Pilates has long been a favorite of many people in search of lean legs and a toned core, and for good reason. Pilates is a great way to tone the legs, core and upper body resulting in a compact, strong, lean look. The physique created by an avid Pilates routine is often equated to that of a dancers body, which is one of the reasons why this style of routine is so popular.

This routine is no exception to this training style as it is specifically designed to focused on comprehensively toning the thighs hips and butt, with the end goal of creating legs like a dancer. This workout also secondarily hits the abs, obliques and lower back as well to help tone and define the mid section. When done with this Pilates leg workout you will have hit almost every major muscle in the leg with extra focus on working the entire thigh; front, back, inside, and outside.

Though form is very important with any style of exercise, Pilates makes form its first and foremost concern. With these or any Pilates exercises be sure to constantly check your form and never try to move up to the next hardest modification or exercise before you have mastered the easier progressions. Another important part of Pilates is its breathing pattern in relation to each motion. Though it is important to try and perform the breathing as instructed I personally prefer that my students breath in a way that is most comfortable to you, but with the one rule that you never hold your breath at any time during and exercise. You should always be inhaling or exhaling to always keep your lungs/throat open.

Though Pilates has never been a huge calorie burner you can expect to burn anywhere from 4-7 calories per minute which means you will burn roughly 76-133 calories with this 19 minute routine. Keep in mind that if you make sure you are contracting your core throughout every exercise and keeping all of your upper body muscles tensed as well, even though they are not necessarily being used much, then you can easily increase you calorie per minute burn by and additional 1-2 calories per minute.

We suggest that if trying to tone (but not lose weight) then this in conjunction with other Pilates and/or toning routines should be done 3 to 5 times per week. However if you are looking to tone but also want to lose weight, then doing this routine in conjunction with other pilates and/or toning should only be done 2 to 3 times per week at the same time including 2 to 3 times per week of strength training, and/or HIIT. Pilates routines are generally low enough impact that they can easily be done in conjunction with other routines in the same day to get the most calorie burn through out the day we suggest keeping multiple routines at opposites ends of the day or at least 3-4 hours apart.

Comprehensive Pilates Leg Workout:

Single Leg Toe Taps (from table top)
Leg Stretch (double Pulse)
Leg Stretch (single Pulse)
Supine Leg Extensions (quad extension)
Leg Circles
L - Side Kick (double Pulse)
L - Side Leg Lift
L - Side leg lift + toe
L - Inside Leg Lift + 20 Pulse
R - Side Kick (double Pulse)
R - Side Leg Lift
R - Side leg lift + toe
R - Inside Leg Lift + 20 Pulse
Prone Leg Lift + Hamstring Curl
Seated Leg Lift (supported)

Cool Down Stretch