Control balance (Pilates)

From the roll-over with the legs over your head, you hold one ankle near the floor while the other leg reaches straight up to the ceiling, then scissor the legs to switch.

Roll-over (Pilates) family

Control balance (Pilates)

Harder option

From the roll-over with the legs over your head, you hold one ankle near the floor while the other leg reaches straight up to the ceiling, then scissor the legs to switch.

DemandHard

Equipment requiredFloor space

Muscle focusAbs · Hamstrings · Glutes · Shoulders

Written instructions available. A verified 3D demonstration has not been built for this variation.

Source-researched guide. Clinical review is pending.

How to move

Roll over, as in the roll-over, with the toes toward the mat behind you; take the arms overhead to hold the ankles.
Lift one leg straight up toward the ceiling while holding the other ankle.
Switch legs in a controlled scissor, keeping the weight on the shoulder blades.
Finish the switches, then roll down one segment at a time.

Form cues

Weight stays on the shoulder blades.
Switch the legs slowly.
Avoid: weight sliding onto the neck, bending the legs, or rushing the switch.

Practice and cautions

4 to 6 switches (the classical sequence uses 6). A suggested starting point. No trial has tested this move on its own.

It may not suit a shoulder or neck injury. Avoid it with osteoporosis and in pregnancy. This is movement education, not an assessment or treatment prescription. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, dizziness, numbness or tingling; seek individual guidance for symptoms, injury or restrictions.

Add to a routine Log a session

Sources and review status

Sources support the educational description; they do not establish that this exercise is suitable for you.

No variation is labeled clinically validated.

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What it works

Muscles

Main: Abs. Also: Hamstrings, Glutes, Shoulders.

Equipment

None: body weight and floor space.

Level

Advanced. See the easier and harder options above.

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Questions people ask

What muscles does the Control balance (Pilates) work?

Mainly the abs, with help from the hamstrings, glutes and shoulders.

What equipment do I need for the Control balance (Pilates)?

No equipment: your body weight and a little floor space.

Is the Control balance (Pilates) good for beginners?

It is an advanced move. Build up to it with the Jack knife (Pilates) first.

What is an easier alternative to the Control balance (Pilates)?

Try the Jack knife (Pilates). Both are written steps in the same progression.