Pilates is best known for its core-strengthening benefits, but it’s also an effective way to strengthen the whole body while also improving your posture and flexibility.
The controlled movements of Pilates are also great for ensuring you’re engaging the right muscles and will help improve awareness of your body, known as proprioception.
This 30-minute Pilates-inspired workout from fitness trainer Lindsey Bomgren, founder of Nourish Move Love, is perfect for those looking to use Pilates to strengthen the whole body; it also includes a cardio element to help increase your heart rate and boost metabolism.
You don’t need any kit to do the workout aside from one of the best yoga mats, and it’s suitable for all fitness levels, though you might need to increase the length of the rest periods between moves if you’re a beginner.
Watch Nourish Move Love’s 30-minute Pilates workout
There are four sections to the workout, with a warm-up and cool-down also included in the video. Bomgren does the whole session with you to demonstrate the exercises, while her fellow trainer, Rachel, shows modifications to each move that you might find easier if needed.
Along with classic Pilates mat exercises to work the deep core and glutes, there’s also a standing section for moves like squats and lunges, and a cardio section.
It’s a highly time-effective workout if you only have space to slip one or two sessions into your schedule. This would be a great option for building and maintaining strength and fitness without taking up too much of your day.
The deep core workout you do will help improve your posture and strengthen the areas you need to focus on to reduce your risk of lower back problems. If you spend many hours sitting each day, this workout will help address the stiffness and soreness that come with that.
It’s also a great workout to support your sporting endeavours. As a keen runner, this session would be ideal for me thanks to the focus on building core endurance while also strengthening the legs.
You can scale the workout to suit your fitness by using the modifications demonstrated by Rachel or by taking longer breaks. It is a long and fairly challenging session, so if you’d like to start with something shorter, then try this 20-minute wall Pilates workout instead.
If you’d like to put together your own core workout using Pilates moves, then these nine core exercises from the practice are worth using. Especially the Hundred, a move I "love" doing any time I train.
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