I often find newer Pilates students are a little nervous about adding small equipment (weights, therapy bands, fitness circle, etc.) into what already feels like a slightly overwhelming repertoire of movement. There are several reasons we incorporate the small equipment, but none of them are negative (or scary!).
Most experienced students think using small equipment makes their Pilates practice “more interesting”. I agree, it changes things up, which keeps things fresh, but that’s not the only reason I love the small equipment! Small equipment can improve your Pilates practice in so many ways, you may be surprised that adding some into YOUR Pilates practice can do more than just ‘spice things up’.
If you’re not sure WHAT these pieces of equipment are, read through to the end for some pictures and suggestions for my favorite pieces to add to your home workout space!
Adding small equipment to your Pilates practice will:
Show you where you’re losing connection
Often, it’s hard to figure out where you’re going wrong in an exercise (it’s never hard to feel if the actual exercise is going wrong!). Adding in different equipment helps connect you more to yourself, the mat, and the movement. There are SO many ways you can use the small equipment to show you where you’re losing connection – too many to list! – but these are a couple of my favorites:
The Stability Cushion gives you just enough imbalance you can find out which side of your glutes likes to leave the mat when you’re sitting (like in Saw, Spine Stretch Forward, Spine Twist, etc). You’ll keep tilting to one side so it’s impossible not to figure out where you’re losing it! You can also use the Mini Ball here, but it’s a lot higher (and rounder!) so it’s safer to go with the cushion.
Having the Fitness Circle on the outside of your ankles while your legs are in the air (for Double Straight Leg Stretch, any exercises rolling overhead like Corkscrew, Open Leg Rocker, Rollover…) lets you see when your backside turns off and the quads or hip flexors take over. Your circle will slide or get lopsided and gives you a very good visual and tactile sensation of what’s not happening!
Using the therapy band in your hands, pulling it apart, will show you when your shoulder blades are sliding too high up your back. You tend to lose the tension on the band and spread it wider when your shoulders start to hike up! This is particularly good in the Roll Up, Spine Stretch Forward, and Shoulder Bridge.
Show you what connection feels like
When you add in small equipment, it usually becomes easier to feel what’s supposed to be happening in your body. Sometimes we just need a little something to physically connect to!
If you can’t get your upper back to stay on the mat, using light (1 – 2 lb.) hand weights help keep your shoulders on your back away from your ears, and heavy on the mat. They also help you keep your abs engaged if they like to disconnect when you roll up!
If you have trouble finding the backs of your legs and your butt, the Fitness Circle (aka the Magic Circle) assists in finding that connection. You can use it under one leg (at your Achilles tendon) when you’re lying on your back to press into from the bottom of your butt. If you lock your knee and push from your ankle, it can compress quite a bit. If you’re using your bottom butt, it doesn’t go nearly as far (and feels WAY more connected). You can also find this – and a lot of hamstrings – lying on your stomach, with the circle pads propped at the bottom crease of your butt and the back of your ankle. Pressing the foot into the circle, towards your butt turns on EVERYTHING back there without your calves doing it all.
Using a therapy band up the back of you – with it planted under your butt, coming over your head – helps you find length in the upper back and back of the neck (this is particularly helpful if you’re a “rubbernecker” – someone who sticks their face forward a lot). This is fantastic in the Roll Up, Spine Stretch Forward, and in the Hundred if you tend to take tension into your neck.
Make exercises more accessible
Adding a little weight forces your abs to engage more.
Holding a fitness circle, therapy band, or mini ball behind you helps keep your chest open.
Adding resistance from a band or circle on your legs helps them stay grounded.
Using a mini ball or yoga block between your ankles helps you use more of your inner thighs and outer hips than your knees or hip flexors, but also helps if you struggle to keep your legs together when you’re on your stomach (i.e., during Breaststroke Preps, Double Leg Kick, or Rocking).
