Powerful Exercises for Whole-Body Strengthening, as Recommended by a Pilates Specialist
Expert Pilates instructor Jodi Montlake has shared a three-move routine designed specifically for desk workers. This routine, which requires no special equipment, focuses on core strength and spine mobility to relieve lower back pain, improve posture, and counteract the effects of prolonged sitting.
Three Moves
- The Bridge
- Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and arms by your side.
- Inhale, then lift the pelvis off the floor by peeling the spine one vertebra at a time until forming a straight line from shoulders to knees (shoulder bridge position).
- Hold briefly, then exhale and slowly lower the spine back down one vertebra at a time into the neutral position.
- Repeat 5-10 times. Benefits: Strengthens glutes and core, mobilizes and supports the spine, encourages proper pelvic alignment.
- Back Extension (Spinal articulation)
- Using a low table or bench (optional), lie prone with hands supporting the upper body.
- Extend the spine upward, pressing the chest forward and lifting the upper back, focusing on spinal extension and opening the chest.
- Hold then return to start.
- 30 seconds to 1 minute per set, 3 rounds recommended. Benefits: Strengthens muscles along the spine, improves posture by reducing slouching, relieves lower back strain.
- Core Stabilization Exercise (e.g., plank or abdominal engagement moves)
- Engage the deep abdominal muscles by maintaining a neutral spine while holding a plank or performing controlled abdominal contractions.
- Hold for 30 seconds initially, gradually extending to 1 minute.
- Perform 3 rounds. Benefits: Enhances core endurance and strength, stabilizes the spine, helps absorb forces to protect the lower back.
Benefits of this routine for desk workers
- Improves spinal health by moving the spine through flexion, extension, and articulation, preventing stiffness and promoting vertebral decompression.
- Strengthens the core muscles that stabilize the spine, reducing the risk of lower back pain linked to prolonged sitting.
- Enhances posture by counteracting the common desk-worker tendency to slouch with rounded shoulders and forward head position.
- Relieves tension in hips and lower back, improving flexibility and mobility.
- Requires no equipment (except optional low table for extension), making it accessible anywhere.
Trainer insights
- Personal trainers Milad and Ryan recommend starting with 30 seconds per exercise and working up to 1 minute, doing three rounds total, at least twice a week.
- Abby McLachlan, a Pilates instructor, emphasizes that Pilates is unique for deliberately moving the spine in multiple directions to keep it healthy and strong. The bridge is a foundational move to build spinal strength and flexibility without equipment.
This three-move Pilates routine offers an effective, low-impact way to improve posture, reduce back pain, and maintain mobility for those who sit at desks for extended periods. Regular practice helps counteract the physical strains of sedentary work. The routine targets muscles in the legs and core, which support the pelvis, spine, and posture, making it ideal for desk workers. The Bridge exercise, in particular, supports the back and is great for mobilizing and strengthening the spine. Jodi Montlake, a qualified Pilates instructor with over twenty years of experience in the fitness industry, has developed this routine.
- This three-move Pilates routine, developed by expert Pilates instructor Jodi Montlake, focuses on fitness-and-exercise moves like 'The Bridge' and 'Back Extension (Spinal articulation)', designed to improve the health of desk workers.
- The Bridge exercise is a foundational Pilates move that is ideal for desk workers, as it mobilizes and strengthens the spine and encourages proper pelvic alignment, promoting health-and-wellness.
- In addition to strengthening core muscles and reducing the risk of lower back pain, this routine also enhances posture, relieves tension in hips and lower back, and requires no special equipment for fitness-and-exercise.
