All about the Legs Up Scissors Stretch
(Pilates)
START POSITION: Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and arms out at an angle (like a narrow delta wing) with palms face down. This is a standard start position for Pilates exercises. Head on the floor. Raise both knees so they are above your hips. You can press down with your hands on the floor as you raise your legs to help lift them if needed. When your feet are positioned above your head with your feet together and knees slightly bent, quickly move your arms inward so that your hands are laid flat against your lower back, with fingers splayed for added stability.
Next, we move to the ‘scissors’ part of the Legs Up scissor.
NOTES: Difficulty Rating: 39%
Now push up until your hips raise from the floor and start to slowly part your feet and let them drop slowly out to the sides (still supporting your lower back with your hands. It also helps to jam your elbows into the floor as a supporting anchor for your hands. Keep a slight bend in your knees and allow your legs to part until they come to a natural stop, extending out to the sides. You will now feel a stretch on both sides of your groin. Hold for at least a few seconds, then slowly push up and extend your legs back to the top position, keeping a slight bend in your knees and feet together at the top.
The Legs Up Scissors exercise suffers from an identity crisis! Because there are several versions of exercises with similar names but quite different techniques. I chose this particular form because I like its calisthenics-style approach – using only the weight of your own legs to create the stretch in the groin area.