March MATness Day 4: The One Leg Circle (Both Ways)

[ChannelRunner2]

On March 4th, we're back to an exercise that seems more doable: Leg circles. After a warm-up with (at least) The Hundred - you could also do all three previous exercises, you can check out The One Leg Circle (Both Ways). (How did Joe come up with these names?!?)

You repeat the exercise 5 times in each direction with each leg.

“The Single Leg Circles [or One Leg Circle] is my favorite ‘stomach exercise in disguise’ exercise and I believe it is a stretch of the entire system again now one side at a time…in any case, it’s not really about your leg. We are a human! Not just a leg.” - Andrea Maida (via pilatesandrea.com/on-the-or... ).

Follow Joe’s instructions from the excerpt from Return to Life. Remember, according to John Steele, Joe encouraged his students to modify. You don't have to cross over as far. You don't have to lift your hip off the ground. You can just do a small circle. See what feels right for your body today.

Instructions from Online Pilates Classes – modifications are at the end of the video: onlinepilatesclasses.com/pi...

Or go directly to the OPC video (modifications starting around 02:44): youtu.be/j7mJfReDdwQ?t=42(Not working as expected?)

Another set of instructions from the Pilates Lesson Plan, including a video, are here: georgewatts.org/lesson-plan... (via pilateslessonplans.co.uk/fr... )

My first IRL Pilates teacher, Blane, demonstrating Joe’s version plus variations: youtu.be/2dCE3M_mrKM(Not working as expected?)

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Standing variation: Again, I haven’t found a video, though I can imagine how we can do this standing. Essentially, we’d do the same thing as we'd do on the mat "just" leaning against a wall: Lift the leg in front as high as we can (ideally parallel to the floor), then move it to the side and down and before hitting the floor, move it over the other leg and back in front. Do this 5 times, then go the other way. Repeat with the other leg.

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As I've mentioned a few times in comments: Pilates is a full body exercise. As Benjamin Degenhardt explains in Decoding Pilates, one of the things that differentiates Pilates from other forms of exercise is that it requires "awareness of the entire body at work." So, in this exercise, use your arms, pressed down onto the mat or wall to help stabilize your body as your leg moves. Do the same with the leg that isn't moving, press it down onto the mat. And while you're doing that, remember to relax your shoulders and your toes. I am notoriously gripping with my toes - and am learning to relax them... (More on Decoding Pilates: 360pilates.com/decoding/ )

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One more thing I remembered as I was doing the circles: If your body makes a clicking sound while you're doing these, just make the circles smaller until it disappears. You'll be able to increase the size of the circle once your body gets stronger - at least that's what I've found. Lesley talks about hip clicks and what we can do to prevent them in the OPC video above starting around 02:57.

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This is a celebration of the Pilates Mat system, so let’s keep smiling as we attempt to wiggle (and giggle) through it!

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Photo from Return to Life as published by Presentation Dynamics. Photos are far better reproduced in the paperback published by the Pilates Method Alliance in 2010, which isn’t available electronically. (See this post for the title page: healthunlocked.com/strength... )

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★ Our March MATness summary page: healthunlocked.com/strength... ★

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

just watched the video, and am very keen to try this later today. I might also try it with and without a resistance band.

The videos look great, and you can see a quality of movement that shows the advanced Pilates yogi’s mobility and strength in movement. It is fascinating!

More later once I’ve done them (and not just watched the video 🤣🤣)

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to CBDB]

Yes! Blane is also a great teacher. 😊

I've now also added a direct link to the OPC video (cued to past the promotions...) in the post above...

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to ChannelRunner2]

And I had the wrong OPC video in there 🙈 It's fixed now!

[TheTabbyCat Graduate]

Thanks again CR2, I've had a look at the video, I'm going to give it a go this afternoon. I've been washing the floors this morning, which may sound daft but before I wave the mop about I stand in the pilates starting position, shoulders rolled back and down, belly button up and in then I'm off 🤣 I'm becoming much more aware of coordination etc

Have a good Saturday

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to TheTabbyCat]

What a great idea to incorporate Pilates into your floor washing! Pilates really is something we can take out into the real world... 😊

[dijep 30D Graduate]

Yay one I can do 😆 It's interesting to compare how it feels with each leg and each direction. Good one 👍

[Sunshine908]

I think this is my favourite so far! Very good for hip mobility, which is something I'm working on at the moment. I've been trying to persuade myself to go swimming because of being able to exercise the leg in a sort of circular motion. (I swim breaststroke, so I mean that sort of frog movement.) But this exercise, and maybe some slight adaptations of it, would do just as well, with no soggy swimming costume afterwards.

Thank you for all the work you are putting into this series, it's been brilliant!

Sue

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to Sunshine908]

We'll get to swimming on the mat later this month 😉

[Sunshine908 in reply to ChannelRunner2]

I'll get my goggles ready! 😉

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to Sunshine908]

🤣🤣🏊‍♀️🏊🏊‍♂️

[ChannelRunner2]

Did nobody notice I got the wrong links in there? 🙈 🤣 I guess I was tired last night! It's all fixed now... (I hope... if not, please let me know!)

[dijep 30D Graduate in reply to ChannelRunner2]

I did wonder when I read the post first thing but you'd obviously fixed it by the time I actually did the exercise. Thanks again for all your work 😊

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to ChannelRunner2]

I noticed but not the first time I looked at the post. But when I re-read them for a second time and showed them to hubby, the first link was wrong but I could have sworn it was correct when first I looked at it. 🤔 By the time I did them in the evening, you had corrected them. 🤣🤣

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to CBDB]

Ah! This points to gremlins having changed the links, not me 😉

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to ChannelRunner2]

😂😂😈

[ChannelRunner2]

Because I wanted to watch and work with the Online Pilates Classes videos of the MATness so far, I started a playlist... I'll add videos as we go along 🥳

youtube.com/playlist?list=P...

[TheTabbyCat Graduate in reply to ChannelRunner2]

That's a good idea CR2, thanks 🙏

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to TheTabbyCat]

yup. I second that. Have saved the playlist! 😃💛🧡

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Just completed my Pilates . So here is what I found:

- I can do these without resistance bands but then I have substantial clicking and clonking particularly on one side

- a resistance band makes it much more comfortable and I have more control of the movement. That means I can experiment with smaller and smaller circles until the clonking disappears

- the exercise is surprisingly taxing after a few repetitions, especially when done slow

- it’s more a clonking than a clicking, and it’s rather in my lower back and not in my hips

- this is one exercise I would love to repeat daily to see if the clonking disappears

Great stuff. Day 4 leg circles done!

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to CBDB]

I have a noise in my lower back, too, and actually worked with a few Pilates teachers on that. One of my teachers here in Cologne, I found out, had this, too! So, she gave me a few exercises to work with in open gym: Several different kinds of squats!

It seems that both the clicking in the hip and in the lower back come from weak and tight hamstrings, in particular the thass, as Lesley Logan calls the part of the back of the back of the thigh that meets the, well, ass...

It'll be interesting to read, what you'll find when you work with this more, CBDB ! I've found that the squatting is helping me - less clicking in this and other exercises, like the Teaser.