The Stomach Series - The Path To Awesome Abs

The Stomach Series or Series of Five was created by Romana Kryzanowska, who studied with Joseph Pilates himself, in an attempt to strengthen her student’s abdominals. The exercises are: 

1. Single Leg Stretch
2. Double Leg Stretch 
3. Single Straight Leg Stretch
4. Double Straight Leg Stretch
5. Criss Cross

I absolutely agree that most people need more abdominal strength. Of course, we have to work hard and consistently build (abdominal) strength. It doesn’t happen from one sit-up today and one crunch tomorrow. We need more repetition and variation. Muscles grow stronger when they spend more time under tension.

Just because Romana put these exercises into this specific sequence doesn’t mean that you have to do all of them back to back without rest, while disregarding the tension in your neck or tightness in your lower back.

The truth is that most people who are beginning their Pilates practice are unable to maintain good form throughout all 5 exercises. They power through all 5 exercises without rest, no matter what their body tells them, and end up with neck or lower back pain.

I know this is a radical thought, but consider this:

You're not supposed to be able to perform all of these exercises in your first week of Pilates practice. It's a series that can and should be a goal to work up to for the rest of your life. 

I had a student in my group class who developed some neck discomfort because she powered through this series - not just in class but at home on a daily basis - without honoring her body. Why is it that we respect teachers more than we respect ourselves? It could have been the peer pressure of a group, her ego of wanting to do the whole series, of not appearing weak to herself or her peers.

Here is a ten-week plan to go about the Series of Five in a smart, safe way:

 

Related:
Stomach Series: Mat versus Spine Corrector

A 10-Week Plan To Awesome Abs 

Phase One

Initially, take your time with each of the exercises separately. Learn the proper way to perform each of them. Study them closely either with a book, the videos further down in this post, or a teacher. Make sure no side effects occur. Nothing should pinch or twinge. Burning abdominal muscles - on the other hand - is what we’re looking for.

Phase Two

Once you know the exercises by heart, perform them in sequence, but stick with 3 repetitions of each exercise. In between each exercise, rest your head down and pull your knees into your chest. Resting your feet on the floor is also fine, if it makes your body feel better.

Phase Three

Once you can do that without side effects, try to connect the first two (Single Leg Stretch and Double Leg Stretch) then relax your head down. Then, the next two together(Single Straight Leg Stretch and Double Straight Leg Stretch) then relax down. Then Criss Cross. It’s the hardest one of them all, so it’ll be good to get a break before you start.

I can’t tell you when to progress to the next stage. There are so many factors that determine if it’s appropriate to move on and challenge you more. The two most important ones are:

How often have you been performing this series?
Do you have (a history) of back or neck pain?

I’ll try to give you a bit of a time frame. Let’s assume you only want to spend 5 minutes of your day on these exercises (which actually can be plenty).

 
Week 1

On Sunday pick the first exercise of the series - Single Leg Stretch - and follow along with the video. Each day of this week, repeat the exercise. Try to remember all the details of the movement. On day 3 or 4 you should be able to remember the exercise without watching the video. Afterward, look at the video again to see if you thought of everything. You'll see and learn a few more things if you try to remember the exercise instead of always following along with a video.

Week 2

On Sunday, first do 3-5 repetitions of Single Leg Stretch, which by now should be pretty familiar (maybe not easy, but you know what you’re supposed to watch out for).

Rest your head down.

Then learn the next exercise on the list, Double Leg Stretch. Watch the video and study the details.

Repeat this every day of this week.

 
Week 3

3 repetitions of Single Leg Stretch.

Take a break.

3-5 repetitions of Double Leg Stretch.

Take a break.

Now spend some quality time with Single Straight Leg Stretch. Learn the correct way to do the exercise. Repeat this sequence every day of the week.

 
Week 4

This is when you repeat SLS, DLS and SSLS.

Rest. Then learn Double Straight Leg Stretch in depth.

 
Week 5

This is where you add the last one of the series: Criss Cross.

 
Week 6 Until Eternity

Now that you have all of these exercises. Keep doing 3-5 repetitions of each with a short break in between.

When you feel you have gotten strong enough, try to put 1 + 2 together without rest.

Then add on the 3rd, so the time of your muscles working gets longer.

As soon as your neck or low back starts to hurt, take a break. This is your body speaking to you. This way you’ll be able to tell when your abdominals are getting stronger, instead of just suffering through the exercises. Believe it or not, working out can and should feel good!

"Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor."
~ Joseph Pilates

The, ‘more is better’ mindset is so deeply ingrained in us, that I strongly urge you to choose quality over quantity.

You will get stronger, even if you “only” perform a few repetitions of these exercises. Start where you’re at right now.