40 Min Pilates Glute Shaper is Day 54 in Heather Robertson‘s HR12Week 5.0 program.
This workout was much tougher than I expected it to be. Outside of the first part of the warm up, this workout is done entirely on the mat. All mat based lower body strength work. I did wear 2 pound ankle weights for this workout and it fried my glutes and thighs. Even the mat part of the warm up starts the burn. You wear a booty/glute band for the warm up. The standing exercises at the beginning of the warm up aren’t too bad (squats and lateral squat walks) but then you get on your hands and knees and the mat work begins! There are 2 circuits. The first is all bridge work and the second circuit contains everything else. There is one exercise in particular that you do 4 times and it is killer–Super Glute Squeeze in Circuit 2. I don’t know if it was because I was wearing ankle weights or if it would have burned without them but that move fried my glutes and hamstrings.
The exercises are done interval style: 45 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of recovery. There is a timer in the lower right hand corner of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recoveries Heather previews the next exercise.
40 Min Pilates Glute Shaper is 40:31 minutes; 35 second intro, 5:10 minute warm up and 3:40 minute stretch. Equipment: mini resistance band/glute band and fitness mat. Optional is ankle weights. When the warm up starts, Heather is already wearing the glute band, so have it around your thighs before you hit play since you have no time to put it on. The glute band is not used after the warm up so take it off as soon as the warm up is over. I used 2 pound ankle weights for this workout.
Circuit 1:
- Single leg bridge (lay on mat, one knee is bent with foot on mat close to glutes, the other leg is raised to ceiling, raise and lower hips)
- Bridge & leg drop (keep hips raised in single leg bridge isometrically, raise and lower extended straight leg)
- Bridge march (lay on back, knees bent with feet on mat close to glutes, raise and lower hips in bridge, each time you raise hips, also raise one bent leg, alternate legs)
- Repeat #1 & 2 on other leg
- Repeat #3
- Repeat #1-5
30 second rest
Circuit 2:
- Side bridge & lift (in modified side elbow plank (legs are bent at 90 degrees and you are resting on one elbow and one bent knee) raise hips off mat while also raising top bent leg)
- Side leg lift (lay on side, both legs extended straight, raise and lower top straight leg)
- Side hamstring curl (rest on one hand and one knee, torso is facing to the side, top leg is raised and extended straight, bend and straighten top leg)
- Super glute squeeze (lay on stomach with hands behind head, lift chest and legs off mat and hold isometrically, open and close legs)
- Repeat #1-3 on other side of body
- Repeat #4
- Rear kick (get on hands and knees, extend one leg out straight behind you, raise and lower straight leg)
- Rear pulse (same position as #7 but keep leg raised and pulse it upward)
- Kickback combo (still on hands and knees, lift one leg up behind you keeping knee bent at 90 degrees and pushing sole of foot to ceiling then open bent leg out to side in hydrant, alternate these two moves)
- Rainbow kick (still on hands and knees, leg is extended straight behind you, keep leg straight and tap toe out to side of body, raise leg leg in an arc (like a rainbow) over to other side of body and tap foot to floor outside of other leg)
- Repeat #4
- Repeat #7-10 on other leg
- Repeat #4
For more info on Heather Robertson’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
