Rolling Up doesn't have to be so hard!

The above exercise is the Roll Up, which can be a very hard exercise to perform for a number of reasons: lack of abdominal strength, inhibited muscles, tightness on the neck, dysfunctional breathing, tight lower back, body mass distribution, and tight hip flexor muscles, just to name a few. It might take a long time until you get to find out the cause of your poorly performed roll up, and until then, you don't need to give up on it, neither continue performing it poorly. You may easily improve your performance on the Roll Up exercise by simply rolling down instead!

By rolling down, which actually is part of the exercise, can help you strengthen the muscles you need to perform a Roll Up. It can also help you clear some of the "not so good" movement patterns that are preventing you from performing an effective Roll Up. You'll also be able to better articulate your spine, which in turn will help you access the muscles that are not willing to help much during the UP phase.

I highly recommend you try this variation, instead of reinforcing the "not so good" patterns that your body likes to rely on. ​The variation I show here adds a couple of other healthy components to the exercise, which are: 1) rolling to your side, 2) pushing off the floor to sit up. Two excellent movements that most of us should be practicing more frequently.

TRY TO REMEMBER:​

1. ROLL TO YOUR SIDE TO SIT UP AND REPEAT THE EXERCISE,
2. DO NOT STOP BREATHING DURING THE MOVEMENT,
3. ELONGATE YOUR SPINE AS YOU ARTICULATE IT WHILE ROLLING IT DOWN, 
4. "TUCK YOUR TAILBONE UNDER" TO INICIATE THE MOVEMENT,
5. FLOW FROM ONE PART TO THE OTHER,
6. DON'T RUSH, FEEL EACH PART OF THE MOVEMENT,
7. ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!

The Roll Down and Roll Up exercises are not suitable to indivIduals
diagnosed with Osteoporosis, Osteopenia and Herniated Discs.

PROGRESSION:

1. KEEP THE ARMS IN THE AIR
2. KEEP LEGS STRAIGHT

Move better to feel better!
Carla Oliva

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