Top 10 Most and Least Favourite Exercises

Everyone has their own personal favourite exercises they could do every workout, while there are others they would happily skip. As a personal trainer and Pilates teacher, I’m pretty familiar with the most common ones (burpees, I’m looking at you!), but once in a while someone surprises me. 

Top 10 Least Favourite Exercises

Below are the top 10 exercises that I hear clients groan about having to do. Is yours on the list? 

1. The Hundred. This Pilates warm-up is hard, especially because you aren’t warmed up yet! And for those new to Pilates, they often feel it in their necks. 
2. Lunges. Lunges quickly make your legs sore and tired. There’s also the balance factor with each and every lunge. 
3. Push Ups. Moving your own body weight can be very difficult, but it’s also a life skill that you could need if you ever fall. When someone masters this though, it’s such a great feeling! 
4. Teaser. Hello abs! … and your backside… and legs… Then you have to find balance and control of the movement. This is even more difficult for people with longer limbs; the longer the lever the more challenging the lift.  
5. Swimming. UGH. This is my least favourite exercise. Why? Well because it’s very hard and my body is much more capable of flexing forward versus extending backward.  A lot of the population is very pulled forward and rounded in their shoulders, with a bit of a hunched posture. Our back muscles are often weaker and not used to being worked out like we do in the swimming exercise. When you find an exercise really tough, it’s often a sign that your body needs to do more of it. 
6. Stomach Massage. I used to avoid this one at all costs, but I started to make myself do it more. I like it now, but I know many people who do not. It puts your body in a squished position which can be uncomfortable, and people don’t love that it can make your pants fall down! It does get better with time and practice. 
7. Bulgarian Split Squats. These literally make me feel nauseous but it’s oh so good for strengthening your legs and glutes. It also forces your weaker side to work along with your stronger side. 
8. Burpees. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say they like burpees, and that’s okay. I’m going to tell you that you don’t have to do them. You can do planks, push ups, and squats instead to get all the same strengthening benefits. Then you just need to find another option for cardio. Burpees are a fast way to get all of that in, but not if it makes you sick. 
9. Backstroke. When you do this on the long box on the reformer, it’s tough. It’s confusing to start and there’s a lot going on. You’re trying to get all the moves while attempting to maintain a strong C curl, which is a challenge in itself. This exercise does get easier as you get stronger and more aware of your movements.  
10. Rocking. There are a lot of moans and groans on this one, as you’re on your stomach, trying to get ahold of each of your shins by your ankle joint. Then you need to go into a backbend and try to rock. It’s a lot, especially since many of us are very tight through the hip flexors, quads, shoulders, and chest. This can be extremely hard! If it is hard for you, break it down and start with one side at a time, or don’t worry about rocking. Again, with practice, it will get easier.

Top 10 Most Favourite Exercises

And now for the ones most people love to do. 

1. Leg Circles on the Tower or Reformer. I’ve only ever had one person not like this exercise. Everyone else says this feels so good on the hips and with the stretch of the inner thighs. I even had a client who would hop on into leg circles any time I stopped to help another client in a class.
2. Short Spine on the Reformer. I recall going home and telling my husband that he would not believe what I was able to do at my Pilates class and how great my back felt after doing short spine.  Years later, he did it for the first time and proceeded to tell me that he would be going into the studio to do short spine 80 times daily (a bit much but heck it feels great).
3. Romanian Deadlifts. When executed well with a nice tall spine, any version of this exercise feels powerful. You really feel the muscles of the butt, hamstrings, and back working.
4. TRX Rows. This is another exercise that looks more difficult that it is and makes you feel strong. Clients often don’t think that they’ll be able to put their body on much of an angle to do the row and they shock themselves. They still feel the work and there are many ways to make it more challenging as one builds strength.
5. Push Through on the tower/trapeze table/cadillac. This exercise gives the back chain of your body such an amazing stretch. Now, you can “cheat” on this and not feel as great of a stretch, but I recommend going for it. You’ll feel more abs and arms when you focus on keeping your arms straight and moving the spine first.
6. Swan on the Wunda Chair. Swan is done on various appartuses in the Pilates studio, but I find clients tend to love doing it on the chair the most. The pedal of the chair gives you assistance to find the extension of your spine, feeling the back side of your body, including glutes and legs working, and a lovely stretch through the front.
7. Medicine Ball Slams. I’ve had the odd person say they dislike these but most love them because you can really get some aggression out. Even if you don’t know that you have it inside you, it feels really good to slam that ball to the ground or against a wall. A joke goal I’ll give my clients is to see if they can break the ball. Turns out one did!
8. Teaser. Yes, this one made both lists! Pilates practitioners often like teaser on the tower/cadillac/trap table. This is because we usually use the push through bar which assists us up into the teaser. It remains a challenging exercise but it can definitely help one get past the struggles of doing it on the mat or reformer while starting to build more strength and control.
9. Kettlebell Swings. These look fun and are fun to do. But before I introduce a kettlebell swing to a client, I want to be sure they’ve mastered a great hinging movement and can control the swing.
10. Hanging on the Cadillac. Hook your feet into the fuzzy straps and ease your way over the end of the Cadillac to hang upside down. It’s a bit scary at first, but with a spotter this feels amazing.

As I type these out, more and more exercises are popping into my head. Which are your favourites to do (or not do)?