Ring roll-up

6 reps · intermediate

Take care: Skip it, or do the ring roll-back, with a lower-back disc problem, osteoporosis of the spine, and during pregnancy.

The roll-up holding a pilates ring between the palms: lying on the back with the legs straight and the arms reaching back overhead with the ring, the arms lift the ring over the chest as the head, shoulders and then the back peel off the mat, rolling up and forward until the ring is over the shins; then the spine rolls back down. The palms press the ring gently the whole way.

Load and joint demand

Bodyweight: no weights. Joint demand below is your own body's weight in this position.

Faults

Faults grow with knee bend and apply to lifts standing on the floor. The fault check flags a knee caving more than 10° inside the line of the toes and a load split beyond 60/40. Knee cave shows best in the front camera.

Body

Femur changes keep standing height fixed by shortening or lengthening the torso. Longer femurs force more forward lean in any squat.

Muscles worked

Effort and your quota

6 slow, controlled reps. Pilates is practised for control, balance and mobility, never to failure, so this does not change with your limits.

Level: intermediate. One round counts like light conditioning work: 4 legs points, 25 push points, 39 core points.

Prime movers

Rectus abdominis, obliques, transversus abdominis, hip flexors, pectoralis major and anterior deltoid (pressing the ring); hamstrings and spinal erectors stretched at the top.

What to look for

• Press the ring lightly the whole time; it leads the roll up.
• Roll up one vertebra at a time, the legs heavy on the mat.
• Bend the knees until you can roll without jerking.