20-Minute Full-Body Mat Pilates Workout to Build Muscle

By Bernard Turk On May 14, 2021

If you’ve lost some muscle over the past year, you’re not alone; a recent road trip photoshoot alerted me to the fact that I’ve become little more than a pile of bones after sitting at home (literally) for an entire year. Fortunately, post-vaccination life promises to be much more active (hopefully!), which means we’re going to need to build that strength back. And in the latest episode of Good Moves, Brian Spencer of East River Pilates demos a 20-minute Pilates workout that’ll tone the entire body in one fell swoop.

“We are going to be doing a classic full-body Pilates session, getting you nice and cooked from head to toe,” says Spencer, who’s designed a routine that works for all levels. “As we go along, I will be giving out some modifications for you, if that is a better lane on the highway. And if you know something even spicier than what I’m offering, take it—live your best life.”

Exercises demoed in the routine include forward curls, leg lifts and extensions, forearm planks, and more. If practiced regularly, such movements won’t just build up your muscle—they can also improve your bone density, ease back pain, prevent injury, increase flexibility, work your posture, build cardio endurance, reduce your stress, and brighten your mood.

Spencer himself serves as a mood booster, too. In the video, he calls hamstrings “glamstrings” and refers to your glutes as a “she” who “should be singing, but in what genre?” While this routine is no joke, Spencer somehow manages to make it lighthearted and fun.

Press play to rebuild your body, maintain the goods you’ve got, or just LOL your way through a short-but-sweaty Pilates workout.

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