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Yay, Day 2 of our Challenge is all about building a stronger core.
Join me for this fast paced Pilates core workout. Your core will be burning but of course your entire body will get an excellent workout.
This is a 15 minute at home workout to strengthen, lengthen and tone your core.
Plank, twist and curl the Pilates way. Let Donna guide you through this effective quick routine.
The best part? You don’t need any equipment and you can do this workout anywhere!
Whether you are doing this as a short effective class or as part of the ‘8-Day Challenge’ remember to breathe, relax and enjoy.
Please let me know how you get on, in the comments below!
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So here we are day two already and day two we're going to be focusing for the next 15 minutes on
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your core, on your abdominal muscles strengthening them. So come and join me, no equipment required
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just a mat, your fabulous self and we're going to lie down. Okay so you position yourself lying down
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on the mat, you want your head to feel heavy, feel that connection rib cage on the mat and your tail
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bone. I've got the soles of my feet down on the mats, knees are hip distance. Okay, so lightly
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start to connect with your abdominal muscles, drawing navel in towards your spine, pulling
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those shoulders down nice and relaxed. Okay, we're going to take an inhale and as we do, we're going
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to sweep those arms up overhead. So keeping the rib cage soft, try not to let the ribs flare here
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spine stays in neutral. You breathe out, bring those arms back down. And again, breathing out
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sweep the arms up and over. But this time, we're going to curl up. As those arms come up and over
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we're going to reach down towards the bottom of the mat. We're going to pull those shoulders down
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away from our ears. We're going to lift one leg, lift the other leg. We're going to hold here and
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And then we're going to, sorry, knees our hip distance. Then we're going to sweep those arms up again
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taking them overhead and then sweeping forward. Now, as I'm mobilizing here through my shoulder joint
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I'm focusing on keeping that curve in the spine, keeping those shoulders lifted
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So your range of movement here, if you know as you start to take those arms further back
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that you start to roll down, just reduce how far you take them
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So control the movement, breathing in breathing out and I can really start to feel that connection here in my transverse
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abdominis those very deep core muscles that can be tricky to target but we're going to do our best
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to do that today breathing in breathing out and you've just got one more to go well done
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breathe in breathe out okay you're going to bring those feet down onto the mat and you're going to
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curl down. You're going to sweep those arms overhead, take an inhale, we're going to curl up
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again. We're going to hold here, you're going to lift one knee, lift the other knee. Now return that
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first foot, press down into that mat, press down with the other foot and then we're curling all the
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way down and again you're breathing out. Make sure those shoulders aren't lifting, let's lift the
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other leg first, then the right leg. Press down with that left foot and the right foot and we're
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going to roll down. So you know what we're doing, we're going to do this two more times. We curl up
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and we breathe out, we reach down to the bottom of the mat, we draw our navel in towards our spine
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we lift that right foot, we lift the left foot, we hold here, we return the feet onto the mat
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and we're going to curl down. Well done. And one more time curling up. So sometimes those slow
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or not sometimes, all the time, those slow controlled movements can actually be the most
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effective in terms of that connection. So this time as we curl up, we're going to take those
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legs to double knee fold. We're going to straighten those legs. Now reach down, lift those shoulders
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well done. Well I say lift the shoulders we're curling up as opposed to lifting the shoulders
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here we're pulling the fingertips down towards the bottom of the mat, turn out slightly in your
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hip joint we're going to lower the leg down and then breathe out, breathe in and breathe out. Now
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if this feels too much for you and you know that as you lower the leg you're starting to arch in
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your lower back you're going to have your legs in this position you're going to straighten one leg
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draw that knee back, straighten the other leg and again you don't need to take the leg so low
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you can be here, you can extend those legs to like a 45 degree angle so you go with the option
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that feels right for you, well done and one more on each side, keep going, lower that leg and lift
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and lower and lift and then draw those knees all the way in well done Okay bring those feet down onto the mat You going to take your hands behind your head Okay we going to have those elbows out wide
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but you're going to have them in your peripheral vision. We're going to lift our head again
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So now our head is supported. I'm resting my head in my hands, elbows nice and wide
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Okay, I'm going to lift those feet up one at a time, coming to my double knee fold
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I'm going to lower one foot, tap the floor twice, we turn that foot opposite side. So these are our toe taps. As I lower the foot, I'm just checking
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that I'm not arching here or changing the position of my pelvis. Well done. Breathe in
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breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. How are you doing? Breathe in, breathe out. So make sure that
