Baby steps to a leaner, stronger powerhouse

CAN Pilates make you taller? Or stronger? Yes, it can - but perhaps not by Christmas. But starting on a Pilates routine now could certainly help you make a confident entrance into that year-end bash and give you a headstart on transforming your body into a leaner, stronger version of itself in the new year.

Ole Eugenio, Pilates programme director at yoga and Pilates studio, COMO Shambhala Urban Escape, has put together an introductory Pilates home routine for absolute novices comprising three exercises from the classical Pilates Basic 7 series.

The Hundred

The Hundred is a signature Pilates mat exercise routinely performed at beginning of classes. The exercise is named after the 100 beats of the arms performed while extending your legs and lifting your head and shoulders off the mat. Says Mr Eugenio: "The Hundred enhances breathing and circulation, strengthens the front of the body while lengthening the back of the body creating a two-way stretch. It may look like an abdominal exercise but it actually works the entire body."

Roll Up

The Roll Up, another Pilates staple works mainly on mobility of the spine, hips and shoulders. In the Roll Up, you peel your spine off the mat, lifting your lower belly and scooping your navel to the spine the whole time.

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Says Mr Eugenio: "The Roll Up is a very good exercise to find length and strength on the front and back of the body. If done correctly, it will tone and strengthen the abdominals while increasing muscular flexibility for a long streamlined body."

One Leg Circle

In this seemingly simple exercise, you circle your legs in the air moving from the hip joint. Your goal is two-fold: to stabilise the pelvis and prevent the hips from rocking from side to side. Mr Eugenio recommends leg circles for toning the leg muscles while increasing hip mobility and strengthening hip muscles. And the bonus, according to The Complete Idiots Guide to Mat Pilates, is that leg circles tighten and tone areas that can't be hidden by a swim suit: the abdominals, thighs and hips.

The key to making this basic routine more effective, says Mr Eugenio, is to apply that cornerstone of the Pilates system: the concept of whole body commitment.

He says: "Understand how the body moves in different planes. Apply conscious effort to growing tall in the spine; this will activate the muscles efficiently and appropriately. Breathing is also the key. Breathing while performing the movement will oxygenate the blood and activate the right muscles needed in a specific task."

Mr Eugenio advises starting off by practising these three basic exercises daily, in addition to your regular workouts. When you are ready, look for a good certified Pilates instructor to guide you on your Pilates journey. By this time next year, you could well have a whole new body.