Pump Up Your Pilates with a Weighted Powerhouse Mat Pilates Routine

Pilates isn't just a workout for Hollywood heavyweights with flawless bodies and access to a Pilates-specific gym with intimidating equipment like the Reformer, Wunda Chair, Ladder Barrel, or Cadillac (yes, all actual Pilates equipment machines). It is in fact a great green workout that you can do on a mat without leaving your home—no gym, no electric energy, and no special equipment necessary. Yup, that's pretty much the definition of green exercise—using your body (and maybe a couple hand weights) as your equipment and your breath as your energy. Or course, you can green your Pilates even more with an eco-friendly yoga mat.

Mari Winsor is one of the most well known Pilates mavens in the United States. She has become the go-to trainer who slims the stars, including Daisy Fuentes, Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, Drew Barrymore, Meg Ryan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jewel, and Minnie Driver, teaching them how to "use their powerhouse" to lose fat, gain strength, and increase flexibility. Still, even the flawless can sometimes use a facelift, and Pilates is no exception. "In order to increase the rate of exertion, calorie burn and intensity," Mari suggests that you "add the use of free weights to some of the most fundamental Pilates moves."