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Don’t let love handles peek out from under your cropped top..
These Pilates core exercises shown here will sculpt your midriff, and give you toned and defined abs that you can show off in the latest fashion runway looks.
PowerMoves Pilates in the Park
Pilates was originally designed to treat injured and bedridden soldiers in World War I. Although it was developed for clinical and rehabilitation purposes, it has become extremely popular with dancers, gymnasts and celebrities seeking the long and lean-muscled look. Today the Pilates method is widely practised for both its rehabilitation as well as its body conditioning and fitness benefits.
Pilates is an innovative mind-body exercise developed by Joseph Pilates. Blending eastern exercise philosophies with western fitness science, Pilates is a holistic discipline that improves physiological fitness and enhances psychological wellness. It combines the mental focus and specific breathing of yoga and Chinese martial arts with the physicality of gymnastics and other sports movements – creating an entirely new training regime that accentuates controlled grace in power and flowing beauty in movement.
Pilates is effective in rehabilitative and clinical therapy because of its strong focus on good posture, efficient movement and strengthening of proper musculature. With better body awareness through Pilates, one’s motor control and precision in movement can be improved. This results in better, more productive and efficient muscle functions during the workout. The benefits of this mind-body control and synergy can then be applied in all other areas of daily life.
Regular practice of Pilates will also ensure improved balance, coordination and circulation as well as increased core strength, flexibility and mobility. The emphasis on controlled, low-impact movements and correct breathing helps to ease pain, stiffness and rigid joints. Pilates is especially useful for persons suffering from chronic pain in the neck, shoulders, back, hips and knees; issues with postural and biomechanical problems; concerns with sports conditioning and injury prevention.
While weight training exercises tend to build short, bulky muscles, Pilates creates long, lean muscles. It is especially important in the strengthening of the ‘core’ muscles that stabilize and hold you up – giving you better posture to do your daily routine, creating a strong centre so that you can perform all tasks with ease and balance, and ensuring that you move your body correctly to avoid aches and pain. This core stabilization of the body also realigns the body to prevent any muscular imbalances. Pilates teaches you to connect your brain with your body, making all movement and exercises you do more efficient and effective.
Pilates can be physically challenging and keeps your heart pumping in the target zone so you burn more calories in less time. At intermediate and advanced levels, you will be able to move rapidly through the exercises without losing proper form, and your stronger core will take you from one exercise to the next with precision and control. For optimal fitness results, incorporate the principles of Pilates into your regular workout routine to combine form with function, add depth and proficiency towards an intensely beneficial workout each time.
Several benefits of Pilates rehabilitation and physiotherapy include improved postural issues; easy on the joints – low impact in nature; improved balance, coordination and circulation; increased mind-body awareness; enhanced functional fitness and ease of everyday movement.
All Pilates exercises are scientifically-based, gentle and restorative, and can be modified to meet the needs of each individual. Pilates was also designed as a mind-body regime that reduces stress and anxiety through consistent practice.
Call PowerMoves Pilates in the Park for your body makeover today!
The party season will soon be upon us and, with it, those inevitable pangs of fear and body-loathing that can afflict even the most outwardly confident of women. The double-edged sword is drawn – the cocktail parties with free-flow canapés and champagne, the groaning buffet tables and the calorie-laden cocktails conspire to sabotage your figure… at the time when you want to look your very best.
However, with some simple preventive and remedial moves, you can have your body party-ready long before the first champers cork is popped. Ms Claudel Kuek, Managing Director of PowerMoves Pilates in the Park network, suggests you should work on all of your body but concentrate on one or two of your best features. That way you can magnetise all eyes on – say, your lithe and lovely legs – and divert attention from your slightly thick waist or your less-than-ample cleavage.
Here are all the moves for priming and prepping a party-ready bod.
For ladies with lovely long legs suited to strutting in a pair of killer heels, try toning them with Side Kick Kneeling. Here’s how… Start by kneeling on both knees with your hands behind your head. Reach your left hand down to the mat and raise your right leg parallel to the mat. Your left hand is under your shoulder, your left hip over your left knee, your right elbow reaching to the ceiling. Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, kick your right leg toward the front of the room and then toward the back of the room. Bring your leg back to centre and repeat 12 times before switching sides.
