This Exercise of the Month is a classic STOTT PILATES® Matwork exercise made that more challenging on the unstable surface of the Stability Barrel™ Lite.
Elevating this popular mat Pilates exercise, known as Scissors, on a small and unstable base of support challenges core stability, hip mobility and balance. This core stabilization exercise requires strength, coordination, control and fluidity.
The Stability Barrel Lite provides proprioceptive feedback and challenges the client to sustain flexion (imprint) for improved steadiness and stamina.
In this video, Merrithew® Instructor Trainer Robert Izatt, who is based out of Merrithew Licensed Training Center YMCA One KX in London, U.K., demonstrates a series of progressions to help you and your clients work up to the full extended Scissors exercise.
It’s best to gradually progress up to this advanced mat Pilates exercise, so you can achieve the correct spinal alignment, breathing pattern, trunk positioning and coordination required to safely and effectively transfer the load of the legs through the kinetic chain.
Tips
- Maintain an imprinted position throughout to achieve greater stability
- Exhale to reach the leg away, inhale to draw the leg into the torso, using the breath to assist with counterbalance and coordination
- Keep the gaze settled on the center of the thighs
- Be mindful of maintaining cervical and thoracic alignment
- It’s okay if there’s a bit of gentle tilting of the Stability Barrel Lite, but it shouldn’t be rocking uncontrollably
- Be careful getting on and off the Stability Barrel Lite as it is an unstable surface
Read the full transcript of the video below:
Hi everyone, this is Rob Izatt. I’m joining you from YMCA One KX, a Licensed Training Center in London, U.K.
Today I’m going to demonstrate Scissors on the Stability Barrel Lite, a nice light barrel that’s great for moving around in London when you’re visiting your clients.
First of all, remember, you’re going to be working on the unstable surface of the arc of the Stability Barrel Lite. Make sure to get yourself into the start position where your body weight is balanced in the middle of the barrel. Find the centerpoint where you can maintain sustained flexion, not too low down or high up.
Once you’ve imprinted, bring one leg to tabletop and then the other. Now, we’re starting out with Single Leg Stretch. Reach your hands towards the shins as you maintain sustained flexion, keeping the gaze to the middle of the thighs and hold it there as you inhale. As you exhale, reach one leg away from you as you draw one leg towards you; the inside hand to the knee, outside hand to the ankle. Start switching legs as you inhale to counterbalance the movement as you reach away, maintaining sustained flexion. You might notice slight movement of the Stability Barrel Lite; this is fine as long as you’re not tilting excessively forward or backward. The key is to maintain sustained flexion all the way through.
To increase the range of motion in Single Leg Stretch in preparation for Scissors, reach one leg away from you, taking the hands to the knee closest to the torso. Reach the leg away and counterbalance the movement by bringing one leg into the torso. Switch as you inhale, drawing one leg into the torso as you reach the opposite leg away, increasing the range of motion through the hip. Keep the gaze towards the center of the thighs as you reach away, maintaining sustained flexion and ensuring your cervical follows the thoracic spine.
Now, inhale back to the center and we’ll progress a step further to Scissors. With the hands to the knees, extend one leg towards the ceiling with the ankle plantar flexed. Draw one leg towards you, and dorsi flex the gesture ankle. Counterbalance by drawing one leg towards the torso. Start switching as you inhale, and exhale as you reach the leg away. Again, draw the leg in and up with a plantar flexed ankle.
Up we go, reach the leg away dorsi flexed, one leg comes towards you as one leg reaches away to counterbalance; nice control all the way through. Then bring both legs back at the same time, now we’re ready to do the full Scissors.
So again, maintain sustained flexion throughout the Scissors exercise. It’s harder than it looks! We inhale to prepare, exhale and reach one straight leg towards the torso, and the other away from the body towards the ground. Start switching as you inhale and again exhale to reach the legs further away from each other, increasing the range of motion.
It’s even more challenging to do this exercise in an elevated position on the arc of the barrel. Again, inhale as you switch, exhale as you reach; this is a nice challenge for the obliques and multifidus as you maintain sustained flexion all the way through.
Bring both legs back to the center, inhale and flex both knees, take the hand behind the head for support and gently reach one foot and then the other back to the mat.
A great way to challenge your mat practice is to do the exercises that you know from STOTT PILATES Matwork on an elevated and unstable surface. Thanks very much for joining me.
Try more exercises with the Stability Barrel Lite >