Here is the Pilates approach to abs conditioning. The exercises here include table top, with plenty of leg raises and crunches. The great thing about Pilates’ exercises is that they can be done gently or intensively, depending on your fitness level. They were originally done on a firm bed, as Pilates was developed as a form of physical rehabilitation in hospitals. Ideally you should perform these exercises on a yoga mat on the floor.
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14 Responses to “5 Minute Pilates Abs, Obliques and Core Strengthening”
Hi Alesha, just get active! Plus you need to cut out all the junk from your diet. Remember, sugar is the enemy, and it is everywhere! Read our article on losing belly fat too.
Hi Destiny, I would suggest more full body workouts, like bodyweight circuit training, or dance workouts. Get you body moving, work all your muscles, and hopefully everything will start to tone up. You have youth on your side, so you should do OK. Do you do any sports or exercise activities?
Hey, I’m 20 years of age and stand at 6ft. I currently weigh 215, and I’m trying to lose my pot belly.. any idea how long it would take for me to lose my love handles and look good for the beach season?
Hi Alex, it really is not possible to say. It depends on your genetics, what you eat, how much you eat, what sort of exercise you do and how much. I would suggest compound weight training and some intensive cardio workouts, but focus on building muscle for a few months. As we approach beach season you can start to look to reduce more fat by cutting back on carbs/sugar and eating low calorie protein rich meals. Increase the intensive cardio workouts to burn more fat, maintain muscle with 1 or 2 big weight sessions per week. This should hopefully have you looking good for summer 2010.
Hi, I’m a mother of a 2 and 1 year old. After having my first child, the weight came right off! (I gained 90 lbs). During the pregnancy of my second child 7 months later, I ended up gaining 70 lbs… I didn’t think it would be a big deal considering I lost 80 of the 90 lbs I gained the first time… but here I am, 1 year later… and not fitting into my clothes. I don’t have time to go to a gym, but I do have a treadmill and weights… what do you suggest I do? Thank you in advance!
Hi Gina! What to do? Make use of your treadmill and weights of course. I would suggest by starting weight training 3 times per week and treadmill work on non-weight training days. Does your treadmill have an incline option? If so set it to max incline and walk, this burns a lot of calories. Otherwise jogging / running. With weights it depends on what you have, but squats, lunges, shoulder and bench presses, curls and rows are all good. We have several articles on weight training, take a look and ask questions on the relevant article if in doubt.
The key elements really are: Diet – eat healthy foods, cut the bread out too if possible! Exercise – work up a sweat and a muscle ache following the exercises. These are the signs that you are working hard enough to make a difference.
I’m 14 years old and i’ve been working ut for a month now and about a hour a day doing cruches and about a half an hour jogging and i still have the same 4 pack that i started out with can you tell me what i should do exactley to get a 6 pack
Hi, I’m 20. I have started doing a pilates class but it only meets once a week. I am 5′3″ and weight about 155. This last year I gained so much weight and i’m not sure why, but I easily weight 135-140 previously. I honestly am not someone who stresses out about the # on the scale, i care more about how i look. I just want to loose my belly fat. I want to start working out on the elliptical when i wake up before work/school, and would also like to do pilates abs exercises, would you recommend doing pilates before/after my workout or later in the day?
Also any other suggestions for rapid belly fat weight loss?
Hi Cat. Firstly, diet leads to weight loss, not Pilates. Pilates is excellent at toning and strengthening, but it is not enough alone to help you lose weight. So look at your diet, read the diet advice here, and look to reduce calories, reduce sugar, reduce refined carbs, processed foods and other junk food.
As for exercise, morning is good, as is evening. Forget about the weight on the scale for now and focus on improving your daily eating habits and activity.
Rapid weight loss is never recommended, the chances are the methods used for rapid weight loss are neither healthy or sustainable and you will put the weight back on.
Hi my name is kenneth and i’m 17 (will be 18 soon). A little more than a year ago i weighed 236 pounds and i decided to get in shape and now i weigh 170 pounds but i notice i still have some man boob and stomach fat left. i’ve been doing push ups and crunches before i go to bed for about 5 months now but in the last 3 months the seem to have stopped working at reduing the fat in those areas. What exercies would you recomend i do and how many? Thanks ahead of time.
Hi Kenneth, firstly well done on losing that weight – excellent job!
This type of fat is so often difficult to shift. Keep up with the push ups and crunches, but also do some heavier weight lifting exercises like squats, bench press, should press and bent-over rows. Keep working on the healthy diet, cut out more sugary foods and eat a bit more protein to help build muscle and burn fat.