For damsels with delicious derrieres, why not add a little extra oomph to an already perky butt with Single Leg Drops? To begin, lie on one side in a straight line with the bottom arm supporting your head up. The top arm is bent with hand placed on the mat. Keep your pelvis in a perpendicular line to the mat. Lift your top leg to hip height and flex your foot as you point your toes towards the mat in front. Imagine your big toe is touching a hot stove on the mat so you don’t want to stay there long. As soon as the toe taps the mat, it lifts off the mat again with the heel of foot reaching to the ceiling. Stay stable and square in the hips as you tap and lift your toes for 25 times without stopping. Breathe normally.
For graceful gals with alluring backs, lengthen and strengthen your spine with the Swan. Lie on the mat face down, keep your arms close to your body as you bend your elbows to bring your hands under your shoulders. Extend your shoulders away from the ears. Keep your legs together as you engage your abdominal muscles, lifting your belly button up and away from the mat. As you inhale, lengthen your spine, sending energy through the top of your head as you press your forearms and hands into the mat to support a long upward arc of the upper body. The elbows are close to the body, the head stays in line with the spine, and the hips stay on the mat. On the exhale, release the arc, lengthening your spine as your torso returns to the mat in a sequential way (low-belly, mid-belly, low-ribs until you are in prone position again). Repeat 6 times.
For misses with sexy midriffs, define your admirable abdominals with Long Arm Crunches. Lie face-up with your knees bent, feet on the floor. Interlace your fingers, extend arms above your head and pull your abs in. Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, lift your arms, head and shoulder blades off the ground at the same time in a slow and controlled manner. Inhale to lower in 2 slow counts. Repeat 8 times.
For a sexy cleavage, enhance what Nature gave you – or didn’t – with a Wonder Bra. (Sorry, Pilates can only do so much in this department – but it can improve your posture so that your back is straight, your shoulders are drawn back and your chest is both standing to attention and attracting it.)
Once you’ve optimised your physical assets with Pilates, you’ll feel confident to walk into a roomful of beautiful people and hold your head high, confident in the knowledge that your bod is party-ready and flaunt-worthy. And while you’re at it, permit yourself a little guilt-free indulgence… Chocolate fountain, anyone?
By Suzanne Lauridsen
www.powermoves.com.sg
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Thank you for sending in your fitness queries to us. We will address your issues here on our pilates blog or directly to you should you request for privacy. Always happy to be at your service! 🙂
Q: What kind of equipment should I invest in if I want to set up a home gym in my four-room flat? What are the things I should look out for when purchasing them and how should I maintain them? I would like to own minimal pieces of equipment but be able to work out various parts of the body.
– Khal
A: Do consider light to medium hand-held weights or strap-on weights. These help to challenge your body during your regular workout routine. Also beneficial are the latest apparati like the magic circle (flex ring), the foam roller, the flex band and the fit ball. All very affordable, easy to store away, and gives you that extra oomph for whichever parts of your body you are working on that needs taking it up a few notches.
Q: Does working out during different parts of the day make any difference? I read that it is better to exercise in the morning than at night but being a working mum, I find it more convenient to workout at the end of the day after I tuck the kids in to bed than to wake up at 5.30am for a jog.
– Mary F.
A: Training at different times of the day does not make much of a difference physically. However, training in the mornings is preferred to late in the day because we find that people who train in the morning skip fewer workouts and have less difficulty making healthy food choices during the day. Deciding to train in the morning also means that you choose the healthy option of sleeping early, waking up on time and eating a decent breakfast. This in turn builds good habits, which leads to long-term success. That being said, anytime of the day is a good time to workout, as long as it fits nicely into your busy schedule and you can make it a fixture in your daily routine.
No stranger to awards and accolades, internationally acclaimed home-grown brand PowerMoves has outshone its rivals in snagging The Most Beautiful Pilates Studio Award in the SHAPE Awards 2010. For those who have followed the rise of this powerhouse little brand from its roots in Bishan Park 2 to the opening of its spacious second outlet at Dempsey Park, this will come as no surprise.
Just last year, PowerMoves’ original Bishan Park 2 studio was nominated ‘Most Beautiful Studio in the World’ by Balanced Body®, the foremost Pilates authority in the US. This latest nod of approval from SHAPE, the unofficial fitness ‘bible’ of Singapore, is the icing on the cake. While international acclaim is of course welcomed, some would argue that approval means more when it comes from a source close to home.
