One of my favorite ways to work in Pilates is asymetrically. It is often very difficult to judge how strong or weak we are without some sort of benchmark or comparison. However, when I ask clients to compare right and left side strength during an exercice, eyes open wide and mouths drop. Working obliques is definitely a way to get my client’s attention and to help them on their way to body awareness.
So how do I get those oblique muscles fired up? I prefer to avoid the classic criss-cross exercise which has been slaughtered by gyms and is so hard to unlearn by many, convinced they must have large, fast movements. I prefer to load one side of the body and do simple slow movements, like ‘Dead Bug’ or ‘Bridge’. I will often use the foam roller and/or hand weights to accentuate the load difference.
