Part II of a video series showing how to perform four additional intermediate Pilates exercises using an elastic exercise band, or Pilates Band. For Part I, see last Thursday’s video.
Before starting this six minute long video, don’t forget to grab your Pilates Mat or Exercise Mat and your Pilates Bands.
Pilates:
Pilates Intermediate: A Total Body Exercise Band Workout Part 2
The benefit of using a Resistance Band is that you can adjust the resistance level so easily. This allows you to quickly alter the resistance level from one exercise to another, or to increase the resistance over time as your strength improves. All with the same product! Although this video shows these exercises being done with Resistance Tubes, you could also use the elastic resistance bands, which are also called Pilates Bands.
Ready to increase the intensity of these exercises? Try substituting your stable four-legged chair with a Stability Ball to add a balance challenge to these same routines. You may wish to start with a wall or chair nearby as you learn to balance yourself when doing these exercises.
These video offers 22 minutes of workouts for your arms, core, and legs…all while in a sitting position.
Here’s an easy-to-follow video on how to incorporate the Pilates Band into four different Pilates exercises. What you’ll need before starting this six-minute long video: an Exercise Mat or Pilates Mat and a Pilates Band, which is an elastic exercise band.
Just a short 3-minute video on using Pilates Bands or hand weights in the Pilates 100’s and Spine Twists. This version of 100’s with the bands is different than last week – just to show you the variety of ways to use this great Pilates tool! This video shows three models performing the same exercise with slight modifications done by each.
This video teaches a variety of ways to do Pilates Roll Ups and 100’s with a Pilates Band. Great exercises for your abs and your arms. This video is just about 5 1/2 minutes long.
A brief video on toning your arms in Pilates. Being mindful of your movements and activating those muscles is a sure way to get results. Adding a Pilates Ring, Pilates Bands, or soft-weight toning balls will also help you achieve your desired results…and quick! These Pilates tools add weight and resistance to your routine and will help you to focus on engaging those muscles.
How to Tone Your Arms With Pilates — powered by http://www.livestrong.com
Some quick benefits of using Pilates equipment – such as the Pilates Ring or Pilates Bands in home use, or studio-style equipment.
How to Use Pilates Equipment — powered by http://www.livestrong.com
Pilates Bands are a very simple and affordable way to add some strength training into your floor exercises – including your Pilates mat routines.
Pilates Band Exercises
Pilates exercises can be enhanced through the use of elastic resistance. The bands can ether provide movement resistance, movement assistance or movement clarification. There are three types of Pilates bands. Therabands are wide, flat bands that usually come without handles. Tubes resemble jump ropes with handles on the ends, and ankle bands are circular and can be used for leg work.
Using Bands for Pilates Breathing
The breathing technique is one of the most challenging aspects of Pilates to master. Unlike yoga, which involves deep abdominal breathing, in Pilates, you do not inflate your belly during inhalation. The band can help you clarify this breathing movement. Wrap a Theraband around your waist, and tie the ends at your lower belly. Take a deep breath in, and allow your belly to expand. You will feel your abdomen press against the band. Then, take in another breath. This time, the breathing will not be as deep. Do not expand your belly. Practice the movement until you no longer feel your abdomen press against the band as you inhale.
The Hundred Exercise
The Pilates Hundred exercise was originally designed to teach the student the connection between the abdominal muscles and the latissimus dorsi, which run down the sides of your back. In an ideal postural alignment, the abdominal muscles are pulled upward and inward, while the shoulders are down and relaxed. Often, if the lats are not properly engaged, the shoulders will hike upward. When The Hundred is performed on the Pilates reformer, the use of the latissmus dorsi is obvious. You grab the overhead cables, and pull them down by your sides as you pump your arms.
As a floor exercise, the arm pumping movement in The Hundred is far less obvious. This is where the bands come in handy. Place the band under your arms. Grasp each end, and pull them down until your hands are along side of your waist. If you are engaging your lats, the band will be taut, and there will be no slack. Lift your head and shoulders from the mat. Depending upon your core strength, your feet will either be flat on the floor or your legs will be elevated with your knees either bent or straight. Lift your head and shoulders from the mat, and turn your palms downwards. Begin pumping your arms. Breathe in for five counts and out for five counts. Repeat for ten cycles.