Any visitor who sets foot in PowerMoves’ Dempsey studio will immediately understand the judges’ decision. Building on PowerMoves’ unique Pilates in the Park positioning, the architect-designed premises blend in beautifully with the natural surroundings of Dempsey, the undisputed ‘lifestyle hub’ of Singapore. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows are fronted by lush screens of tropical vegetation, providing privacy while admitting streams of natural sunlight that gently play on the myriad of natural textures inside. These include bamboo on portable partitions; pebble wash on indoor feature walls and the building’s entrance façade; and naturally water-resistant Chengai wood for the flooring. 
Founder and Managing Director of PowerMoves, Ms Claudel Kuek, expressed her delight on being honoured in this year’s SHAPE Awards: “We are indeed very happy with the win. It’s a great honour for us to be recognised across the globe, both in the USA and now on home soil in Singapore, for our outstanding Pilates facility. I especially love that our new Dempsey studio has been deemed the most beautiful place in which to work out in Singapore. We’re on top of the world!”
When asked to elaborate on her views on the importance of beautiful surroundings, Claudel had this to say: “Beauty works something like osmosis. Surround yourself with beautiful things and it will inspire you to think beautiful thoughts. Beautiful thoughts literally write themselves all over your face – as smiles. A ready smile and a positive outlook will help you in all areas of your life – not just in embracing a wellness regime but in coping with stressful situations. In short, beauty is catching!”
Come see for yourself what impressed the judges at PowerMoves’ Dempsey studio: officially the Most Beautiful Pilates Studio in Singapore. Chances are, you’ll leave with a smile on your face! 🙂
PowerMoves Pilates in the Park is located @Dempsey 6ix and 7even, 6 Dempsey Road, Singapore 249683; and @Aramsa ~ the Garden Spa, Bishan Park 2, Singapore 569931.
By Suzanne Lauridsen
PowerMoves Pilates Studio Singapore
Destined for Dempsey: Home-grown PowerMoves Pilates in the Park is set to flex some muscle on the local fitness scene with the opening of its second parklands studio in Singapore. The bold move will see the powerhouse brand add ‘largest Pilates studio in Singapore’ to its already impressive string of ‘firsts’, ‘bests’ and ‘mosts’. Just a few months ago its original Bishan Park 2 studio was nominated ‘Most Beautiful Studio in the World’ by Balanced Body®, the foremost Pilates authority in the US. Building on the success of the Pilates in the Park concept pioneered in Bishan Park 2, the architect-designed premises of PowerMoves’ Dempsey studio blend in with nature rather than intrude on it. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows admit streams of natural sunlight filtered through lush screens of tropical vegetation, and all materials have been thoughtfully selected with aesthetics and environmental friendliness in mind. They include bamboo, for tasteful partitions; pebble wash, liberally used on indoor feature walls and the building’s entrance façade; and naturally water-resistant Chengai wood for the flooring. Unlike the single open-space studio in Bishan Park 2, PowerMoves’ spacious 3,400 sq ft Dempsey studio houses four generous-sized studios in one. Each studio ideally suited to both private one-on-one lessons as well as small group classes. A key point-of-difference that sets PowerMoves apart from its competition is the size of its classes. Group sessions are limited to a maximum of six clients for work on the Reformer (a bench-like piece of equipment exclusive to Pilates), and eight for work on the mat. Consequently, clients receive personalised attention from trained instructors who are fully conversant with the personal fitness challenges and goals of each. The founder and famous face of PowerMoves, former ballerina Claudel Kuek, has lined up a veritable ‘United Nations’ of qualified Pilates instructors for her new studio. The new staff includes American, English, Thai, Filipina and Singaporean instructors. It’s a cosmopolitan mix that feels right at home in Dempsey Park, arguably Singapore’s foremost lifestyle and leisure destination. In the immediate vicinity are French, German, Indian and fusion cuisine restaurants, as well as a wine bar – which makes it very handy indeed for an after-workout supper or cocktail. In case you’re marvelling at the apparent incongruity of pairing a workout with a wine, Claudel Kuek is all for a little indulgence. In her own words, “People should reward and indulge themselves, and Pilates grants them permission to do so. Otherwise there would be no reason to live.” This elegant and poised mother of two is a walking advertisement for her company. Lithe and toned