ab exercises – Personal Euphoria: Pilates & Fitness Classes in CT

Why the 100?!?!

Why do we do the 100 in Pilates? It’s a fair question. In fact, it’s always fair to ask, “why do I have to do this exercise.” I tell my clients that if I don’t have the answer for them they don’t have to do it. It’s important for all of us to know and understand why we do any move in a class. Understanding helps us get more out of it. So why the 100? Here’s why:

Abdominal Endurance:

The 100 is hard to do well (like most Pilates exercises). One hundred seconds is a LONG time to have your head up off the ground. Really, it’s a big ask. Keeping the head in the air and the legs lifted means your abs are working doubly hard throughout the whole exercise.

Breathing While Doing the 100:

You may find you hold your breath while doing the 100. It’s common to hold our breath on any movement, especially challenging moves, but while all Pilates exercises work to sync breath and movement, the 100 breaks the breath down pretty simply. You inhale for 5, exhale for 5 while not doing too much else. Sure, you’re working […]

Why the 100?!?!Maggie Downie2021-04-22T16:55:15-04:00

Get the most out of your ab workouts

Most people I’ve met want fabulous abs. Others are looking for ways to strengthen and support their back knowing that abs play a roll. Whichever desire motivates us (and sometimes it’s both), we often make time for ab exercises. That’s great, but if you’re going spend time doing ab workouts, let’s make sure you are working them the best you can without hurting other parts of your body. Here are some ways to get the most out of your ab workouts.

Knees over Hips

It’s really easy for the knees to creep in, but keeping them over your hips will create a lot more ab work.

There are lots of exercises for the abs where the legs are in the bent in the air. Often on these exercises the knees start to creep in over the stomach instead of staying over the hips. If that happens because you are taking pressure off the back, that’s a form of modifying, but know that you want to build up to being able to support your legs in tabletop position (with the knees and hips at 90-degrees). It’s not worth straining […]

Get the most out of your ab workoutsMaggie Downie2018-02-14T16:33:04-05:00

Neck Hurts When I Do Ab Exercises

Where does the neck look the happiest to you?

Have you ever felt neck pain when you lift your head off the ground to do an abdominal exercise?

If yes, you’ve come to the right place.

If no, you may be the luckiest person on the planet.

If you have a neck injury (have had whip lash, have a disc-related issue, or slept on it funny, etc.) than you need to relax. That is not pain you want to work through. You may need to reign in the exercises you are doing and only do ab-work with the head down for the time being. You can get a really good abdominal challenge with your head on the floor.

If you don’t have any neck issues, but your neck often or always hurts when you do ab work, there is also no reason you should work through bad pain. But it is worth experimenting to find a place you don’t feel pain. What I’ll call bad pain puts your neck at risk and is a sign that you’re abs aren’t really doing the work. So, why work through […]

Neck Hurts When I Do Ab ExercisesMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:13-04:00