A classic Pilates exercise, the hundred will show up in almost any Pilates class you take. In the hundred, we coordinate a powerful breathing pattern with the movement to create a dynamic warm-up for the abdominals and lungs.

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I have a Pilates chair in the middle of my living room. It's the first thing you see when you walk in the front door. I like having it there because an obvious location makes me use it. Plus, it's near the TV and I can do exercises during the commercials of So You Think You Can Dance, my favorite TV show, ever. Not to imply that I don't do whole focused workouts, I do. But, hey, a little dance-inspired core work is a good thing.

The only problem with having a Pilates chair in the middle of the house is that I end up giving impromptu demonstrations to every guest that walks in the door. No matter the time of day or night, whether I'm warmed up or not, I feel compelled to show off what a great form of exercise Pilates is.

So I start with some leg work, but that usually fails to impress so I quickly move into something more dramatic, like the full pike (see photo that is not me), which does impress but also piques my guests desire to try it. Then, against my better judgment, I find myself teaching full pike to a person who has never done Pilates, but is nevertheless determined to master this deceptively easy looking move. It's a vicious circle. I hope somewhere in there I'm being a good ambassador for Pilates.

• Intro to the Pilates Chair
  
• Review: The MVe Pilates Chair
  
• Review: The MVe Pilates Chair DVDs

_{photo: Getty Images}