Get your assets in order for summer with this fun 10 minute Pilates + Barre Workout, designed to create beautiful, lean, toned legs, abs and a firm, upright booty.
Best results are seen when practiced 2-3x per week, combining all 4 parts to this series:
1. Standing Barre (described here)
2. Core Series (plank)
3. Pilates Floor Barre Series
4. Standing Leg Series
We all have 10 minutes, 2-3x a week, don’t we? Put on your favorite new music, grab a chair, and get to it!
PART 1:
STANDING BARRE SERIES (with chair)
1 — Warm up:
Heels together, feet turned out: Rise up to half point and lower – 16x
2 — Plie’s in First Position:
Heels imprinted together on half point, bend the knees and straighten 16x. Repeat: bending the knees and adding 3 pulses before rising back to half point.
Tips: Watch for knee and ankle tracking – they should both be aligned over the toes. For knee issues, use a smaller range of motion. Keep the heels planted together!
3 — Plie’s in Second Position:
Widen your stance, feet turned out on half point, bend the knees and straighten 16x. Repeat: bending the knees and adding 3 pulses before rising back to half point.
4 — Hold Plie Squat:
Hold on half point in 2nd position for 60 seconds and try to balance!
5 — Down The Pole:
Heels together, feet turned out, on half point: move hips side to side, bending and straightening the knees (4 counts down, 4 counts up).
6 — Stretch:
Grab back of the chair and take a flat back stretch, to release the back and lengthen the hamstrings.
PART 2:
CORE SERIES (Plank)
1 — Knee In and Extend:
Take the knee in towards the chest with a curved spine exhaling, then extend leg behind you and inhale – 4 slow, each side.
2 — Turned Out Knee Ups:
Knee turned out (in Ballet “Passe”), lift the knee towards the head (as the head bends towards the knee) and back to the knee position, 8x each side.
3 — Knee In/Out:
Starting with knee turned out, rotate the knee in across the body and back to turned out, 8x each side.
4 — Knee In Singles:
Rotate the knee in across the body in singles, 16x.
5 — Downward Dog:
Tips: If you have weak wrists, you can use a towel under your head, use fists, or do the series on your elbows.
PART 3:
PILATES FLOOR BARRE SERIES
1 — Abdominal Knee Bend:
Legs at 45 degrees, head up, chin tucked to chest: bend the knee and straighten, toes pointed, 16x alternating.
Tip: Use one hand to hold up your head if you have neck issues.
2 — Leg Circles:
Starting with one leg pointed, reaching towards ceiling, inhale, and then exhale sweeping the leg around in a circle, trying to keep the hips and abs still. Reverse and then switch legs.
Tip: If you have trouble keeping your hips still, make your range of motion smaller.
3 — Single Leg Stretch:
Toes pointed, extend the left leg, bend the right leg parallel grabbing the knee with wide elbows, and switch legs, Alternate the breathing with inhale/inhale exhale/exhale – 16x.
4 — Double Leg Stretch:
Bend the knees and grab with both arms, curling up the head (in a ball). Extend the arms and legs out inhaling, and then fold back into a ball exhaling.
PART 4:
STANDING LEG SERIES with chair
Standing next to side of chair, elbow should be resting on the top of the chair, leg extended parallel to the side, arm behind head. Do one side of the whole series, and then switch sides.
1 — Little Circles:
Draw little circles in one direction, then reverse, 8x each side.
2 — Small Pulse Ups:
Small lifts up and down. 16x.
3 — Kick Front-to-Back:
Flexing the foot, swing the leg front, then point the foot and swing the leg back. 16x.
4 — Contract/Kick:
Foot at the knee, arm behind the head, turn the knee in towards the chair rounding the back, and then open the leg out into a swift kick! 16x.
Susan Tobiason teaches Pilates and a custom Suspension Pilates Barre program called “Informed Technique” at the Informed Body in San Francisco. She has been a professional dancer for many years, classically trained in ballet and contemporary dance as well as hip hop and braziian, and also currently teaches at ODC Dance Commons. To learn more about Susan, her techniques and where she teaches, visit:
www.informedbody.com
www.informedtechnique.com
www.odcdance.org/school.php
www.susantobiason.com
Photos courtesy of Amanda Kershaw Photography.
