Pilates at home: 10 exercises for beginners

What is Pilates and what are the advantages of doing it daily? We explain it to you.

We live in a sedentary society. Getting up, eating, going to work, going out to party ... are frequent and daily activities in the lives of people in our society. However, in general, most of the population is sedentary, most of the population spends most of its time sitting in a world full of competition and stress. in a world full of constant competition and stress.

For this reason, the practice of sport with a certain frequency is an indispensable element to maintain both physical and mental health. Within the world of sport we can find a great variety of disciplines, some of them implying a great economic expense at the time of maintaining them or an excessive consumption of time to combine with other responsibilities. However, there are alternatives that can be done without spending a lot of money or time. An example of this is Pilates.

What is Pilates?

Pilates is a method originally designed for physical rehabilitation, devised by Joseph Hubertus Pilateswith the aim of contributing to personal recovery through the union between body and mind. It is a physical exercise of anaerobic type in which a high control of breathing and a certain capacity of concentration is required to carry out the various movements. Regarding breathing, it is important that inhalation is done through the nose and while keeping the abdominal muscles in tension, in order to oxygenate and exercise the muscles properly.

Its benefits are multiple, including the reduction of stress at both psychological and physiological level, the increase of elasticity and strength in the muscles (especially lumbar and abdominal muscles), the correction of posture and the increase of self-esteem due to the improvement in dexterity, coordination, agility and strength that its practice entails.

In addition, Pilates is an activity that can be performed with very little materialIt is therefore very cheap to do it with some assiduity. On the other hand, it does not require great technical skills or unaffordable efforts, since it works with the parts of the body; this makes Pilates an excellent option for people of mature age or who are not used to exercise.

Easy Pilates exercises to do at home

Here are some easy Pilates exercises to do at home. we are going to show a series of simple exercises for those who want to get started in this discipline..

To perform them it is not necessary to have a large amount of material, being enough in most cases with a mat to comfortably perform the exercises, and can easily perform them from home. It is recommended to perform it in a quiet area (do not forget that it is an activity that aims to relax both body and mind) and ventilated.

1. Roll up

This exercise is very simple. It is based on sitting on the mat with your legs stretched out and trying to grab your feet with your hands, keeping the muscular tension for about fifteen minutes.The exercise is based on sitting on the mat with your legs stretched out and trying to grab your feet with your hands, keeping the Muscle tension for about fifteen seconds. Multiple repetitions of this exercise should be done.

This activity works the abdominals, shoulders and leg muscles.

2. Rolling back

On the mat, sit with your legs bent towards your thorax and your head resting on your knees.. In this position, the user has to rock backwards until the shoulder blades touch the floor, while inhaling, and then exhale while returning to the initial position. This is done continuously for three minutes.

3. Weights

This activity is performed from a seat and with the help of weights or substitutes (for example, two water bottles or Russian weights). Sitting with your feet on the floor at a certain distance from each other and with your back completely straight and the weights in your hands, the exercise is based on stretching the arms upwards while exhaling, and flexing them after exhaling.and flexing them behind the back of the neck while breathing in.

This exercise serves to work and strengthen the triceps, and helps to reduce the flaccidity of the inner arms.

4. The saw

Waist strengthening exercise. The individual sits with legs apart and arms and back straight. Then, while inhaling, turn the trunk to the left, making an effort to take the left foot with the right hand. Then perform the opposite action, turning the trunk to the right and taking the right foot with the left hand. Repeat continuously four to five times on each side.

5. Push-ups

One of the most common ways to work the upper body. Lie face down on the mat. Then lie face down on the mat, with your knees on the floor and your back and head straight, perform a push-up, trying to do it slowly and feeling the muscle tension. and feeling the muscular tension. Repeat the process at least ten times. If you have enough resistance you can do it with your legs stretched out.

6. Lumbar and abdominal toning

This activity, although simple, may require some effort.. On this occasion, the individual must lie face up on the mat. Then, with your arms stretched out as a support, proceed by lifting your legs at right angles. After a few seconds (we recommend ten), and with the legs straight, continue the movement until the feet are placed in front of the head, touching the floor. After several seconds in this position, return the legs to 90 degrees with respect to the body, that is to say in its previous position. Finally, the legs are lowered until they remain fully stretched. It is recommended to perform several repetitions, according to the resistance of each one.

7. Spine twist

This exercise is very simple. The user sits with legs together, arms stretched out. Then, while inhaling, the trunk is rotated three times to one side, reaching the maximum possible rotation. Once this point is reached, the user returns to the initial position while exhaling. Afterwards the same procedure is repeated up to three times in the same direction and then three times in the opposite direction.The same three repetitions are then performed in the opposite direction.

This is one of the best Pilates exercises to exercise the trunk muscles.

8. The Teaser (the V)

On the mat, the user lies on his back with his arms outstretched.. Then proceed to lift the legs, stretched, to half height (about 45 degrees, although the inclination will depend on the capacity and resistance of each one) to proceed also lifting the trunk and putting the arms parallel to the stretched legs. In this way the body forms a V shape, using a large number of muscles of the lumbar and abdominal area, in addition to the muscles of the legs and arms.

9. Triceps dips

This exercise is performed while standing, with your arms stretched upwards.. Proceed as in the case of the initial stretch to lower the arms to the floor. Then proceed to walk with your hands forward, being able to rest your knees on the floor. Then proceed to do a series of three push-ups (resting your knees on the floor). Finally, we proceed to return to the initial position, chaining the steps followed so far in reverse. Several repetitions can be done.

10. Leg Hug: Scissors

This activity is performed as follows: first of all, lying face up on the mat, start by stretching both legs and placing them on the mat. stretching both legs and placing them at a ninety-degree angle to the body.. Once this is done, we proceed to embrace one of the stretched legs while the other recovers the original position, resting on the floor completely stretched. After one to two seconds of holding this position, raise and embrace the other leg and lower the one that was previously in this position, alternating several repetitions (at least two sets of ten).

This exercise can be used to practice the elasticity of the muscles, and also strengthens the thighs.