Pilates at Home for Beginners: How to Start Safely

Pilates at home for beginners looks too easy to count as exercise. You lie on a mat, lift one foot a few inches and breathe. Five minutes later your stomach is shaking and you start to respect the whole thing. You can begin with a mat and 15 minutes. Below you'll find the setup, six moves to learn, how to use a wall and a four-week plan that goes easy on your lower back.

WHAT PILATES ACTUALLY IS

Pilates is a system of slow, controlled exercises for the muscles that hold you up: your deep abs, back, glutes and the small muscles around your pelvis. Joseph Pilates developed it in the early 20th century. You move through small ranges, in time with your breath, and you care more about how a rep feels than how many you do.

People often lump it in with stretching, but the two do different jobs. Stretching gives you range. Pilates teaches your muscles to control that range. That's why it sits alongside rhythmic gymnastics and ballet in the roots of the TOPSTRETCHING® method. If you're curious about the other half, here's what a stretching class is like.

So what do you notice first? Probably not abs. Most beginners feel it at the desk: sitting tall takes less effort, and your back is less tired by evening. If posture is your main worry, pair this with a short daily posture routine.

WHAT YOU NEED FOR A PILATES WORKOUT AT HOME

You barely need any equipment:

• A mat. Go thicker if your floor is hard, since you'll spend a lot of time lying on your spine.
• Some floor. Your height in length and room to reach your arms out. A clear stretch of wall nearby helps later.
• Clothes you can move in. Fitted enough to see your hips in a mirror. Go barefoot or wear grip socks.
• A timer. Set 15 minutes and stop watching the clock.

Before the first move, spend two minutes learning two basics.

Neutral pelvis. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet on the floor. There should be a small gap under your lower back, about enough to slide a flat hand through. Nearly everything starts from here. You don't need to press your back into the mat.

Breathing. Breathe in through your nose and let your ribs widen. Breathe out through your mouth and gently draw your lower belly in, the way you would to zip up tight jeans. Save the effort of each move for the exhale.

PILATES AT HOME FOR BEGINNERS: 6 MOVES TO LEARN FIRST

This short series hits your core, glutes and back, with a little work for your shoulders. Do 6 to 10 reps of each, three counts up and three counts down.

1. Bridge. On your back, breathe out and peel your hips up one vertebra at a time until shoulders, hips and knees line up. Lower just as slowly. You'll feel it in your glutes and hamstrings.
2. Toe taps. On your back, lift your bent legs so your shins are parallel to the floor. Breathe out, lower one foot and tap the floor with your toes, then bring it back. Your pelvis stays still. Too hard with both legs up? Keep one foot on the floor.
3. Easy Hundred. Feet on the floor, head down. Pulse straight arms up and down by your hips, five counts on the inhale and five on the exhale. Start with 20 counts and build toward 50.
4. Bird dog. On hands and knees, reach your right arm forward and left leg back. Your lower back stays flat enough to hold a glass of water. Pause for two breaths, then switch.
5. Clam. Lie on your side, knees bent, heels together. Open your top knee like a clamshell without letting your hips roll back. Do 10 on each side.
6. Swimming prep. Lie face down with your forehead on the mat and arms overhead. Lift your right arm and left leg an inch or two, then switch. Height doesn't matter here. Keep your neck long and relaxed.

Finish with one minute in child's pose: knees wide, hips to heels, arms forward.

WALL PILATES: WHAT TO ADD IN WEEK THREE

A wall tells you right away when your hips have shifted, and it does the job of equipment you don't own.

• Wall bridge. Lie close to the wall and place your feet on it with your knees over your hips. Bridge as usual. Your glutes work harder from this angle.
• Wall sit. Back flat against the wall, knees over your ankles, thighs a bit above parallel. Hold for 20 seconds and keep breathing.
• Wall push-up. Hands at shoulder height, body in one line. Lower for three counts and keep your shoulders away from your ears.

You'll see plenty of 28-day wall Pilates challenges online. Some are fine, but many move fast and skip the basics. Learn the six moves first and the wall will make more sense.

YOUR 4-WEEK PLAN

Three short sessions beat one heroic hour on Sunday.

• Week 1. 3 sessions, 10-15 minutes. Practice neutral pelvis and breathing, then do the first four moves for 6 reps each.
• Week 2. 3 sessions, 15 minutes. All six moves, 8 reps each.
• Week 3. 3-4 sessions, 15-20 minutes. All six moves for 10 reps, plus one wall exercise.
• Week 4. 4 sessions, 20-25 minutes. Two rounds of the series with a short rest, plus all three wall exercises.

Sore the next day? That's normal. Go for a walk and pick it up the day after. Missed a session? Carry on from where you stopped and don't try to make it up.

Ready to move on? Your last two reps should look as clean as your first two, and your breathing should stay steady. If they don't, repeat the week.

BEGINNER MISTAKES TO WATCH FOR

• Rushing. Thirty fast reps run on momentum. When a move gets easy, slow it down before you add more.
• Holding your breath. If your face goes red, count your reps out loud. You can't count and hold your breath at once.
• Arching your lower back. It usually happens when your leg goes too low. Make the movement smaller.
• Working from your neck. That's why your head stays down in the Easy Hundred. You can lift it later, once your core is stronger.
• Pushing through pain. Shaking and burning muscles are fine. Sharp pain, numbness or pain shooting down your leg means stop.

Got back pain, a disc problem or osteoporosis? Pregnant or recently had a baby? Talk to your doctor first and start only once they've cleared you. Pilates isn't a treatment, and some moves need changing in these cases. These guides on stretching for back pain and stretching after childbirth can help you with the first steps.

WHEN YOU WANT SOMEONE TO GUIDE YOU

The hard part of working out alone is that nobody tells you your hips have drifted. Nobody tells you what comes next, either, once these six moves feel easy.

That's why Anna Kanyuk, a Master of Sport in rhythmic gymnastics and co-founder of TOPSTRETCHING®, is preparing online courses. FULL BODY is the one for beginners. The TOPSTRETCHING® method works step by step, so you won't have to guess what comes next. The courses open soon: leave your email on the courses page and we'll tell you first. Until then, have a look at our online training formats.