If you want to live a longer, more fulfilling life – aka being able to bend down and pick something up without straining your lower back – then building a stronger, more mobile body should be a top priority. Pilates is a great way to achieve this, as it helps improve and maintain our musculoskeletal health. According to Lotty Campbell Bird, founder of The Collective Fitness Studio, this is key to helping you “stay fit, strong, and healthy in later life.”
“Musculoskeletal health is crucial for longevity because it enables mobility, independence, and overall well-being, all of which are vital for healthy ageing,” she explains. “Strong muscles, bones, and joints allow you to perform daily tasks, maintain an active lifestyle, and reduce the risk of falls and injuries, which can significantly impact quality of life and lifespan.”
In order to help you build a stronger, resilient body, Lotty has shared eight Pilates exercises that will help enhance your musculoskeletal health. “These exercises build core strength and postural alignment, which supports your spine and joints, prevents musculoskeletal deterioration that is common when aging, and help to maintain bone density.” Make sure you give the video above a quick watch if you’re unfamiliar with the exercises (FYI, the video has been sped up, so make sure you take them slow).
1. Articulated bridge
Focus: Spinal articulation, core engagement, glute and hamstring activation.
How to:
- Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat
- Inhale to prepare, exhale to slowly roll your spine off the mat one vertebra at a time
- Inhale at the top, exhale to roll back down
Benefits: Improves spinal mobility, strengthens posterior chain.
Reps: 8-10
2. Shoulder bridge knee raises
Focus: Glutes, hamstrings, spinal support, pelvic stability.
How to do it:
- From a bridge position, lift one leg off the mat into tabletop while maintaining level hips
- Alternate your legs
Benefits: Builds leg strength and improves balance, preventing hip and lower back dysfunction.
Reps: 5-6 each side
3. The hundred
Focus: Deep core muscles (transversus abdominis and pelvic floor).
How to do it:
- Lie on your back, lift legs to tabletop or straight up, curl head and shoulders off the mat.
- Pulse arms vigorously up and down as you inhale for 5 counts, exhale for 5.
Benefits: Activates your deep core stabilisers and helps support posture.
Reps: x 10 cycles of breath
4. Single leg stretch
Focus: Improving core control and boosting hip mobility.
How to do it:
- Lie on your back, with your head and shoulders curled up
- Alternate legs as one pulls in, the other reaches long
Benefits: Strengthens abdominals while improving hip mobility and coordination.
Reps: 8-10 each side
5. Back extension
Focus: Back extensor muscles, shoulder stabilisers and glutes.
How to do it:
- Lie face down, hands under your forehead and legs extended.
- Lift upper back off the ground, keeping your eyeline on the floor and your feet and legs still.
Benefits: Supports spinal extension, counters forward postures, and improves muscular balance.
Reps: 8-10 reps
6. Side lying leg lifts
Focus: Hip stability, glute medius strength and pelvic alignment.
How to do it:
- Lie on your side with one arm tucked under your head for support and stack hips on top of one another
- Lift top leg slowly with a flex and lower with control with a point
Benefits: Strengthens hip, helps with balance and offers lower back support.
Reps: 10-15 each leg
7. Spine stretch forward
Focus: Spinal flexion, hamstring stretch, postural alignment.
How to do it:
- Sit tall with legs extended and your feet flexed
- Inhale to sit taller, exhale to reach forward from the spine
Benefits: Lengthens spine, reduces compression, increases flexibility.
Reps: 6-8
8. Leg circles (supine)
Focus: Stability of core and pelvis and hip mobility.
How to do it:
- Lie on your back, one leg extended up, the other on the mat
- Circle the raised leg while keeping hips stable
Benefits: Strengthens the core and improves hip joint range of motion without compromising the spine.
Reps: 8-10 each side
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