While I consider even the Simple Side Plank exercise “Advanced” because of the shoulder mechanics, upper body strength, and balance it requires to be able to execute the exercise safely, once you’ve mastered the basic exercise, and have played with some of the easier variations, here are two “super-advanced” twisting options for those of you that are looking for a real hard-core challenge!

Pilates Side Plank Exercise with Twist – Version I

This is a nice variation to gain the strength and control needed for the starting position of the Pilates Snake/Twist exercise on the Reformer.

Tips for Twist I

• Start with the knees bent in closer to the body, top foot crossed over the bottom ankle, weight on the right arm – fingers pointed away from the body.
• If the right hand is the support, you will put your weight on the ball of the left foot to pivot and lift.
• Elbow starts bent, shoulder pulling down, lift under the ribs and hip to bring the body up, straighten the legs, and pivot on the foot to pike and lift the hips high.
• Non supporting arm creates an arc from the side of the hips to over the head as the hips lift.
• In the “UP” position, you will have twisted the body to be balanced in a forward pike position.
• Balance on the right arm and left foot in the “up” position (right foot will be crossed in front of the left ankle in the pike).  Or to help with balance as you start – keep the weight on both feet as you pivot into the pike!
• Reverse the arm, untwist as the hips lower, pulling the shoulder down and bending the elbow to finish seated on the mat.

Pilates Side Plank Exercise with Twist – Version II

This version is a wonderful way to work on rotation of the spine on a weight-bearing arm.

The tendency when we rotate is to crank the shoulder blades around to initiate twisting.  You can’t do that here and hold your balance.  For a good Twist II the shoulder blades have to stay wide and the spine and ribcage must rotate inside the shoulder blade.  We need this feeling and functional movement for a healthy upper body and pain-free shoulders.  It is definitely an advanced concept, and Side Plank with Twist II will be an advanced way of working on this!

Tips for Twist II

• Start with the basic version of Side Plank.
• In the lifted position, spiral the upper body forward turning the navel to the floor while the upper arm “threads the needle” and passes between the supporting arm and mat.
• Maintain the lifted Plank position and un-twist to the Simple Side Plank starting from the belly button and untwisting to the Simple Side Plank “neutral” position.
• Then start from the navel and spiral twist the torso up towards the ceiling while the upper arm moves back and away from the body stretching the chest.
• Maintain the lifted Plank position and un-twist to the Simple Side Plank position, again starting from the belly button to un-twist from the bottom to the top.

Every time the spine twists and un-twists during Twist II the initiation point is the navel/lumbar spine.  Start twisting from the bottom of the spine to the top, and un-twist from the bottom to the top.  The moving arm and shoulder should “ride the rotation” of the spine.  The supporting shoulder stays lifted and still so the ribcage can  rotate and turn inside the supporting shoulder. Always start & finish Twist II  in the simple Side Plank position, then lower the body down to the mat.

4 Important Tips for  Side Plank Shoulder Safety

1. It is vitally important while you are executing the spiral/twist, that you stay nicely lifted on the supporting arm.
2. The ribcage should be rotating inside the shoulder blade to turn the torso.
3. To transition out of the exercise, pull the shoulder down, BEND the elbow, and lower the hips to the mat.

A Few Final Thoughts on Adding a Twist to the Side Plank Exercise

If you think you’re strong, fit, and flexible – the Side Plank with a Twist variations are a great way to add a little more challenge to your workouts.

Be sure you work up to adding a twist to your Side Plank!  Start with easier variations, and once you’ve got great balance and body control, consider adding the twist to this exercise to challenge your strength, balance, and shoulder mechanics.

Executing these variations safely will require really good body awareness, shoulder mechanics, and lots of core strength to keep your whole body balancing, lifting, twisting, and moving gracefully. 

Stay focused on good form.  Fine-tune your technique to get the most out of your Side Plank with a Twist practice during your Pilates Mat workouts.  Enjoy the great whole-body benefits of this challenging Advanced Matwork exercise.

