Roll Up
The Pilates classic: you unroll the spine one vertebra at a time, slowly, and slowness is the point.
The movement
Loading the coach
How to do it
- Lie flat, arms above your head, legs straight and together.
- Roll up vertebra by vertebra until your hands reach past your feet.
- Roll back down just as slowly, without dropping.
The two mistakes that cost you reps
- Using momentum to launch the rise, which skips exactly what the exercise trains.
- Letting the feet lift off the floor.
How Orusta counts it
A rep counts on the full roll up followed by a controlled return to lying flat.
Easier, harder
Easier
Knees slightly bent, or hands sliding along the thighs.
Harder
Slow it down further: five seconds up, five seconds down.
What a good set looks like
8 to 12 reps is plenty. Past that, speed creeps in and the exercise loses its point.