Day 206- Roll Up with Neutral Lean Back

This exercise is great for axial length and perfect for someone with osteoporosis that may not be able to do a classic Pilates Roll Up

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start sitting with your legs long in front of you.  Inhale as you make your body longer and then exhale as you reach your head behind you by hinging from your hips.  Inhale at this point and then exhale as you lengthen your spine again and return to a seated position.  Repeat 6-8 times

Things to think about

It is really easy in this exercise to extend the spine as opposed to maintain neutral.  Make sure that your ribs and pelvis are moving as one unit.

Feel the abdominals right between the pelvis bones engage for both the descent and the return to sitting.  Imagine that there is a seatbelt around your pelvis.

Day 205- Roll up with Resistance Band in Hands- Arms by Ears.

This exercise is intended to increase the challenge of the roll up.  The theraband helps organize the shoulder, and keeping the arms by the ears challenges the spinal articulation

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a theraband.  Start by lying on your back with your legs long beneath you and your arms on the ground behind your head with the theraband stretched between your hands.  Inhale into the back of your ribcage, and exhale as you lift your head, neck, shoulders, and arms towards the ceiling, and then continue the exhale as you roll through the spine vertebra by vertebra reaching the head, neck, shoulders, and arms towards the ceiling.

Things to think about

If you have osteoporosis try this exercise by starting in a sitting position, and then hinge with a neutral spine towards the ground behind you. 

Pulling outward on the theraband helps organize the shoulders so that you can find the articulation in the spine. 

No matter how much you try your arms are going to get ahead of you.  Try as much as you can to keep them reaching towards the ceiling.

Day 203- Roll up in 3's with Arms at Ears

This exercise combines two difficult variations of the Classic Pilates Roll up to make one very challenging exercise.

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back with your legs lengthened long beneath you and your arms lengthened along the ground behind your head.  Inhale to prepare and then exhale as you narrow your ribcage to lift your head, neck, shoulders, and arms.  Be sure to keep your arms reaching towards the ceiling right next to your ears.  Pause the movement as you inhale and then exhale again as you peel the ribcage away from the floor.  Inhale again as you pause the movement and then finally exhale as you find your way to a seated position, keeping your arms next to your ears the entire time.  Return to the ground with three breaths, first exhaling as you curl the sacrum to the ground, and then the ribs and on the final exhale release the head, neck, shoulders, and arms to the ground.

Things to think about

If you have osteoporosis start this exercise in a seated position and take three breaths to hinge your spine back towards the floor.  Maintain a neutral spine the entire time.

This exercise can prove to be quite a challenge.  The more that you can keep your arms next to your ears, the easier it will be to find the deepest abdominal muscles.  It may take a few repetitions to perfect this exercise.

Day 202- Roll Up with Arms at Ears

This exercise adds great challenge to the Classic Pilates Roll up by adding length to the lever arm of the exercise.

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back with your legs lengthened long beneath you and your arms lengthened along the ground behind your head.  Inhale into the back of your ribs and then exhale as you narrow your ribcage and lift your head, neck, and shoulders keeping your arms lengthened next to your ears and reaching towards the ceiling.  Continue exhaling as you continue to roll through the spine.  Inhale at the top and then exhale as you roll back down still maintaining the arms next to the ears. Repeat 6-8 times.

Things to think about

If you have osteoporosis, you can do this exercise by starting in a seated position.  Reach your arms towards the ceiling as you hinge backwards about eight inches and then make your spine longer as you come back up.

This is a very challenging exercise.  The first time you try it you might find that you get stuck and your arms sneak forward of your ears.  Try to keep your arms right neck to your ears with your shoulder blades sliding down your back.

Day 200- Roll up with Magic Circle between Knees

This exercise adds inner thigh strengthening to the class Pilates Roll Up.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a magic circle.  Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and the magic circle between your thighs.  Inhale into the back of your ribs and then exhale as you squeeze the circle, reach your hands for your thighs and roll up to sitting.  Inhale as you release the circle, and then exhale as you squeeze the circle once again and roll back down.

Things to think about

If you have osteoporosis start this exercise in a seated position and as you squeeze the circle hinge your spine backwards about eight inches.  Maintain a neutral spine.

