Kneeling woodchops: my favourite no-equipment core move

Twenty minutes before school pickup. Trainers on, mat down, kettle ignored. That was the whole plan, and it was plenty.

People ask me, can you do Pilates at home without equipment? Yes. A mat, or a patch of carpet, is all you need. One move like the kneeling woodchop will get your core, balance and posture working in about two minutes.

Why this is the one I'd hand to anyone

My rotation workout had five exercises. If I could only keep one, it would be the kneeling woodchop.

It's Pilates in spirit. Slow, controlled, and you feel it in your middle without needing a single crunch. Our core does far more than crunches. We turn to grab a bag off the back seat. We twist to scoop a toddler out of the car. We reach, we pivot, we carry. This move trains exactly that.

And does Pilates count as a workout? Absolutely. Do ten of these slowly and you'll have your answer, probably somewhere around rep seven.

How to do it

• Kneel on your mat with your knees about hip-width apart. Fold a towel under them if the floor is unkind.
• Sit tall, like someone has tugged a string from the top of your head.
• Clasp your hands together. Hold nothing at all, or a water bottle, or a tin of beans from the cupboard.
• Start with your hands up beside one shoulder.
• Breathe out and sweep your hands down and across your body towards the opposite hip. Let your chest turn with them and let your eyes follow.
• Breathe in and float back up the same way. Slow on the way down, slow on the way up.

That's one. Do 10 on one side, then 10 on the other. Take a breather, then go again. Two to three rounds is plenty.

The bit almost all of us do (me included)

Here's what happens. We swing our arms and the middle of the body stays put. It looks like a woodchop, but the arms are doing all the work and your core is sitting in the corner with a cup of tea.

The fix is lovely and simple. Imagine your hands are glued to your chest. When they travel, your ribs travel with them. The turn comes from your middle, not from flinging your arms about. Slow it right down and you'll feel the difference straight away. It goes from a bit of a wave to a proper working move.

Two small things help too. Keep your bottom lifted off your heels, so you stay tall the whole time. And breathe out as you chop. Holding your breath is a very common thing to do when you concentrate, and it makes everything feel harder than it is.

Make it easier, make it harder

If kneeling bothers your knees, do it standing with your feet wide. Same move, same turn, a bit more ground under you.

If you want more, add a weight. A light dumbbell or a full water bottle will do. Or pause at the bottom for two slow breaths before you come back up. That pause is spicy.

Who it's for

Pretty much everyone. It's friendly if you're brand new, and it's a lovely one for Pilates for beginners over 40, because the pace is yours and the whole thing is controlled. You choose how big the movement is and how much you add.

If turning ever gives you a sharp pain, stop and get it checked by your GP or a physio. If you're newly postnatal or pregnant, have a quick chat with them first too. Otherwise, make the movement smaller and see how it feels.

What you'll notice, and when

I won't promise miracles. I will tell you what I see in the women I train.

Do this a few times a week and after a couple of weeks, turning feels steadier. Lifting the shopping out of the boot feels a bit easier. After four to six weeks, a lot of women tell me they're standing taller without thinking about it.

It's also one of my favourite bits of Pilates for rounded shoulders. When your hands travel up and your chest opens, it feels like undoing a whole day of hunching over a laptop or a phone. It won't change everything overnight. Done regularly, it nudges you in a good direction.

So no, you don't need a studio, a reformer, or a perfect hour. You need a mat and a window of time, even a small one.

Ready for the whole workout?

The woodchop works brilliantly on its own. It's also the last move in my five-exercise rotation workout: plank to lunge with a turn, B-stance hinge with a turn, washing machine twists, reverse lunge with a turn, then the woodchops. Two to three rounds, resting when you need to. It takes about 20 minutes.

If you'd like company while you do it, come and train with me at a live session. I'll count, I'll cheer, and I'll gently tell you to breathe out. It's much nicer doing it together.