Did you know that beginner Pilates moves can be all you need to seriously strengthen your core muscles? It’s true! Even the exercises taught right at the very beginning to people who have never tried this type of workout before can make a tremendous difference when done regularly. Moreover, since they’re all bodyweight moves, they can be done without any special equipment and virtually anywhere.

Why Look to Beginner Pilates Moves for a Strong Core?

Having strong core muscles is very important. They improve your posture, supporting the muscles and spine in your back, can relieve back pain, can prevent injury, and even make everything from standing up to carrying things a lot easier every day.  It can also help you to perform better during your workouts, so you’ll be able to get more out of each sweat session.

Since beginner Pilates moves are all you need to get started, you don’t need to be an extreme athlete to benefit and to build up your core muscles fast.  The key is to make sure you learn how to do these exercises properly. Form is far more important than how many reps you do or how long you stretch your workout.

How to Get Started with This Type of Workout

When you’re doing beginner Pilates moves, it’s recommended that you use a yoga mat, but you can use a beach towel if that’s all you have on hand. This helps you to make sure your form is as it should be, particularly because the edges give you lines to work with.  That way, you’ll be sure that your body is aligned as it should be.

All you need is five beginner Pilates moves to get started, and about fifteen minutes total.  The moves themselves don’t take very long, but the fifteen-minute total takes into account your warm-up, cool-down and the time it takes to switch from one position into the next.

After you’ve taken a few minutes to warm up, do each of the following five exercises for the recommended number of reps listed below. These should each take you about one minute.  Use yoga’s Cobra Pose to stretch out your abs afterward as a cool down. Remember to be gentle. This is a process focused on form, not extremes. It’s better to do five properly than twenty wrong.

• Tabletop – hold for a minute
• Half roll-backs – about 10 reps
• Heel taps – about 10 reps (per leg)
• Crunches – about 10 reps
• Diamonds – about 20 reps