While joining a class is great, home Pilates workouts can offer you the flexibility to exercise at any time. It all depends on how you use your time and equipment to maximise your effort. Pilates is a low-impact yet effective workout, and while studios may offer social benefits and schnazzy equipment, you can still get a powerful workout at home! Simply roll out a mat (or even a towel) and start right in your own living room.
Easy at-home Matwork Pilates
Matwork Pilates is a cinch from home. We don’t have unshakeable self-discipline, but we do have these regular household items to creatively enhance our workout from the living room! Although you don’t need any equipment to practice, we can recommend a few items that double as Pilates props. 🤩 Want to strengthen those arms and tone that core? Raid your cupboard for two equally weighted cans of soup to mimic hand weights. Searching for some extra support? A Pilates block is great but a stack of books from the shelf is just as effective. By incorporating these props into your workout, you’ll keep each exercise varied, interesting, and fun!
We know how easy it is to procrastinate a workout, so we’ve compiled our favourite tips and tricks for making your at-home-work-out easier!
How to mimic Reformer-style Pilates at home, without a machine
A Pilates Reformer is a piece of workout equipment with a carriage that glides against the resistance of several springs to offer low-intensity strength training. Rather than purchasing one for at home, you can exercise and tone similar muscles with these less expensive pieces of equipment. No Reformer, no worries!
Sliders are fantastic for mimicking the action of moving your whole body on the carriage, providing stability and flexibility challenges. Sliders are plate-sized discs that typically have a thin layer of foam on one side and a slippery plastic surface on the other. If you’ve got a hard floor, this affordable and simple piece of equipment is ideal for strengthening muscles like the core, glutes, biceps, triceps, and hamstrings. Exercises like plank-to-pike, sliding push-ups, and curtsy lunges are our favourites with the sliders.
Resistance bands are going to be your BFF for stretching and working out! From convenience to functionality, there are many reasons to add this budget-friendly piece of equipment to your exercises. Resistance bands come in different widths, the thicker the width of the band, the more resistance it provides and the harder it is to use. An ideal way to recreate the spring system of the Pilates Reformer is stepping on one end of the resistance band, or looping the band around a fixed object. Studio-style Pilates with resistance bands at home can achieve the same strength and flexibility gains as a Reformer.
Weights are a wonderful way to replicate upper body Reformer exercises and add resistance and/or assistance to your workout. Incorporating hand weights into your routine can add extra muscle-toning potential, increase the amount of energy you expend, and increase calorie burning. Our Matwork classes at PPF often add hand weights between 0.5-3 kilograms to increase the challenge of core work and level up the intensity of arm work. Even if the weight is light, hand weights have the potential to create extra stability work for your core, pelvis, and shoulders.
Access instructed workouts online to improve form and stay accountable
Working out with an online instructor is a great way to improve your form and technique, plus, a guided practice will hold you more accountable and see you through a complete workout.
When you follow an online class, you’ll notice that you push yourself harder than if you were to work out on your own terms relying on self-discipline. The motivation factor that an instructed workout brings is immense.
Often the biggest problem with getting motivated is not knowing where to start. We understand that for a beginner, the idea of working out and keeping up can be daunting. That’s why our PPF Online Studio provides an extensive range of classes for any skill level, including beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
No matter where you are in the world, you can access the PPF Online Studio featuring over 100 workouts for as little as $1 per day! Our experienced instructors teach Matwork, Reformer, Barre, HIIT, Yoga, and more in the Online Studio.
Along with our outstanding team of passionate and approachable instructors, we provide a large variety of affordable and accessible fitness & Pilates classes in Brisbane - including Reformer, Matwork, Barre, Yoga, HIIT & Stretch classes - to a beautiful local Brisbane community of like-minded clients. Enjoy unlimited classes for just $35 per week!
Check out our Essential Props for Pilates classes at home blog to level up your at-home workouts even more!
