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Total Gym Pilates: Part 2

Total Gym Pilates: Strength Meets Flow

Part 2: Toe Bar Technique

Maria Sollon, MS, CSCS, PES

Every Pilates practice has its signature tools and on the Total Gym, the Toe Bar is where strength, length, and control meet. It channels the essence of classical footwork into integrated, full-body patterns that challenge stability, mobility, and precision all at once.

The Power of the Toe Bar

Pilates is rooted in creating long, strong, and balanced muscles. When the Toe Bar comes into play on your Total Gym, each movement gains new dimension. Footwork, spinal articulation, hip mobility, and flowing stretches are amplified by gravity and the glideboard, transforming simple mechanics into deeper, more connected work.

✨ Missed Part 1? Click here to see how the Total Gym mimics a reformer and to learn six foundational movements that set the stage for your Pilates practice.

About the Series

Strength Meets Flow is a five-part Pilates series blending classical precision with Total Gym functionality. Each blog highlights foundational Pilates principles and pairs traditional movements with the incline, glideboard, and gravity to deliver a reformer-style practice at home.

Part 2 shifts the spotlight to the Toe Bar, where foundational Pilates footwork evolves into dynamic, full-body conditioning. These movements strengthen the lower body, mobilize the spine, and integrate core control, all while implementing the signature flow that defines Pilates.

Toe Bar Workout: 5 Pilates Moves on your Total Gym

Strengthen, lengthen, and flow. This five-move sequence uses the toe bar along with the glideboard to challenge your core, hips, and spine for a full-body Pilates experience. 

Whether you’re just discovering this Pilates series or following along from the beginning, this workout stands on its own as a complete session, but it also layers beautifully into the Strength Meets Flow progression.

Set Up

  • Incline: Low–Medium (lower will challenge the core more)
  • Accessory: Foot Bar (or Squat Stand if you don’t have the Foot Bar)
  • Key: Glideboard (GB)

Directions:

  • Prioritize precision, control, and deep core activation in every movement.
  • Move slowly and intentionally; Pilates is quality over quantity.
  • Incorporae the Foundation Exercises of Part 1 to keep your Pilates Practice growing strong.
  • Apply the Pilates Principles:
    1. Alignment: Keep the spine long and supported.
    2. Breath: Inhale to prepare, exhale to move.
    3. Core Control: Engage your powerhouse to stabilize and protect the spine.

The Toe Bar Sequence

  1. Seated Roll-Downs +Rotation (5 reps)
    • Sit tall at the bottom of the GB with arms extended, legs long, and feet on the toe bar rails. Slowly articulate the spine down, one vertebra at a time, then roll back up with control. Allow the GB to move your spine as it assists and resists the motion.
    • Focus: Spinal mobility and abdominal control
  1. Footwork with Core Engagement (10 reps per foot position)
  • Lie supine on the GB, feet placed on the toe bar or squat stand. Extend the legs to press the GB up the rails, then resist the return. Change foot positions (parallel, turnout, wide stance) for variety.
  • Focus: Alignment, breath, and lower-body elongation
  1. Single Leg Kicks (5 each direction)
  • Lie supine on the glideboard with toes resting on the toe bar. Maintain a neutral or gently imprinted spine as you extend one leg straight over the bar. Press back with the supporting leg while kicking the extended leg toward the head. Alternate, sending the straight leg first over the bar, then under the bar as the other leg performs a single-leg press. Move with steady control, keeping the pelvis stable and the core engaged.
    • Focus: Hip mobility and pelvic stability
  1. Down Stretch (6–8 reps)
  • Kneel at the bottom of the GB, hands on the toe bar. Open the GB into a kneeling plank, keeping the spine long from head to knees. Maintain the plank while the arms move the GB.
  • Focus: Core and shoulder strength with spinal length
  1. Mermaid (5 reps each side)
  • Sit sideways on the GB, one hand on the toe bar. With the arm straight, open the GB as you side bend over the bar. Close the GB and lean toward the tower to stretch the opposite side.
  • Focus: Postural alignment and back-body activation

Mind-Body Takeaway

The toe bar bridges classical Pilates footwork with modern functionality. By training with precision and control, you’ll not only strengthen your lower body, but also create seamless integration through the hips, spine, and core.

Up Next: Part 3 | Core Integration
Next, we’ll return to the center with three Pilates-inspired movements using the cables. Expect reformer-style flow that challenges alignment, control, and strength from the inside out.

Best,

Maria

@GROOVYSWEAT  

Let’s Connect on Social Media

The post Total Gym Pilates: Part 2 appeared first on Total Gym Pulse.

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Total Gym Pilates: Part 1

Total Gym Pilates: Strength Meets Flow

Part 1: Building the Foundation

Maria Sollon, MS, CSCS, PES

If you’ve ever practiced Pilates on a mat or reformer, you already know the method is rooted in precision, control, and flow. But once you experience Pilates on the Total Gym, everything shifts – literally.  The incline, the moving glideboard, and the pull of gravity create an entirely new relationship with your core.

As a Pilates professional who has trained clients across every format, I can confidently say this: The Total Gym offers one of the most dynamic and accessible ways to simulate reformer-style Pilates at home. You’ll move with intention, activate with control, and rediscover how even the most familiar exercises feel fresh, effective, and surprisingly challenging.

