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If you’re ready to take your ab workout to the next level, then it might be time to take a break from your current core routine and test the limits with some Pilates-inspired core moves.
Pilates focuses on overall strength, flexibility, and mobility using a variety of equipment and techniques. For runners, the emphasis on core training that happens in a Pilates workout can help improve the three P’s: posture, performance, and power.
“Pilates-based moves are especially important because the controlled, and oftentimes slow movements, focus on the development of the supportive, smaller groups of muscles that are overlooked when the bigger muscles like the quadriceps and glutes are dominating the movements,” explains Club Pilates instructor and consultant for education Vanessa Huffman.
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Makes sense, right? After all, we’ve been told over and over again that these smaller, supportive muscles are the ones that help us kick it into gear when pushing up a hill or allow us to maintain our form.
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But how is it that these smaller core muscles can play such a huge role in overall performance? Well, says Huffman, your spine and core muscles function similarly to a tree’s trunk; and in a healthy tree, the trunk is completely rooted and stable while the limbs and branches constantly sway and grow.
“When your core is functioning similarly to a healthy tree trunk, the spine and the muscles that surround it (the core) create a stabilizing structure, and make it so the rest of the body can mobilize and function more efficiently,” she explains.
With that in mind, Huffman created a series of fivePilates-inspired core moves you can do individually or as a total workout—all you need is a mat and a Pilates ball. Each move will help target the supportive core muscles including the abdominals, obliques, back extensor muscles and shoulders.
How to do it: Complete each move for the recommended amount of reps. Beginners, go through the workout one time. Intermediate to advanced fitness levels can complete two rounds of the five moves. (If you have access to a Pilates Reformer, you can also give the crunch variations at the end of the video a try).
Toe Taps
Start on your back, legs in table top position with shins parallel to the ground. Place the ball behind your head with elbows open wide and hands holding on to either side of the Pilates ball. Maintain a stable upper half, and hinge at your waist one side at a time to attempt to tap one big toe down to the mat at a time. Tap your right toe to the mat, then left toe, then both feet together. Repeat this sequence 4 times.
If your back stays on the ground, you can add an upper-body lift. Lift your head, neck, chest, and shoulders while you repeat the alternating toe taps and double-foot toe taps.
Criss-Cross
Stay in the same place as you were with the Toe Taps, with the elbows bent and hand supporting the neck. Place the ball at the left thigh. Lift up the chest and cross the upper half of the body over, so the right elbow holds the ball against the left inner thigh while the right leg extends to a 45-degree angle. Stay up there and try to squeeze the ball between your elbow and leg as you slowly move it up and down the thigh in a small range of motion. Switch sides and repeat 4 times on each side.
Side Plank With Ball
Roll onto your side and place the ball under the shin of the lower bent knee, leaving your top leg either bent or straight. With your weight on your forearm, lift up the hips to the side, pushing the shin into the ball. Bend the knee of the lower leg in and out. Complete 4 to 5 reps on each side. If you want a deeper oblique challenge, add 3 to 4 upper body rotations. Repeat on the other side.
Teaser Prep With Back Extension
Place the ball at the small of the back, so it supports the back while seated with the knees bent. Extend the arms overhead and one leg to a 45-degree angle. Keep the back long and straight while you lean back and pull the abdominal muscles in so that you smash the ball. Come back to the starting position without using momentum. and without momentum come back to the starting position. Complete 4 to 6 reps on each side.
Teaser Hold
Maintain the same position as the Teaser Prep, except remove the ball, so now your back and abs have to support the move. Bring both legs to a 45-degree angle, with the arms extended above. Hold this for 4 to 5 deep, slow breaths. Repeat 4 to 5 times.
Sara Lindberg, B.S., M.Ed., is a freelance writer focusing on health and fitness. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Exercise Science and a Master's Degree in Counseling. Her work is published in LIVESTRONG, Runner’s World, Bicycling Magazine, Men’s Health, SheKnows, Healthline, Active.com, HealthyWay, Yahoo Health, Bodybuilding.com, and many more.
