ab exercises

Standing Abs

There are multiple reasons to opt for a standing ab workout.

If you have trouble getting up and down off the floor, you don’t have to. Even if you can get up and down, these moves are convenient because you don’t have to pull out a mat and get on the floor. If you’re prone to neck pain when doing traditional ab exercises, standing abs reduces the chances the neck gets aggravated. Often, lots of other body parts are working with you while you do standing abs. And, as most of the physical challenges we face in life occur when we are standing, standing abs are a real functional type of movement.

Consider trying these moves in the NBC CT LIVE video below:

Side Bends with a Squat

Standing Bicycle –single leg or alternating

Opposing Limbs

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Standing AbsMaggie Downie2024-08-21T17:01:17-04:00

Why the 100?!?!

Why do we do the 100 in Pilates? It’s a fair question. In fact, it’s always fair to ask, “why do I have to do this exercise.” I tell my clients that if I don’t have the answer for them they don’t have to do it. It’s important for all of us to know and understand why we do any move in a class. Understanding helps us get more out of it. So why the 100? Here’s why:

Abdominal Endurance:

The 100 is hard to do well (like most Pilates exercises). One hundred seconds is a LONG time to have your head up off the ground. Really, it’s a big ask. Keeping the head in the air and the legs lifted means your abs are working doubly hard throughout the whole exercise.

Breathing While Doing the 100:

You may find you hold your breath while doing the 100. It’s common to hold our breath on any movement, especially challenging moves, but while all Pilates exercises work to sync breath and movement, the 100 breaks the breath down pretty simply. You inhale for 5, exhale for 5 while not doing too much else. Sure, you’re working […]

Why the 100?!?!Maggie Downie2021-04-22T16:55:15-04:00

Are You Engaging Your Abs or Your Butt?

In almost every exercise it is easy for another part of the body to take over and do the work of the muscles we are targeting. This is particularly true when we do a pelvic tilt or rock from imprint (basically a flat lower back) to neutral (the natural curve in your low back). Often instead of initiating imprint using the abdominals, people will squeeze the butt. It gets the job done, but you then you miss all that wonderful ab work. The glutes are a major mover and a big muscle. They can create an imprinted position when called upon to engage that way. But if you want to strengthen and improve control of your abdominals, particularly to counteract back pain and help protect the back when moving, you need to make the glutes quiet down and learn to fire the abs. So how can you tell if you are engaging your abs or your butt?

What Do You Feel?

Start by just stopping to notice what you feel. Is your butt squeezing when you imprint? Do you feel like your legs are involved by sort of pushing into the floor? Do you even feel the abs doing the work? If […]

Are You Engaging Your Abs or Your Butt?Maggie Downie2018-03-07T16:19:39-05:00

Get the most out of your ab workouts

Most people I’ve met want fabulous abs. Others are looking for ways to strengthen and support their back knowing that abs play a roll. Whichever desire motivates us (and sometimes it’s both), we often make time for ab exercises. That’s great, but if you’re going spend time doing ab workouts, let’s make sure you are working them the best you can without hurting other parts of your body. Here are some ways to get the most out of your ab workouts.

Knees over Hips

It’s really easy for the knees to creep in, but keeping them over your hips will create a lot more ab work.

There are lots of exercises for the abs where the legs are in the bent in the air. Often on these exercises the knees start to creep in over the stomach instead of staying over the hips. If that happens because you are taking pressure off the back, that’s a form of modifying, but know that you want to build up to being able to support your legs in tabletop position (with the knees and hips at 90-degrees). It’s not worth straining […]

Get the most out of your ab workoutsMaggie Downie2018-02-14T16:33:04-05:00

How to “Knit the Ribs”

One of the hardest basic principles in Pilates is referred to as knitting the ribs. The goal is to ensure that your ribs stay connected during movement and that they don’t pop. Most people when they move their arms, particularly over head allow their ribs to pop up—losing the connection with the abdominal muscles.

Knitting the ribs does not only provide you better ab-work, but it also created a healthier spine. This video can help you start to understand and visually see what it means to knit the ribs. Lying on the floor will make it easier to feel if are connecting because you can use the floor beneath you as a contact point. Once that starts to become easier you can play with the concept in a seated or standing position. Any overhead exercises are the time to check in on your ribs and make sure you are not arching your back in order to move the arms more.

As you experiment remember not to be forceful. You shouldn’t feel like you are jamming your ribs into the floor. Just like you don’t want to jam the back into the mat when you rock to imprint on pelvic tilts. […]

How to “Knit the Ribs”Maggie Downie2018-02-14T15:32:24-05:00