Mastering the Pilates Challenge: How to Transform Five Dreaded Exercises into Your Favorite Moves

Dreading certain Pilates moves? You’re not alone. As a seasoned instructor, I’ve watched countless faces grimace when I announce the Hundred or Teaser is next. That familiar tension appears—shoulders tighten, eyes widen, and sometimes there’s an audible groan.

But what if these challenging exercises could become the most rewarding part of your practice? The secret lies not in avoiding them but mastering proper form and understanding their incredible benefits.

Let me guide you through the five most notorious Pilates exercises and transform your relationship with them from frustration to celebration.

1. The Pilates Hundred

This foundational exercise both challenges and strengthens your core while boosting circulation throughout your body.

Many clients struggle with maintaining proper form during the full hundred counts of breathing and pumping arms.

Your abdominals must remain engaged throughout, creating that famous Pilates scoop while your neck stays relaxed and your legs hover at a height appropriate for your current ability.

How to do the Pilates Hundred correctly:

• Begin lying on your back with knees bent into tabletop position
• Curl your head and shoulders up, keeping your neck long
• Extend arms alongside your body, hovering just above the mat
• Straighten legs to a challenging angle without compromising your back position
• Breathe in for five counts while pumping arms, then exhale for five counts
• Maintain a deep abdominal connection throughout all 100 arm pumps

2. The Teaser

The Teaser stands as a true test of core strength and balance that many practitioners approach with trepidation.

Your entire body forms a V-shape while balancing on your sitting bones, requiring tremendous abdominal control and hamstring flexibility.

Beginners often feel frustrated when their legs drop or their backs round, but modifications exist for every level.

How to do the Teaser correctly:

• Start lying on your back with legs extended at a 45-degree angle
• Reach arms overhead then bring them forward as you roll up
• Keep your chest lifted and spine long as you rise
• Focus on initiating the movement from your deep core muscles
• Balance precisely on your sitting bones at the top position
• Lower with control, maintaining the connection between upper and lower body

3. The Side Bend

The Side Bend creates a gorgeous lengthening through your entire lateral line while demanding serious oblique strength and shoulder stability.

Students often shy away from this movement because it exposes imbalances between right and left sides of the body.

Your bottom arm must support your entire body weight while your hips lift powerfully from the mat.

How to do the Side Bend correctly:

• Position yourself on your side with legs slightly forward from your torso
• Press your bottom hand firmly into the mat with fingers pointing away from feet
• Stack your feet or place top foot in front for more stability
• Engage your bottom waist to lift hips away from the floor
• Reach your top arm alongside your ear, creating one long line
• Breathe fully into your ribs to maximize the lateral stretch

4. The Shoulder Bridge

Shoulder Bridge targets the posterior chain—hamstrings, glutes, and spine extensors—while opening the front body in a supported backbend.

Many clients struggle with activating their glutes properly or keeping their knees aligned throughout the movement.

Your shoulder blades act as a stable foundation while your spine articulates one vertebra at a time.

How to do the Shoulder Bridge correctly:

• Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat and hip-distance apart
• Press your feet down to activate hamstrings before lifting hips
• Roll up one vertebra at a time until weight rests across your shoulders
• Keep knees parallel throughout the movement
• Squeeze glutes at the top without gripping your lower back
• Lower with control, rolling through each segment of your spine

5. The Side-lying Clam

The Side-lying Clam appears deceptively simple yet effectively targets the often neglected gluteus medius muscle.

Students frequently rush through this exercise without proper form, rotating from the lower back instead of isolating the hip joint.

Your pelvis must remain completely stable as your top knee opens, requiring precise muscle activation and body awareness.

How to do the Side-lying Clam correctly:

• Lie on your side with knees bent at a 45-degree angle to your torso
• Align your shoulders, hips, and ankles in one straight line
• Support your head comfortably with your bottom arm
• Keep feet touching as you rotate only your top knee upward
• Maintain a completely stable pelvis throughout the movement
• Focus on the external rotation happening at the hip joint, not the knee

Final Thoughts

These five Pilates exercises might challenge you initially, but through consistent practice and proper technique, they transform from dreaded movements into powerful tools for physical transformation.

Your body will gradually adapt to these demands, building strength where you once felt weakness and finding ease where tension once lived.

Remember that Pilates emphasizes quality over quantity—a few well-executed repetitions bring far greater benefits than numerous repetitions with poor form. Trust the process, embrace the challenge, and watch as these once-difficult exercises become highlights of your practice.