Pilates for Strengthening Core | 20 Minute Workout

26 June 2025


Pilates for Strengthening Core | 20 Minute Workout



#ABSWORKOUT #COREWORKOUT #PILATESWORKOUT #PILATESFORCORE #20MINUTEWORKOUT #CORESTRENGTHENING #PILATESTRAINING #FITNESS

Plates by nature is a great form of exercise to strengthen your core muscles, this is because many of the exercises focus on the deeper, stability muscles in addition to the more superficial layers which we actually see on the outside. In this 20-minute workout, we will go through a balanced group of exercises that place emphasis on pelvic stability, deep muscle activation and also endurance, which is often the best recipe for success.

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[Music] hi everyone I'm David kingsbury from opus and today we're going to be going through a core workout so let's begin lying down on your back and we're first of all we're just going to go through the tabletop position so just let your head relax into the mat we're going to bring one foot up first of all and then the second one so your shins are parallel to the floor like so and your knees are more or less just sat above your hips now the first exercise is the single leg extension so we're going to push one foot all the way out to straight a little pause and then return the breathing for this one out and then in as you come back now the lower the leg goes towards the floor makes this one harder so if you can then we want to take that foot as close to the ground as you can if you want to work or if it's a little bit too difficult rather then you go slightly higher all right so to work harder lower and then higher if you need to take the intensity down a little bit now the focus of these muscles here we're working on the muscles that go just around your belly button above and below just 10 more seconds so this is just the first exercise it shouldn't feel too difficult the next one will be a little bit more tricky so again bring yourself back into that tabletop position draw in through your core and now both legs go forwards exhale and then breathe in return exhale as you push forward again the lower the legs go we'll make it harder inhale to come back good now just draw your chin down and towards your chest slightly to lengthen the back of the neck if you feel that your neck is back here and it's really sore just trop a towel underneath your head or a Pilates block the important thing on this one is that we don't allow those hips to roll forwards and therefore arch the back so really work hard to keep your lower back just gently in contact with the floor into your last eight seconds here we go relax in those shoulders five four three two last one and then we rest good now just bring the knees in towards your chest we're going to do this quite a bit throughout a lot of these exercises are going to be back-to-back with not too much rest in between so hugging the knees will just allow those muscles to recover before we go again now the next one let's take the legs back up into that start position so we'll see this a lot now and we're going to go through your ab Cal so hands go to here take a big breath in as we exhale drop the chin down look towards your belly button and just peel the upper back off we don't need to go too high inhale and lower back down the elbows stay wide and your focus again is right in the middle of your stomach here now it's quite normal as you get tired that your lower back muscles or even your mid-back muscles start to fatigue if you need to drop one leg down that will make it easier or if you want to work that a little bit harder your legs go out slightly straighter good really starting to feel those core muscles now last 10 good stuff guys five seconds four three two and one relax good so again you should start to feel that muscle aching just there we've got one more exercise before we change position now this one is called the hundreds different ways of doing it but we're just going to work on one variation today so take the legs back up we're in your tabletop position then we're going to lift up through the upper body again looking down at the belly button reach your arms down just to the side here and we're just going to pulse the hands up and down like so breathe in for five taps and then breathe out for five tap try and keep reaching your fingertips as far forward as you can go so that you really shorten your abs here and the most common error with this one is that your neck was not even an error but the common problem here is that your neck starts to ache so just support the head with one arm like so if you need to good so it's a full 90 seconds on this one stay with me again if you need to one foot goes down otherwise slightly straighter out with the legs if you can good almost there guys hang on in there if you feel that back start to kick in feel free to reset otherwise we're going to push on the last little bit really pulsed those hands stretching the fingertips as far forwards as you can we're into the last ten nine eight keep going seven six five four three two one and then we rest good so once again just rock your back just side-to-side allow your lower back muscles to relax as well as your core and the next one now is the Superman or superwoman onto all fours let's start again with the hands aligned underneath your shoulders and your hips will sit over the top of your knees draw the shoulders back and just lift your ribcage up gently so that you've got a neutral spine here now let's take the left leg back first then your right arm goes out to the side and we're going to try and focus on your balance on this one breathe in touch the hand and the knee and then exhale push away once again it's okay to lose your balance it's not far to fall if you do [Music] it's a really nice way to work on your core stability as much as your strength but also a subtle way to work on those lower back muscles [Music] good now we're into the last 10 seconds on this exercise guys so stretching that leg and the arm out as far as you can five four three two and one and bring yourself down now we're going to go next into your hover so it's a four-point kneeling position just as we are now and we are simply going to lift your knees off of the floor so we're going to hover about this high it's easier if you've got a mirror to your side so you can see the position of your spine but in an ideal world your shoulders and your hips would be about the same height you often feel with this one when you lift up that you're like this but you're not you should be around here now suck your core muscles that bellybutton pull it up towards the ceiling and push your hands into the mat so that your upper body is lifted again should start to get that little shaky sensation yes sturdy breathing keep the back of the neck long so we don't drop the chin down here [Music] and we're almost there now ten seconds last nine eight seven six five four three two and then one we drop down because they're just a little shell stretch now again let your arms let your wrists and your back recover in your shell stretch just try and drop your armpits down towards your mat and you might feel a stretch through here you might feel it through the upper back as well good say that next exercise will be the Superman again going on the other side so this time we will align back in that start position this