Chances Are You Already Have a Perfect Workout Towel.
A workout towel is a great prop to use when you want to modify exercises, including (but not limited to) making your exercises more challenging.
A basic bath towel, along with props in general, can also add weight or resistance, or they require more muscles to stabilize during an exercise.
Props are also a way to keep your mat work varied, fun and challenging. Still need to be convinced? Head over to Mat with Towel and try it out for yourself! You'll love this 50 minute class, and it's free!
Mat With Towel
A towel is a great tool when it comes to working towards better posture.
In Mat with Towel, you'll feel how the workout towel:
- Increases the proprioceptive feedback
- Improves shoulder stabilization
- Aids in spine articulation
You'll also use it for stretching and bolstering.
Bolstering, or supporting, a body part with a workout towel assists you in finding proper alignment which will make the Pilates mat exercises more effective and give you better results.
You must be wondering how exactly you can use a workout towel so it will be beneficial to your mat exercises? Here are two helpful modifications with a towel:
- Squeeze your folded up towel between your knees while doing the bridge. This will help keep your feet and legs aligned
- Use it under your low back while doing the roll up. The towel will assist your lumbar mobility so instead of hoisting yourself up to sitting, you get the chance to work through, and improve, the mobility in your spine.
Mat With Towel
A lot of people really like the exercise classes that incorporate props into the workout. They like the instability of working with the squishy ball, the extra resistance they get from the resistance band and the new variations of the exercises they’ve been doing for years.
What people don’t like, however, is finding space in their house to store all of these awesome props.
Or maybe you live in a small apartment and don’t have the room to store all the props. Perhaps you keep them in your living room and are super annoyed that you keep tripping over them. Well, just consider this an added bonus - a workout towel is the easiest prop to store!
But here’s more good news about a workout towel as a prop.
You don’t need to spend money on them. Everyone has a bath towel hanging around. When Tom’s friend told him about a class he’d been taking on Fitstreams, called Mat with Towel, that uses only a workout towel as a prop, Tom was intrigued. He decided to give the class a try one night after work and was amazed at just how many ways a basic bath towel can mimic the work of many different exercise props!
Want one last piece of quality advice?
The cheap towels work best. They tend to have less “fluff” and aren’t as bulky as the higher quality towels.
There are a number of exercises you can do where you need to grip the towel and your hands will appreciate the thinner material. Also, it’s not necessary, but it is ideal to use a towel that isn’t well worn. You’ll be surprised at how much stretch a newer one has. That stretch will give you more satisfaction and challenge when doing arm and shoulder exercises.
You’ll find the Mat with Towel class in the Pilates Mat Program under Level 2. Grab a towel and let's get started. We’ll meet you on the mat.