Crosspilates summer routine to keep fit

As the summer holidays approach and we take a break from crosspilates, it’s important that we maintain an exercise routine to keep in shape. By simply doing the exercise routine that we present here, you will have enough to keep up with your crosspilates efforts.

With a little imagination we can do pilates or crosspilates exercises in our own home this summer.

First we need to know what we want to strengthen. In my opinion, the best thing is to try to do a full-body workout, aiming to workout both the upper body and core as well as the lower back and lower limbs. Another thing to keep in mind is that we do not want to repeat the same exercises every day since that could lead to our body getting used to specific exercises and therefore it won’t work out as much. To avoid this, we can combine exercises in order to make our muscles work in different ways. One day you can follow the full routine, another day you can choose a set of three exercises, etc.

Here we 10 exercises that you can do at home over the summer period.

Let’s get to it!

1. Bicycle crunches: with this exercise we work out the abs, and more specifically the obliques – the famous V shape that many people seek to get. With this exercise you can work on it and, with perseverance, you’ll end up seeing it. You can do this exercise anywhere in your house where you can lie on the floor. Do it alternating sides and, above all, thinking about breathing.
2. Side plank: the side plank is one of the basic pilates and crosspilates exercises. You can do this exercise in any space in your home as long as you can lie stretched out on the floor. You can make a few sets of 90 seconds combined with other exercises. Like the ones we’re about to present.
3. Squats: this is another typical pilates exercise. In crosspilates we do squats almost every day as we believe they are very effective to tone our legs. And the good thing about squats is that you can do them wherever you want. If you have a baby you can hold him/her and do your squats routine adding his/her weight. You can also use water bottles or any other item of weight you may have. Ideally, you would do sets of 30 repetitions.
4. Lunges: it is important to keep your legs in shape. We can do many exercises to strengthen the legs and we can do them at home. Lunges are one of the typical exercises done in pilates classes to exercise the legs. Whether it’s mat pilates or on a reformer, this is one of the most common pilates leg exercises. We recommend that you do 20 repetitions on each leg. You can also do them including biceps or triceps with a small weight of 1kg. You can use anything that weighs 1kg, from a flour pack to a water bottle.
5. Leg raise: to continue working on the legs and glutes, we can do leg raises. The secret to this exercise is to do it slowly. The slower we do it, the harder it will be. And like all floor exercises, just find a place where you can lie down. We recommend that you do 20 repetitions on each side.
6. Bridge: the glutes are considered one of the laziest muscles in our body. We don’t use them as often but, on the other hand, they are very grateful when you work them out. In pilates and crosspilates, we like to make them work with pelvic lifts.These can be done with both legs, only with one, or alternating them. One of the best ways to do this exercise is by making changes in rhythm. We recommend that you do 10 repetitions when doing lifts with both legs and 20 repetitions on each side when doing single-leg lifts.
7. Push-ups: push-ups are one of the best known exercises all over the world. Who has not done push-ups at some point in their life? In crosspilates we do push-ups to work on the arms and pectorals. And when you do push-ups, you also work on the core, which, as we have said, is one of the bases of pilates. You can do them on the floor of your house (use a mat for more comfort). In case you need them to be slightly easier, you can do them against a table or the couch to reduce the angle. As you gain more strength, you can go down until you get to do them on the floor. You can also do them on your knees for ease. It is best to do series of 20 repetitions.
8. All fours: this exercise helps us tone the legs. You have to go on all fours and lift your knees slightly from the floor. Once in this position, start doing 1cm lifts. You may feel your legs burning after just a few repetitions – it’s completely normal. We recommend that you do 30 repetitions but it’s ok if you start with less.
9. Plank: the abdominal plank is one of the basic pilates and crosspilates exercises. You can do this exercise in any space in your home as long as you can lie stretched out on the floor. We suggest that you hold the plank for 90 seconds like we do in crosspilates classes at DynamiCore.
10. Burpees: with this exercise, which is typical of crossfit, we work in a very global way. It is cardio and it also works out the whole core, arms and legs. It is a good warm-up exercise or even one to do between series of exercises.

All of these exercises that you would usually do in a crosspilates class at DynamiCore, you can do at home, in the park or wherever you want. You can do sets of three exercises, doing 20 repetitions of each or follow the full routine.

When you do exercises at home, it is important that there is no pain and it is important to know how to differentiate between your muscle burning as a result of the exercise we are performing, or real pain that may come from a bad position during the exercises and that may be increasing the risk of injury. At DynamiCore we limit the crosspilates classes to a maximum of 8 people so that we can correct everyone during the session. In class you will learn how to do the exercises respecting the posture so that you can do them correctly at home.

Have a great summer!