Make exercises more challenging
Adding any small equipment tends to up the exercise’s challenge simply by adding another thing to think about. Whether it’s extra resistance, instability, or keeping your body in the best position, every exercise can become a different challenge when you add something in! Here are a few suggestions:
Using light weights in the Teaser will make it harder to lift through your chest, so your core has to work more.
Pulling open on a therapy band during Spine Twist will add extra resistance through your sides as you twist (especially if you pull just slightly more with your back arm).
Putting a mini ball between your heels and your butt during Rolling Like a Ball makes the backs of your legs work much harder and forces your feet to stay down toward your butt!
Having the magic circle between your elbow and the opposite lifted knee for Criss Cross/Obliques with Single Leg Stretch will make your obliques (sides) feel so much more engaged as you twist – and it makes you STAY lifted and twisted so you don’t drop it. You’re not alternating sides if you use this one – you’re doing all on one side and then switching to the other!
Gives you a different perspective
Sometimes we’ve done a particular exercise a certain way for so long that we can just go through the motions (Not really. You’re cheating if you’re not present to every movement, but this helps!). Adding in small equipment to your Pilates practice means your brain really does have to approach the exercise in a different way, just like driving a different route to the grocery store.
It can change how you feel the exercise, how you connect to the mat, and how you view exercises that are typically harder for your body. Working with small equipment pieces broadens your repertoire and helps make more of your practice possible!
There are many pieces of small equipment that are used in Pilates…even more than I’ve listed here…that really can change your practice completely. Some take up a little more space (the Arc or Small Barrel, the large Stability Ball, and the Spine Corrector, to name a few); some aren’t used for many exercises (Foot Corrector, 2x4).
My favorite, generally the pieces of small equipment that are easy to get, easy on the pocketbook, and that I’d love for everyone to have in their home workout space are:
1. 1-2 lb. hand weights. Don’t go past 3 lbs., otherwise it becomes more about the weight than the connection. Besides, 1-2 lbs. is MORE than enough if you’re connecting properly. You can find these in any type of big box store’s fitness section, online or at a fitness store for quite cheap (normally $2 – $3). You can also splurge for weighted balls, which I love, but they cost a lot more. The round weights are great if you have a hard time with your grip, as they're a little bigger so they're easier to hold.
2. Mini Ball (aka the Squishy Ball). Anything smaller than 10” is a little too small. I prefer my clients to use a 10-12” ball, 14” max. The small size makes adding it in challenging, but not inaccessible. Try to find a ball that has a bit of grip to it! Using a child’s ball will work in a pinch, but they’re easier to work with if they’re an actual fitness mini ball.
3. Therapy Band. You can get these very easily – Amazon, Winners, even from your local physiotherapist’s office. Be sure to get a reputable brand that will last! It needs to be a regular to extra-strength band (colour varies by brand), not light or incredibly heavy. It should also be about 5-6” wide – if it’s too ‘thin’, it’s hard to wrap over your toes and it will slide a lot. Most physio offices will cut the band to size for you, and you typically pay by the foot. I recommend a 6-foot length to be able to do most things with it, without it being overwhelmingly long. If you happen to be quite short, get it a little shorter. If you’re particularly tall, get it a little longer. If you’re basically between 5’ 4” and 5’ 10”, 6 feet should be perfect.
4. Magic Circle/Fitness Circle. Find one that has handle padding on the inside AND outside of the ring, so you can do more with it. This is a little pricier for a good quality one. You can find very cheap versions in-store, but with these you tend to get what you pay for. You can use it in so many ways, it’s worth having!
Have you incorporated small equipment into your practice? What’s your favorite piece, and how most do you like to use it?
As always, only do what feels accessible to YOUR body in your practice. My suggestions here are helpful if your body is in good general condition without serious injuries but should never replace the suggestions and expertise of your doctor or therapist. For the safest, most impactful way to incorporate the small equipment into your practice, have a certified Pilates professional guide you through your workout.
I hope you see how adding small equipment to your workout can improve your Pilates practice, even if it’s just for a couple of the exercises. I hope you love how it feels to add these to your Pilates practice!
Xo, Kimberly
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