This 20-Minute Beginner Pilates Workout Is the Perfect Introduction

The real benefits of Pilates—and what makes it different from general mat work—are a strong focus on coordinating the movements with your breath, engaging your core, and maintaining control. That’s why it’s so important to take the time to learn the basics with a beginner pilates workout before advancing to more complex exercises.

The latest episode of Good Moves is a great place to start. Chloe De Winter of Go Chlo Pilates takes you through a 20-minute workout that slows down the pace to make everything easier to understand. Practicing properly engaging your core and keeping control in your midsection is a key element of her introduction to Pilates. That’s crucial because when don’t engage your core correctly, you could wind up with lower back pain and pelvic floor issues.

You’ll also get cues on when to inhale and exhale—something that will definitely come in handy as you start doing faster, more advanced workouts. Not only do those inhales and exhales help you properly engage your muscles and complete the exercises with strength and control, but your breath is also what powers you through the challenging movements in the first place. After you get it down, you’ll instantly notice how big of a difference it makes—especially as you’re trying to master the super-hard stuff.

De Winter also takes the time to get you properly set up before each exercise to ensure you have the correct form, like finding your neutral spine. While some placements might feel weird at first, your body will naturally move into them after some practice. Despite this being a beginner workout, you’ll still be feeling the burn by the time you’re finished. “I want you to think about all the different muscles you’ve worked during this workout,” says De Winter. “We’ve worked through the core muscles, we’ve worked through the sides of the hips, a lot of work through the shoulders.”

Watch the video above to begin your Pilates journey.

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