Improve Your Hundred Every Time You Workout

This exercise is brilliant.  It works your abdominal muscles, your breathing, your co-ordination, your back and leg strength and your upper back flexibility.  It engages your whole body, and when done correctly is good for your whole body.  If you aren’t familiar with The Hundred click here for some pictures and a description on how to perform the exercise.

The ideal position for The Hundred is to start with your body completely flat on the floor, then raise your legs 2 inches off the ground and lift your head so you are looking at your toes, keeping your back flat on the ground
 
There are a couple of ways to approach The Hundred.  In his book, Joseph Pilates says to begin, in the ideal position, with 20 movements and gradually increase this until you can do 100 movements.  I was taught to start with the full 100 movements but to modify the position with those who lacked the strength for that ideal position, or carried injuries.  I think there is benefit in both approaches, and unless you have an injury it is good to try both.  If you are doing a modified version of the exercise it can be very easy to get comfortable with it and not challenge yourself to improve when you should.
 
Today, the usual approach to The Hundred is to your head up and you legs straight in the air, held at or above a 45 degree angle.  If you have any kind of injury, if you lack strength, or if you are very stiff, you may have various modifications.  The most common ones are bending the legs bent and/or keeping the head down. 
 
There are many tips that will help you improve your position and I recommend you take a look at the section on The Hundred in my ebook on the Basic Pilates Mat for those.  But there is one thing that will help you improve the results you get out of The Hundred every time, regardless of whether you need to modify the exercise or not. 
 
Every single time you perform this exercise, start in the position that is as close to the ideal as you can get.  Every single time you do The Hundred find the position that challenges you the most.  If you usually have bent legs try holding them straight for as long as you can.  If your legs are straight, feel the place where your back arches off the floor and hold your legs just above that point.  If you can’t hold your head up for the whole exercise, start with your head off the ground and hold it there as long as you can.  Every time you put yourself in The Hundred position, look for the most challenging position.  If you stay there for as long as you can and only modify it if you need to you will find your strength improves rapidly.