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your head is feeling nice and supported. Well done. And breathe in. And again. And one more
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And hug those knees into your chest. Pull those shoulders down away from your ears. Okay. Feet
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down on the mat. Very quickly. Check you've got neutral pelvis. Arms, sorry, fingers interlaced
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arms, elbows out wide, get ready to curl up again. We curl up, now as you curl up just check that you
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haven't tucked here, you want your pelvis to stay in neutral. We're going to lift those knees and
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we're going to go to single leg stretch, extend and bend, extend and bend. So you are choosing
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how low you take that leg, you can take that leg up to a 45 degree angle, you can lower the leg down
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and hover it off the mat. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Well done. You have got
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two more to go on each side. As you progress through these, you will definitely build strength
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and build control. Well done. Hugging those knees all the way in again. Feet down on the mat. Last
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time for now taking those hands behind your head. So rather than curl up through the center line of
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your body you're going to rotate to the side so this is our oblique curl up so think rather than
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elbow you are lifting and rotating that shoulder across rotate back to center rotate on the opposite
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side now as I'm lifting and rotating I'm trying to avoid rotating or tilting my pelvis. I'm
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breathing out, breathing in, breathing out and breathing in. Well done. Now as you lift and
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rotate left shoulder, you can extend that left leg. Draw that knee back, return the foot
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opposite side, lengthen as you rotate. Well done. Breathe out, breathe in, breathe out
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I can definitely feel my core firing up. I know I won't be on my own, I know you'll be feeling
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this at home. Well done, just keep telling yourself it's 15 minutes. 15 minutes is all you need every
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day to make a difference. Well done and breathe out, breathe in, you've got one more to go
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rotate, lengthen the leg, return to centre here, well done. Okay you're going to roll over onto your
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side, you're going to bring your elbow directly underneath your shoulder, forearm down on the mat
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so both legs are straight, you're going to bend that bottom knee, so I'm lining my legs up
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with my spine, press into this forearm, into this elbow and then lift the hips up here
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So you're lifting the hip up, you're going to feel this on the side of your waist on your obliques
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Okay, we're going to take that arm up, reach up towards the ceiling. So we're now going to rotate head, shoulder, spine, thread the arm through here, and then open out your chest
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So this is option one, with the knee down on the mat
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Well done. Option two is to extend that bottom leg. and then again same movement with threading through opening out well done we thread through
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rotate and then we open out here well done you got four to go so focus on spine Rotate the spine the shoulders Well done You got two to go Remember you can bring that knee down Rotate and reach Yay well done
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You have one more to go. Fantastic. So bring that hip down and then roll with me onto your tummy
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So you're going to have your forearms down on the mat here. Okay, you're going to push yourself back, draw those knees in so that you are on your knees, you're on your forearms
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Okay, we're going to lift those feet up and we're going to hover those knees
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So I'm drawing my navel in towards my spine. I'm going to extend my left leg, extend my right leg and hold and hover here
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Pull those shoulders down and back. Find that alignment trying to avoid your bottom sticking up in the air
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you're going to draw one knee forward and the other and hover and three and two and one walk
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the legs back now when you bring the knees in next time you can always bring them down onto the mat
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have a moment's rest then lift those knees and step back to your forearm plank so as you come in
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here rather than hold bring those knees down have a little rest if you need to then lift those knees
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and then walk those feet back and hold for three and two and one. This is the last time
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So we are either hovering the knees or you're bringing them down onto the mat. Well done
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we're going to step back. We're going to hold for three and two and one. Bring those knees down
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You're going to walk yourself back so you're coming into your rest position here. Brilliant
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Well done. Now I'm going to change sides just so that you can see me better. You'll find us to roll
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onto the other side. You're coming back down onto your side. So you have got your elbow underneath
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your shoulder, forearms down on the mat. We're going to extend those legs, lining your legs up
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with your spine. We're bending that bottom knee. So think about lifting this hip up. Now as you lift
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up here, make sure you've got those joints stacked. Move that elbow in or out if you need to to get
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the right position, we're going to reach up towards the ceiling. Are you ready? We're going
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to go back to threading that arm through. So you breathe in and then breathe out, open out your
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chest here, well done. Breathing in, breathing out, well done and you've got six to go. So we can
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continue with the knee down on the mat here, I should have tied my hair up okay or we can
