For those without access to Reformer Pilates, replace the reformer bed with a foam roller and sculpt stronger core muscles from the comfort of your home. Now is the time to invest in one of the best foam rollers to support your workouts and exercise recovery, and jump straight into this fiery 10-move Pilates workout.
Demonstrated by Pilates instructor Misha Culver, the workout torches the core muscles and builds strength, balance, stability and control with a particular focus on your midsection.
“Craving Reformer Pilates at home but don’t have a machine? Get a similar burn using a foam roller!” she says. Here’s how.
Watch Misha Culver's 10-move Pilates ab workout
Culver helpfully demonstrates with a split video of Reformer Pilates versus foam roller, giving you versions of both exercises, allowing you to decide how to perform them. Although you can follow along, she doesn’t include sets, reps, or working times, so you can program however you like.
I tried each move myself and found it worked best as a 10-move circuit, performing each exercise for 45 seconds, then resting for 15 seconds and repeating for two rounds. You could also treat it like a traditional resistance ab workout and work for 8-12 reps and 3-5 sets instead.
It’s incredible what just an hour of Pilates can do for your body if you practice regularly and consistently. Pilates is known to sculpt foundational core muscles, strengthen muscles from head to toe, and improve posture, balance, core control and overall stability.
It’s incredibly useful alongside weight training as the practice can help iron out muscular imbalances and improve muscular coordination and movement mechanics.
However, using the foam roller is considered more advanced than using the reformer bed, although you can control how much resistance you want to use with the latter by adjusting the coil springs.
That said, the foam roller requires greater stability and abdominal control. I recommend wearing grip socks or going barefoot and using a wooden floor that provides little resistance for the foam roller to move against if you're trying this for the first time.
Benefits of foam roller ab workouts
As we plunge into the holiday season and embrace all the chaos it brings, I find consistency by adjusting my workouts to suit my schedule while visiting family.
I’ve found working with foam rollers really useful, and I tap into foam roller workouts alongside other creative outlets like staircase workouts and yoga block ab routines. I even steal my stepmom’s Pilates ring when craving a quick core-trembling 20 on my workout mat.
You can build muscle without lifting heavier weights and Pilates is a shining example. These types of exercises are deceiving, as you’ll focus on moving slowly, with a full range of motion and control, feeling each move in every muscle without any need to shunt heavy weights around the gym.
Using a simple combination of your bodyweight and compound exercises (think multi-muscle moves like push-ups), you’re essentially engaging in a form of calisthenics — functional training requiring a bucket load of ab engagement and a stable core.
I tried each move myself and found it worked best as a 10-move circuit, performing each exercise for 45 seconds, then resting for 15 seconds and repeating for two rounds.
Throughout each of the 10 foam roller exercises above, focus on activating your core properly to guide each movement. As with any Pilates routine worth its salt, breathwork is paramount. Because this video is layered with music, you may not know when to inhale and exhale or how to direct your breath.
Diaphragmatic breath means breathing toward your sides and stomach rather than the restrictive part of your chest. According to the Cleveland Clinic, this type of breathing can improve muscle function and aid relaxation during movement.
For this ab workout, try to exhale as your muscles meet with the most resistance. For example, as you draw your legs and the foam roller toward you.
