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| Hi
I am new to pilates and new to the forum, so hi to all.
I am a fairly fit guy (40) who has taken up pilates, to improve my flexibility and core strength. I am enjoying it very much, but I cannot get to grips with 'rolling back' (the forerunner to 'the seal') I believe. I have tried the alternatives but do not have the flexibilty in my lower back or the strength to raise myself up smoothly.
I have particular difficulty if I try to do this deliberately slow, as I believe thats the way it should be done.
Can anybody advise me on this?
Yours
Lyndon
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| I'm not sure whether you're referring to the "rollup" (a smooth sit-up where you roll your spine up off the floor and slowly back down) or "rolling like a ball" which is more similar to "the seal." Since you mention going slowly, I'm assuming you're referring to the rollup, so I'll go from there (if not, please post again and I'll see what I can do to help).
First of all, ALL new students have a problem doing rollups/rolldowns smoothly, so congratulations - that means you're doing it right! 
What I advise my new students to do is to start with the legs bent instead of straight, feet on the floor with knees pointing upward. Don't have your feet too close to your body, the knee bend should be gentle. Begin from a sitting-up position and start with the roll-down. Let your hands rest on your knees and begin slowly sliding back. When you get to that spot where you feel like your core & back give out and you want to flop onto the floor, grip your legs firmly and use your arm strength to lower yourself down smoothly, all the way to the floor.
Again when you are rolling up, you'll get to that point where your back feels "stuck" - your feet will try to rise up off the floor and you might feel like a turtle on its back. At that point, grip your thighs firmly with both hands and use your arm strength to "climb" up, like you're climbing a tree. Continue to keep your back rounded and the movement smooth and slow.
At first it will seem like you are only using your arm strength, but in reality it is a combination of your core and arms. Your arms are just helping your core while it gets stronger, and soon you will be relying more and more on your core and less on your arms. Use this technique as long as you like, and eventually you will find that your arms are no longer required to do this exercise. GO SLOW and don't try to do too much too fast, because before you build this strength your back will be in danger of injury. After you build a strong core, you'll find your back will be protected from injury in all types of life situations.
And do not worry, even very fit people find Pilates challenging because it is one of the only types of exercise that emphasize the deep abdominal muscles, primarily the transverse abdominus, while crunches only work the superficial rectus abdominus. So, you may do 200 crunches per day but still find Pilates to be challenging because you're working different muscles.
Congratulations on your new venture, and keep at it! Please post any other questions you may have! |
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| How are you learning this? going to classes with an instructor or doing on your own. in the beginning it's best to work with someone so they can watch your posture and to help you with problems you might be having. it's difficult to advise sometimes without seeing what you might be doing wrong.
here's a nice modified version or warm up you can do before rolling like a ball.
the half roll down
Sit on your mat with your knees bent, feet on the floor, feet and knees hugging together
place you hands under your legs (between the bum and the knee)R with R, L with L (dont clasp fingers)
sit up with a nice length in your spine. drop your chin to your chest. keep your shoulders over your hips and pull your belly button towards your spine. roll down and inch, think of tippig your tail bown under, deepen the abdominals more, another inch and deepen, another inch and deepen, etc.(CHECK YOUR SHOULDERS  they tend to reach up to your ears do this until your arms straighten (you dont want to go all the way just just until the lower back hits the floor)
bring the shape forward and do it again. when you get a good feeling for it you can lift your arms parallel to the floor and do it that way as well
also sometimes when people roll back they tend to lift the chin from the tucked position which staightens out the back and you get the k' dunk k' dunk roll. really try staying in the ball shape
i think the half roll-down could really help you. it's helped many of my students with their rolling.
hope that helped, if you have any other questions, feel free to contact me.
D |
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| Hi
Thanks a lot for the advice. I have attended modern pilates lessons in the past, but there are no classic/pure pilates lessons in my immediate area of the uk.
I used to do karate and understand that perfecting the basics of any traditional exercise is the key to succeeding.
I did mean 'rolling like a ball'. I know there is no substitite for hands on tuition but I do have an excellent book called 'pure pilates'.
I am aware that anyone can throw there body bad hapazardly risking injury, but I want to master this exercise until I get the control required to move onto more sophisticated versions (crab, seal etc,).
Can you give me an idea of the length of the roll back, is it a continuous rocking motion, or am I right trying to make it a deliberately slow exercise? I am improving and can really feel it working my core muscles, but it is frustrating. It reminds me of the first time that I couldn't do simple press-up or sit-up in my youth.
Thanks again for your advice.
Lyndon |
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| it's a deliberate slower motion to further warm up your back and to concentrate on that pesky piece of the spine that many have a hard time with. you basically still want to think of staying ina large shaped C, the only thing changing is that you really continue to keep pulling the belly button in to help curve of your spine. Imagine being inthe set up, now imagine someone putting their hand just in front of your belly. keep your belly button off their hands, as you start to roll down their hand is coming with you but you have to keep the abdominals off.
does that make better sense for you? do that about 5 times adn then get in position for rolling like a ball and try it.
you can also just try rolling like a ball a different way. roll just off of your balance to work on your control or rolling halfway to your lower back instead of to the tips of your shoulders blades. It works really nice. rolling just off your balance may work nice for you. it sounds like you may need a little help with control.
Do you have problems with open leg rocker?
D |
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| Thanks all for the advice.
I have not tried the 'open leg rocker', as it is a little advanced for me at this stage. I am definately improving with 'rolling like a ball', as the movement is becoming less erratic or smoother. It does seem to use muscles that I have seldom used before.
I used to suffer from a bad back and I visit an osteopath purely for maintenance reasons. The need for this is diminishing as I can feel my back improving as the mobility in my spine improves.
Thanks again. |
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| then half roll down is definitely for you. it is a modification to help you find the correct position while strengthening your abdminals. also dont forget the breath inhale roll back exhale (really deepen the abdominals to helps create a nice curve) roll up.
good luck and let us know how you're doing!
D |
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'Rolling back' - please advise
