Amazing Abs and Arms Pilates

About this class

Your abs and arms are already SO amazing but get ready for some action with this 19 minute MerryBody Pilates class! A mix of crunches, c-curve, tricep dips and some new moves to keep your brain and body firing! Let’s do this!

Alignment notes

Remember we inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth, like ‘shhhh’. This helps to engage the core. For C-Curve, place a rolled up blanket behind the lower back for extra support. During this class our feet are flat and our legs are squeezed together, this helps to engage the lower core. Lean as far back to feel the quiver in your abs but not so far back that your core switches off. If you feel any pain in the front of your hips, extend the legs long. Pull the belly in toward the backbone and then up toward the ribs. During Tricep Dips, the movement comes from bending the elbows, not moving the hips up and down. Keep the shoulders down away from the ears. During the following move (and all leg movements during this class), where Emma is on her forearms, ensure you don’t dump into the shoulders (or take the option), really press your forearms into the Earth to help with this. When you bring in the leg movements, control and precision is more important than how high/low/wide you go. Keep the legs in a position where the belly reamins switched on. It’s ok to swap between the modification and the more challenging option. When working the core in Crunches, ensure that you are trying to lift your shoulders blades off the Earth, while keeping the ribs drawing down, pull the belly button in and up toward the backbone. Rather than going higher, focus on your technique and feeling stable. Keep the elbows away from the ears and the neck long by gently tucking the chin. OPTION: there is always the option to leave out the crunch when moving the legs. Simply continue with the leg movements, still and EPIC core workout!

Focus areas

• Abs
• Arms

Mood

• Strengthening
• Energising