Exercise of the Month- The Hundred

We have a new feature at Rhinebeck Pilates- the Exercise of the Month!

Each month we will feature a new exercise at the studio for us all to learn more about, practice more, have fun with variations... and possibly even master.

This month's exercise is The Hundred, is one of the most important and fundamental exercises in the pilates method.

Why its called the Hundred- All that arm pumping you do during this exercise is not for naught! While you're breathing, pumping, scooping, and lengthening, your instructor is counting each and every pump until you've reached one hundred. After one hundred pumps, you are warmed up and ready for more pilates. Good news is that pumping a hundred times sounds dreadful but it really does go by fast.

Benefits of The Hundred- The Hundred is the main warm-up exercise in pilates. Everyone does the Hundred in the beginning of their workout- whether they are taking a group class or private session, and whether on the mat or another piece of equipment.

The vigorous arm pumping is what gets the blood flowing. Besides counting the pumps, your instructor is also counting your breaths- 10 deep breaths in all. Each inhale is to the count of 5 and so is each exhale. So along with warming up your body, the Hundreds also coordinate your breath with your movement. In a way, the Hundreds "warm up" your breathing.

If you've ever wondered what part of your body is exercised from the Hundreds, the answer is- your whole body. Of course you feel your abs, but your legs and arms are also extending and your spine is lengthening.

Challenges- Many people find that keeping the legs extended straight out the biggest challenge of the hundred. Try working up to this point, starting with Table Top legs. Once this becomes easy, reach legs straight up to the ceiling, then gradually lower the legs each time after. Don't try to reach the legs straight out before you're ready, you may strain your back and your form will be a sorry state of affairs.

Another challenge is the arm pumping. Its not the actually pumping that's hard, its being aware of your form and not slacking off and getting lazy with the pumps. Pump the whole arm, especially the upper arm. Beware of "hand flapping"- it does nothing for your warm up or your core... and it looks ridiculous:)

Variations- Its fun to play with variations on during the Hundred for the extra challenge. Some variations are:

-heel beats instead of pumping arms
-criss-crossing the legs instead of pumping arms

-adding a magic circle between/outside the ankles: pulsing, slow squeezing on the exhale

-Arm pumping: faster, slower, bigger

-Arm pumping/beats on the mat: each students pats the mat with their hands as they do the hundred, trying to coordinate the pats and get louder/softer altogether.

-Frogging the legs in and out with the breath

-Holding the heels 2 inches off the mat (like Joe reportedly asked his students to do on their very first session!)

On the tower, its fun to play with tons of variations using the roll back bar, leg springs and arm springs. On the reformer, a cool variation on the hundreds is putting feet in the straps and reaching the legs out to find that stretch against the straps. And, just laying on the chairs and barrels with the tail bone just on the edge is a huge challenge on keep abs in with a neutral pelvis.

If any readers have other variations that they like of the hundreds, feel free to share!

Here is a video of the Hundreds:



Here's an older post that I wrote about the Hundreds:
http://headsuponyourbody.blogspot.com/2008/02/hundred.html