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Did you miss the first three Pilates Training Tips: Side Plank Exercise articles?  To review the basics and help you progress to the challenge of the Side Plank with a Twist variations, here are the links:

Article #1:  Pilates Training Tips: Preparatory Exercises for Side Plank

Article #2:  Pilates Training Tips: How to Execute a Great Side Plank

Article #3:  Side Plank Variations:  How To Add More Challenge to Your Simple Side Plank for an Advanced Pilates Mat Workout

The phrase, ” Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”
is a great mantra to live by.

Maintaining a mindset of happiness can help keep your stress level low, and mental outlook positive.

Turn that frown upside down!  Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

Keep a clear head, stay stress-free, and maintain a positive outlook on life with a little conscious effort to practice the healthy habit of happiness.

Expectations are an important driver for getting to your goals.  Is what you expect to achieve in line with the actions you’re taking to reach your goals? 

I spent some time this weekend reviewing my expectations and desires for living a healthy, happy life.  I evaluated my health goals, financial goals, relationship goals, and career goals.

While it’s helpful to review this information for “New Year’s Resolutions”,  the first of every new year shouldn’t be the only time we take a peek at what we’re doing to see if we’re getting what we expect out of life.

Why spend even one-minute off-course to achieving your goals and meeting your expectations?

Take some time this week to touch base with your expectations for your own healthy, happy life.  Are you on target to achieve success?

What are your Goals for:

• Health – Body, Mind, Spirit
• Finances – Short-term, Long-term, Retirement
• Relationships – Spouse/Significant Other, Children, Parents, Friends, Extended Family
• Career

Are YOU doing things every day,  and every week,  to move you closer to, or farther away from your goals?  Do you have clear expectations to be able to measure your success, or to help you make changes when what you’re doing doesn’t give you the results you were hoping for?

Awareness is power, self-evaluation and self-correction is critical.  Step into your personal power to achieve, receive, and believe in yourself and your ability to get, have, and do, everything in life you desire.

There’s an old saying, “You get what you expect.”  Expect the best from yourself.  Take actions that are in line with your expectations to be successful in getting what you expect to enjoy the healthiest, happiest, best life possible!

There are many different ways to tweak the Side Plank exercise and provide variety and challenge.  BUT the technique of getting into and out of the Side Plank position needs to be the same for any version you do to ensure the shoulders work properly and risk of arm and shoulder injury is eliminated.

In the article, How to Execute a Great Side Plank,  I have provided directions to begin practicing a simple Side Plank so you can just focus on holding the position and improving strength and balance.  Once you’ve mastered this and are ready to add a bit more of a challenge to your Side Plank Exercise, there are several options to play with to make your Side Plank more difficult and see how well you’re able to maintain control and support!

3 Side Plank Exercise Variations for an Advanced Pilates Mat Workout:

Variations/Challenge from  Return to Life: (Joe’s version)

1. Lift the non-supporting arm all the way over the head while the hips lift to really create a “side bend.”
2. Lower the body ½ way down and then lift back up to the side bend.  Do 3-5 lift & lowers before lowering all the way down and switching to the other side.
3. Add a head turn.  Right arm supporting – Right Side Plank.  When the right hip is lowered, turn the head to look over the left shoulder.  When lifted in the side plank, turn the head to look straight ahead.

Having the control and shoulder strength to do a good simple Side Plank is the first step in mastering this exercise.  These three Side Plank variations can help add more challenge and variety to your workout.

Once you’ve mastered these 3 more difficult variations…it will be time to add a twist!  Stay tuned for some helpful hints on executing the Pilates Side Plank Twist I & II.  Details coming in an upcoming article soon…

Meanwhile, keep practicing your simple Side Plank, and for a challenge consider adding the 3 variations above, either as individual exercises, pick one version to do during your workout and rotate each workout with a different variation,  or combine ALL three together to create one wonderfully challenging shoulder strengthening Pilates exercise!

