Pilates is hailed as one of the best forms of exercise for sculpting a strong, stable core. Developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century, what was once a niche dancer’s workout is now used by celebrities to get in shape — and one of these celebs is Margot Robbie.
Robbie famously used strength training and reformer Pilates to get in shape for her role as Barbie. She trained with Pilates instructor and personal trainer, David Higgins, who has worked with stars including Scarlett Johansen and Ariana Grande.
Yet if you don’t have an expensive reformer Pilates membership, fear not. Pilates instructor Chissi Glow has come up with a ‘Barbie’ series of workouts you can do from home, using just a foam roller and a set of dumbbells. Check out the best adjustable dumbbells for working out at home here.
I’ve been practicing Pilates for 15 years. It’s helped me get to the start line of six marathons injury-free, as well as rebuild my core and pelvic floor muscles following the birth of my son two years ago. To find out more, I unrolled my exercise mat, grabbed a foam roller, and gave this workout a try. My abs still haven’t forgiven me.
What is the workout?
All you’ll need for this workout is a foam roller and a set of dumbbells. If you don’t have a foam roller, you can use a rolled up towel, or a Pilates ball if you own one. The goal is to create some instability — this makes the deep transverse abdominis muscles in your midsection work harder to stabilize your body as you move.
As with all Pilates workouts, the key here is to move slowly and with complete control. The slower you move, the harder your core is working.
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Here’s the exercises:
- Bicycles, 4 x 20 seconds : For this exercise, place the foma roller underneath your sit bones. Raise one leg, then the other into tabletop position, keeping a 90-degree bend in your knees. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and raise both towards the ceiling, with your arms straight. Engage your core, thinking about sucking your belly button into your spine, then circle your legs around, as if you were riding a bike, while keeping your upper body still.
- Wide leg toe taps, 4 x 8 reps: Keeping the dumbbells raised and your arms straight, take your knees hip-width apart, and keeping the bend in your legs, tap both toes down to the floor together, before slowly lifting them back to your starting position. If this is too hard, drop the weights or remove the foam roller.
- Alternating toe taps, 4 x 10 reps : Place your dumbbells down to the floor for this move. Keeping your lower back pressed into your foam roller, tap one toe, then the other to the floor.
- Flutter kicks, 3 x 20 seconds: Extend you legs to the ceiling, keeping your toes pointed. Flutter one leg, then the other, trying to keep your legs straight. To make this harder, lower your legs to a 45 degree angle.
- Saddle scissors, 3 x 10 reps: Keeping your core engaged, raise your legs to the ceiling, pointing your toes. Take both legs out to the side, then using your core, bring them back to your starting position.
What are the benefits?
Doing these exercises on a foam roller is one of the most effective and affordable ways to mimic the feel of a Pilates reformer at home. By lying on the foam roller, you’re adding a huge amount of instability to the exercises, meaning your deep transverse abdominis and pelvic floor muscles will be working harder to stabilize your body.
The foam roller also helps you move with better alignment. If you let your hips tilt during exercises like toe taps, the roller will instantly rock or wobble. This forces you to correct your aligment and stay centered, which in turn means you’ll be working both sides of the body equally.
Finally, with the added resistance of holding two dumbbells in this exercise, you’ll likely have to slow down and really think about moving with precision and control. If you rush the exercises, you’ll wobble, so this is a great workout for really helping you concentrate and move with good form.
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