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hi im 14 years old. and strugling with my weight . and would like some help on how to get started on my stomach fat. please help!
Hi Alesha, just get active! Plus you need to cut out all the junk from your diet. Remember, sugar is the enemy, and it is everywhere! Read our article on losing belly fat too.
hi im 16 yrs old and i use to weigh 215 pounds but i lost all that and know i weigh 130 and i have belly fat how do i get rid of this??
Hi Destiny, I would suggest more full body workouts, like bodyweight circuit training, or dance workouts. Get you body moving, work all your muscles, and hopefully everything will start to tone up. You have youth on your side, so you should do OK. Do you do any sports or exercise activities?
Hey, I’m 20 years of age and stand at 6ft. I currently weigh 215, and I’m trying to lose my pot belly.. any idea how long it would take for me to lose my love handles and look good for the beach season?
Hi Alex, it really is not possible to say. It depends on your genetics, what you eat, how much you eat, what sort of exercise you do and how much. I would suggest compound weight training and some intensive cardio workouts, but focus on building muscle for a few months. As we approach beach season you can start to look to reduce more fat by cutting back on carbs/sugar and eating low calorie protein rich meals. Increase the intensive cardio workouts to burn more fat, maintain muscle with 1 or 2 big weight sessions per week. This should hopefully have you looking good for summer 2010.
Hi, I’m a mother of a 2 and 1 year old. After having my first child, the weight came right off! (I gained 90 lbs). During the pregnancy of my second child 7 months later, I ended up gaining 70 lbs… I didn’t think it would be a big deal considering I lost 80 of the 90 lbs I gained the first time… but here I am, 1 year later… and not fitting into my clothes. I don’t have time to go to a gym, but I do have a treadmill and weights… what do you suggest I do? Thank you in advance!
Hi Gina! What to do? Make use of your treadmill and weights of course. I would suggest by starting weight training 3 times per week and treadmill work on non-weight training days. Does your treadmill have an incline option? If so set it to max incline and walk, this burns a lot of calories. Otherwise jogging / running. With weights it depends on what you have, but squats, lunges, shoulder and bench presses, curls and rows are all good. We have several articles on weight training, take a look and ask questions on the relevant article if in doubt.
The key elements really are: Diet – eat healthy foods, cut the bread out too if possible! Exercise – work up a sweat and a muscle ache following the exercises. These are the signs that you are working hard enough to make a difference.
I’m 14 years old and i’ve been working ut for a month now and about a hour a day doing cruches and about a half an hour jogging and i still have the same 4 pack that i started out with can you tell me what i should do exactley to get a 6 pack
Hi Josh, it takes time. Maybe you are doing too much cardio? 1 hour of crunches a day seems very excessive too.
Hi, I’m 20. I have started doing a pilates class but it only meets once a week. I am 5′3″ and weight about 155. This last year I gained so much weight and i’m not sure why, but I easily weight 135-140 previously. I honestly am not someone who stresses out about the # on the scale, i care more about how i look. I just want to loose my belly fat. I want to start working out on the elliptical when i wake up before work/school, and would also like to do pilates abs exercises, would you recommend doing pilates before/after my workout or later in the day?
Also any other suggestions for rapid belly fat weight loss?
Hi Cat. Firstly, diet leads to weight loss, not Pilates. Pilates is excellent at toning and strengthening, but it is not enough alone to help you lose weight. So look at your diet, read the diet advice here, and look to reduce calories, reduce sugar, reduce refined carbs, processed foods and other junk food.
As for exercise, morning is good, as is evening. Forget about the weight on the scale for now and focus on improving your daily eating habits and activity.
Rapid weight loss is never recommended, the chances are the methods used for rapid weight loss are neither healthy or sustainable and you will put the weight back on.
Hi my name is kenneth and i’m 17 (will be 18 soon). A little more than a year ago i weighed 236 pounds and i decided to get in shape and now i weigh 170 pounds but i notice i still have some man boob and stomach fat left. i’ve been doing push ups and crunches before i go to bed for about 5 months now but in the last 3 months the seem to have stopped working at reduing the fat in those areas. What exercies would you recomend i do and how many? Thanks ahead of time.
Hi Kenneth, firstly well done on losing that weight – excellent job!
This type of fat is so often difficult to shift. Keep up with the push ups and crunches, but also do some heavier weight lifting exercises like squats, bench press, should press and bent-over rows. Keep working on the healthy diet, cut out more sugary foods and eat a bit more protein to help build muscle and burn fat.