Pilates Around the Clock Exercise – the Commando Exercise!

Taken from an exercise instruction sheet that Joseph H. Pilates used to sell for $1.00 in 1943, here’s your instructions for Around the Clock from Joe himself:

Are you game to try a Commando Exercise? It looks simple – but it’s rather straining until you have had lots of practice doing it. This exercise develops muscles and tissues that the usual physical drills and even swimming and hiking do not call into play. This “Around the Clock” stunt is especially effective in correcting bad posture, double chin, flabby & weak abdominal muscles, fat thighs, bulging hips, constipation, poor blood circulation and other similar physical imperfections. Below is the explanation how – in one minute morning and evening – you can go “Round the Clock”. It will do you no good whatever just to read about this simple exercise. It must be performed twice daily, day after day, without let up. Be a Commando and command yourself to do this one thing each day. You’ll be surprised at the result!

Directions: Lie on your back with arms pressed tightly against your thighs, as shown on diagram at 12 o’clock. Bend head forward until chin touches chest – with straight legs lift feet about three inches off floor and inhale deeply. Next, exhale fully and double up your legs against chest, thus helping to expel your breath. Now raise the lower part of the spine slightly off floor and with a pivot-like motion, twist the body around to the right to position shown at one o’clock on diagram. Again raise spine slightly and give another twist into position shown at 2 o’clock and stretch out flat as at the beginning. When you have moved from 12 to 2 o’clock, you have completed a cycle of these combination exercises. You then repeat this process, going to 3 & 4, then 5 & 6, until you again reach 12 o’clock. When you are proficient in going round the clock as a clock hand does, you can reverse the process and do it in reverse order.