Building a strong core is simpler than it seems, and trust me, I’ve been writing about fitness trends for the past decade. Getting a six-pack is a different ball altogether, and if that’s your goal, you’ll need to pay attention to your diet, stress, sleep, and overall body fat percentage.
Yet a strong core is more important than visible abdominal muscles. Your core is your body’s corset, protecting your spine from injury when you move, and helping you run, walk, and stand with better posture and balance.
Although I occasionally do a traditional “ab workout,” most evenings I find myself practicing Pilates to relax before bed. I’m a marathon runner, currently preparing for my sixth marathon (and my first postpartum race), and I use Pilates to strengthen my body and keep it injury-free.
The abdominal exercise I swear by is Pilates Toe Taps – I used it as part of my postpartum recovery program to rebuild my core and pelvic floor muscles, and I still use it today to work on the deep stabilizer muscles in my midsection. Read on to learn how to do this and form mistakes to watch out for.
How to do Pilates Toe Tap Exercise
As with all Pilates exercises, the key here is to move slowly and with complete control. You will only need your body weight, but use one of these best yoga mat Below you can help keep things more comfortable.
- Lie on your back, pressing your lower back into the floor.
- Bend your knees and lift your feet off the floor. Your knees should be in line with your hips.
- Raise your arms, keeping them extended. This is called tabletop position.
- Engage your abs, think about pulling your navel into your spine, or tighten your abs, as if you’re about to be punched.
- Slowly and with control, tap one foot on the floor, touching it to your toes, then lift your foot to its starting position.
- Repeat on the other side.
- Make sure your lower back remains pressed to the floor the entire time, and that you do the same number of reps on both sides.
What are the benefits?
deep core activation
While exercises like sit-ups and crunches work the rectus abdominis, or “six-pack” muscles, this simple-looking exercise targets the deepest transverse abdominis muscles. These muscles protect your spine from injury and stabilize your body while you walk.
You’ll also work the pelvic floor here, making it great for postpartum work, as you’ll want to focus on strengthening the muscles that have become loose during labor to avoid incontinence.
Always remember to check with your doctor or midwife before returning to exercise after giving birth.
hip flexor mobility
The key to this exercise is to keep your knees bent at 90 degrees as you tap your toes on the floor. This ensures that the motion is coming from your hip flexors, not your knees. If you spend a lot of time sitting or you’re a runner, you may find that your hips are particularly tight, so this is a great exercise to loosen things up.
pelvic stability
Because of the tabletop position, your pelvis is stable in this exercise. This helps protect your lower back and teaches you to keep your pelvis stable as you plant your legs – a good thing to practice for other strength training exercises.
What mistakes should be paid attention to in the form?
Like most ab exercises, you’ll want to make sure your lower back is pressed into the exercise mat for this exercise. If you feel like your lower back is separating from the mat, you’re not engaging your abs, and you could be putting yourself at risk for injury. Reduce the range of motion, and don’t worry if your foot doesn’t reach the floor; It is more important to support your back.
You’ll also want to avoid rushing this activity – the main thing is to move as slowly as possible. Make sure you are not holding your breath. Very. Think about inhaling as you drop your toes to the floor, and exhaling as you lift your foot back up to the tabletop.
I Do Pilates Toe Tap Every Day – Here’s How I’ve Progressed the Exercise
Pilates Toe Taps are a great basic exercise in Pilates, but as you get stronger, it also becomes easier to make sure you’re working hard on your abs. Here are a few ideas:
- double toe tap: Instead of tapping one foot on the floor, tap twice each time you lower your toes to the mat, lowering both at the same time. This is a big challenge for your lower abdomen. Then, only go as low as you can while keeping your lower back pressed into the mat.
- Add Volatility: If you add some instability the exercise immediately becomes difficult. To do this, place a Pilates ball or foam roller under your lower back and tap your toes.
- turn up the tap: Another easy way to increase the intensity of the exercise is to point your toes away from your body.
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