Even if you’re not doing Pilates itself, there’s a lot to be learned from the practice that you can use in other workouts. The precise, controlled movements you do in Pilates are great for strengthening the body in a low-impact way, and it also brings greater awareness of your body and helps you master the form for common exercises.
This 20-minute workout from YouTube fitness trainer Maddier Lymburner, who goes by MadFit on her channel, uses Pilates-inspired techniques to train the whole body. You can use light weights for the session — Lymburner uses 2lb dumbbells — or sub in household items like canned food or water bottles, and you can also do the session without any weights at all.
One piece of equipment you will need is one of the best yoga mats, because most of the session is done on the floor. There’s no jumping in the workout, so it’s a low-impact session that won’t bother your neighbors, and it’s suitable for all fitness levels, though you might need some extra breaks if you’re just starting out.
There are two sections to the workout, with the first all being made up of standing exercises where you work for 45 seconds and then rest for 15 seconds. Then you go to the floor for the second part of the session and work for 30 seconds and rest for 15 seconds for the moves you’re doing.
Watch MadFit’s 20-minute full-body workout
To get the most from the workout it’s important to move slowly and with control throughout. Listen to Lymburner’s instructions and make sure you’re engaging the right muscles for each exercise, maximizing their time under tension through precise movements that keep them working throughout each set.
It’s definitely wise to stick with light weights for this workout, and don’t be afraid to put down the weights during a set so you can try to finish it using your bodyweight alone.
The slow movements in the workout mean that a 2lb dumbbell can feel like a 10lb one after 10-20 seconds, and maintaining your balance is important for lots of moves too, so if the weight is pulling you out of that it’s best not to use it at all.
Lymburner has designed the workout to include exercises that target all parts of the body, but as you would expect from a Pilates-style session, your core muscles get a lot of focus. Even when doing exercises that aren’t core specific, your stabilizer muscles will be working to increase the strength of your core.
For example, during the chest fly exercise, you’ll be lifting and lowering your hips in and out of a bridge position as well, engaging the glutes and core muscles while you also work your chest. It’s a great way to ramp up the core strength benefits and do more with your time in a short workout like this.
If you’d like to do more of a classical Pilates workout, then this 20-minute session from a Pilates instructor is great for your hip flexibility and lower body strength, while this 20-minute Pilates workout is designed to improve your core strength and posture.
More from Tom's Guide
- A Pilates instructor shares an 8-minute Pilates abs workout for deep core activation — so I tried it
- Forget sit-ups — this no-equipment ab workout blasts your deep core
- Three 10-minute ab workouts that hit all your core muscles
