Results 1 to 22 of 22

Thread: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

  1. #1
    God/dess
    Joined
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The Diner State
    Posts
    5,085
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    What am I doing wrong? Are my stomach muscles just sucky? I can't roll up, nor roll like a ball. I end up like a turtle! Argh. I love my new Stott pilates dvd, but I can't do those parts. I could never roll up in class either, even with the help of that ring. Do I need to just press on? Do more crunches? Get an ab specific dvd?

  2. #2
    God/dess
    Joined
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    8,427
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 30 Times in 22 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    i dont understand what you mean really like a turtle. i guess your ab muscles just arent strong enough? i love the roll up, do you mean you just cant do it? its like doing a sit up...

  3. #3
    God/dess ahmeerah's Avatar
    Joined
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Center of the World.
    Posts
    3,128
    Thanks
    66
    Thanked 82 Times in 51 Posts
    My Mood
    Breezy

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    Don't do more crunches. Those actually make the problem worse.

    What is helpful is to work with a foam roller. Get one of the long ones. Put it on the floor. Sit on one end and roll down so you're just relaxed on your back with feet on the floor and hands on the floor. Focus on the breathing that they instruct you with on the dvd (lateral breathing, using diaphragm,, pelvic floor, etc and make sure you feel your tranverse abdominis - aka the corset-like muscle - draw in as much as possible). Stay here for 5 - 10 minutes to release your eretor spinae and multifidus. You can also rock from side to side (like you're on a sheet of glass instead of on an unstable rolling surface) to help release your back.

    Then practice rolling up and articulating EACH vertebrae on the foam roller. You'll have to perform a kegel and draw your navel to your spine as deeply as possible. Eventually graduate to the floor.

    I'm Sott pilates trained btw.

    Good luck!

  4. #4
    God/dess
    Joined
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    8,427
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 30 Times in 22 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    ^ why do crunches make it worse?

  5. #5
    God/dess
    Joined
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The Diner State
    Posts
    5,085
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    Those foam rollers are worth their weight in gold, huh? I think my spine doesn't like articulating, so I just roll back and get stuck there.

  6. #6
    God/dess ahmeerah's Avatar
    Joined
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Center of the World.
    Posts
    3,128
    Thanks
    66
    Thanked 82 Times in 51 Posts
    My Mood
    Breezy

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    Quote Originally Posted by britt244 View Post
    ^ why do crunches make it worse?
    Basically, a rollup is a functional movement. Crunches are not and encourage things like forward head posture in the long run. Rollups effectively use proper motor sequencing of the deep abdominal musculature. Crunches are short range and are kind of like just doing half bicep curls to train your biceps. Or have a pull up to train your back. Ultimately it encourages bad firing of nervous motor sequencing. Exercise is about training your bdy how to act or how to move and fire correctly. You don't want to train your body to be ineffective or half-assed. In the long run it's not pretty.

    An example I'm sure you've seen is of someone wiht washboard abs but they're distended or they kind of hae a pooch or pot belly although they're really lean. This is either infalammatory foods or doing too many things like crunches.

    Does that make sense?

  7. #7
    God/dess ahmeerah's Avatar
    Joined
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Center of the World.
    Posts
    3,128
    Thanks
    66
    Thanked 82 Times in 51 Posts
    My Mood
    Breezy

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    Quote Originally Posted by RoseLeigh View Post
    Those foam rollers are worth their weight in gold, huh? I think my spine doesn't like articulating, so I just roll back and get stuck there.
    Yes, foam rollers are golden. You can get them on www.optp.com

  8. #8
    God/dess
    Joined
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    8,427
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 30 Times in 22 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    Quote Originally Posted by ahmeerah View Post
    Basically, a rollup is a functional movement. Crunches are not and encourage things like forward head posture in the long run. Rollups effectively use proper motor sequencing of the deep abdominal musculature. Crunches are short range and are kind of like just doing half bicep curls to train your biceps. Or have a pull up to train your back. Ultimately it encourages bad firing of nervous motor sequencing. Exercise is about training your bdy how to act or how to move and fire correctly. You don't want to train your body to be ineffective or half-assed. In the long run it's not pretty.

    An example I'm sure you've seen is of someone wiht washboard abs but they're distended or they kind of hae a pooch or pot belly although they're really lean. This is either infalammatory foods or doing too many things like crunches.

