Hey, Everyone! Just a quickie today and I don’t even have a pic so we’ll all have to tune into the same Pilates Psychic channel so you can ’see’ what I’m talking about here. I have been using this exercise for the last three weeks for:
- Hip Extensor Strength
- Quadricep eccentric contraction
- Glut med, min, endurance
- Soleus and tibialis anterior endurance
- Spine stability
- Pelvic stability
Here’s how it goes:
- Stand on the side of the reformer facing the footbar with the right leg next to the reformer. The heel of the right foot is about 4″ forward of the shoulder rest (4″ towards the footbar but on the floor).
- The left foot goes on the shoulder rest with the toes in extension and the ball and heel of the foot on the actual shoulder pad.
- With, of course, perfect alignment, press the left hip into extension.
- I give my client a six foot dowel to hold for balance. Watch for hyper-extension of the right knee and accommodations in the low back
Notes: Upon extension, if your client has little hip extension or tight hip flexors the left knee may meet the line of the right knee but may not extend beyond that point. As the left hip extends be sure that your client is not ‘dumping’ into the low back.
I’ve been giving this exercise to my low back pain clients for increasing pelvic and spine stability. I’ve also used it for a client with a hip replacement to really zero in on the hip extension process without a whole lot of extraneous ’stuff’ going on. And most recently I’ve used the exercise with a knee pathology.
If you have a variation on this that you love, let me know! I’m always looking for new things. K
What’s happening with ‘Extension intolerance’:
If it does, then you might be what we call in the biz, ‘flexion intolerant’. Simply means that it hurts to bend the spine forward. It probably also hurts to bend over the sink to brush your teeth, or do the dishes. Sitting for long periods of time either in the car or in front of the tv is probably not your friend either. So what do you do with this information? The short answer is to not bend forward. The long answer is this:
I recently began working with a 15-year-old client with this condition. I had been helping the mother with her scoliosis using a 3-dimensional approach and the results have been remarkable. I think she (the mother) was hoping the same would be true for her daughter’s condition: coalition of the talus and calcaneus and the calcaneus and navicular. The coalition in this young girl’s case is bony. These three foot bones are fused and do not allow for normal range of motion.
Pilates instructor’s bag so obviously we can do all kinds of work that never touch the lower extremity. But when you are ready to tackle that, here’s are the exercises that I have focused on with this young lady: