The Hundreds Pilates Exercise

Series Summary

Pilates is an exercise system developed by a German man named Joseph Pilates. It was designed to strengthen the body core ( which consists of the abdominal muscles, the lower back muscles, hip flexors, and gluteus muscles) in order to prevent back pain, and help with spine alignment and breathing control. Pilates exercises can be done almost anywhere and can be learned quite easily especially when you can be taught by an expert like ours.

In this free online how-to video series learn some great intermediate Pilates exercises from our expert Pilates instructor Cecily Yeager. She teaches and demonstrates advanced Pilates exercises such as the criss cross, the saw, the corkscrew, the cat stretch and the seal puppy. You'll also learn how these great exercises are able to target problem areas better than other exercises.

Video Transcript

"The next exercise is called the hundred. It's a very popular Pilates exercise. So, just as in the hundreds prep, what we're going to do is lift the arms up over the head, fold the legs up to table top and on the exhale, stretch everything out and curl up. What I want to do is I want to inhale for five pulses and exhale for five to form a set of ten. We're going to do this set of ten ten times. This is what it will look like. As you do this try to keep the pulses rhythmic and even and with strong arms pulling out toward the wall. Staying in the the neutral spin the whole time, of course. If you want an extra challenge you can lower your legs slightly. Or, if you cannot straighten them all the way it's OK to bend them a little bit. Once you've reached 100, curl up a little bit more and then relax back down to the mat."