When life gets busy and I don’t have the time I’d like for a Pilates class or some yoga, I turn to YouTube, roll out one of the best yoga mats for home practice and get my body moving at home instead.
I stumbled across this Pilates-meets-strength training routine while trying to fit a 15-minute core workout into my day recently. It’s touted as an “express core workout,” which means you won’t have to spend too many minutes on the mat if you’re in a rush.
“This 15-minute core workout combines elements of strength training and pilates to bring you a powerful flow that will challenge your strength, endurance and coordination,” says Izzy, your Pilates instructor, who goes by Pilates By Izzy on her channel.
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Watch: Pilates by Izzy’s 15-minute ‘express core workout’
“Please take breaks and modify as needed to suit your body,” advises Izzy, who also says to consult a healthcare professional if you’re beginning a new exercise routine. “Never push through physical pain during exercise. If you feel neck or back pain at any point during your movement, please take a break.”
Izzy advises against performing this routine if you are pregnant, have a heart condition, or have a current injury or existing health condition, as it may not be suitable for everyone. She urges participants to “listen to your body and modify movements as needed.” As ever, form should take priority over intensity.
25 DAY CHALLENGE SEASON 2 | DAY 2 15 MIN CORE WORKOUT | Intermediate – YouTube
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What does the Pilates routine involve?
Other than your mat, you just need a Pilates ball. You’ll be working your whole core, not just your abs (read: abs vs core muscles to learn the difference), which includes the upper and lower abs and obliques.
I wouldn’t usually recommend a workout that sits partway within a series — in this case, it’s day two of a 25-day challenge — however, these routines are free to access and you don’t need to do the first workout to benefit from trying the second.
The warm-up is brief but runs through a short yoga-inspired series, including child’s pose, downward dog and cat-cow. There’s a gentle backbend here, too, similar to an upward dog, but you can bend your elbows or rest your forearms on the mat if you don’t feel ready for it just yet.
Izzy then guides you into the routine itself using your Pilates ball. Instructions and cues are clear, concise and connect breath and body very well; my gripe with some online home Pilates routines is a lack of signaling of the inhale and exhale in favor of upbeat music or on-screen cueing. Izzy doesn’t do that; she will tell you exactly when to draw a breath and when to release in time with your movements, which will help you activate your stomach muscles and use your diaphragm properly.
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Along with the brilliant cueing, Izzy moves slowly and with control to build tension — there’s no opportunity to rush anything, which (over time) will increase the mind-muscle connection, which basically means strengthening the neural pathways between brain and muscle.
Yes, you will feel the burn; that much is guaranteed.
There aren’t lots of exercises in this core routine, but you will spend longer on the ones you do as Izzy builds upon them. Pilates often involves layering exercises and high rep counts, which increases time under tension and means your muscles work for longer, so that you benefit from intensity in a short time.
It also means far more reps than you’d find in a strength program, which challenges your endurance while teaching you to control your breath and body. Yes, you will feel the burn; that much is guaranteed — it’s killer, and only takes 15 minutes, so it will be over before you know it. I have two pieces of advice for you: make sure you learn how to engage your core, and warm up your hip flexor muscles first, as there’s some leg work in there, too.
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