The next exercise in our Pilates you can do at home series is Prone Single Leg Lifts with a Straight Leg.
This is good for
Prone single leg lifts are great for activating and strengthening the hamstrings and glutes. This exercise prepares the body to perform Swimming and Swan.
How to do Prone Single Leg Lift (Straight Leg)
- Lay face down, tailbone reaching long
- Exhale to reach and lift one leg off the floor
- Inhale to lower the leg
- Alternate legs
- Keep pelvis still
- You should feel the base of glutes and back of thighs working
- Move from the thighbone
Things to focus on
Because we want to activate the hamstrings and glutes, focus on moving the leg from the thighbone, rather than the foot. Keep the leg reaching long, rather than going for too much height – this will help you to keep your low back happy by helping your pelvis stay neutral.
Ensure that you are lifting the abdominals in and up as you reach the leg away from the floor.
Challenges
- Because of the prone position (lying face down), it can be challenging at first to maintain the connection in your abdominals. This is because the abs now have the added challenge of resisting gravity. Stick with it, the better you get at it, the better your pelvic stability will become.
- Even though this is a leg exercise, sometimes the shoulders want to “help”. Don’t let them! Try and keep the upper body totally relaxed.
If you would like some expert direction from highly experienced instructors, try our Semi-private Equipment sessions or our beginner pilates classes.
Our Manuka pilates studio is within easy access of Forrest, Kingston, Barton, Griffith, Red Hill, Narrabundah, Garran, Hughes, Curtin, Phillip, Mawson, Farrer, Pearce, and Torrens.
