Exercise of the Month - May - Swimming Prep with/without balls!

Start Position:

Place hands under shoulders and knees under hips, maintaining a neutral spine. Keep you head on top of your shoulders and feel width across the collar bone to soften the rib cage. You should also feel your abdominals muscles feeling slightly drawing towards the middle to support your body on movement.

Modification: use stability balls under your knees or hands or use toning balls under your hands to challenge your stability further.

Keeping the spine in neutral slowing draw the leg along the floor and lift no higher than hip height. You should feel your gluts (buttocks) engage to support the leg in the air. The body should maintain the same shape as the start position.

Modification: If lifting the leg brings you off balance you could just draw the foot along the ground as below. Feel like you are pressing a weight away from you to get the buttocks working.

Come back to the start position each time and alternate legs or arms.

To increase the challenge you can raise both arm and opposite leg and swap over.

Fresh from Toronto!

Wow! What a week - the weather here in the UK unbelievably scorching - Toronto was a different story - we had snow, sleet, hail, rain oooh and a little bit of sunshine and a whole 8 degrees! I had to buy an additional jacket as I was soooo cold...

On the good side though - we caught up with friends and family and I also visited the Stott Pilates Head Office where I did 3 private workshops; cardiotramp, jump board and the edge. All the workshops were great and they have given me additional ideas for my classes and clients - so beware!

The first workshops are in London in May. Check out ymcafit website for details. See you there.

My husband and I also had some photos taken by a professional photographer friend and these are fab... here's one for you at the top!

Volunteers!

Seriously guys I need volunteers to practice soft tissue and articulation techniques for exams in June. Anyone wanting additional treatments or even to top up after a pilates session - let me know xx

Side Bend with Fitness Circle

Lie on your side in neutral spine. This means keep slight activity on the waist below rather than allowing the waist to collapse on the floor. To ensure that the waist in neutral consider sending the top foot away lengthening both sides of the waist.

Draw the top hand along the leg and drag the underneath arm towards your shoulder to activate the shoulder stability muscles and latissimus dorsi to allow you to side bend. You should squeeze the inner thighs together and lift these simultaneously off the floor.

Modification: Use fitness circle between the ankles or around the ankles for adductor/abductor connection and additional lower body resistance.

Notes: Ensure that you lift up sideways as if between two sheets of glass. You will find that your buttocks and waist muscles will be working hard.

This exercise is good for people who need strength in the gluteus medius and oblique muscles.