Every March we celebrate one of my favorite traditions, March MATness. Pilates enthusiasts from around the globe will be doing Joseph Pilates’ original 34 mat exercises that can be found in his book, Return to Life Through Contrology.
March MATness started in 2013 when Benjamin Degenhardt began using the hashtag #marchmatness with his daily Instagram and Facebook posts about Joe’s mat work. He divided the 34 exercises, in order, over the 31 days of March. His posts quickly blossomed into a worldwide celebration of Pilates.
In this video, I demonstrate all 34 of the original exercises and below I’ve laid out their names, which day in March we’ll do the exercises, recommended repetitions, and hashtags. Some of these exercises are advanced, and you should definitely listen to your body when deciding which exercises are right for you. (If you have any questions, I’d love to help!)
March 1. Hundred (100 pumps) #hundred
March 2. Roll-up (5-8) #rollup
March 3. Roll-over (3 each direction) #rollover
March 4. Single Leg Circle (5 each direction) #singlelegcircle #onelegcircle
March 5. Rolling Like a Ball (5-8) #rollinglikeaball #rollingback
March 6. Single Leg Stretch (5 each leg) #singlelegstretch #onelegstretch
March 7. Double Leg Stretch (5) #doublelegstretch
March 8. Spine Stretch (5) #spinestretch
March 9. Open Leg Rocker (5-8) #openlegrocker #rockerwithopenlegs
March 10. Corkscrew (5 each direction) #corkscrew
March 11. Saw (5 each direction) #saw
March 12. Swan Dive (6-8) #swan #swandive
March 13. Single Leg Kicks (8 each leg) #singlelegkick #onelegkick
March 14. Double Leg Kicks (3 each direction) #doublelegkick
March 15. Neck Pull (5) #neckpull
March 16. Scissors and Bicycle (3 each leg for Scissors; 3 each direction for Bicycle) #scissors #bicycle
March 17. Shoulder Bridge (3 each leg; two sets of kicks) #shoulderbridge
March 18. Spine Twist (3 each direction) #spinetwist
March 19. Jackknife (3-5) #jackknife
March 20. Side Leg Kicks (3-5 each leg) #sidelegkicks #sidekick
March 21. Teaser (4-6, any variation) #teaser
March 22. Hip Circles (3 each direction) #hipcircles #hiptwist
March 23. Swimming (10 counts) #swimming
March 24. Leg Pull Front and Leg Pull Back (3 each leg) #legpullfront #legpullback #legpulls
March 25. Kneeling Side Leg Kicks (3 each leg) #kneelingsidekick
March 26. Side Bends (3 each) #sidebend
March 27. Boomerang (3 each leg placement) #boomerang
March 28. Seal and Crab (5-8 for Seal; 3 each leg placement for Crab) #seal #crab
March 29. Rocking (3-5) #rocking
March 30. Control Balance (3 each leg) #controlbalance
March 31. Push-ups (3 sets; 1 on toes; 1 each leg) #pushup
