out rib cage closure as you send your arms over your head behind you. Breath in to return your arms back to start position. Continuous movement. Repeat 8-10 times.



Diamond Press – Aim Strengthens your deep stabilising muscles of the shoulder blades. This improves posture and aids upper back strength, reducing back pain and tension around the upper shoulders.



Lay on your tummy with your feet in parallel and scoop and hollow tummy muscles in. Breath in to prepare and breath out as you lift your head(keeping length in the back of your neck) and lengthen your elbows out to the sides keeping them on the floor. Hold. Breath in to prepare and pelvic floor draws in and breath out to release and move back to start position. N.B you should feel this between the shoulder blades and it is subtle! If you feel it in the lower back you have either lifted too high or you need to tuck your pubic bone into the floor to lengthen out the lower back. Repeat 8-10 times

Side lying leg series – Aim. To strengthen your stabilising muscles in the pelvis. Tone your legs and bottom.



Chalk Circles – Aim – Working on stretching out chest muscles. Improving posture. Mobilising upper back shoulders and ribcage and reducing tension in lower back.



Start position – side lying with knees bent at right angle and arms in front of your body in line with your chest.



Breath in as you raise your top arm up towards your head and breath out to rotate your head, neck and ribcage as you circle your arm around your body, past your hips back to start position. NB keep your hips stacked and facing forwards. Only upper body moves.



Side lying leg series – Aim. To strengthen your stabilising muscles around the pelvis and hips. Tone your legs and bottom.



Start Position. Laying on your side with your knees bent at right angles and the top leg straightened in line with the rest of the body.



Leg forwards and back – 8 reps. Breath in as you lengthen and bring your leg forwards (make sure your upper body and lower back does not move) Breath out to take the leg back. Everyone’s range is different. keep the range small and focus on stability rather than how far the leg can go. Working on control.



Leg Lift and Lower – 8 reps. Your top leg is straight in line with the rest of the body and bottom leg bent. Raise your leg up in the air a few inches and lower back so that it is in line with your hip (not below)



Leg Circles – 8 cycles. Start position as above. Circle your top leg clockwise 5xs and then anti clockwise for 8xs. Imagine you are circling your leg around a tennis ball. Work from the hip.



Oyster – 16xs. Start position side lying with your knees bent at 60 degrees and your feet, hips and shoulders in a straight line. Imagine you have a wall in front of you. Lift your top knee so that it raises up against your imaginery wall. Keep your hips stacked and shoulders. Squeeze the soles of your feet together at the top of the movement and slightly squeeze your bottom muscles. Then bring the knee back to start position. You should feel this under the crease of the buttock on that side. Look at your alignment if you do not feel this.







Side Reach Standing.



Breath in as you float one arm up to the ear and then reach over to the side. Breath out to return. You are aiming to keep the spine in alignment as you reach over and making sure the ribs do not flare at the front as you reach over. Think of more height as opposed to how far over you can go. Lift and lengthen in the waist! 8-10 reps



Waist twist Aim – To increase your rotation in your upper back and works your waist.



Start position – standing with your arms in front of your chest one forearm on top of the other. Stand tall through your spine.



Breath in to prepare and breath out to rotate initiated with your eyes your head, neck and then thorax. Breath in to prepare and breath out as you reverse the movement back to start position. Repeat 8-10 times each side. N.B Keep your hips facing forwards and make sure your arms stay in front of your chest.



Any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.  rosa@pilatespluswellness.com http://www.pilatespluswellness.com/



Rosa x



Disclaimer : By excepting this routine you are taking full responsibility for your health in doing these exercises unsupervised and PilatesPlusWellness Rosa Whitehead, is not responsible for any injury occurred when doing these exercises. These exercises are for clients already attending sessions/classes and familiar with the exercises already. If anyone wants a 1:1 session to help them further or wants to book into a class please contact me.

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