In this exercise the magic circle helps connect you to the midline.  Use the engagement of your inner thighs to help you find the center of your body.

Ask yourself if it is easier or harder to find segmental movement in the spine.  If it is harder you may be over recruiting your glutes to squeeze the circle

Day 199- Roll up in 3 Breaths

This exercise adds an endurance challenge to the Classic Pilates Roll Up.

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start lying on your back with your legs lengthened beneath you and your arms lengthened along the ground behind your head.  Inhale into the back of the ribs and exhale as you reach your hands for your feet and lift your head, neck, and shoulders.  Pause the movement as you inhale again and then exhale as you lift just the ribcage off of the ground.  Inhale again as you pause the movement and then exhale as you find a seated position.  Inhale at the top and then exhale as you curl the pelvis and allow the sacrum to touch the ground.  Inhale as you pause and exhale as you lower the ribcage to the ground.  Inhale once again and then exhale as you lower the rest of the way to the ground.  Repeat 3-5 times.

Things to think about

If you have osteoporosis then you might try the previous exercise of the day with a neutral spine.  You could also try yesterday’s exercise in three breaths.  Phew, that’s a tough one.  Let us know how it goes!

In this exercise every time you exhale concentrate on getting all of the air out of the body.  With each exhale your spine will be getting longer allowing for increased segmental movement of the spine.

Day 198- Roll Up with Knees Bent

This exercise is a variation of the classic Pilates Roll Up.  Bent knees takes the hip Flexors and hamstrings out of the exercise, so if either of those muscle groups were assisting you this is a harder version of the exercise.

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.  Allow your arms to be lengthened on the floor behind your head.  Inhale in into the back of the ribs and then exhale as you articulate through your spine to a seated position starting with your head neck and shoulders.  Once in the seated position then Inhale into the back of the ribs and exhale as you articulate your spine back to the floor starting with your pelvis.  Repeat 8-10 times.

Things to think about

If you have osteoporosis you can do this exercise with a neutral spine.  Remember as you are hinging back from your pelvis to keep your spine at its longest possible length.

If you are a person with tight hamstrings, this version of the roll up may feel much easier than others, but if you are a person that is recruiting the hip flexors to find the seated position then this exercise will be much harder.  Have Fun!

Day 197- Roll Up with Towel Under Low Back

This exercise is a variation of the classic Pilates Exercise.  The towel offers assistance to complete the spine articulation required for this exercise.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a small towel.  Roll up the small towel and then lay it under your low spine when you lie down.  Start by lying down with your legs lengthened long beneath you and your arms lengthened on the ground behind your head. Inhale into the back of the ribcage and then exhale as you arc your arms into the air and lift your head, neck, and shoulders.  Continue the exhale as you articulate through your spine to a seated position.  Then inhale in the seated position and exhale as you roll your spine vertebra by vertebra to the floor.  Repeat 8-10 times.

Things to think about

If you have osteoporosis, try yesterday’s roll up exercise in a neutral spin.

The towel helps connect the lower body to the upper body in this exercise so if in the classical version of the roll up you are finding that you get stuck at the ribcage this exercise may be perfect for you.

Day 194- Assisted Roll Up

This exercise helps the body articulate the spine through each segment while finding deep abdominal strength.

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back using your hands on the back of your thighs to hug your knees to your chest.  Inhale as you begin to allow your arms to straighten and your thighs to lower towards the ground.  Then, exhale as you narrow your ribcage to lift your head, neck, and shoulders away from the ground.  Keep exhaling as you continue to lower your legs to the ground and also continue rolling through your spine.  Once your feet touch the ground finish articulating through your spine to a seated position.   Inhale in this seated position and then exhale as you hollow your abdominals and begin rolling your spine to the floor.  Once your arms are straight begin peeling your feet away from the floor while continuing to articulate through the spine until your head reaches the ground.  Repeat 8-10 times

Things to think about

If you have osteoporosis, this exercise is not for you, but there are lots of Osteoporosis friendly pilates workouts at the youtube channel PilatesStudioHD.

This exercise is to be done much slower than Rolling Like a Ball.  In this exercise you are moving through each vertebral segment.

Often in this exercise the body will recruit the quadriceps and the hip flexors to finish the movement.  You can recognize this recruitment pattern when your lower legs kick involuntarily.