time though it's going to be your right leg and your left arm so find that neutral position and then this time we take your right leg all the way back and your left arm out to the side inhale come through little tap exhale stretch back out [Music] now work on where your body weight is distributed between your knee and your hand if you're too far back you might not really feel it the same if you're too far forwards you want your belly button to be set centrally between the two points and that whole body to be parallel to the edges of your mat here about 15 seconds to go 10 seconds 5 4 3 2 1 and then we rest great stuff now we've had a little bit of time on your arms now so give those a little shake off the next one we're going to go into a row position to start in a full plank hands are underneath your shoulders and then we're going to go up onto your toes here now you want your hands fairly close together because now we're going to lift one away from the mat there and then lower back down you're going to feel that as you lift one you're going to twist the body wants to go in one direction try and keep it as stable as you can there and down [Music] and you'll feel the body shake and you have to work really hard to keep not only a front of your stomach but your obliques switched on really hard with this one just ten seconds to go nine eight seven six five four three two one and then we rest awesome work core done again just a little shake off through the arms we're going to go straight from here into a mountain climber perhaps not as you know it you might not do it slow like this normally but hands shoulder-width apart let's bring the legs up I want three second holds each time my right leg will go to my left forearm three two one and then back left leg to right arm to one and back good keep that going alternate sides to one and back and you're trying to draw the hip across you do twist a little bit through the spine keeping those arms nice and straight [Music] great work good hang on in there guys last ten nine eight seven six five four three two one and relax well done do it place your toes together widen your knees out to the side and then just drop the chest down into that shell stretch have a well-earned rest that was a tough set the next one will be a rollback position so grab some water you've got about 15 seconds if you need a break perfect okay so let's just have a seat now I'm going to start with my legs slightly bent if you're particularly flexible and it's fine to sit tall but otherwise I'm gonna have them slightly bent here start with your arms out in front of you this one is all about the movement of your spine roll the pelvis back scoop in through your belly button so you curve your spine stop around here if that's enough because you need to be able to then come all the way back up to the start position if you can we go all the way down each vertebrae one at a time and then tuck your chin and come all the way back up in reverse order so I'll show you from the side view when you do this one it's really important that we first have all moved from the hips then roll down through each of your vertebrae and then the same on the way up to tuck the chin upper back middle at the back and then sit really tall at the top onto your sit bones [Music] nice and slow scoop in through your abdominals keep pulling my mat through little pause keep the ribs engaged though and then we come back up and through [Music] good now we're gonna keep that going they're working on the articulation of the spine as well as your core strength and we're preparing for the teaser coming up shortly this one's not quite as intense as the others but you'll definitely feel it the last five seconds four three two we've made it to the top now we're going to go into your teaser this is only a short hold go about halfway down still rolling the pelvis and then we're gonna raise one leg up and then the second now try from here to stay lifted through your chest this is only a 30 second hold the shoulders are relaxed and you're really focusing on that core last ten nine keep it going eight seven six five four three two one and then we rest oh that one should get you a little bit hot and sweaty and so will this next one the side plank now we're gonna work on your oblique especially on this side now the side that's underneath you stagger your feet so if I'm doing this on my right arm my right foot is forwards left foot is slightly back and then we simply lift now we're going to start up in this position this is option one if you want to work a bit harder we reach that top hand under twist the body so I'm now looking at the wall behind me and then come back up to the top exhale and then inhale and try and move at the same speed as your breath as you go around keeping those hips lifted last ten seconds and five four three last rotation if you do in those and then we rest all the way back down great so that one should have been working on this muscle just through here but also through that shoulder strength to keep you lifted as well now we're gonna go from here back into that teaser position the roll backs we won't do let's go into the hard bit let's go into the fun bit the hold so the arms come out again roll the hips back you're about halfway down maybe 45 degrees to the floor one leg up and then the second leg this is a 30 second hold now after this then back into that side plank keeping that chest lifted stretching those arms forwards and it's ten nine eight seven six keep going five four three two one and then relax oh okay so you know what we need to do now we're into your side plank on the other side so again my left arm is on the floor my left foot goes forwards and then we lift let's take on that hard option give it a go if you didn't before exhale and then breathe in and I'm trying to turn my ribcage as far as possible underneath me and then back through [Music] good last five four three two one and then we rest whoo okay so we're now going to go into our last two exercises now the first one is going to be a pike this one will be a 10 rep exercise and I'm going to do this at a slight angle just so that you can see how my body moves up and down so start with your hands about shoulder width apart your legs go out straight and put a little bit more weight into your arms as you exhale lift up through the hips your feet are nice and light inhale and lower down exhale lift legs are straight as you can inhale and lower and try again just to keep those feet really light so that they slide along the floor if you need to put a towel or something slippery underneath your feet that also works really well last three reps great stuff guys last one high as you can go really scoop up through your core muscles and then we drop down and then relax the final one we're almost there let's lie down on your front legs are going out straight forehead just rest on the top of your hand and then we're going to lift exhale up inhale and lower very very small movement but the idea is if we really focus on your lower back and your mid-back good halfway the last five and then it's all over almost there guys last two one more rep and we rest awesome work great stuff guys now that's a core workout that you can do as often as you like you might be a little bit sore tomorrow but I'm sure you'll be fine to crack on again in a couple of days time [Music]

