Master The Pilates Roll Up

Roll up may be fresh in your mind and body. But if you are new to roll up or haven't done it in a while, please review the instructions for roll up.

Next, see the tips below for mastering this difficult exercise.

The first move of roll up is arms over. It is especially important to move the arms over-head without losing the alignment of the ribcage. If you lose control of your ribs on the first move, you will have a difficult time with the start of the roll up.

Roll up requires a lot of core strength as well as a flexible spine. It can be helpful to build the strength and flexibility for roll up by practicing related exercises that introduce roll up in parts.

Start with wall roll down. This exercise is an easy way to develop the articulation of the spine that you need for roll up. Next, do chest lift. Chest lift will help you develop the strength for curling up the upper body. Then, work on supported roll back. This is a great exercise for strengthening what feels like "lower abs," for getting that roll under motion in the pelvis, and for learning to work the spine in a deep curve.

• Wall Roll Down
• Chest Lift
• Supported Roll Back

One frustration of the roll up is when the feet and legs want to fly up off the mat in response to the upper body lift. The reason for this is that some of the muscles that help the upper body bend forward are also muscles that flex the hips, the infamous hip-flexors.

Abs in, ribs down and in, and a big curve of the spine are crucial parts of roll up; and that is what the transversus abdominis does. The transverse muscle compresses the abdomen and bends the trunk forward in flexion. It also helps close the ribs toward the midline. Other abdominal muscles will be working in the roll up. But if you focus on the action of the transversus abdominus, it will help take the focus off the hip flexors and result in less "flying feet."

One of the most tempting mis-alignment of the pelvis is the overly tucked position. If you do tuck your pelvis though, it will make it much harder to get up in a roll up. All your energy will be directed down into the lower part of your body and your feet will probably want to fly up off the mat instead of your upper body!

What you need to do instead, is stabilize the pelvis in a more neutral position so that your core muscles can lengthen out of that, and all of your abs can work to carry you up-and-over.
Learn about the perils of tucked pelvic alignment.

The roll up can fixate your attention on your upper body, but if your butt and legs are too loose, the roll up won't work either. Think of pulling your sit bones together. That will help engage the pelvic floor and butt muscles. Then, think of your legs as very long, hugging in toward the mid-line, and glued to the floor. Inner thigh activation will create a line of energy that helps a lot with the up-and-over quality you need through the upper body. This one correction, engaging the legs and butt, has helped many people overcome "flying feet".

If you are having trouble with roll up, one of the best things you can do is go ahead and bend your knees. This will help relieve the over-activity of the hip flexors, allowing you to strengthen and coordinate the transversus abdominis and other abs muscles. Teaching the right muscles to fire in the right order is the fastest way to get to the full roll up.

Keep the basic form of the roll up and just bend the knees slightly. You you can also bend the knees more as you come up and use your hands to grasp behind your knees to help yourself up and support the rest of the roll up/down. Don't get your heels too close to your butt or the exercise will get harder.

One of the best tips for roll up is to put a small bolster under the legs, just above the knees. This has a similar effect to bending the knees but in some ways it feels better. It is more subtle and helps the body find that important sense of letting go of the hip flexors while letting the abs drop back into the trunk.

Another prop you might want to try is an exercise band. Wrap the exercise band around the balls of your feet and then lie down. Instead of going overhead, the arms will start from down by your sides with hands holding the band. Adjust the tension in the band so that it gives you a little support as you roll up and down.