Warming up before Pilates is an essential step that you shouldn’t skip. It gets your blood flowing, your heart pumping, and the mind present and focused on what you are doing - Pilates! For this month’s exercise, we will be walking through a Reformer and Fitness Circle® Resistance Ring warm-up routine. Try it out and notice if you experience any improvements in your performance during your Pilates workout.
Moira Merrithew, Merrithew’s co-founder and Executive Director, Education, guides us through this session that is simple yet powerful- working several muscle groups. Do this routine on the Reformer for added resistance and challenge while preparing your body for the mind-body movement session to follow.
Start by keeping your back relaxed, and use resistance to go up while holding the Fitness Circle. As you come down from each repetition apply resistance while keeping your elbows bent so they don't lock into place. This is a great exercise for opening up the spine and working your inner arm muscles.
We progress by rotating the Fitness Circle while reaching up and down to work the shoulders. The key is not to move too far beyond what’s comfortable so it's important for people who have injuries or whose backs cannot handle intense movements to find an appropriate level that works best for them.
Rotate the shoulders to reach both hands up and down while rotating the Fitness Circle. Focus on reaching with slow and controlled movements using every inch of space around yourself.
Pro tip: Reach arms at 45 degrees and move only your shoulders, not the entire arm
Towards the end of this warm-up session, you will be working your oblique while using your abdominal muscles. Start by placing your feet on the Reformer bar. Make sure the toes are apart and heels together. Your knees should be wider than the shoulders, but ensure your back is not jammed on the Reformer. Using the Fitness Circle, you will be able to connect your upper body to the feet, making this a great full-body warm-up flow.
Need more reasons to try this workout?
The Fitness Circle Resistance Ring makes it possible to perform a variety of exercises that challenge coordination and muscular strength. These moves will improve your inner thighs, arms, shoulders, and core with controlled movements.
Did you know?
The Fitness Circle Pro is made of sprung steel with the ability to withstand continuous, high-intensity studio use.
With the Fitness Circle Pro, you can do more than just work your muscles—you're also improving balance and coordination. This portable piece helps maintain proper alignment while increasing proprioceptive awareness; adding resistance for upper body or lower body exercises to target problem areas that are hard to firm up like inner thighs, outer arms + legs (calves), and back.
A must-have in any Pilates instructor's arsenal, it allows for greater versatility when working with clients on various types of equipment such as Mats/Reformers, etc., which will help increase muscle tone and improve movement quality through increased stability.