Best Pilates exercises for triathletes during the taper

The tapering period of your training is focussed on reducing the volume of your training, i.e. the mileage. The purpose of your taper is to reduce fatigue and improve muscle recovery before your event, without losing the physiological adaptations that you've worked so hard to achieve.

Pilates can be a useful cross-training method during the taper period, if done appropriately. The benefits are low-intensity strength training, maintaining core strength, active lengthening of the muscles, balancing different muscle groups and improving mindful awareness of the body and breathing.

Below are 10 of the best Pilates exercises to do during the taper period.

Best Pilates exercises for the taper period

1. Dead Bugs

A classic core-stability exercise, the use of the opposite arm to opposite leg mimics the reciprocal movements that you've been doing in your training (i.e. running) so it's working on the same rotational stability.

You can add light weights – 1 - 2kg in the first two weeks of your taper but drop them for the final week.

Lie on your back on the floor.
Bring both legs up into the ‘tabletop’ position – hips and knees roughly 90 degrees and shins parallel to the floor.
Float the arms overhead so your hands are pointing to the ceiling and are slightly wider than your shoulders.
Take a breath in, and as you sigh your breath out, reach one arm overhead and the opposite leg away.
Inhale to return to the start position.
Only go as far as you can whilst maintaining a small gap under the lower back - if your back starts to arch away from the floor or you are having to force your lower back into the floor you have gone too far.
Repeat 10 on each side.

2. Side to side

Another great exercise that focuses on working the obliques, which control the rotational movement of your body during running or swimming.

In the first two weeks you can work with the intermediate variation (both legs lifted), while the week before and after the event keep the feet on the floor to use this movement more as a lower-back mobility exercise.

For the beginner

Lie on the floor with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor.
Spread your arms wide on the floor to ground yourself.
With your feet and knees together, gently roll the knees to one side.
Let your head gently roll away in the opposite direction.
Draw the knees gently back to the middle.
Now lower the knees to the opposite side.
Repeat 5-10 each way.

For the intermediate

Lie on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat.
Spread your arms wide on the floor.
Gently lift one and then both legs into the tabletop position.
Gently lower the knees to one side, keeping your shoulder blades heavy on the floor. This time your knees and feet will not touch the floor.
Let your head gently roll away in the opposite direction.
Draw the knees back to the middle.
Gently lower the knees to the opposite side.
Repeat 5 each way.

3. Bridge + marching

This variation on a bridge is great exercise for keeping your hamstring muscles awake. In the first two weeks of taper, work with the progression of this exercise – lifting alternate legs.

In the last week of taper and the week after the event work with the basic version – feet in contact with the ground or elevated surface.

Focus on a gentle rolling action up and down the spine to act as a lovely back-mobility exercise. If your hamstrings cramp during this exercise, you may find it more comfortable to do with your feet on the ground.

Lie on the floor on your back. Place your feet on the edge of the sofa, a chair or step.
Press through your feet to engage the legs and float your hips up.
Hold for a moment, and then lower the pelvis, folding in the front of your hip crease.
As you lower the hips, think of your spine getting longer as you gently roll it back to the floor.
As you lift the hips, try not to arch your lower back, you want to keep the lower back curve soft. Thinking about keeping the front of your ribs soft will help. Soften your breastbone down away from the face.
Repeat 10.
To progress the exercise, alternate lifting one leg and then the other.
As you lift each leg in turn, try not to let the opposite side of your pelvis drop.
Repeat 5-10 on each side, respecting any cramping of the hamstrings.

4. Side plank variations

In the first two weeks of tapering, you can use this exercise to work on your lateral gluteal muscles and oblique strength, which are really important for maintaining pelvic stability.

Start in a side sit position on the mat.
Lean onto your arm – have it fully straight.
Press yourself up into a side plank, and then straighten the top leg.
Flex your foot so the toes come towards your shin.
Lift and lower the top leg, leading through the heel.
Repeat 5 on each side.

