A Pilates instructor has revealed the 24-minute no equipment workout she swears by for a toned body all year round, and explained how to replicate it at home.
Denise Mellas was just 15 years old when she first came across Pilates as a form of exercise, with claims it could create a stronger, longer and leaner looking body by practicing three to four times a week.
Now 32, Denise runs her own studio in Sydney, Soho Inspired Body, to offer other Australians the opportunity to improve their posture and tap into smaller muscles rarely moved in a typical gym class.
Denise Mellas (pictured) was just 15 years old when she first came across Pilates as a form of exercise
Now 32, Denise (pictured) runs her own studio in Sydney, Soho Inspired Body, to offer other Australians the opportunity to improve their posture
To tone the arms, she recommends pushups, but keeping your arms beside your torso when you move towards the ground to target the triceps.
For a pectoralis pushup – which is the typical kind – you want to drive your arms out to either side of the room as you push towards the floor and away.
When it comes to the glutes Denise favours a ‘side leg series’ that involves lying on your side, ab curls for the abdominals, calf raises for the calves while in a squat hold and ‘swimming’, or moving your arms and legs up and down while you lie on your stomach, to strengthen the back.
Denise has created a 24-minute workout for FEMAIL readers to shape and tone their entire bodies from home
For a pectoralis pushup – which is the typical kind – you want to drive your arms out to either side of the room as you push towards the floor and away
When it comes to the glutes Denise favours a ‘side leg series’ that involves lying on your side and raising your leg up and down
She has created a tutorial for each of these exercises on YouTube to show FEMAIL readers how to execute them with perfect form.
Many of them are included in her 24-minute total body workout, which also incorporates lunges, a shoulder bridge and planks.
All you need is a comfortable yoga mat and a flat surface to perform the moves, although you can add ankle weights to enhance the difficulty level.
Pilates became a go-to online workout for a number of men and women during the coronavirus lockdown because it involves very little equipment and can be completed in small spaces.
Pilates became a go-to online workout for a number of men and women during the coronavirus lockdown because it involves very little equipment and can be completed in small spaces
Denise moved her boutique studio online during the worst of the pandemic and started conducing Zoom sessions, but is looking forward to welcoming clients back into her space now that restrictions have changed.
And the benefits of a regular practice are ‘endless’.
‘It could see dramatic changes in a person’s posture, overall strength (especially the abdominals), flexibility and mobility, control over movement, alignment and balance,’ Denise said.
‘Pilates can be gentle yet very difficult. This is why I originally fell in love with the practice. Joseph Pilates himself worked with ballerinas and a lot of his original series of work saw them gaining strength and helping heal their injuries.’
Denise moved her boutique studio online during the worst of the pandemic and started conducing Zoom sessions, but is looking forward to welcoming clients back into her space now that restrictions have changed
Denise recommends three classes a week to feel a dramatic change in the physical self, coupled wit a well-rounded diet
Denise recommends three classes a week to feel a dramatic change in the physical self, coupled wit a well-rounded diet.
‘It is a lifestyle choice you make for your physical, mental and emotional well-being,’ she said. ‘Just like what you decide to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.
‘When you wake up in the morning and choose to make time for Pilates you are paving your way to being a more agile and healthy being.’