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Tag: Bridge

The February Five Exercises

About the Five:

Each month I offer five exercises to improve your strength, balance, flexibility, and mobility. My hope is that you will go through these on your own or with me three times a week.

Some moves (like this month’s bridge) you could do every day.

If you do The Five each month, over the course of the year you will have taken yourself through a well rounded strength program that includes upper body, lower body, back, core, standing balance, mobility and flexibility.

The February Five:

  • Bridge
  • Cobra
  • Side-Lying Leg Lift
  • Saw
  • Teaser

Please use your best judgment as to how suitable these are for you right now.

back entension, hip extension, yoga back strength exercise, hamstring strength, hip strength, low back support

back strength, spine mobility, core strength, yoga floor exercises
Cobra

hip and leg strength, core work, stabilization
Side-Lying Leg Lift

Pilates core strength, spine mobility, shoulder rotation, hamstring flexibility
Saw

Pilates core strength, spine mobility, shoulder mobility
Teaser

These photos are meant to remind you of work we have done together. Please see your medical professional prior to beginning a new exercise program. 

If you’d like more detailed information on these exercises, click one of the links below:

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Schedule a 1:1 with Anne

Do guys need to do "core strengthening" exercises?

According to this Wall Street Journal article, by Kevin Helliker yes they do.  Core strength is the new buzzword in exercise circles.  Everyone from elite athletes to weekend warriors are finding their inner strength (pun intended).

To quote Helliker:

After years of conquering the treadmill and bench press, I am now striking poses and performing movements that I had always considered “girly,” and the difficulty of it is humbling.

While he doesn’t specifically use the word Pilates, the three exercises illustrated in the article, glute bridge, pillar bridge and plank, look very similar to Pilates moves I do with my clients.

According to the author: “After three months of two core-training sessions a week, my body-fat percentage is down five points. My cruising speed on the treadmill has risen a full mile per hour, even though my weekly mileage plummeted to make time for the core exercises.”

Want to improve your running time?  Try adding some core strengthening exercises to your program.

Here are three simple and effective core strengtheners.  Shoot for one minute of each of these:

Plank hold:  Make a straight line from your shoulder to your knee.  Pull your belly button in and relax your neck.

Crunches: Rest your hands behind your head and slowly curl head and shoulders off the ground.  This is about half as much effort as a traditional sit up.  Think of flattening your abdominals and breathing.

Pilates Bridge:  Press into your heels to lift your hips towards the ceiling without gripping with your glutes.  Imagine your spine getting longer and your neck relaxing.

Try these moves two to three times a week for the next month and see if you notice a difference in your strength workouts.