Physiotherapist names 3 exercises that help you look younger in several weeks

Best Pilates exercises

Physiotherapist Claire Mills says that Pilates helps focus on strength, balance, flexibility, and posture.

Shoulder bridge

Lie on your back with knees bent, feet hip-width apart, arms resting at your sides, and palms facing down. As you exhale, lift your pelvis and hips in a smooth rolling motion to form a straight line from your knees to shoulders.

Then, extend one leg skywards, pointing your toe as it rises and flexing it as it lowers. Aim for 12-15 repetitions.

According to Claire, this is a great exercise for mobilizing and warming up your spine while activating the backline of your body—the glutes, hamstrings, and deep back muscles.

Shoulder bridge (photo: Getty Images)

Hundreds

Hundreds is a very effective abdominal workout emphasizing breathing while keeping a solid core.

Start flat on the mat, draw your knees to your chest, and lift your head, neck, and shoulders so your legs are in a tabletop position. Align your arms with your torso, palms down.

Extend your legs to a 45-degree angle, heels together and toes apart. Keep your legs steady and pulse your arms vigorously up and down, inhaling for five pulses and exhaling for five. Continue this pattern for a total of 100 pulses.

Hundreds (photo: Getty Images)

Swimmers

Claire emphasizes strengthening the deep muscles that support the spine by maintaining "to be strong front to back".

To master this move, start by lying on your stomach and lengthening alternating arms and legs. Hover off the mat while staying strong in your center and maintaining a neutral spine.

Progress this to doing it in a four-point kneeling position. Aim to do this for 30-60 seconds (two sets) or 12-20 reps (two sets). This challenges the endurance of these muscles.

The key to increasing core strength with this move is to slowly perform the curl-up/chest lift correctly, focusing on using your abdominals to slide the ribcage down towards the pelvis and avoiding reliance on the head, neck, and chest.

Swimmers (photo: Getty Images)

We also wrote about 7 exercises that torch more calories than running.

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.