Each month we’re bringing you a different Pilates exercise to practice and focus on, as recommended by one of our Pilates Instructors. This month, Roz recommends the Roll Up.
This is a more advanced abdominal exercises that ensures you continue to activate all the layers of abdominal muscles together. If the deeper ‘core’ muscles are not working effectively your feet will lift off the floor, giving you the perfect feedback as to how well you are doing the exercise. As your control improves you simply increase the range you move through.
- Sit on the floor with your legs in front of you, hip distance apart. Bend your hips and knees a little. Ensure that your pelvis is in an upright, neutral position. Lengthen your upper spine and back of your neck. Lift both arms to shoulder height, keeping the arms long.
- Breath in to prepare.
- Breath out and roll off the back of your sitting bones to round your lower back and tilt your pelvis backwards. Continue to move in this direction as far as you can maintain control, allowing your back to form a C shape curve. Keep the head upright.
- Breath in and maintain the C shape curve of your spine and bring your shoulders over the hips, then roll your pelvis forwards onto the sitting bones and re stack your spine, one bone at a time to resume your starting position.
Enjoy this month’s exercise! Roz, Physiotherapist & Pilates Instructor