Mobility & Plank at the Footbar

Spring Setting and Key Facts

Springs

none

Reps

4–6 reps per variation

Level

Beginner

Equipment

Reformer

Body area

Back, Core, Shoulders, Legs

Muscles

Back, Core, Shoulders

Starting Position

Sitting on the carriage, feet in the well between the springs, facing the footbar.

Step-by-Step Flow

1. Forward stretch with the hands on the footbar and flexion forward.
2. Side bend: place the hand at the side of the carriage and find length in the spine. The other arm reaches long up toward the ceiling and over the head to the other side.
3. Reach the long arms forward and roll down into the C-curve.
4. Hold the C-curve and add one leg at a time to tabletop, alternating.
5. Extend the tabletop leg long and bend it back in.
6. Hold both legs in tabletop for 10 seconds.
7. Tap one leg at a time down toward the floor, alternating.
8. Change the set-up: hands on the footbar, feet to the back edge of the carriage, push the carriage all the way to the end of the Reformer.
9. From plank to downward dog: press the heels into the carriage and push the hips up.
10. Bring one leg forward onto the platform and come into a lunge.
11. Lift the arm on the same side long toward the ceiling and thread it under the body (thread the needle).
12. Other side.

Cues for Teaching

• On the roll-down, roll vertebra by vertebra into the C-curve and build back up the same way.
• In the plank the hips stay in one line; in downward dog, actively press the heels into the carriage.