If you’ve worked your way through DailyBurn Pilates Phase One and you’re craving something new, get ready for your next #AbChallenge! With Phase Two of DailyBurn Pilates, you’ll take your core workouts to the next level with longer, more intense sessions.
“In Phase Two, we pick up the pace with the routines,” says DailyBurn Pilates instructor Andrea Speir. “We’re working with the same style of movements, and a lot of the same exercises, but they’re more advanced and faster.”
Don’t worry, you’ll still be practicing The 100 and the Single-Leg Teaser you learned in Phase One. “But we also add in new exercises to up the intensity and the results at the end,” Speir says. The biggest difference: There are no breaks between the moves. It might sound tough — but your new ab muscles will be worth the sweat.
You can start the 16-day Pilates Phase Two program as soon as you’re done with Phase One to continue building your “powerhouse,” or core strength. The seven-day-a-week program intersperses challenging 25- to 30-minute workouts with gentler ‘Stretch Flow’ sessions. These are meant to give your body a rest, while opening and lengthening your hips, pelvis and spine to increase flexibility and circulation.
3 Pilates Moves to Try Now
Want a sneak preview of DailyBurn Pilates Phase Two? These three moves are a sampling of the full workouts you’ll be doing soon. A Pilates Magic Circle can help add resistance to some of the moves. If you don’t own one, don’t sweat it — each move in Pilates Phase Two can be done equipment-free, too.
Wind Down
How to: Sit in the center of your mat, knees bent, feet hip-distance apart (a). Bend your elbows and make a fist with each hand. Stack fists on top of one another in front of your chest (b). Start circling your fists around each other (c). Inhale and curl your tailbone under, scooping the abdominals in, and roll down towards the mat. Stop before your back touches the mat (d). Exhale as you round back up, winding arms in the opposite direction. Repeat four more times.
Tabletop Control
How to: Sitting on the mat, position the Pilates Magic Circle between your legs, just above your anklebones (a). Lie on your back, knees drawn towards your chest. Stack your hands palm over palm, and place them behind your head (b). Curl up, squeezing the Pilates Magic Circle between your legs (c). Lower toes towards the mat (d). Scoop your abdominals in to lift your legs back up to your chest. Repeat 10 times.
Footwork
How to: Lie in the center of your mat, and bring your knees into your chest (a). Curl your head and chest up. Stack hands palm over palm and place them directly behind the head (b). With heels together and toes pointed, turn your knees out, keeping them shoulder-distance apart (c). Send legs out to a high diagonal, at least 45 degrees from the ground, and hold (d). Bend knees back towards your ears. Repeat 10 times.
For more Pilates workouts you can do anytime, anyplace, head to DailyBurn.com/Pilates.
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