Reverse Chest Expansion

We're taking a look at reverse chest expansion, which takes place looking at the front of the reformer. Spring tension, you may wanna go a little lower than you had for traditional chest expansion facing the back of the reformer. You could also keep it just the same or go a little lighter. One thing we'd like to mention as we climb up on the reformer and come up onto that same high kneeling position, we're checking into that plumb line alignment. This exercise starts to bring in a few other elements of the ankle, the feet and the ankles.

So we have toe mobility. We want those toes to be bent down ankle deeply flexed. Not everyone will have their heel touching the shoulder rest to begin with. We want our heel to be touching something. This gap isn't setting us up for success in the best way.

So one wonderful way is to take a towel or a washcloth or a wedge and place that between your foot, the shoulder block. Get those toes bent down and see as you climb back up, you'll be able to push your heel into that surface What that gives us is this engagement through the back line of the body, the back of the body, and that really sets us up for stability when we start to engage the spring and move the rope in the strap. Let's try that out. To gather those straps, reach behind you, slowly again because it is a balance exercise, bring those heels back, make a fist with your strap. You climb up on your knees, and you begin like you did with the opposite chest expansion arms by your sides.

Integrate the feeling of plumb line here. Inhale as your shoulders come down, collarbone stays wide. We bring our arms in front of our chest. Shoulder height, exhale as you resist the springs to come down. Heels, press, shoulders come down.

The scapula hugs the rib cage, You're in that plumb line, feel the abdominal work, the rib cage stability, and the control. Couple more. And we're adding the element of arm circles in this exercise as well. The upper arm is in external rotation here, bringing the palm straight up to the ceiling. Now for the arms circle, we open the arms. Think corners of the room, not sides of the room.

Corners of the room, lower your arms down to your hips. Again, the inhale as we reach up the arms, we open about the width of the room, the corners, and exhaling down. Usually four each direction, three to five or four. You keep the arms in your peripheral vision. That's generally a safer range of motion to begin learning how to manage the arm straps.

The reverse the arm stays in external rotation. So generally a little more challenging. Arms in front of us, external rotation, we lower the arms down. You're in your plumb line, your heels are pressing back, feel the engagement of the back of the body, as well as the front of the body and the abdominals, the arms, the shoulders, and one more reverse chest expansion with arm circles. Heels pressing back.

Now to disengage the spring, once again, you may need to bend deeper. Place your straps back on their posts and their hooks and that is our reverse chest expansion and we added arm circles.