Revealed: The five-step ‘Neuroblast’ Pilates routine that’s anti-aging for your body and brain

Have you ever come across a choreographed exercise session that is harder to follow than advanced math?

“Everyone has been in a class, whether it’s pilates, step or dance, where you feel a bit confused,” says fitness instructor Gemma Folkard. “Don’t worry, it’s actually doing you good.”

Yes, the big advantage is that you are exercising both your brain and your body. That’s why Gemma, founder of Shape Pilates, teaches what she calls “Neuroblast Pilates”, which ensures that her students strengthen their muscles as well as their minds.

“Any floor movement, but especially Pilates, where the choreography requires you to remember and execute complex sequences of movements, can significantly improve your cognitive function,” she says.

Gemma explains that her complicated Neuroblast Pilates method, which sculpts the biceps and glutes, also challenges the brain. “You often need to interpret and adapt movements, and the fluid transition from one movement to another (known as flows) requires quick thinking. Neuroblast Pilates is a really effective way to connect the mind and body.”

Meanwhile, the need to retain complex information stimulates the brain’s memory centers, so if you practice it regularly, Neuroblast Pilates can help improve both short- and long-term memory by strengthening neural connections and even creating new ones.

And of course, physical activity has innate benefits. “You increase blood flow to the brain,” Gemma says, and you also improve balance, coordination and spatial awareness. And, crucially, it’s not all work and no play. “It’s fun, too.”

Here, Gemma reveals two of her Neuroblast Pilates flows (a seamless transition between moves) that will benefit your back, glutes, stomach and those all-important brain cells.

The first flow

1. Boost your stability

Kneel on a mat and rub your hands together until you feel some warmth. Doing this increases proprioception, your brain’s perception of the spatial position of different parts of your body, which is essential for good coordination.

Coordination and proprioception are essential for daily life. What seem like simple things, like avoiding obstacles when walking down the street, require spatial awareness and become more difficult as we age. Practicing these skills can slow cognitive decline and leave us feeling capable and youthful.

Next, get on all fours, with your knees under your hips and the heels of your hands under your shoulders. A slumped torso is not allowed. Extend your left arm and right leg so that your left hand is stretched out in front of you, touching the mat, and your right foot is pointed, with your toes touching the mat.

You’re now working both the left and right sides of your brain. Slide both back to the starting position, then out and back in. Your right arm is working hard to stabilize you; keep your right elbow relaxed.

2. Improve your balance

Start from an extended position like the one practiced in the previous movement, with the opposite leg and arm stretched out. Then raise the extended arm and place the tips of the fingers on the forehead, as if you were saluting. Your shoulders should be straight. Then raise the opposite leg and bend the knee, so that the thigh is horizontal, in line with the torso, and the foot points to the ceiling.

Next, arch your spine downwards, pulling your head and elbow towards your knee (form a small ball) and stretch your arm and leg back. The knee remains bent. And repeat the exercise on both sides. A lot of balance is worked on here! This is great for the brain, as balance requires it to process sensory information quickly and efficiently.

Activities that challenge balance stimulate several brain regions, including those responsible for motor control, coordination, and sensory processing. This stimulation can improve overall cognitive function by keeping these brain areas active and engaged.

3. Test your memory and coordination

If that’s not enough for your brain (it’s not), we have more to add. Extend your left arm and right leg. From here, lower your left arm to hip height, while lowering your left leg as well.

Then lift your leg, move your arm back so that it is stretched out in front of you, then bend your arm and bring your hand to your forehead as if you were greeting, while bending your knee (at a right angle, so that the calf and foot are perpendicular).

Next, do a downward bend, bringing your elbow towards your knee, then lift and extend. And try again, find your rhythm. You are working your abs, and your concentration and focus are working your brain!

Next, do a downward bend, bringing your elbow towards your knee, then lift and extend. And try again, find your rhythm. You are working your abs, and your concentration and focus are working your brain!

If that’s not enough for your brain (it’s not), we have more to add. Extend your left arm and right leg. From here, bring your left arm down to hip height, while lowering your leg as well. Then lift your leg up, sweep your arm back so it’s stretched out in front of you, then bend your arm and bring your hand to your forehead as if you were waving, while bending your knee (at a right angle, so your calf and foot are perpendicular). Next, do a downward push-up, bringing your elbow toward your knee, then lift and extend.

And try again, find your rhythm. You are working your abs, and your concentration and focus are working your brain!

Then lift your leg, move your arm back so that it is stretched out in front of you, then bend your arm and bring your hand to your forehead as if you were greeting, while bending your knee (at a right angle, so that the calf and foot are perpendicular).

Next, do a downward bend, bringing your elbow towards your knee, then lift and extend. And try again, find your rhythm. You are working your abs, and your concentration and focus are working your brain!

The second flow

4. Head up!

To bring more oxygen to the brain: We begin this flow by standing on the left side of your yoga mat, with your feet in line with your hips and your hands clasped in front of you.

Lift your right heel and then take a wide side lunge. As you bend, your knee should be over your middle toe. Bend at the hip so your back is at a 45-degree angle. Bend deeply to stretch your inner thigh.

Then, return to the starting position. Jump down and then up! Your left leg is holding you up. Root it like a solid tree trunk. Can you feel the blood pumping? Great! And repeat on the other side.

5. It’s time for a cross-pattern flow to work both sides of the brain.

This is beneficial because cross-pattern exercises involve movements in which the limbs cross the midline of the body. These types of exercises involve both hemispheres of the brain and have multiple benefits for brain health.

These include everything from stress reduction due to distraction (focus helps with this), processing speed, and the ability to move smoothly in different directions.

Once you’ve perfected the side lunge, we’ll introduce a crossover pattern. Step back to the starting position and lift your right knee so that your thigh is horizontal. Kick it with your left hand.

Next, we bring the same leg back (pointing the toes of the right foot towards the left buttock) and tap the right foot with the left hand. Then, we bring the right leg forward to the starting position and lunge to the side. We stand up again, lift the right knee and tap with the left hand.

Is it getting easier? You’re working your hips, glutes, and quads. You’re also stimulating both sides of your brain, strengthening the neural pathways between them, so you’re building resilience in mind and body.

Congratulations on completing your first Neuroblast Pilates workout – you’ve earned an A star!

* You can find more information about Gemma Folkard at: https://shape-pilates.com and https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/shape-pilates-london/id6535696127