and emanating a positivity that cannot be faked, Claudel hails Pilates as “the miracle method”, with a passionate conviction usually reserved for religion. Then again, Pilates is almost a religion – part of a holistic philosophy that embraces a synergy of mind, body and spirit. Said Claudel, “The benefits of Pilates filter through all aspects of life. The discipline and focus required for Pilates are transferable skills that can be applied to everything, from a workout to work and relationships.” That’s not to undermine the purely physical benefits of this exercise form that is enjoying increasing popularity around the world. A low-impact workout that builds core strength, Pilates eases rather than exacerbates joint and back pain, improves posture, trims the figure and tones the muscles without adding excess bulk. In Claudel’s words, “Pilates is a fountain of youth that should be shared with all your best friends.” Bring your best friends to PowerMoves’ Dempsey studio and take a dip in the fountain of youth that is Pilates. PowerMoves Pilates in the Park is located @Dempsey 6ix and 7even, 6 Dempsey Road, Singapore 249683; and @Aramsa ~ the Garden Spa, Bishan Park 2, Singapore 569931. By Suzanne Lauridsen
The First Name in Pilates Opens a Second PowerMoves Pilates in the Park
These Pilates ab exercises are great for strengthening and tightening of the abdominal muscles. After 4 weeks of working on your abs with these moves, you will be happy to find that your clothes fit better around the waist, your stomach is more taut, you become more conscious of the way you hold yourself and you look and feel positively different from before you started. Your waistline will be slimmed, you will stand taller, and you will eliminate the flabby tummy syndrome.
As an added bonus, the strengthening of the core with these Pilates ab exercises and using that strength to stabilise and lengthen the torso and its surrounding muscles, your posture is improved. Good posture is important in maintaining the equilibrium of the body resulting in improved mobility and stability, increased breathing capacity, proper joint and muscle alignment, overall balance and symmetry. Contracting your abdominal muscles, lifting them in and up your spine, creates a foundation built to withstand the weight of your body and the tasks of everyday living.
Let’s begin our program towards getting Pilates Abs to die for! Listed below are the 7 Pilates exercises to achieve the abs of your dreams:
The Hundred
Lie back with arms by your sides, legs extended. Pull belly button in toward the spine as you lift your shoulder blades off the mat bringing your chin to chest. While in this position, pulse your arms up and down for 100 counts (inhaling for 5 counts, exhaling for 5 counts).
Lower Abdominal Lift
Lie back with arms by your sides and legs extended toward the ceiling, toes pointed. Contract belly muscles and exhale to slowly lift hips straight off the mat a few inches. Slowly lower to start on your inhale. Do this with control and without rocking the hips. Lift and lower for 10 reps.
Criss Cross
Lie back with your knees bent, fingers laced behind your head. Lift your shoulder blades off the mat and exhale to twist your right shoulder toward your left knee as you extend right leg out. Pause at the inhale and then exhale to twist to the other side. Work up to 15 reps on each side.
Roll Up
Lie back with legs straight and arms extended overhead (but not touching the floor). Pull belly button in toward your spine. Exhale as you bring arms overhead and lift shoulder blades off the mat, curling all the way up until arms are parallel to legs. Exhale again as you slowly uncurl back to start. Do this 10 times.
Swimming
Lie face down on mat with legs and arms extended. Inhale as you slowly lift right arm and left leg off mat as high as you can (extending fully your arms and legs away from each other in opposite directions). Hold for one count and then lower to start as you exhale. Repeat on opposite side and work up to 12 reps on each side.
Plank
Lie face down with legs extended, forearms resting on the mat shoulder-width apart, hands in fists. Tighten abs, tuck toes under and lift hips off the mat so that your body forms a straight line from head to heels as shown. Hold for 30 seconds while breathing normally and then lower to start. Rest before repeating 3 more times.
Standing Side Crunch
Stand with feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart, knees soft, elbows bent, hands in fists by your shoulders. Tighten abs and exhale as you lower your torso to the left, then to the right in one continuous movement, keeping your lower body very still throughout. Inhale as you come back to upright starting position. Work up to 30 reps on each side.
Always in fitness and wellness with you,
CLAUDEL KUEK
PowerMoves Pilates n Dance Singapore