Upstretch Series

Let's take a look at the Upstretch series. This is a wonderful group of exercises, and it's done many different ways with different teachers and different approaches. But generally, there's three shapes we're trying to achieve. And I'll identify those and help you understand what the focus is in each shape. Also know that your spring choice is going to really depend on your strength and stability here. So a heavier spring offers a little bit more support.

A lighter spring means you really have to dig deep into the core in order to be able to stabilize. Oftentimes when I'm first teaching this, I'll offer maybe a red and a blue, which is like one and a half springs, just to get used to the first position. But when you move down to the second position, which is a plank position, that much spring can feel very heavy. So my recommendation is to make sure that you're clear with your control before you move into the second part. So the ideal spring would be, say, one spring, maybe a red, maybe a green, which is a little bit heavier.

But somewhere in that vicinity is going to be my suggestion. It's also really important that you pay attention to how you mount the reformer to be sure that you're safe and I and that you understand that this is a moving carriage with not a lot of spring supporting you. So it I would recommend putting your hands first on the on the foot bar and then step on to the reformer with your two feet. I'm currently on a green spring, which is a kind spring for this exercise for me. I'm going to slide my feet back so that my heels are up against the shoulder rest. Not too high. Some people teach it with those heels really high, which makes it very tricky in the abdominals.

I want my feet to be in a position where I will comfortably be able to pivot down to a plank. So once you know that position, it becomes a little more clear. Also, I want to make sure here that when people are doing this, that we're not standing so much on the arms, but the there is this control factor where some weight is in my arms, but the weight is really centered around my core here. And there's weight in my legs, weight in my arms, but not too much weight in my arms. So the weight see that is that you're endeavoring to find a straight diagonal line from hand head up through tailbone.

Tuck those ribs in. Whoops. When I take my hand away, I move a little. Tuck those ribs in, and the first movement, we would sustain the upper back position or the upper body position, and perhaps just slide the legs out and in. Noticeing that when I slide the legs out and in, The body remains completely still. This requires stability in the upper back, control in the lower body.

The next thing we would do is potentially go down to a plank position. So I'll shift down and feel where a straight body plank is. So head needs to be back where it belongs. Back of the heart is open. Abdominals are active. Hopefully, we have a straight line across the front of the hips.

Once we establish this position, we can then move forward and back, deciding how far back you feel you can comfortably go sustaining the position, how far forward you can go sustaining the position, watching that you don't let the body change so much just to come forward. So the ultimate goal being that you could come all the way to the stopper. And then from here, dig into those abdominals flexing your low spine a little bit and return to position number one. So position number one is a pyramid type position with a straight back. Tailbone is up toward the sky.

So with energy, I might go in help back. Exhale in using the exhale breath to help facilitate abdominal, control abdominal recruitment. And then I might come down to plank position, inhale, perhaps, exhale back up to first position. So we're doing position one and position two. And then I might thread them all together.

So here I am position two. Can I come all the way forward maybe to the stopper? Dig into those abdominals and shift back to position number one. Please take care on how you step down. Use your feet to walk forward, gently step off of the reformer, and then remove your hands from the foot bar.

And that is the Up stretch series.