How to Warm Up for Pilates

As any good fitness instructor will tell you, you should warm up before you dive into your workout. I tell this to my strength training clients all the time! But when it comes time to warm up for Pilates, you don’t have to do anything at all. Other than Pilates, that is. 

Warm Up for Pilates With Pilates

In Joseph Pilates’ book, Return to Life Through Contrology, the first exercise in the book is the Hundred. And below the name of the exercise you will see that it says “Introductory Exercise.”  This is the beautiful thing about the Pilates method; if you follow the sequence of mat exercises as mapped out by Joseph Pilates, you will warm your body up and prepare yourself for each of the next exercises in the series.    

The other beautiful part of Pilates is that all of the movements have modifications to make it achievable for you. The full version of the Hundred is the most difficult version. In Return to Life, Pilates says, “At first you probably will not be able to carry out instructions as illustrated in poses – this proves why these exercises and all succeeding ones will benefit you. However, with patience and perseverance you eventually should succeed in achieving the ideals as posed – with accompanying normal health.”   

What is The Hundred, Exactly? 

To do the Hundred, you lay on your back, and round up your upper spine to lift your head and neck. At the same time, you bend your spine from the bottom up, which will help hold your legs up off the ground. Your hands reach down by your sides and hover above the mat. While maintaining this posture, you breathe in fully while pumping your arms vigorously for 5 pumps, then exhale fully while pumping your arms five more times. 

In the full version, you repeat this sequence ten times. 5 pumps + 5 pumps = 10 pumps. Repeat x 10 = 100. One variation is to do the exercise as illustrated by Joseph Pilates, but only doing a few reps. The goal is to build up to ten reps (the full hundred) with practice. Here is a guide on how to do The Hundred (with modifications). 

Why is The Hundred a Warm Up for Pilates? 

When performed properly, the Hundred covers all the basics of a good warm up routine. Your heart rate increases, and all of the major muscle groups that you’ll be using later are given attention. The controlled breathing pattern and arm pumps increase your body’s circulation and heart rate to prepare you for further abdominal work. The body’s position requires you to engage and utilize your entire “powerhouse” (core, torso, and glutes). It also fires up your leg, back, arm, and neck muscles to prepare you for the next exercises in the series. 

What Exercises Come Next?

The Roll Up follows the Hundred in the mat series. This movement gets you bending your spine, lifting up off the mat, and rounding forward, reaching toward your toes. The Hundred has prepared you with the half-lift, finding the connections in your body to curl up off the mat, and by helping to strengthen the muscles needed to complete the exercise (abs, back and glutes). 

After the Roll Up is the Roll Over. This time, you lift your legs up off the mat, bending your spine from the bottom. Again, the Hundred has led by example and prepared you to be able to pick your legs up off the mat. And so the exercises continue in Pilates, each building off the previous in some way. 

Despite the benefits of the Hundred, there is always a groan or two when I announce that it’s time to do it in class. Like I said, it’s hard! But it shows up everywhere in Pilates: the mat, reformer, chair, tower, and even the spine corrector. And since it’s an essential part of the Pilates method, there are many prep exercises and modifications to help you build your strength to conquer the full Hundred. 

Ready for a Challenge? 

Even if you don’t do any other Pilates exercises but manage to nail the Hundred, your body will be stronger and thank you for it. On May 1st, we are doing another round of Pilates Bootcamp, but with a focus on the Hundred. Each of us will be starting at a different level, but will gain more strength and control as we progress together for an entire month. Yes – a month! I want you to feel the difference between day one and thirty, and feel proud at what you are capable of. 

Stay tuned, because more details are coming soon!