    Does that make sense?
    yeah, i get what youre saying. i was just curious. i remember when i started doing pilates and i felt and saw such an immediate difference with those core exercises compared to typical ab work like crunches.

  9. #9
    God/dess
    Joined
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The Diner State
    Posts
    5,085
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    Quote Originally Posted by ahmeerah View Post
    Yes, foam rollers are golden. You can get them on
    I only have one of the short ones from target. It's definitely not long enough for my whole back.

  10. #10
    God/dess VegasPrincess's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2006
    Location
    MKE
    Posts
    4,660
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 182 Times in 40 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    ^^^^

    Are you talking about "the roll up" or rolling like a ball, the one that's similar to the seal?

    Okay, with the roll up, you really shouldn't be able to roll all the way up to a sitting posture when you are just starting. This is a skill set/physical set you have to work on.

    I really really hate the pilates on the ball, pilates rings, etc...that is NOT pilates! Joseph pilates used ONE piece of equipment, the reformer but that was not the foundation of his excercises...I could go on and on about why I belive this, but I had to study pilates for two years as part of my college program and I just don't like those aids. Also most DVDs aren't really neccessarily a hundred percent accurate.

    A really great tool is the book The Pilates Body by Brook Siller...

    But I digress....Okay, what I meant about not being able to roll all the way up...

    When you are just beggining pilates, get into the BASIC roll up postition..flat on your back KNEES BENT instead of legs straight out, your tummy sucked into your core. Put your hands over your head and roll up each part of your body at one, with the tummy still sucked on the floor...so you're going to start, focus on rolling each part of the body up seperately, not in a chunk...so hands off the floor, then arms, then your head and neck, then shoulders, then start rolling up each individual vertabrae from the floor...When you feel that you can't go anymore without using other body parts to roll you up or some weird momentum, ROLL BACK DOWN. Same way. Put the last vertabrae back on your matt, the one after, one after, shoulders, neck, ETC.

    As for rolling like a ball...The easiest position to do this excecise in is to tuck your knees to your chest, while balanching on your tailbone, take a deepbreath and rock yourself back, again rolling down the spine, allowing some momentum to bring you back up for the upswing. The goal is to be able to balance on your tailbone, take a breath and go again.

    Also, remember with pilates....BREATH is so important....inhale, exhale...for example, in the ball, exhale as you go down, exhale as you come up
    Last edited by VegasPrincess; 07-01-2008 at 11:06 PM.
    Sexy Jasmine after getting fucked over at work:

    God loves strippers and when guys do things like that its an automatic ticket to HELL!


    Quote Originally Posted by anomar View Post
    Perhaps you stopped spending money on her. Strippers need money to operate. They are like coin operated juke-boxes of love.

  11. #11
    God/dess
    Joined
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    8,427
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 30 Times in 22 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    ^ i totally agree about equipment. i dont and won't use it. the ONLY thing is sometimes i can incorporate a resistance band into leg exercises. but thats often more trouble than its worth.

  12. #12
    God/dess
    Joined
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The Diner State
    Posts
    5,085
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    I can't do the rolling up or the ball! I did the video again today and concentrated on the vertebrae. Mine do not like the articulating. I'll keep concentrating. And possibly doing both the yoga and pilates, alternating (I had switched to pilates because of my sucky toe keeping me from downward dog-ing, but I actually like this Pilates dvd!)

  13. #13
    God/dess
    Joined
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    8,427
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 30 Times in 22 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    oh you should def alternate! that way your body wont get so used to the workout, and personally i like pilates for the core and yoga gives me a lot of leg strength. plus yoga stretches me more.

  14. #14
    God/dess
    Joined
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The Diner State
    Posts
    5,085
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    Quote Originally Posted by britt244 View Post
    oh you should def alternate! that way your body wont get so used to the workout, and personally i like pilates for the core and yoga gives me a lot of leg strength. plus yoga stretches me more.
    Yeah, I need the stretch. I just have to wait until my poor toe can stand it.

  15. #15
    God/dess
    Joined
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    8,427
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 30 Times in 22 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    well boo. tell your toe to hurry up and heal! lysondra told me to talk to my brain, so you can talk to your toe!

