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Pilates Swimming: Steps, Muscles and Common Mistakes

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Swimming is a beginner to intermediate classical mat exercise that focuses on an alternating arm and leg flutter in a prone extension. It appears as number 24 of the 34 exercises in Joseph Pilates' 1945 book Return to Life Through Contrology.

This movement creates a gentle spinal extension that builds strength along the back of your body. It targets your spinal extensors and gluteus maximus as the main muscles, while your posterior deltoids and hamstrings provide support to keep your limbs lifted.

Exercise data

Type
Classical mat, classical order #24 of 34
Level
Beginner to intermediate
Equipment
Mat
Main muscles
spinal extensors, gluteus maximus
Also working
posterior deltoids, hamstrings
Spine
spinal extension
Focus
Alternating arm and leg flutter in a prone extension
Also searched as
swimming pilates, pilates swimming exercise

How to do the Swimming

Lie face down on your mat with your legs straight and your arms reaching forward past your head. Keep your neck long by resting your forehead lightly on the mat.

  1. Engage your abdominal muscles to support your lower back.
  2. Lift your head, chest, arms, and legs slightly off the mat.
  3. Reach your right arm and left leg higher toward the ceiling.
  4. Switch sides by lowering your right arm and left leg while lifting your left arm and right leg.
  5. Continue alternating sides in a brisk, fluttering motion.
  6. Keep your torso as still as possible while your limbs move.
  7. Lower everything back down to the mat with control to finish.
  • Breath. Teachers cue breathing differently for this exercise, but a common pattern is to inhale for five flutter counts and exhale for five flutter counts. You can also simply breathe naturally, ensuring you do not hold your breath as you move.
  • Where you feel it. You should feel your spinal extensors, glutes, hamstrings, and the backs of your shoulders working hard. You should not feel sharp pinching or strain in your lower back or neck.
  • How many. 3 to 5 full breath cycles, or about 30 seconds of fluttering

Common mistakes

  • Rocking torso. Focus on keeping your center completely still rather than lifting your limbs as high as possible.
  • Crunching the neck. Look down at the mat slightly ahead of you to keep your neck in line with your spine.
  • Bending the knees. Reach through your toes and engage your hamstrings to keep your legs long and straight.
  • Dropping the arms. Keep your arms lifted in line with your ears to ensure your posterior deltoids stay engaged.
  • Relaxing the center. Gently pull your belly button away from the mat to protect your lower back during the spinal extension.

Make it easier or harder

Easier

  • Keep your head and chest resting on the mat and only flutter your legs.
  • Lift only one arm and the opposite leg at a time, lowering them completely before switching sides.
  • Perform the exercise on your hands and knees in a quadruped position instead of lying on your stomach.

Harder

  • Increase the speed of your flutters while maintaining a perfectly still torso.
  • Extend the duration of the exercise to challenge your muscular endurance.

Who should be careful

  • Back extension can irritate some conditions, such as spinal stenosis or spondylolisthesis. Keep the lift small or skip it if it brings on back or leg symptoms.
  • Lying face down is not suitable later in pregnancy, and can be uncomfortable after recent abdominal surgery.

Related exercises

This exercise is part of our pages on Pilates for Runners, Pilates for Men.

When to see a doctor or physical therapist

  • Sharp or shooting pain in your lower back when you lift your chest.
  • Numbness or tingling traveling down your arms or legs.
  • Sudden pinching sensations in your neck or shoulders.
  • Pain in your hip joints as you lift your legs.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or are recovering from an injury or surgery, check with your own clinician before trying new exercises.

How we put this page together. Exercise data (type, level, equipment and muscles) was compiled by our editors from the classical mat order in Joseph Pilates’ 1945 book and from commonly taught mat repertoire. Muscle lists are a general anatomy guide; cueing differs between teachers. Text drafted with AI assistance and checked by the Editorial Team. See our editorial policy. Last checked October 2026.