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This is the 3^rd article I’ve posted to help tweak your technique and improve shoulder strength, and whole-body support for a great Pilates Side Plank.  If you’ve missed the first two articles and would like to review this info, check out Preparatory Exercises for Side Plank, and How to Execute a Great Side Plank

Want to learn more about the “Classical” versions of the Pilates Matwork Exercises?  Get your copy of Joseph H. Pilates book, “Return to Life with Contrology.”   A great resource for Pilates enthusiasts, and a must-have book for Pilates teachers & health professionals!

 Expectations:

Are you getting the results you expect from your fitness program?

Are your expectations realistic, or are you setting yourself up for failure?

 Setting expectations is like setting goals. 

It’s important that you set realistic expectations, make a plan to reach your goals,  and then  you’ve got to actually do the work required to get results!

Set yourself up for success by always expecting (and giving) your best effort to the task at hand.   Your mental attitude is every bit as important as the actions you are taking to reach your goals.

Strive to achieve and/or surpass your expectations.  Test, track, modify and repeat the mental & physical activities you know you need to be doing to produce successful results. 

Exceed your expectations and enjoy achieving your goals for success in fitness, business, and life!

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Be Fit, Be Centered, Be Well!

Set your expectations and document your daily workouts to stay on-track with healthy habits to reach your fitness goals.

Track & compare your Wellness Workouts for the next 5 years
of fitness, get a copy of the Be Fit Journal.

Efficiency is the art of utilizing a minimum amount of energy to achieve maximum results.  For our body, “efficiency” equates to functional movement.  When the lever & pulley systems in the body are precisely working and releasing for support, balance, and control the result is easy, effortless, and efficient movement.

Pilates is a wonderful way to develop efficient muscle movement habits that in time can transfer to your walking, running, recreational sport, and daily life activities.  Efficient movement can enhance your strength, flexibility, speed, power, balance, control and will help keep you safe and injury-free. 

Pay attention to your movements, be efficient, and enjoy optimal whole-body health!

Ever Wonder Which Muscles Really Should Be Working to “Use Your Core” for Improved Functional Fitness?

Discover the true “Core” muscles and begin incorporating more exercises into your workouts to find & strengthen your core.  Help reduce back pain, improve posture,  strength, mobility, and support to enhance sports performance, and enjoy a healthy, active life.

Improving posture and body support for healthy movement and “Core Training” becomes the buzz word to get the job done.  So many people are under the false illusion that if they just lay on the mat and crank their head and shoulders off the floor by pulling with their arms, that they are effectively strengthening their abs.  And if the arms aren’t doing all the work, chances are the Quads are kicking in, pelvis is tucking, legs are pushing, Glutes are squeezing tight tilting the pelvis and jamming the hips up closer to the ribcage closing the space needed to really train the core to support the length of the torso and achieve true Core strength.

Core Training Isn’t Just About Ab Work!

The Abdominal muscles are only a piece of the equation!  I continually hear people rant about core training, yet they only work on the Abs, and generally focus on the crunching/curling action of the Rectus Abdominis.  Honestly, this is the very last muscle that needs to get worked, and in my opinion is the least relevant to really improving Core support.  If people spent less time doing “crunches” and more time working ALL the true Core muscles on every exercise they do – there would be a lot more strong, healthy Cores, and much less back pain out there in the world.

Functional Fitness Starts with a Strong and Healthy Core!

The Muscles That ARE Our Core

Think of the Core like a box.  The floor of the Core is the Pelvic Floor.  The top of the Core is the Diaphragm.  In the Front we’ve got the Transverse Abs, Internal & External Obliques, and Rectus Abdominis.  In the back it’s the Erector Spinae muscles, and Multifidus.

ALL of these muscle groups need to be trained for effective Core strengthening.  First to work for support and stabilization of the spine.  Then to work and release as appropriate for functional movement of the spine.