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straighten that bottom leg, keep on going, well done. Brilliant, okay you've got four to go so
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this is really challenging, you're going to feel this through your shoulder, you're going to feel
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this on your core, well done, really focus on using your breath and three more, well done
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bring that knee down if you're getting tired or keep that knee down all the way through. If you
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you don't manage all eight reps, don't worry, you can do them again later. Well done. Bring that hip
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down onto the mat. Give your shoulders a little shrug. Well done. So we're going to come and lie
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back down on the mat. So slowly, slowly bringing yourself down. Well done. So I am going to, once
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I've got myself centered and I found my neutral hands, arms down on the mat, I'm going to lift
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those knees. So I'm going to walk my hands in so that my hands are coming underneath my tailbone
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here, shoulders down and back. So I've got a little bend in my knee. I'm going to take an inhale and
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I'm going to focus on lifting my tailbone. I lift and lower, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out
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breathe in. Well done. Little lift. So it could be a tiny move here for you. So it might be that
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you're getting that tailbone a little bit higher, breathing out. Well done, you've got four, you've got three, you've got two
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Well done and one more. Well done. You going to draw those knees in and give yourself a very very well hug Relax those shoulders Okay well done So we going to take the holder behind your thighs and extend your legs here
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So we're going to start to curl up. So I'm lifting my head, lifting my chest, walking my hands up the legs
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Now I've let go of my right leg. I'm holding on to the left leg
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Draw that leg towards you as you slowly lower the right leg down
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hold here gently pulse pulse pulse sweep that leg up switching hands lower the other leg down
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draw the right leg towards you and pulse for two we're going to switch the leg comes up the other
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leg comes down and pulse pull pull so it's a really gorgeous move because you get a nice stretch
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through the hamstring through the back of the leg however if you are really tight in your hamstrings
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it's really difficult to get your legs straight so it's absolutely fine to hold
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behind the knee here, gently pull towards you here and then switch gently pull
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towards you as you extend the opposite leg. So go with the option that feels
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right for you otherwise we're here we gently pull and lengthen and switch and
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and switch. Well done. So we add a little bit more pace now switching those legs
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and one more on each side and hug those knees all the way in. Well done, fantastic effort so bring those feet down
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So we've got one more fabulous exercise to finish with, we're going to go with our double
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leg stretch. Brilliant for targeting those abdominal muscles, building strength and control
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Okay, lift those knees, heels together, knees hip distance, neutral pelvis, hands along the side
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of your calves. We're going to lift the head and lift the chest, pull those shoulders down
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We're going to start with the arms. We're going to layer in challenge as we go through this
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You're going to stick with the variation that works for you. So this is option one
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so you're breathing in and out and in and out you can lay it in extending those legs and draw
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those knees in breathe in breathe out as you lengthen the legs you draw the inner thighs
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together you turn those heels out well done breathing in breathing out well done we have got
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three to go and two and one and hug those knees all the way in. Bring your feet down onto the mat
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take those arms out wide, turn your palms to the ceiling. We're going to finish with a hip roll
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you can either have the feet down on the mat or you can bring your legs up to double knee fold here
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we connect the knees, we connect the ankles. Okay, you lift the hip, you roll the knee to the side
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You're going to let the top foot lift. You're going to feel this. It's a rotation of the hips
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and the spine, but you're going to feel it through your waist here. Draw those knees back to centre
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connect with your core, roll those knees to the opposite side. Now the key with this is to keep
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those shoulders down, glued onto the mat. Well done and focus on that rotation. Well done
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And then as I said, you can bring those legs to double knee fold here and you're rotating
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but as with when the feet are down on the mat you're going to make sure that those shoulders
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stay glued down. Well done. Let's go for a couple more. So we've done lots of flexion so it's just
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great to get a little bit of rotation through your spine to finish and of course you're needing to
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connect with your core, use those abdominal muscles as we rotate. Well done, draw those knees in
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towards you, hug behind the back of your legs, knee elbows locked and nice and soft, take an inhale
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and as you exhale you're going to roll all the way up. Well done. So that is day two of the challenge
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completed. You're acing this. I will see you tomorrow for another workout
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Have a fabulous day. Have a fabulous evening
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