Reformer Repertoire
Leg Work:
Picking Flowers
Alternate Names
N/A
Derived From
Classical Reformer: Side Splits
Primary Element
Mobility
Why for Primary?
To develop and improve mobility at the hip joint.
Secondary Element
Stability
Why for Secondary?
To create, develop and connect with the pelvis stabilisation muscles such as gluteus medius and the deep core transversus abdominis whilst working in hip abduction and adduction.
Tertiary Element
Strength
Why Tertiary?
To develop and improve hip adductor strength, namely adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, and gracillisas, as the carriage is returning towards park or the stopper and stabilising the carriage throughout the criss cross motion.
Repetitions
8-10 each side
Apparatus Setup
Suggested springs
- Number system: 0.5 spring
- Colour system: 1 x blue spring
- Resistance: light
Foot bar at the lowest position or horizontal position. If a foot plate extender is available that can be used to create more space to place the foot, otherwise ensure the foot plate itself is free from trip hazards such as the foot strap.
A pole may be used for balance if required.
Plane of Motion
Frontal
Targeted Muscles
To create, develop and connect with the pelvis stabilisation muscles the focus is gluteus medius and gluteus minimus and the deep abdominal muscles transversus abdominis.
To strengthen the adductors or inner thighs in adduction the focus is on adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, and gracillisas.
Warnings
This exercise may be difficult for clients who struggle with balance or who may be nervous standing on a moving platform. Use a pole to assist with balance if required, or alternatives could be to practice a similar movement lying on a Mat such as Side Kick Series: Single Side Leg Lift.
It may also be unsuitable for clients with some hip, knee or ankle issues or if the client is unable to work through a pain free range of motion.
Execution
Standing facing the foot bar end of the Reformer step one foot up onto the foot place (or foot plate extender), before stepping the second foot up onto the carriage. Adjust both feet to the edges of the platforms and lift the arches of the feet. Hold the arms to a T-position.
Inhale to abduct the hips, opening the legs and allowing the carriage to move out. Control the movement with the hip abductors. Pause at the end of range of motion, then exhale to flex forward from the pelvis and take the hands down to the springs before rolling up to standing, to then adduct the hips, bringing the legs in towards each other and the carriage back to the start position. Pause before the next repetition to avoid momentum.
Observations
Do a body scan of the client taking note of the following points
- Pelvis
- Are the hip bones even horizontally or is the client leaning to one side?
- Is the client neutral with their pelvis, with a posterior tilt?
- Legs
- Are the knees locked? You’re looking for a soft and straight knee, not dropping inwards and not locked.
- Feet
- Are the insides of the foot lifting or leaning outward? (supinated)
- Are the insides of the foot rolling inward? (pronated)
- Apparatus
- Is the carriage moving when the torso if flexing forward and rolling up again? Or can the client keep the carriage still be engaging their adductors?
- Is there tension on the springs the whole time? Or is the carriage crashing to the stopper or ‘park’ indicating a lack of control and a push by the client beyond their ideal range of motion? If the carriage is crashing encourage the client to reduce their range of motion and slow their movement down to focus on controlling the return phase, or reduce the spring load so the client can control the spring.
Learning Style Technique Cues
Auditory – word associations that connect mind and body
- The aim is to keep the pelvis still whilst the legs are moving
- Say the client’s name when you’re about to interact with them
- Bias the pelvis towards a slight posterior tilt in order that you can achieve neutral whilst moving
Visual
- Imagine a wine bottle opener or a puppet on a piece of string moving and maintaining length through the torso
- Imagine leaning forward to pick flowers up off the ground, rolling up with them in your hands then lifting the arms overhead and back to a T-position or throwing the flowers up into the air. Another analogy may be to think of picking up and throwing confetti
- You may demonstrate a part of the movement as a visual representation for the client to see
Kinaesthetic
- Feel the shoulders relax and choose an arm position that allows for that including hands on the hips as an alternative to the T-position
Modifications and Variations
Regress the exercise by
- Increasing the spring resistance to one blue spring and one yellow spring to provide more support and work on the stability component of the exercise.
- Turning the foot of the foot plate leg out so there is more surface area to stand on
- Reducing the repetitions and/or pace
- Working on Leg Work: Side Splits – Adductors as there is still adduction at the hips but without the additional torso movement and holding the carriage still
- Working on Leg Work: Standing Saw
- Adding the Pilates box in the ‘short box’ position and positioning the carriage foot against it for support
- Working on Leg Work: Side Splits from the fundamental repertoire to practice the hip abduction movement (pressing away) before bringing in the return phase adduction component
Progress the exercise by
- Decreasing the spring setting to one yellow spring, adding pace and repetitions and making it more challenging to control the carriage due to the lighter spring setting
- Adding light (1kg – 2kg) hand weights to challenge shoulder stability and build shoulder strength
- Working towards Wunda Chair: Single Leg Press Crossover and Wunda Chair: Going Up Side
Series and Transitions
This exercise is part of the Leg Work Abduction and Adduction series which includes a range of other exercises in the fundamental and progressive repertoire. The Leg Work series can also be found in the Wunda Chair repertoire and the Cadillac repertoire.