#Pilates #Strengthening #Core #Minute #Workout

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44 Comments
  1. Perfect but the ads are sooooo annoying

  2. I did it for a week and I got my 6 pack back. But most importantly I feel like my core is strenghtening from the inside instead of the surface level. this is fantastic and easy to do 2 or 3 times during the day. thank you so much

  3. Good. I’m 73 and managed most of the workout apart from the side lifts which I adapted.

  4. The adverts ruin what is an amazing workout

  5. Just discovered this gem now. Awesome short workout

  6. You're a complete gift. Thanks for your expertise❤

  7. Great pilates workouts – core and posture have been weekly fixtures for about two years now. David is clear and so much better than certain annoyingly US instructors. More please 😊

  8. Excellent instructor. I’m disappointed there are so few of his videos posted. I’d pay to subscribe to a whole series of workouts.

  9. Thank u so much david sir i really liked the workout thank you again!

  10. Awesome workout!! The 3 point plank is very challenging, and it took me a while. It's a part of my abs routine now, thank you!!

  11. No pikes yet, I apply lower plank with feet left-right in-out.

    A month, maybe two months and go to standing core movements. Apply the pikes and side plank twist.

  12. 1:25 shouldnt feel too difficult? im close to dying 😭

  13. I really struggle with timed exercises for some reason. I always get on with reps because you can take that fraction of a second rest, whereas with timed exercises you just have to fail and then get back into it.

  14. A workout without all the waffling chatter , perfect!

  15. Please l find it difficult to get to the floor to do these exercises and it will be difficult for me to stand up from the ground due to the back pain and weight. My bed mattress is the orthopaedic foam bed that takes shape to the body it’s difficult for me to attempt the exercises. I have a frame fitted on the edge of the bed to assist me to get out.

  16. I am not keen about the ad in the middle of the video

  17. I found this pilates workout and it is great. My only suggestion is that the advert pops up in the middle of an exercise. Perhaps it can be timed to pop up between exercises

  18. Very good, super easy to follow and not too rushed.

  19. Enjoyed this segment ..great workout . Thank you

  20. Thank you David for helping with my back pain. I have been doing this routine for a few months, 3 times a week and my back pain is now history. Combined with your posture routine, my health has improved dramatically .

  21. You should put the names of each exercises you did

  22. Good workout. Thanks. But please put a timer so it is easy to follow along.

  23. great core workout, thanks

  24. Best workout video so far… Well explained and focused on the right parts of workout….

  25. Great video. I'm a fan of hiit workouts and new to pilates. I'm interested to see how much hiit has borrowed from pilates.

  26. I would like to have the full list of exercises with their own timing.

    Is it possible to have it Please?

  27. I honestly clicked on thid video because we're wearing the same clothes. But I keep keep coming back to it because it's one of the best out there! Thanks for the great workout!

  28. This was fantastic! I loved how he caught himself before he said “if you don’t want to work as hard” and switched it to something more like ‘if that’s more than you want to be doing’. I loved that difference because it makes it so much easier to get out of my ego and listen to what I feel is good for me rather than how much I think I should be doing.

  29. Truly one of the best Pilates instructors… everything is very well-explained and he changes his position to offer a better view. Definitely bring this guy back for more.

  30. Suggested by a good friend. Really enjoying doing these. Thanks!!

  31. One like for your hotness 😉

  32. Short,but ambitious! 😎

  33. Thank you for a focused well explained workout

  34. Great routine! David really knows how to make you sweat. I feel fantastic!

  35. Great instructions and sequencing. The hundred is more like a thousand–but an excellent challenge.

  36. Really great, challenging Pilates sequence. And oh, that sultry British accent! 5,4,3,2,1 never sounded so sexy.

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