Where Are We Going? Pre-Pilates Exercises Part 3

Hey there!

Welcome to the 3rd and final installation of my favorite pre-Pilates exercises.

Today we’ll visit the simple Bridge.

You can view this pre-Pilates exercise plus another introductory element in my video “Wake up your Core” on Pilatesology.

(Not a member of Pilatesology? Use my code ANDREA30 for a free 30-day trial.)

The Bridge

This exercise is very similar to the Shoulder Bridge exercise on the Mat.

But simpler, for now.

The simple Bridge can help the body learn (1) how to roll down from overhead exercises, (2) improve your rolling exercises and (3) promote integrity in the trunk of the body.

I have been using this exercise in my Pilates practice to find more control and articulation in unrolling the spine/back in many of the exercises featured in this post.

Hate the SemiCircles?

This post is for you too!

And now to ask my favorite question:

Where are we going?

What is this pre-Pilates exercise teaching you?

The short answer: How to roll your body down from anywhere overhead exercises.

Oh yes. They. Are. Coming.

Rolling Like a Ball

Watch closely, you’ll roll down in precisely the same way here in your very first rolling exercise.

Just faster.

When upside-down, the bottom of the trunk (let’s just call it your butt, shall we?) must lift up toward the top of the body to return you to your upright starting position.

If your bottom just plopped down onto the Mat you’d never return, right?

Sometimes the rolling exercises can solve all your Pilates “problems.”

And they have a way of making you smile all at the same time.

It’s good to have a system!

So now, still on the Mat, the next exercise slows this whole rolling down thing to a glacial pace…

The Jackknife

The JackKnife, done with arms by your sides as in the photo above, or with your hands reaching up to the handles behind you, is where you really need that trunk-of-the-body integrity.

Your lift upward in the body that’s lying down will seem ridiculously hard at first, but soon you’ll build considerable control that will reward you all around the Pilates studio.

Think of your JackKnife as a slow and controlled Rolling Like a Ball – or the ultimate in (slow) Open Leg Rocker.

Dontcha just love control?

The Table on the Wunda Chair

I find the Table on the Wunda Chair to be oh-so-similar to your pre-Pilates Bridge exercise.

Now, you won’t have a luxurious Mat to roll yourself down onto, and the position is similarly upright just like your Rolling Like a Ball.

Somewhat helpful and somewhat more difficult.

But that is the Pilates Method. Change one element for a little bit of help and a little bit of challenge.

Work this exercise on the going up and going down to create a long, strong table position.

I like to think of it as *spoiler alert* SemiCircles in a microcosm.

More on that later…

Pelvic Lift (Bottom Lift)

OMG this is the hardest exercise for me to do with proficiency.

And it is one of the exercises you learn in your first Pilates class.

I’ve literally been working on this exercise for 20 years.

It’s essentially lying down (sort of) and very similar to your Footwork from the beginning of your Reformer workout.

And look at it! It’s the same pre-Pilates Bridge…

Except you never come down…

Short Spine Massage

Short Spine Massage is a great place to work on rolling down with the integrity of the trunk of the body.

My wise friend and colleague, Karen Frischmann, spoke about this element of rolling down to the Mat – I believe she may have been speaking about the Overhead, which is the same rolling down onto the carriage, but with the straps elsewhere.

Karen’s comment was that if you are not actually in control, you are falling with style.

I think I have done a lot of ‘falling with style’ over the course of my Pilates career.

Here in the Short Spine Massage, you’ve got the shoulder rests in an advantageous place to direct your rolling down. Keep the bottom of your trunk – yes again your butt – applying pressure toward and into the shoulder rests.

So if you were sitting up, you’d be getting taller from the bottom up!

Semi-Circles

Oh gosh, the SemiCircles and I have a tumultuous relationship.

I have always loved her, but as I work to not just break apart and fall into the springs, this exercise has gotten daunting and worse for a while…

Now I am able to find more integration in the trunk of my body and I am really seeing the big picture and the value of this exercise. I predict it will become a favorite again.

That’s always the way…

Shoulder Roll Down on Cadillac (Sari)

The Shoulder Roll Down is fast becoming my favorite helper exercise.

I find so many exercises that can improve when you work your Shoulder Roll Down well.

The position here is remarkably similar to our pre-Pilates Bridge. The challenge here is to stand just as firmly on the Push Thru Bar as you do on the Mat in the Bridge.

When I first learned this exercise, it had a nickname: the Toe Cramp Exercise.

Often the toes or other body parts will try to help out and work too much to keep hold of the Push Thu Bar.

You’ll work to stand from the top of your body all the way to your feet – sharing the work of controlling the bar over all of the body.

As you begin this exercise, work to find control of the bar first and then proceed to the hip lifting part.

The Shoulder Roll Down is also a great help for the Leg Pull Front on the Mat – everyone’s favorite (NOT).

I’m telling you it’s quite a multi-purpose exercise. And I find, it’s also a crowd-pleaser.

Win-Win!

Try these exercises in your next Pilates workout and see what you think.

Watch the video here.

Are there other pre-Pilates exercises you’d like to see featured in their own post?

Share them with us in a comment below.

Have a great workout!