Resistance Bands and Classical Pilates Exercises

Resistance bands are an overlooked prop that can be incredibly useful. It’s easy for most of us to perform a good stretch or two with the resistance bands, but many are not as readily aware of the many strength-building and challenge elements that these tools can add to our normal Pilates routine. Many of us get confused about what resistance bands do and how to use them. First of all, they are the #1 way to carry your Pilates routine with you when you travel. They’re inexpensive, versatile, and take up no space in your suitcase. Using resistance bands is a great way to mix up your daily Pilates routine at home or in the studio.

The variety of ways you can use the bands is enormous. There are so many choices because you can create the resistance from below, above, the side, etcetera.

Because the resistance bands incorporate resistance in both directions (the up and the down movement) they go hand in hand with the Pilates philosophy, unlike free weights where you get more resistance on one part of the movement. For example—in the gym when performing a tricep curl, you encounter all of the resistance as you lift the dumbbell and drastically less resistance as you lower it down. The bands give you the same amount of tension in both directions. Because of this constant tension, you have to work hard to stabilize the body. This work not only helps to incorporate more muscle groups but will greatly increase coordination and balance. The bands are also user friendly for the beginner up to the elite athlete because they are sold in many different tensions. To attain the optimal situation to train in, it is best to have a variety of bands since different muscle groups will require different levels of resistance. Most bands are color coded according to tension level (light, medium, heavy, very heavy).

CLASSICAL PILATES EXERCISES WITH THE RESISTANCE BAND

Exercise: ROLLDOWN

• Start seated tall with the legs straight in front of you and together.
• Wrap the middle of your wide resistance band around the balls of your feet.
• Hold each end of the band. The tighter the band the easier this exercise will be. As you get more experienced loosen up on the band.
• Keep the arms long throughout the exercise.
• Inhale and sit up tall.
• Exhale and slowly start to roll down the back one vertebra at a time.
• As you roll down keep the legs sharp and keep pressing out through the heels. And remember, keep the arms long.
• Once you're down, inhale and hold.
• Exhale and slowly start to peel back up one vertebra at a time.
• As you roll up keep the legs sharp and keep pressing out through the middle of the heels.
• Keep the arms long. No bending of the elbows.
• Do 6 to 8 sets.
• Challenge yourself to see how slowly you can roll up and down. Use as many breath cycles as you need.

Exercise: LEG PRESS DOWN

• This exercise is challenging enough on its own so be sure you can do the original version before you add the band!!
• Start on your mat on all fours.
• The band should be on your upper back, between the shoulder blades with each end in one hand.
• The tension should feel tight and snug across the back when you bring yourself into plank position.
• Keeping the hips down and the upper back wide, lift the left foot up off the floor and pulse it two times on a sniffing inhale.
• Exhale and return the left foot to the floor.
• Change sides. Try to hold the plank position as you do two to four reps on each side.
• As you move through the reps the band should stay snug and you should hold optimal alignment in the plank position.

Exercise: SINGLE LEG CIRCLES

• Start on the mat on your back with both knees bent.
• Straighten the left leg and place the resistance band around the ball of the foot.
• The right leg can stay bent or it can stay straight.
• If it is straight it will be harder to stabilize the spine and pelvis as you circle the leg.
• One side of the band in each hand with the elbows to the floor and shoulders away from the ears.
• When starting this exercise keep the circles small and be sure the head, spine and pelvis stay still and stable throughout.
• Inhale cross the left leg over the body and down away from the head.
• Exhale bring the leg to the outside of the body and then back to the starting position.
• Half the circle on the inhale and half on the exhale.
• Do 4 to 6 in this direction and then change directions.
• The long leg should be articulating at the top ( at the ball and socket joint) and not at the knee or ankle.

Join us next time for part two of the classical Pilates exercises with the resistance band.