Enhance your abdominal and lower body strength through this Pilates dumbbell routine, provided by a trained professional.
Maia Henry's 30-Minute Lower Body, Legs, and Abs Strength and Pilates Workout
Maia Henry's 30-minute strength and Pilates workout is a full-body routine that combines Pilates movements and dumbbell exercises to tone and burn fat, focusing on the lower body, core, and overall body tone.
Equipment Needed
The workout requires a set of light dumbbells, with the Amazon Basics adjustable dumbbell set being a suitable recommendation. However, the exercises can also be performed without weights.
Workout Duration and Focus Areas
This workout lasts for 30 minutes, targeting the lower body (legs and glutes), abs/core, and overall body tone.
Exercise Style
The exercise style is a mix of Pilates-inspired movements with strength training and fat-burning intervals. Common moves included in the workout are dumbbell squats, lunges, Pilates-style leg lifts and ab exercises, planks, and controlled, slow movements emphasizing core engagement.
Method
- Begin with a brief warm-up, either with gentle dynamic stretches or light cardio.
- Perform exercises in a circuit format to maintain a good pace, alternating between leg work and core-focused Pilates moves.
- Emphasize controlled breathing, form, core tightness, and muscle control typical of Pilates.
- Use dumbbells to increase intensity on squats, lunges, and other leg exercises.
- Finish with a cool-down focusing on stretching the hamstrings, quads, and core.
Key Exercises
- Romanian deadlift: Stand with dumbbells, engage the core, hinge at the hips, and squeeze the glutes to stand back up.
- Sway squat: Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, shift weight between knees during squats, and keep the torso upright.
- Squat to calf raise: Stand with dumbbells up by the shoulders, squat down, rock forward onto toes for a calf raise, and repeat the movement.
- Rainbow leg lift: Performed on all fours with the hips level and toes touching the floor, lift the right leg straight behind, move the toes out to the right side in an arc, and then arcs the leg in the opposite direction and taps the ground to the outside of the left leg.
- Heels together squat pulse: Stand with heels together and toes pointed slightly outwards, lower into a squat position, and pulse up and down while maintaining tension in the thigh muscles. The number of sets is 2 and the number of reps is 15.
- Weighted clamshell: Lie on one side with the torso and thighs forming a straight line, hold a dumbbell on the outside of the higher thigh, and lift the top knee as high as possible while keeping feet together and hips square.
- Alternating deadbug: Lie on the back with arms extended overhead and thighs vertical, keep lower back pressed against the floor, extend the right arm overhead and the left leg in front, return to the starting position, and repeat on the opposite side, alternating sides with each repetition.
- Knee to elbow crunch hold: Lie on the back with knees bent and feet planted, use abdominal muscles to lift shoulders off the ground and perform a crunch, bring the right knee towards the left elbow by twisting the torso, hold this position briefly, and repeat on the other side.
- V-up to around the world: Lie on the back, hold a dumbbell to the chest, lift legs and torso simultaneously to form a v shape, pass the dumbbell around the thighs, and control the legs and torso back to the ground to complete the repetition.
- Squat to calf raise: Stand with dumbbells up by the shoulders, squat down, rock forward onto toes for a calf raise, and repeat the movement.
- Sway squat: Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, shift weight between knees during squats, and keep the torso upright.
The Workout Structure
The workout consists of three parts: a lower-body strength circuit, a leg-focused Pilates practice, and an abs-oriented Pilates-style segment. Each part is performed as a circuit for two rounds before moving on to the next.
For a step-by-step demonstration of the full workout, you can find the videos on Maia Henry's TikTok account @maiahenryfit. These workouts are designed for women aiming for strength, tone, and core definition while improving mobility and muscle control.
[1] Maia Henry's TikTok: @maiahenryfit [2] Maia Henry's Website: www.maiahenryfit.com [4] Maia Henry's Instagram: @maiahenryfit
- This 30-minute workout unfortunately does not include yoga, but it does incorporate Pilates-inspired movements into its strength training routines.
- For individuals interested in incorporating yoga into their health-and-wellness or fitness-and-exercise routines, supplementing Maia Henry's workout with yoga sessions could be beneficial to achieve optimal flexibility and balance.
- Additionally, the science behind the exercise style in this workout highlights the importance of controlled breathing, form, core tightness, and muscle control, which are all principles also found in yoga practices, promoting overall well-being and improved fitness results.
