Fitness Pilates

This Advanced 35-Minute Pilates Workout Uses Small, Controlled Movements To Bring Big Benefits to Your Full Body

Saanya Ali

November 16, 2021

When you hear any kind of workout called "advanced," it's easy to picture a rapid flow of intense exercises, heavy weights, and an ocean of sweat on the mat beneath you. News flash: that doesn't always have to be the case. Tough workouts can come in all shapes, sizes, and speeds. Need more proof? On the latest episode of Good Moves, Brian Spencer of East River Pilates guides us through a 35-minute, advanced, full-body Pilates workout that demonstrates that slow and steady wins the race (er: reaps the results).

Spencer starts the workout with a series of warm-up exercises to get your muscles ready and blood pumping before diving in. These movements, a succession of cats, cows, wrist movements, and hip and shoulder circles are vital for opening up your body—which lubricates your joints so that you receive optimal benefits from the exercises. Once your muscles are warmed up, you'll be better able to get into each "juicy" movement, as Spencer calls them while avoiding any aching or pulling.

Experts In This Article

Brian Spencer, instructor at East River Pilates in New York City

In this 35-minute set, expect pelvic and low back stabilizers to start—all with modifications to tone down the resistance, if necessary. This section is followed by upper body, core, and back moves that are great for helping stretch out the muscles that get compressed after long periods of sedentary behavior. The best part is that, though the continuous movements do work your respiratory and muscular endurance, Spencer makes sure to leave time for counter stretching to help recover from and reap the lengthening benefits of the movements in between each set.

"I'm sure you've heard when you're doing a side-lying series, so many times your instructor will say, lift your bottom side waist that is just because if we don't we've shortened our top hip and we're not strengthening our glutes to keep our pelvis stabled and stacked...and we don't watch a crunchy waist. We want a nice gloriously long waist," Spencer explains. Your core, hamstrings, glutes, hips, shoulders, and arms will be shaking their thank you's to you after this 35-minute set. Don't believe us? Start your favorite workout playlist (or Taylor Swift's new album), press play on the video above, and get ready to sweat.

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