A comparative analysis of the electrical activity of the abdominal muscles during traditional and Pilates-based exercises under two conditions Análise comparativa da atividade elétrica dos músculos abdominais durante exercício tradicional e método pilates sob duas condições

1 Abstract - The use of Pilates-based exercises for trunk strengthening has been reported in the literature. The objective of this study was to analyze and compare the electrical ac- tivity of the rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles during a traditional abdomi- nal exercise program and an exercise program based on the Pilates method using a ball and an elastic band. The sample was composed of 10 healthy women, non-practitioners of Pilates, who performed the traditional abdominal exercise and roll-up with the ball and elastic band. The sign was normalized by the electromyographic peak of the dynamic activity and was adjusted for 2000 samples/s; the filter was set in a frequency band from 20 to 450 Hz. In the comparison between exercises, the external oblique muscle in the concentric phase had a higher recruitment in the roll-up with the ball (P = 0.042). In the comparison between muscles in each exercise, the rectus abdominis showed a higher activation in the concentric phase (P = 0.009) and in the eccentric phase (P = 0.05) of the traditional abdominal exercise. Activation percentages ranged from 15% to 22%. The traditional abdominal exercise had the largest activation percentage.