Abs exercise
Single Leg StretchHow to do it, with form in numbers
How to do it
How do you do the Single Leg Stretch?
- Lie on your back, curl your head and shoulders up and draw your right knee in.
- Place your right hand on your right ankle and your left hand just below your right knee.
- Stretch your left leg out long, about 45° from the mat.
- Switch: draw the left knee in and stretch the right leg out, changing your hands.
- Keep switching for 5–10 reps a side, keeping your trunk still.
Cues
- Lower back heavy, belly scooped.
- Reach the long leg away from you.
- Outside hand to the ankle, inside hand to the knee.
Common mistakes
- Arching the back: lift the long leg higher.
- Rocking with each switch: slow down and keep your shoulders lifted.
- Tugging the knee: hold it lightly and let your abdominals do the work.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
The version in our demo
The classical mat Single Leg Stretch (Joseph Pilates, Return to Life; the first of the Balanced Body "series of five"): head and shoulders curled up, one knee drawn in with the outside hand on the ankle and the inside hand on the knee, the other leg reaching long, switching legs.
Starting position
On the back, curl the head and shoulders up, draw the right knee in, the left leg long and lifted.
The movement
Switch legs with control: the right leg reaches out as the left knee draws in, the hands move to the left leg (left hand to the ankle, right hand to the knee); switch back. The trunk stays curled and still, the lower back on the mat. One right-and-left is one rep.
Breathing
In for two switches, out for two (or in on one leg, out on the other).
Tempo
One rep in 3 s: right knee in 0.8 s, switch 0.7 s, left knee in 0.8 s, switch 0.7 s. Real practice: 5–10 reps a side.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
- Pelvis tipped back 6° (lower back on the mat); upper trunk curled 32° off the mat towards the knee; chin drawn in.
- Bent leg: hip flexion 128°, knee bent 113°, shin about level, the knee 20–22 cm from the trunk's axis (drawn in, not pressing the belly); outside hand on the ankle (elbow about 36°), inside hand just below the knee.
- Long leg: straight (knee 4°), 40° above the mat, foot softly pointed.
- Switch: the legs pass each other in 0.7 s; the hands lift a little and move across.
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Single Leg Stretch is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
Sources
- J. Pilates and W. J. Miller, Return to Life through Contrology (1945), "The One Leg Stretch".
- Balanced Body, Pilates Mat instructor manual, series of five
