Exercise of the Month- The Roll Over!

We are starting the new year with a challenging move in pilates- The Roll Over!

Inversions are found everywhere in pilates.  Practicing inversions is as important as strengthening your core.  This monrth, we will work on how to do pilates inversions safely and effectively.

Benefits of the Roll Over

-Spinal flexibility and articulation
-Hamstring stretch
-Spinal lengthening
-Chest opening
-Back strengthening

-Opposition to "forward" movements in pilates, and in life

The Roll Over Relates to the Following Exercises:

-Short Spine

-Overhead

-Long Spine

-Trapeze work

-Corkscrew

-Boomerang

-Tower

-Control Balance

History of the Roll Over
In the traditional matwork order, the Roll Over comes as the third exercise in the series, after The Hundred and The Roll Up.  It is placed at the beginning of the matwork routine because helps to warm up the spine:  first the Roll Up to articulate the spine in one direction, then the Roll Over to articulate in the other direction. 

A few small changes have been made to the Roll Over over time, though the original exercise is still taught today.  Joe had "legs spread as far apart as possible"- now we usually open only to about hip, or mat, distance apart. 

Another change for the average pilates student is the height at which we take the legs overhead.  Joe asked that the feet go all the way back to touch the floor.  These days, a safer height for the legs overhead is 45 degrees.  This higher height creates less neck compression, and does not give the core an opportunity to "give up" on holding the legs up and supporting the back.  However, more advanced pilates students may not have a problem with the original version and can easily bring the legs all the way over to touch the floor behind them.

An interesting fact about Overhead on the reformer (a similar exercise to the Roll Over, with the addition of leather straps and movement of the carriage) is that Joe would have clients take their legs all the way overhead, until their feet touched down on the back edge of the reformer frame!  These days, reformers are made longer than he made them (even Gratz makes them longer!), so this is unfortunately not possible. 

Inversions

The definition of inversion is:  "An interchange of position of adjacent objects in a sequence, a change in normal order".  In the case of inversions in pilates, the sequence of objects is the spine stacking from bottom to top, instead of top to bottom.  Its also the sequence of the body in general- the head is no longer above the feet, and instead everything is in reverse order.

Practicing inversions is so beneficial for so many reasons.  Blood flow to the head is increased.  The mind is challenged to keep the body under careful control through movements it is not generally used to.  Muscles are worked in new directions, and balance out from doing the forward curling of abdominal work.

Safety with Inversions

There are wrong ways to do inversions, and injuries can occur.  For most people, the body must be sufficiently warmed up before taking it into an inversion.  This is not the type of movement to do alone on a mat, before class starts, to warm up.  Doing this will almost guarantee a back spasm, especially in older or inexperienced students.  Roll Overs and inversions in general should not be done by people with disk problems, neck problems, sciatica, hamstring pain, or while pregnant (unless the pregnant woman is very advanced in pilates).

There are a few other safety concerns with the Roll Over, which we will address this month at the studio!  Of course, if you have any questions, feel free to comment below and we'll discuss on this blog.

This month at Rhinebeck Pilates, we will focus on the Roll Over on the mat, and exercises similar to Roll Over on the equipment.  Modifications will be made for those with low back or neck issues.  Where are your eyes looking while you take your legs over head?  What are your shoulders, wrists, and hands doing?  Do you feel a hamstring stretch?  Are you articulating the spine at the same pace all the way up and all the way down? 

This should be a fun month.  See you at the studio!