If you’ve ever wondered why your back hurts, and you’ve been doing a million crunches…chances are there are parts of your Core that are not functioning properly during your exercises!  You may not even realize that some of these muscles exist, much less have the ability to fire them at will!

Which Muscles Need to Be Worked To Improve Core Strength?

Exercises for ALL of the Core Muscles should be incorporated into your strength training workouts.  (Pelvic Floor, Diaphragm, Transverse Abs, Internal & External Obliques, Rectus Abdominis, Erector Spinae and Multifidus.) Use of these muscles should also be practiced throughout the day to reinforce maintaining proper core support for sport, recreation, and daily life activities.  Each muscle group can be focused on individually, and most exercises you do will require a combination of multiple Core muscles engaging together to provide and maintain appropriate support to keep you safe and injury-free. 

If you’re not sure how to find, or use all the muscles of your Core, assume that you’re not optimizing your efforts during your workouts – yet, and probably not using enough good Core support throughout the day.  But here’s the good news…it’s never too late!

Becoming more aware of where your Core muscles are, how to use them, and starting to incorporate more Core training exercise time into your workouts can help you strengthen your core support to improve your health, stay safe, and avoid chronic pain, and nagging injuries. 

Start taking positive steps to strengthen ALL the muscles of your Core.  Find your Core and discover how much more you will have the strength, power, and control to achieve for improved fitness and whole-body health.

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Pilates Matwork can be a great way to focus on improved Core Training!

For easy-to-follow Pilates Audio CD/MP3 workouts, checkout the Basic, Beginner-Intermediate, Intermediate, and Magic Circle Pilates Matwork Workouts with Aliesa George & Centerworks®.

Running barefoot versus wearing shoes is a HOT topic in the running community.  It seems that everyone has an opinion about what is best for the body.

Running faster, running more efficiently, running with fewer injuries, all need to be taken into consideration when determining for YOUR body what is going to be safest to keep you on your feet, and pain & injury-free, to enjoy the time you spend pounding the pavement, or off road on the trails while you’re out for a run.

Here’s an informative article that was recently published in Podiatry Today by Dr. Kevin A. Kirby, “Barefoot Versus Shod Running: Which is Best?”

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Do You Love To Run? 

Are you looking for resources to help keep the muscles of your feet strong, fit, and flexible? 

Checkout the new Runfit Kit from Centerworks.com!

The Runfit Kit is filled with easy-to-use foot fitness tools and exercise resources to help you train the muscles of your ankles, arches, and toes for fit feet and fewer injuries.

Whether you like to run barefoot or with shoes, the resources in the Runfit Kit can help you keep your feet fit!

In a quick 5-10 minutes before or after a run, you can easily incorporate some Runfit foot-care training into your workout for healthy, happy feet.  Keep Your Feet Fit!  Get your Runfit Kit NOW!

Are you a control-freak, or living live completely out-of-control?

Joseph Pilates called his Method of exercise “Contrology.”  Contrology is the complete coordination of body, mind, and Spirit.

Purposeful control over your body during exercise will gradually and progressively help you acquire the same natural rhythm, coordination, and control with all subconscious activities.

When mind, body, and Spirit work as one – Control is a powerful ally for achieving success in fitness, business, and life! 

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Discover more about the health benefits of Contrology.  Get a copy of Return to Life, by Joseph H. Pilates.  See, feel, and experience the benefits of using the Pilates Matwork exercises to gain complete control and coordination of your body, mind, and Spirit!

“Above all, learn how to breathe correctly.”

We cannot live without breathing, our life depends on it!

Breath oxygenates the blood, improves posture, enhances muscle control, and provides compression/ decompression for a healthy spine.

Practice breathing to fill the lungs from the bottom to the top  – lengthening the spine, lifting the ribcage up off the hips, filling the lungs  to capacity, and exhaling fully.

Good breathing habits will help you think better, stand taller, and feel better!