Pilates 100s Holds

[tyciol]

http://bodyweightculture.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=81

I have a question about this exercise. What do I do with my arms? Do they stay at the sides, or do I reach them up too? Behind my head, push them against my legs to resist them and my abs perhaps?

It makes me wonder, unlike normal crunches which get tricky since you can sit up so much, keeping the legs up would limit how far you go up. That's probably good because you'll do more flexing and less holding up the bent weight of your own torso.

Maybe with that, resistance with bands/dumbbells would be better focused on the abdominals that way?

As far as I understand this is a leg lift and crunch at the same time.
YOu don't go up and down. You just lift the legs 6 inches or so and lift the upper body (like crunch) and you hold it up.

This is a static exercise.

[Chico]

Arms doesn't matter in this exercise, put them under your butt so they don't move.

[ramalama]

in pilate 100's , you do it slightly different as that description.

lie flat as described in that level three description, but first you must exhale everything. and when you cannot exhale anymore you push even more than you think you can. this is key. as stomach muscles are pulled flat to spine and deeply contracted and tensed, make every effort to never let them go. stay firmly fixed in the abs. the arms are held by the sides are about six inches off floor and hands reaching hard toward feet so there is tension. you vigorously wave arms up and down in very short movements (a few inches up and da few inches down), hard quick movements to the count of 100. as you do this, breathe in for five counts and out for five counts for the duration. or in for ten and out for ten. etc. be sure of quick hard forceful breathes. as you breathe inand out never let the tension in the abs go, the abs should be tightly contracted and stomach flat into spine, braced s if someoene is going to punch you there. my teacher would poke me with a stick in the gut and yell at me to keep the stomach flat to spine. they must stay there the whole time.
if you do it right you will feel it. it is as much a breathing exercise as it is a stomach one. warmup the powerhouse.

oh almost forgot the legs... before you start, keep low back flat touchng floor, bring legs (straight) and up about 90 degrees then slowly lower toward floor to that point where the lower back is about to want to come off floor. that is about where you want to keep them. the idea it is the maximum angle for best contaction in abs. the exact angle varies becasue everyoen has different body types and lumbar curve.
and bring head up off floor too.

[koltz]

That's why I hate pilates , they make simple stuff like the core the most important part of the body in terms of musclestructure yet they train it with 0 resistance movements and on top of it made a muney sucking industry >:|

[ramalama]

take a look at a picture of josef pilates sometime. remember he called it body "contrology" . he did one arm handstands, squats, pullups, and a bunch more. and resistance is used.

the current pilates movement has a tendency to water it down and put the emphasis on aesthetics, long lean muscles which is a spin off of josef pilates real methods because alot of dancers primarily got hold of it.

[dreameater]

I would have to agree with the part about the lower back. Focus on pushing your lower back as flat as possible and you will be able to lift with only your abs, you *will* feel the difference if you are doing it right.