Posture Tonic's Pilates challenge has been far more challenging than expected so far, yet the dynamic and creative flows of each class make me eager with anticipation for the next one. As I approach the halfway point of the challenge, I've come to appreciate the uniqueness of Jacinta's programming and overall approach to the practice.
Photo by Big Dodzy from Unsplash
You can find the full challenge on this playlist and read my experience with the first ten days of the challenge in this link.
Required equipment for videos 11 to 20:
- Non slip fitness mat.
- Light dumbbells, Jacinta uses 1 kg and 2 kg weights (around 3 to 5 pounds)
- Small Pilates ball. You can use a thick cushion or plushie to substitute the ball.
- Yoga block. You can use a thick book to substitute the block.
- Optional wrist weights.
- Optional tennis sized ball and a small towel for Day 18.
Day 11: 36 Minutes Pilates Sculpt
Required equipment: Light dumbbells (Jacinta uses 1 kg/3 pounds), medium dumbbells (Jacinta uses 3 kg/7 pounds) and a Pilates ball. I used 2 kg/5 pounds as my medium dumbbells, used a cushion and a plushie to substitute the ball.
Starting with a long dynamic warm up incorporating the ball, this fast paced workout can be tricky to keep up with. With a core sequence using both props as opener, the ball is used to add additional range of motion to the moves. My lower abs appeared to be more active than usual, making me feel every slow toe tap. A short prone sequence came next, now with the ball placed underneath the chest to add more core involvement to the movements.
The standing flow of this workout starts in a kneeling position with tricep targeted moves, transitioning into standing for lunges and squats. Holding the dumbbells during these movements was certainly a challenge, I barely could keep up with the arabesque exercise with my poor one legged balanced. I'm pretty sure my form during this technique during this exercise is not quite correct, but I can't quite figure out what I'm doing wrong. While Jacinta's cues are great, having no real feedback is a downside of at home workouts.
Side planks to crouching was the final flow, a nice unilateral exercise involving the full body to finish off the sculpt workout. Overall, I felt pretty disappointed with my performance during the standing sequence, making me wonder if I require more traditional lower body strength training to improve my stability.
Day 12: 46 Minutes Pilates Burn
Equipment required: Light dumbbells (Jacinta uses 1 kg/3 pounds), one heavier dumbbell (Jacinta uses 3 kg/7 pounds) and a Pilates ball. I used a 2 kg/5 pound dumbbell as my heavier weight, used a plushie to substitute the ball.
This workout was far harder than I expected, with quick pacing and dynamic transitions from one exercise to the other. Starting with a kneeling sequence and constantly changing positions, there is little to no built in rest between sequences. The deep core flow of the workout uses the ball in creative ways to further engage the core, even including a tricky reverse plank variation using one foot to move the ball. Though these exercises felt though, the lack of more traditional core movements actually made me perform better than expected, finally getting to feel my deep core.
Alternating between the heavier and lighter dumbbells made the workout feel even more dynamic, with the heavier weight used for activating the lower body muscles during side lunges.
Day 13: 19 Minutes Inner Thigh Tone
Equipment required: Optional ankle weights.I don't own ankle weights so I performed the workout with my bodyweight.
When I previewed this workout, I felt it would be a breeze without using the ankle weights. Kicking off right from the start with isolation exercises, my inner thighs started to burn quickly. Keeping the hips stable is crucial for these exercises, I tried my best to prevent any rocking and perform the movements from the inner thighs.
My inner thighs felt sore through the day, proving my initial thoughts of this workout being too easy wrong.
Day 14: 45 Minutes Power Pilates
Having to use heavier dumbbells for almost the entirety of the workout felt intimidating at first. Following a long warm up, the workout starts with a core focused sequence using one of the heavier dumbbells followed by a plank sequence. The plank sequence was fairly challenging due to the long time under tension for the upper body and the abs, but I managed to keep up with Jacinta for all of the exercises.
After finishing off the core focused work, a long, unilateral sequence for the full body came next. Starting with weighted donkey kicks and transitioning into standing work, my balance was terrible during the single leg standing exercises. Holding the heavier dumbbells for the arabesques made me even more unstable, making me tap the floor sometimes to feel safer.
Overall, this workout was a step up in difficulty from previous videos due to the heavier resistance and long sequences under tension.
Day 15: 27 Minutes Upper Body and Core
Equipment required: Light dumbbells. Jacinta uses 1 kg (around 3 pounds) weights.
In a stark contrast from the previous day, this workout requires light weights and is focused on slower, controlled movement. Including unilateral work to isolate the lateral muscles, I didn't notice any imbalances in strength during the exercises. The toughest exercise of the flow was a table top hold, a nice challenge for the full body to keep as stable as possible.
Day 16: 39 Full Body Pilates
Equipment required: Light dumbbells and a yoga block. I used a thick book to substitute the block. Jacinta uses 1 kg/3 pound weights for this workout.