What Makes Pilates Different on the Total Gym

Pilates on the Total Gym blends the best of mat and reformer training into one seamless experience. The glideboard moves with your body. like a reformer carriage, while the adjustable incline uses your own bodyweight and gravity as resistance. This unique setup challenges balance, range of motion, and control, creating an adaptable workout that’s both supportive and dynamic.

Here’s how it compares:

  • Mat Pilates: Stable surface, bodyweight resistance, focused on precision and control.
  • Reformer Pilates: Moving carriage with spring resistance for added feedback and flow.
  • Total Gym Pilates: Moving glideboard with incline-based bodyweight resistance for a reformer feel with a mat-style foundation.

How Resistance Works

Gravity becomes your training partner. The incline determines the level of challenge, while the glideboard’s movement demands constant core activation. Instead of just working on the equipment, you’re fully engaged with it… making every motion a full-body experience.

Pilates Principles

No matter the surface, the foundation of Pilates remains constant:

  • Breath guides your movement.
  • Control overrides momentum.
  • Precision activates deep muscle layers.
  • Flow connects one move to the next.
  • Centering comes from your powerhouse (core)

Foundational Pilates Moves on your Total Gym

This short sequence builds a strong foundation while showing you how the glideboard, gravity, and your own bodyweight create a reformer-style workout at home. Be patient with yourself… Pilates mastery develops over time, with practice and presence.

Set Up:

  • Incline: Low–Medium Level (lower incline increases core challenge)
  • Accessory: Foot Bar or Squat Stand
  • Key: Glideboard (GB)

Directions:

  • Focus on precision, control, and deep core engagement.
  • Move slowly and intentionally — quality over quantity.
  • Apply the Pilates Principals:
    • A – Alignment: Keep length and neutrality in the spine.
    • B- Breath: Inhale to prepare, exhale to move.
    • C- Core Control: Stabilize from the center to support every action.

The Foundation Sequence

  1. Roll-Up with Bent Knees (5–8 reps)
    • Sit in the center of the GB with knees bent in hips width distance and feet flat. Holding onto the sides of the thighs and assume a C-curve shape of the spine. Use your arms to assist your core control as you articulate the spine into supine, exhale to roll up one vertebra at a time back to the starting position.
    • Focus: Builds core control and spinal articulation while utilizing a solid breathing pattern.
  1. Hundred (100 pulses)
    • From a supine position, legs in tabletop, lift head and shoulders. Pump arms vigorously while breathing in for 5 counts and out for 5, until you reach 100 reps.
    • Focus: Utilize the GB to keep the lower spine imprinted while the legs are bent or extended. Add core intensity by using the incline to assist your upper spine to lift higher.
  1. Bicycle (10 reps per side)
    • Hands behind head, legs in table top. Draw one knee in while twisting the torso toward it, alternating sides in a controlled pedaling motion. This exercise enhances oblique strength and coordination.
    • Focus: Use the incline to lift the upper torso and fully engage the leg as it extends so one leg lengthens as the other draws into chest to contract the obliques.
  1. Bridge Articulation + Pulses (5–8 reps)
    • Lie on your back with knees bent and feet grounded, hip-width apart. Maintain a neutral spine as you press into your feet to lift the hips, articulating through the spine one vertebra at a time. At the top, hold the lift and add small, controlled pulses before rolling down with the same precision.
    • Focus: Glutes, hamstrings, and spinal mobility through segmental articulation.
  1. Side-Lying Leg Series (10 reps per movement)
    • Lie on your side on the GB, legs long and parallel to the floor while keeping the waistline lifted and hips stacked throughout the movement.
    • Variations: Straight Leg Lifts (top leg lifts and lowers, Leg Circles (top leg drawls circles in both directions), Inner Thigh Taps (top leg stays lifted while bottom leg lifts and lowers)
    • Focus: Hip stability, inner and outer thigh strength, and improved balance.
  1. Swimming (10 reps per side)
    • Lie prone on the GB, arms extended. Alternate lifting opposite arm and leg in a fluttering motion. Strengthens the posterior chain and builds total-body coordination.
    • Focus: To strengthen the posterior chain activation, spinal extension, and utilize full-body coordination. Try to keep the head in neutral alignment by gazing towards floor without straining the neck.

Stretches: Child’s Pose, Cat-Cow, Roll Up to Stand

Mind-Body Takeaway

Pilates on the Total Gym isn’t just a substitute for studio equipment; It’s a smart, scalable way to deepen your practice at home. The dynamic movement of the glideboard, the pull of gravity, and the feedback from the cables transform Pilates into an experience that challenges the body while sharpening the mind-body connection.

Up Next… Part 2: Pilates and the Toe Bar
Get ready to elevate your practice. In Part 2, the toe bar transforms classic Pilates patterns into a full-body challenge that builds strength, balance, and seamless flow.

Until then, glide with intention, move with control, and build strength from your center out.

Best,

Maria

@GROOVYSWEAT  

Let’s Connect on Social Media

 

The post Total Gym Pilates: Part 1 appeared first on Total Gym Pulse.