5. ¾ side plank

In the last week before your race and the first week after, you can bring the intensity down with a simple ¾ side plank:

Lie on your side on the floor.
Prop yourself up onto your forearm.
Have your knees bent to 90 degrees. Make sure the thighs are in line with your hips and shoulders. The feet should be behind the line of your body.
Repeat 10 times – holding for 5-10 seconds.

6. Book openings

This exercise is a great one for alleviating the upper back stiffness that you can get with putting in the miles. We can get quite hunched forwards as we fatigue during running or cycling so this is a great stretch for opening out the chest.

You can add light weights to feel a bit of work through the shoulders in the first two weeks of tapering, but drop them out for the last week, and add them in as preferred after the race.

Lie on your side with your hips and knees bent and two pillows under your head.
Keeping your hips and knees together, reach one arm up and back so that you open your chest to the ceiling. You should be aiming to get rotation through your upper body.
Think of your top knee sliding slightly forward on top of the other one – this should stop you from just rolling onto your back and give you a greater stretch through the obliques.
Gently draw the arms back together.
Repeat 5 on each side.

7. Thread the needle

Another great exercise for upper back mobility, similar to book openings. This one adds in a combination of spinal rotation with flexion and extension so works us in a more functional movement pattern.

Kneel on all fours, keeping a little bit more weight over the legs.
Reach one hand underneath you, feeding it through to the opposite side of you, rotating through the upper back.
Now pull the arm back through and reach towards the ceiling on the opposite side.
Keep your pelvis directly over the knees, trying to minimise any shift from side to side.
Repeat 5 each way.
To get a shoulder stretch, bend your supporting arm to allow your opposite shoulder to sink towards the floor and hold.

8. Cat-cow stretch

If the thread the needle feels a bit beyond you, you may prefer to opt for the simpler cat stretch. Again, this is a great spinal mobility exercise.

Kneel on all fours, keeping a little bit more weight over the legs.
Press your hands into the ground as if trying to push yourself away from the ground, but not rounding into your spine. We want to avoid collapsing in between the shoulder blades.
Slowly start to tuck your tailbone under to round your lower back, then continuing rounding through up to the upper back, gently lowering your head to look towards your knees.
Then start to unfold the spine, starting at the tailbone and working your way up, finally lifting your head to look towards the top of your exercise mat.
Keep the movement slow and deliberate, focusing on the sensations at each section of your spine as you sequentially work your way up and down.
Repeat 5-10 times.

9. Scooter

A great standing exercise for keeping your quads and gluteals active. It also helps you work on your movement pattern as it works on isolating the leg action from the lower back movement, so is helpful in promoting efficient movement for running.

Stand with your feet hip width apart and feet parallel, and place your hands on your hips.
Gently soften the knees and sit your hips back behind you.
Shift your weight slightly onto one leg and slide the toes of the other leg behind you until that leg is extended straight.
Slide the leg back in.
As you're moving the leg, the shape of the rest of you should stay the same – so knees slightly bent, folded forwards and the hips and the lower back staying in a gentle inward curve.
Repeat 10 times on each side.

10. Roll down

Roll down is a lovely finisher exercise for spinal mobility and a bit of gentle hamstring stretch. You can do the exercise free-standing, but this wall version provides sensory feedback to allow you to feel the movement of your spine moving sequentially.

Stand with your back in a relaxed position against the wall and your feet a couple of inches away from the wall.
Take a deep breath in, and as you sigh out, shift a little weight into the balls of your feet and allow your upper body to roll forward until you can’t go any further.
Press into your feet to roll yourself back up the wall, focussing on the sensations of where your back touches the wall.
Repeat the movement, seeing if you can get a little bit further.
For more of a hamstring stretch, try the freestanding version and allow yourself to move until you get a gentle stretch in the back of the hamstrings.
Repeat 5 times.

Helen O'Leary is a physiotherapist and clinical director at Complete Pilates.

Top image credit: Getty Images