  16. #16
    God/dess
    Joined
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The Diner State
    Posts
    5,085
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    Quote Originally Posted by britt244 View Post
    well boo. tell your toe to hurry up and heal! lysondra told me to talk to my brain, so you can talk to your toe!
    Hah. Good idea. It's not bruised anymore, but the ball of my foot (I sprained one of the joints) hurts if I walk around with out it taped.

  17. #17
    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Home
    Posts
    13,598
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 28 Times in 23 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    You just have to keep working at it. Sometimes it takes a while to get the movements (get your body in the condition it needs to be in to accomplish the full range of movement).

    While I love the DVD's, they do not take the place of personal trainers (who are fully trained/knowledgeable in Pilates...not the "gym accredited" trainers who teach classes at the local health club). For Pilates, your form has to be *just right*. Not having the proper form and not knowing how to achieve/maintain that form will interfere with you accomplishing a lot of the movements in Pilates...and keep you from reaping the full benefits of Pilates, as well.

    Have you considered finding a local studio and paying for hands on instruction? I know it can be pricey...however, if you spend the time/money to know that you are doing something properly, it's time/money well-spent. Going once a week for 1-2 months would greatly benefit your DVD workouts at home.

    This is how I got started with my Pilates routine. I went to the Pilates studio once a week and did the rest of the stuff with my DVD's at home (I started doing Pilates 8 years ago). It really made a difference.

  18. #18
    God/dess
    Joined
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The Diner State
    Posts
    5,085
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    My housemate's a Pilates instructor & she's doing another class at our college starting next week actually. She doesn't 'get' why I can't roll up though. Maybe I'll try a different instructor-there is at least one local studio.

  19. #19
    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Home
    Posts
    13,598
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 28 Times in 23 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    Quote Originally Posted by RoseLeigh View Post
    My housemate's a Pilates instructor & she's doing another class at our college starting next week actually. She doesn't 'get' why I can't roll up though. Maybe I'll try a different instructor-there is at least one local studio.
    I would definitely try another instructor. You may not have the "mobility" in the lower part of your spine, which would require either more work to help loosen that area up, or another exercise.

  20. #20
    God/dess VegasPrincess's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2006
    Location
    MKE
    Posts
    4,660
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 182 Times in 40 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    ^^^

    Agreed. If you want, have a friend help you roll up by (gosh this stuff is so hard to describe over the interwebs lol!) putting her hand behind your back and feeling what your spine is actually doing...she'll be able to feel if the vertabraes are coming up in a chunk. Now, once you find exactly where you start to chunk, you can work on practicing pushing each vertabrae into her hand....if that makes sense...it's not that her hand is helping you, but it will give you a sense of where the issues are and how to fix them.

    I
    Sexy Jasmine after getting fucked over at work:

    God loves strippers and when guys do things like that its an automatic ticket to HELL!


    Quote Originally Posted by anomar View Post
    Perhaps you stopped spending money on her. Strippers need money to operate. They are like coin operated juke-boxes of love.

  21. #21
    God/dess
    Joined
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The Diner State
    Posts
    5,085
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    ^^Thanks! That does make sense. I've had a crappy spine for a while and I KNOW it rolls up in a chunk. I've had some great leaps forward recently in my upper spine-cracking where there had not been cracking before and loosening around the shoulder blade area, but the lower back is still stiff. Some come feel my spine.

  22. #22
    God/dess
    Joined
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The Diner State
    Posts
    5,085
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: I roll like a turtle, not a ball (Pilates help!)

    Making a little progress. I rolled like a ball once! I think par tof the prob is that I hitch my shoulders up, so now I've been going slower than the vid and checking my shoulder a lot more. Also been rolling up in bit like VP said, trying to feel each vertebrae. Can't get too far, but the upper part of my back is getting a smidge more mobile. Or at least, I can identify the parts! Once I move I'm going to look for a pilates studio and at least do a few classes in person with a more qualified instructor.

Similar Threads

  1. kitten riding a turtle
    By Athenathefabulous in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 12-07-2010, 02:18 AM
  2. Plane turns around for turtle
    By tempest666 in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 06-25-2010, 10:02 AM
  3. Sea turtle grieves
    By TigersMilk in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 07-23-2008, 05:17 PM
  4. Snapping turtle in my back door WDID?
    By High_Heel_Lover in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 38
    Last Post: 06-10-2007, 03:51 AM
  5. Cat VS. Turtle
    By dishis in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 05-12-2007, 04:23 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •