Reach vs. Grasp

“Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?”
- Robert Browning

The famous da Vinci drawing to the left was in my head today, knowing that my plan was to introduce a Pilates-inspired exercise I include in my classes and with most of my private clients. The practical reason is that since I made up the exercise, I thought it was highly unlikely that I'd find internet images to illustrate the movements. But then, I realized there was a deeper significance, since the exercise is designed to exploit, challenge and, ultimately grow the overall range of motion for all four extremities. And the basic idea behind that is to close the gap between your current grasp and your potential reach. This has both literal and figurative implications that appeal to me.

I call this exercise "X-Touch".

It's a terrific exercise that stretches the hamstrings (back of the thighs) and incorporates most of the core including the entire abdominal wall, with the low back well-stabilized by the floor. Lying on a mat, make your body a big "X" (use the drawing above as a reference, as though it was drawn by someone standing above you at the time). Start by sweeping the left arm slowly and with fluidity as high as you can and directly above your navel (you will peel your lifting side shoulder up off the mat.) Repeat in a circuit with the right arm, right leg and finally the left leg. If that variation is easy for you, sweep the left arm and right leg up simultaneously and (try to) touch your shin. Don't go past the vertical line of the navel with either limb - come as close as you can with the "weak link" and then cover the same distance with the more flexible limb (your ability to reach the center point with your hand will actually be more affected by your upper abdominal strength.) Alternate sides and repeat until exhausted.

If you have any back discomfort, bend your knee to 90 degrees and touch it instead of your toe. If that still causes back discomfort, skip this exercise and see your doc about appropriate exercises for your specific profile.

When you do this with strict form and can accumulate 10 or more reps, it becomes moderately aerobic as well.

Try it out and leave me comments about how it works for you.