Bicycle Movement
The band can provide resistance for the Pilates bicycle movement. If you require neck support, you should only use the bands on your lower body. If you are strong enough to perform the exercises without supporting your neck, you can add upper body resistance. Wrap a Theraband around your feet, and hold one end in each hand. The leg movement will be the same, no matter which way you are using the band. Lift your legs from the floor. As you bend one leg, extend the other. Rotate your upper body in the direction of the bent leg. If you are working with the band only on your feet, clasp your hands behind your head, and rotate your torso. You will feel added resistance in your butt and thighs. If you are also using the band for your upper body, grab each end. As you bend your knee, bend the corresponding elbow and pull it back behind you. You should feel some added resistance in your upper back and biceps.
When purchasing a stability exercise ball, remember that they come in different sizes. Sizing charts are on every page where we sell these exercise balls. You’ll find several different kinds in our store: stability balls, burst-resistant exercise balls, and balls manufactured with an eco-friendly vinyl. To size yourself at the gym, sit on the ball – you’d like your knees to be bent at a 90-degree angle with your quads parallel to the floor.
These exercises can be performed with exercise/Pilates bands or resistance tubes. A great way to get a core and upper body workout:
Using an Exercise Ball With an Exercise Band
Overview
An exercise ball and exercise band are two of the best tools for strength training. They work best for building lean muscle, core strength and improving balance. However, someone working out will need to sit on the ball and keep the hands free to hold the ends of the exercise band, which limits options. Although an exercise ball and band can be used independently to train all the major muscle groups, they are best used together to do upper body exercises.
Step 1
Wrap the looped end of a band around a pole or stationary object. Sit on an exercise ball facing away from the object. Raise the arms to shoulder height with the elbows bent. Hold an end of the band in each hand with the palms facing down and the arms parallel to the floor.
Step 2
Pull the shoulder blades together. Roll the ball forward or backward by walking the feet until you get to a distance where you feel a mild tension in the exercise band.
Step 3
Squeeze the abs and check that your feet are flat on the floor and pointing straight ahead. Breathe out and press the arms straight forward and together so that the hands touch. This is a chest press. You should feel the effort in the pecs and triceps.
Step 4
Inhale and bend the elbows as you bring your arms back to the starting position. Do as many reps as you can until you reach muscle fatigue. Use a lighter cable if you cannot do at least 10 reps.
Step 5
Turn around on the ball and extend the arms forward with the palms facing inwards at sternum height. Adjust the distance of the ball until you feel mild tension in the band. Check that the feet are pointing forward, the abs are squeezed, and the back is straight.
Step 6
Exhale and bend the arms as you pull your arms and shoulders back in a rowing motion. Contract the muscles of the back. This is where you should feel the effort of the row, though your bicep muscles will get some work too. Keep practicing if you do not feel it right away.
Step 7
Inhale and straighten the arms forward again. Do as many reps as you can until you become tired.
Step 8
Raise the arms to shoulder height with the palms together and facing the floor. Keep the arms straight and pull them out to the sides all the way back to the shoulders. Use a lighter weight cable if you cannot pull the cable all the way back to the sides. Exhale as you pull the arms back and the shoulder blades together. You should feel this in your rear shoulders, called your deltoids, and the upper back.
Step 9
Bring the arms forward again and inhale. Do as many reps of this rear deltoid exercise as you can before you reach fatigue. Do not bend the elbows, raise the shoulders toward the ears, or stick the head forward.
Tips and Warnings
- The exercise band and ball are not the best for strong people hoping to build larger muscles because the smaller stabilizer and core muscles needed to use a ball and bands together cannot handle heavy weight loads. Exercise bands often come in three different “weights.” Buy a set of three and switch them out so that you can do three sets of 10 to 20 reps with good form and to reach fatigue by your last repetition on each set.
- Balancing on the ball while pulling a band can be difficult to do if the core is not strong. Have a friend kneel behind you and hold the ball until you are confident in your ability to maintain your balance.
The following four exercises focus on the abdominal muscles while doing Pilates exercises with a Pilates Band. Pilates bands are also known as resistance bands or exercise bands and can be used in other stretching and fitness exercises as well.
We also carry a Video DVD called the Pilates Body Band Challenge. A Pilates band is included with that DVD. It’s a great way to get started!
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