It’s no secret that Pilates has become all the rage in the health and fitness world lately, and rightly so. It’s a low-impact workout with many benefits, from improving your posture, balance and flexibility to helping you lose weight, stay in shape and get some daily movement.
So what if we told you that you could reap all these benefits of Pilates in just 12 minutes before your day even starts? This morning Pilates workout ticks all the boxes to help you strengthen and tone while improving flexibility without the need to leave your home. In fact, it’s a guaranteed way to wake you up, help you feel more focused and strong and start your day on the right foot.
Grab one of the best yoga mats for home workouts, and read on for the 12-minute workout.
What is the 12-minute morning Pilates routine?
The beauty of this routine designed by trainer Eleni Fit (also known as Eleni.fit_ on socials) is that it relies on zero equipment or complicated movements to get your body moving and stretched out in the morning.
All 24 moves are performed standing and are gentle, allowing you to gracefully flow, open up the hips and chest and stretch the inner thighs and hamstrings. The exercises also help lengthen the spine, improve posture and boost mood for the day ahead.
Here are the exercises Eleni will take you through on her YouTube video:
- Side stretch with knee bend to the right
- Side stretch with knee bend to the left
- Plie arm raise
- Diagonal reaches right side
- Diagonal reaches left side
- Split squat opener right side
- Balancing back-to-front knee drive to leg extension right leg
- Split squat opener left side
- Balancing back-to-front knee drive to leg extension left leg
- Squat to alternating side leg lift
- Forward fold front heel lift squat
- Kickback to knee tuck right side
- Kickback to knee tuck left side
- Oblique crunch combo right side
- Oblique crunch combo left side
- Alternating toe taps
- Warrior II flow right side
- Warrior II flow left side
- Half-moon leg lifts right side
- Half-moon leg lifts left side
- Slide crunch twist right side
- Slide crunch twist left side
- Warrior I flow
- Plie hold to side reach.
What are the benefits of this 12-minute morning Pilates routine?
The beauty of this full-body Pilates workout is that it’ll get your heart pumping and strengthen various major muscle groups without running or jumping around.
You'll get a double whammy of lower body ballet-inspired moves like the plie arm raise and oblique crunch combo (check out Eleni’s straight legs and pointed toes) to help lengthen your limbs and increase your range of motion. The workout also gradually builds up to some yoga flow where you’ll reach deep into side lunges to work your inner thighs and glutes with the Warrior II flow and half-moon leg lifts (no wobbling).
The final part of the session ends with some deep oblique work; you’ll slide down the side of each leg to crunch, then twist to engage your deep core muscles as you rotate at the waist.
“Balancing exercises hit differently in your core,” says Eleni, who recommends each move for 30 seconds with no rest in between. Meanwhile, the gentle flow of the workout will wake the mind by increasing blood circulation and oxygen delivery to your brain and body.
We know how hard it is to get out of a toasty bed in the morning. But Eleni recommends you to “find a form of movement that you can keep up even when your motivation is low.” After trying this myself, I think you’ll enjoy waking up early to get this done.
Prepare to get the blood pumping, engage your muscles, boost productivity and clear and focus the mind. Good morning, sunshine, it’s time to seize the day!
More from Tom's Guide
- You only need 10 minutes and these 4 standing abs exercises to strengthen your core and boost your metabolism
- Who needs leg raises? Try this lower abs exercise to strengthen your core and hips instead
- 35-minute bodyweight Pilates workout to try
