The Amazing Stickie loves spinal extension exercises for many reasons. Maybe the biggest reason is that spinal extension helps her inhale deeply, which makes her feel happier. The Pilates prone press is a simple spinal extension.
Stickie begins lying on her belly with her hands under her shoulders. She had to experiment with a couple of positions to find the right place for her hands. Some people find it works better with the hands a little lower. Then, as she inhales, Stickie begins to tilt her head up as if she were watching a ladybug crawling away from her. The rest of her spine keeps following her head as her arms extend. She goes only as high as is comfortable in her body. Some people only straighten their arms a little bit. Others go all the way up to straight arms. She tries to ensure that each segment of her spine is moving. She, like a lot of people, often does most of the work with her neck and neglects the part of her spine between her shoulder blades. Perhaps because of this tendency, Stickie has had an uncharacteristic lapse in form in the second picture; she has overcompensated for her tendency to do most of the work with her neck by looking down. At the top of the movement, she should be looking forward.
Stickie exhales to come down to the starting position.
Stickie usually does three or four repetitions, but sometimes she feels like only one and other times she does five or six. Her spine lets her know when she’s done enough.
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