Chris Freytag

How to Perform a Double Leg Stretch

Chris Freytag
Duration:   1  mins

Description

Want a new way to work your abs without doing crunches? Try this Pilates-inspired move: the double leg stretch. In this short video, Chris Freytag will demonstrate how to perform a double leg stretch to work your abdominals and create core strength. This move can be done anywhere, at anytime, using just your own body weight and a little space. Ready to give it a try?

To perform a double leg stretch, start by lying on the ground and slightly pulling in your low abs as you press your low back to the ground. Lift your feet up to a tabletop position and lengthen through the back of the neck. Bring your belly to the spine, making sure your shoulder blades are off the mat. Inhale as you extend all your limbs out. Take note that the lower your legs and arms are, the more work it will be for your core. Next, exhale as you swing your arms around to meet your legs in that tabletop position, and repeat for as many times as you like.

If you want to modify the double leg stretch, you can put your feet down to the ground for the whole time and just try the exercise lifting yourself up with your core and arms. You can also modify by bringing your legs a little higher throughout the exercise because remember, the lower your legs are to the ground (once they’re off it) the more work it will be on your core. This is a great Pilates exercise to practice to increase your core strength and sculpt a lean, toned stomach. Pilates is all about strengthening and stabilizing the core, which improves your performance for nearly every other movement you do and helps prevent back injury. If you want to try more Pilates moves, try this 10-minute pilates workout!

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I'm gonna show you how to do a double-leg stretch. It is a Pilates exercise and is a little bit advanced, so I wanna show you how to do it properly. So you're gonna come down to the ground, you're gonna slightly pull in those low abs, draw your belly in towards your low back, and you're gonna slightly press your low back to the ground. It's called an imprint. So you just slightly press down. Lift those feet up to tabletop. Now make sure you feel really connected through your core. Then you're gonna inhale, and on the exhale, lengthen through the back of the neck, chin to the chest, belly to spine, and come up into a flexed position. You want those shoulder blades off the mat, and that is a lot of work. If you need to come back down for a little while, go ahead and come back up. Now you're gonna inhale, and then exhale, extend all limbs out. The lower your legs, the lower your arms, the more work on that core, and make sure you're really connected right here. Swim it around, drawing the knees back in. So you're gonna inhale and exhale, exhale through your mouth. Inhale, extend the limbs, exhale. Now, this is too much work on your low back, you wanna close your kinetic chain. You wanna put your feet down to the ground, and just try the exercise with your upper body. Another way to modify would be to take the feet a little higher in the air as you extend, as opposed to lower, or do it with one leg. And that's your double-leg stretch. Go ahead and give it a try.
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