Tummy Tuesday! We are doing a Pilates excercise called Scissors today.✂️. This one works all 4 of your abdominal muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, and internal and external obliques. Plus you might even get a bonus hamstring stretch! 😊
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✂️Set up: Start on your back with your legs extended up toward the sky. Option to lift your head and shoulders off of the ground into a slight crunch position.
✂️Movement: Keep one leg up toward the sky as you reach the opposite leg down to a hover above the ground. Your hands will come to the top leg. Option to do 2 pulses in that position before switching legs and repeating on the other side.
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✂️Tips: ✂️Keep your pelvis and back still. Don’t allow your hip to hike toward you shoulder or your back to over arch off of the mat.
✂️This exercise is NOT about how high you can get your leg but rather keeping stable through your torso and pelvis while the leg tries to throw it off. If you need to, don’t split the legs so far apart and/or keep a slight bend in both knees to decrease the load of the exercise.
✂️Think of your abdominal muscles drawing in or widening across your belly instead of bulging forward like a loaf of bread. 🍞 ✂️Exhale in the position (quick double exhale if doing the pulse) and inhale as the legs pass through middle on the way to the other side.
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