With a focus on the core muscles, this class is pretty entirely done on the mat without a standing sequence. After the warm up, the first sequence starts with a laid back and using the block to enhance the core activation. Trying to push the block against the thighs to help engage the entire abdominal area, my connection to the abs certainly felt greater than in past classes. The most challenging exercises from this sequence was holding the block with the elbow against the thigh while doing toe taps, requiring a big twist of the waist to keep the block secure.
The second half of the workout changes the block for the light dumbbells, now starting in a quadruped position. Unilateral leg lifts transition into fire hydrant kicks, one dumbbell is raised from the floor to involve the upper body and finishes on with a side plank combo. Given that my core was already tired from the previous exercises, I felt like my upper body was overcompensating to keep me stable at times.
Upper body exercises with dumbbells were next, now in a kneeling position. Despite the light dumbbells, my arms were tired from all the planking, making the seemingly easy exercises feel tougher than usual. The final prone work felt extremely nice after all the upper body work to release muscle tension.
Day 17: 30 Minutes Pilates Cardio
Equipment required: Fitness mat.
After 16 days of using various props, the challenge got its first no equipment workout. With a fast paced programming including cardio bursts to raise the heart rate up, maintaining good form while moving at a higher speed quickly becomes tiring. Being in constant motion with minimal rest requires endurance, so I prioritized doing the moves with decent form at moderate speed to save energy for the next exercises.
I struggled again with the standing single leg work, though I tried to place my bodyweight over the stabilizing leg. Trying to bend my knees deeper also didn't seem to work, so I just tried to do my best and perform slower just to not fall over. I was pretty tired by the end of this session, proving the effectiveness of the cardio format.
Day 18: 33 Minutes Posture for back, shoulders and abs
Equipment required: Light weights, optional wrist weights and tennis ball. Jacinta uses 1 kg/3 pound weights, I did not use wrist weights for the workout.
After the previous tough workout, this class seemed apparently easy. Alternating between side lying, prone, lying down, planking and kneeling positions, the arms and entire posterior chain are the focus of every exercise. Despite being a posterior chain targeted workout, there's not as much planking as in other workouts, diversifying by introducing more prone work and some reverse planking.
The dumbbells are mostly used by the end of the workout, with upper body exercises done while kneeling. My arms were pretty tired by the end, so even the tiny 1 kg dumbbells felt heavy during the final reps. Overall, I really enjoyed the diversity of this workout and the introduction of more prone work to the upper body exercises.
Day 19: 38 Minutes Pilates Sculpt
I wasn't too excited for another fast paced workout in less than a week. Following a long warm up including a teaser, the workout starts with standing work with the dumbbells and my dreaded lunges. My one leg stability seemed better than in previous days, but my legs got tired very quickly, making the usually easy curtsy lunges feel hard. The rest of the workout was pretty straightforward, including more abs, inner thighs and glutes while holding the dumbbells to challenge upper body endurance. The inner thigh leg lifts were surprisingly spicy, leaving me with sore legs for the next day.
Though I wanted to challenge myself with heavier dumbbells for this workout, all the dumbbell planking and front raises made me feel otherwise, sticking with my 1 kg weights for the entirety of the workout.
Day 20: 18 Minutes Express Pilates
Equipment required: Pilates ball. I used a plushie and a cushion to substitute the ball.
This workout was a nice change of pace after the tough workout from the previous day. Though my cushion is nowhere as round as the Pilates ball, it certainly makes a difference when placed under the back for core work. Including nice creative exercises like one hand side pushups and elevated variations of core work using the ball, this class became my favorite from the last few days.
Thoughts so far:
I'm really loving the diverse exercises introduced during this batch of workouts. The emphasis on dynamic movement has been great to train for endurance, but I personally prefer the more slow and controlled programming such as Day 18 to focus more on my form. The fast transitions between exercises has kept me on edge, which is great to focus entirely on the workout. The flow of each sequence is not only effective for the targeted muscle groups, but also to keep the mind and the body fully present during the class.
The variety in prop selection for the classes has also kept things interesting, with my favorite being the yoga block for the core sequence as used on Day 16. For those as myself struggling to maintain core connection, the Pilates ball and the yoga block are a game changer to aid muscle activation. Using heavier weights to increase resistance has also been a nice challenge for my strength, though it can get really tricky during exercises requiring more balance such as knee drives. Aside from the props, the inclusion of more bodyweight exercises like the prone moves and the one hand pushups has been so beneficial for my upper body muscles.
Overall, the programming and variety have been impeccable so far. And while the workouts are tough, I've never felt exhausted or completely drained after each class. Though I've struggled to keep consistent for personal reasons, I'm really excited for what Jacinta has prepared for the final days of the challenge.
What I loved from these workouts:
- Great variety of moves and creative use of props.
- Excellent flow between sequences and interesting transitions.
- Workouts targeting the full body with balanced focus to every muscle group.
- Lots of prone and side work for good posture.
What I would change:
- The pacing in the more dynamic workouts can be a little too fast to maintain good form.
- The dumbbell weight used for some exercises is not mentioned.
- More cues for tricky exercises like the arabesque.
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