10-Minute Butt and Core Pilates Workout You Can Do in Your Living Room

It's hard to overstate how important a strong core and strong glutes are. As a fitness editor and certified trainer, I find myself harping on both of these things quite often—whether I'm talking about how a strong butt can help improve your running or how focusing on your core can be useful for relieving lower back pain. Both of these major muscle groups play a huge role in the majority of our movements, so the stronger they are, the more efficiently you can move.

When it comes to working both the glutes and core, Pilates is a great option. The low-intensity workout focuses on small, controlled movements that target specific muscles. "Focusing on that control helps isolate the muscles being targeted and lets you work them deeper, which is what makes Pilates so good and effective for working the core and butt," Manuela Sanchez, certified Pilates instructor at Club Pilates in Brooklyn, tells SELF.

She adds that the mind-body focus of Pilates—it's meant to be done in a precise, slow, focused manner—is beneficial. When you're thinking about the muscles you're working (what trainers often call "minding your muscle), it can help you better engage them.

The Workout

Moves

• The One Hundred — 5 reps
• Articulated Bridging — 8 reps
• Single-Leg Bridge — 8 reps each side
• Criss-Cross — 30 reps, alternating sides
• Leg Circles — 20 reps each side

Directions

Do all five exercises, for the set amount of reps. Try to rest as little as possible in between each one. If you want a longer workout, repeat the entire circuit a second time.

The One Hundred

• Lie on your back with your hands at your sides, knees bent, and feet flat on floor hip-width apart.
• Curl your head up to engage your abs, reaching your arms long alongside your body, palms down.
• Pump your arms up and down as you inhale for 5 counts and exhale for 5 counts. That's 1 rep.
• Do 5 reps. 

Articulated Bridging

• Lie on your back with your hands at your sides, knees bent, and feet flat on floor hip-width apart.
• Squeeze your glutes and abs and push through your heels as you lift your hips a few inches off the floor, starting with your pelvis, then lower back, and then mid back.
• Pause and squeeze your glutes at the top. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
• Then, slowly lower down in the reverse order—mid back, lower back, pelvis—to return to the starting position. That's 1 rep.
• Do 8 reps

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