This tutorial previously appeared on April 5, 2017.
Kate Hudson’s love of Pilates is no secret. She often posts photos of herself working out on one of her favorite pieces of Pilates equipment, the Cadillac. Pilates keeps Hudson’s body balanced and strong.
“Nothing, literally nothing, makes me feel like I’m back to my body more than Pilates…I’ll travel, and I’ll go for a run or I’ll Spin. But when I go home and get on the reformer or the Cadillac, my body immediately goes back. I can see an instant shift,” Hudson told SELF Magazine.
The Pilates instructor who is famous for helping Hudson achieve her toned bod is Nicole Stuart. They’ve been together for 15 years and workout at least three times a week. While Stuart gives Hudson a variety of Pilates moves, the four moves below are key in creating Hudson’s tight abs and glutes. Do these exercises back to back in this order for the best results.
1. Roll Up– Lie down with your legs straight and your arms extended over your head. Squeeze your inner thighs as you inhale and use your abs to roll up. Keep a C-curve in your spine as you scoop your belly in to roll forward past your toes. Exhale as you roll down one vertebra at a time. For more of a challenge, try keeping your arms by your ears the entire time. Do 5 times.
2. Double Leg Stretch– Lie on your back and pull your knees into your chest. Place your hands on the outside of your ankles as you roll your head neck and shoulders off the mat, engaging the abs. Try to keep your forehead to your knees. Inhale as you extend the arms and legs straight out without dropping your head. Exhale as you circle the arms around and bring the legs back in. Do 10 times before reversing the motion of the arms 10 more times.
3. Grand Ronde de Jambe– The next two exercises will stretch your leg muscles and strengthen your glutes while still challenging your core strength. Lie down on your mat with your back lined up with the back edge of the mat and your feet in the front corner of the mat. Your shoulders and hips should be stacked right on top of one another. Prop your head up on your hand and place the top arm behind your head. If you need more stability, you can place the top hand on the ground in front of you. Lift the top leg up to hip height and kick it as far forward as you can without compromising your posture. From there, turn the leg out from the hip and lift it up by your head and behind your elbow if you can. Turn the leg back in to lower the leg with control behind you. Bring the leg back to center to complete one circle. Do 5 times in each direction before switching sides. Your goal is to use your core to keep your upper body as stable as possible while circling the leg.
4. Hot Potato– This follows right after the ronde de jambe exercises, so you will be in the same starting position on the mat. Your legs should be stretched out and ready to move more quickly at this point. Keep the legs in parallel as you bring the top leg as close to your nose as possible. Reach your toe to the top corner of the mat and tap the ground three times. Quickly lift it all the way up to the sky in a turned out position and then lower it behind you in parallel again to tap the floor three more times. Kick the leg back up and lower it down in front to tap the floor two times and then up again before tapping behind you two times. Repeat this movement with just one tap forward and back. Do the single taps three times to the front and the back before switching sides.
Try these moves in your next workout and see for yourself why Kate Hudson swears by Pilates!
Also by Crystal: Get a Dancer’s Body with These Moves from Julianne Hough’s Favorite Workout
Gigi Hadid’s Trainer Reveals How She Got Her Rock Hard Supermodel Abs
Related: Sculpting Flat Lower Abs Workout
Get more like this—Subscribe to our daily inspirational newsletter for exclusive content!
__
Photo: Fabletics, Kate Hudson via Instagram; Video: Crystal Chin
