Top 5 Barre/Pilates Exercises For Your Core & Abs
Are you looking to tone and strengthen your core? Our expert instructor Ira at MokoBoko Studio in Lisbon is here to guide you through five essential Barre/Pilates exercises.
These exercises are designed to target your core muscles, improve flexibility, and enhance your overall strength. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced practitioner, these moves will help you achieve a stronger, more balanced body.
All exercises will be done with a Pilates Ring, but you can always use a ball or without any equipment. Let’s dive in:
1. Pilates Ring Bicycle Crunch
It's a core-strengthening move often included in Pilates and Barre routines in our classes in Lisbon, targeting the abdominal muscles, particularly the central ones and obliques.
Instructions:
Lie on your back with the Pilates ring between your legs.
Place your hands behind your head.
Lift your head, shoulders, and feet off the ground.
Bring one knee towards your chest while extending the other leg out.
Rotate your torso to bring the opposite elbow towards the bent knee.
Switch sides, extending the bent leg and bringing the other knee and elbow together.
Repeat for several reps, maintaining control and breathing steadily.
2. Helicopters or Leg Circles
This exercises will definitely make you fly but lighting up those abs.
Instructions:
Lie on your back, legs up, ring around ankles.
Place hands behind your head.
Engage your core, make small leg circles.
Inhale to start, exhale to finish.
Tip: Keep your lower back on the mat.
3. Half Roll Back With Pilates Ring
This one might be a bit hard for some so you can skip the leg moving to the right and just straighten it and move up and down. Keep your core engaged all the time and don’t compensate with other muscles!
Instructions:
Sit Tall: Start sitting with legs straight, holding the Pilates ring with both hands in front of you.
Lean Back: Slowly lean back, engaging your core.
Lift One Leg: Lift one leg off the ground. Keep it straight. Extend it to the right by keeping your leg right. Then come back and close the circle.
Hold: Maintain this position, keeping the ring in front of you.
Return: Slowly return to the starting position.
4. One Leg Circle Twists
Time to work those obliques! This one will put them on fire, we promise :)
Instructions:
Stand straight or slightly inclined. Keep your core engaged.
Keep the circle straight in front of you, like you would keep a steering wheel.
Lift one leg up (keep it straight).
Now rotate to the right and then to the left.
Return to neutral position and put your leg down.
Repeat for the other leg same order.
5. Roll Ups
These are my personal favourites after you put your abs through hell with all other 4 above. Instructions:
Lay down straight with hands above your head.
Move our hands up straight and slowly lift your head and upper back.
Push up by exhaling with your core (engage it!)
Then straighten your legs in a T-shape.
Rotate with your left hand to the right and incline.
Do same to the left.
Repeat :)
We hope these exercises will put your abs on fire! These are part of our Barre/Pilates classes in Lisbon. So whenever you want to up your game, feel free to come and join us at MokoBoko!
