With so many different types of exercise out there to get excited about, as a beginner, merging a few styles can be a great way to get started.
Eloise Skinner is a qualified personal trainer, Pilates instructor and yoga teacher, so her expertise is extensive, and she says there are a few things that beginners should focus on.
“The things I think about most with clients are strength, mobility and flexibility,” Skinner says.
Skinner recommends starting with simple bodyweight exercises, explaining, “I prioritise dynamic movements rather than static poses.”
Moving dynamically means there is motion within the exercise, rather than holding a pose or a stretch. It’s great for mobility and building strength.
Below, Skinner has shared her three favourite beginner-friendly exercises, inspired by a range of disciplines including yoga and Pilates. They’re also great for people who spend a lot of time sitting down.
“For people who work at a desk, the place you’ll mostly feel that is in your hip flexors, shoulder and back,” Skinner says, explaining that these moves will help to offset the effects desk working has on the body.
Eloise Skinner’s top three moves for beginners
1. Downward dog to plank
Sets: 1 Reps: 8
- Begin on all fours. Hands should be flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart with fingers spread wide.
- Tuck your toes under, then straighten your legs and lift your hips toward the ceiling into your downward dog.
- Press firmly into your hands and look slightly ahead of your fingertips and shift your entire body forward by rolling onto the balls of your feet, moving your shoulders toward your wrists until they are directly above them. Your body should form one straight line from your head through your hips to your heels.
- From your plank, push into the hands and hike your hips into the air to move back into downward dog, that’s one rep.
Skinner says: “This combines deep strength work—engaging your core, arms and legs in the plank—and rippling movement, which is really good for the mobility of the spine. You’re moving your spine into flexion during downward dog and then into neutral for the plank.
“This will also improve mobility in the hamstrings.”
2. Shoulder bridge
Sets: 1 Reps: 8
- Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your feet about hip-width apart and close enough that your fingertips can almost touch your heels. Rest your arms alongside your body with palms facing down.
- Press your feet into the floor and lift your hips upward, peeling your lower back, mid back, then upper back off the floor—until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
- Pause very briefly at the top while keeping your hips level.
- Lower down slowly by bringing your upper back, then mid back, then lower back to the floor one section at a time—until your hips return to the mat.
- Flow straight into the next rep to keep the movement dynamic.
Skinner says: “Shoulder bridges are something that come up across yoga and Pilates, so they’re interesting tools, because you can use them in different ways.
“For a Pilates bridge, you would focus on engagement of the posterior chain, so the glute muscles and the back of the legs. For yoga, it’s more of a flexibility tool.”
3. Thread the needle
Sets: 1 Reps: 3 each side
- Start on all fours. Place your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Keep your back flat and look down at the floor.
- Lift your right hand off the floor and slide it underneath your left armpit, reaching across your body. Continue sliding until your right shoulder and the side of your head rest gently on the floor.
- Lift your head and slide the right arm out and extend it towards the ceiling.
- Flow straight into the next rep to keep the move dynamic.
- Complete reps on one side, and then repeat on the other side.
Skinner says: “This is a great stretch for the shoulders and the hips. It also allows some rotation through the spine.”