Can’t get up off the floor without a hand on your knee? Here are 7 mistakes women make trying to get their strength back.

Mistake 1

Calling it “just mom life”

Most women explain it away. No sleep. Long week. Getting older. Tap the ones that sound like you:

These usually come back to the same thing: the muscles that hold you up have had nothing asking them to work. It happens slowly, so most women don’t notice until a moment like Dana’s.

Not sure where you stand? Take the 2-minute quiz ›

A self-check, not a diagnosis. Pain that’s sharp or doesn’t go away belongs with your doctor.

Mistake 2

Thinking you need a gym, a studio or a machine

Studio Pilates made it look like you need a reformer, a membership and a 7 a.m. class. That’s what stops most women before they start.

The heart of Pilates is control, breathing and your own bodyweight. Your body is the resistance. A mat and a spot on the floor are enough to start.

Mistake 3

Doing random workouts with no plan

This is the one that got Dana. She’d find a video, do it once, and the next day start the search all over again. Random workouts mean starting from zero every time.

Without a plan, there’s no way to build. No way to know what comes next. So it’s easy to drift off by the end of week one. Not because you’re lazy, but because you’re guessing.

A plan beats motivation.

You open it, today’s workout is already picked, and each day builds on the last.

Mistake 4

Going too hard on day one

The classic restart: an hour-long workout on Monday, so sore you can’t sit down on Tuesday, done by Wednesday.

Too sore to sit down

Tuesday. After Monday’s hour-long “fresh start.”

If you haven’t worked out in a while, the first goal isn’t sweat. It’s showing up again tomorrow. Ten minutes you’ll repeat beats an hour you won’t.

Mistake 5

Doing only cardio and skipping your core

Walking and spin are great. But they don’t train the deep core and back muscles that make lifting, carrying and getting up off the floor feel easy.

That’s what Pilates is built for. Slow, controlled bodyweight moves that work your core, glutes, back and posture, with no jumping and nothing hard on your joints.

Mistake 6

Quitting before week two

Your strength took years to fade. It won’t all come back by Friday. Here’s what an honest first 28 days tends to look like:

Day 28: no hands

Mistake 7

Waiting for January

Almost every woman who restarts says the same three things first. “After the holidays.” “When things calm down.” “New year, new me.”

“I’ll start in January.”

Things don’t calm down. January comes with the same school runs and the same busy weeks, plus a few more months of putting yourself last.

Start on a normal Monday and you finish your 28 days before the holidays, feeling stronger while everyone else is still making resolutions.

Dana started on a regular weeknight, after Maya went to bed. Ten minutes on the rug, the same spot where she’d groaned getting up. Four weeks later, Maya asked her to do the puzzle again. She got up off the floor without a hand on the table.

Honest answers

Why it isn’t a $45 class

A single studio Pilates class often costs $35 to $45. Two a week adds up to $300 or more a month, plus the drive, the parking and the babysitter.

What Dana found

Day 1 · 10 min

The Flo Pilates 28-Day Bodyweight Program

A full-body Pilates plan built for women who haven’t worked out in a while. Every day is already planned. All you do is press play.

28

days

10

min a day

0

equipment

49¢

a day

• ✓A plan matched to your level from the 2-minute quiz
• ✓10-minute guided workouts, one for each of the 28 days
• ✓Bodyweight only: no reformer, no weights, no gym
• ✓Follow along on your phone or TV
• ✓Low impact: no jumping, easy on knees and back

$0.49a day($14.99 for all 28 days)

Take the quiz and start ›Less than half the price of one studio class

What Flo members are saying