- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Equipment Needed: Cadillac or Tower, Push Thru Bar (I love using the Contrology Cadillac.)
- Reps: 3 sets of 3
- Warning: May not be suitable for some back and or neck injuries.
- Questions: Contact us here
Tower with Push Thru Bar on the Cadillac
Tower with Push Thru Bar on the Pilates Cadillac is a favorite! Not just for me but for my Pilates clients too. They love the backstretch, the glute work and how it helps them understand all there is to know about reaching from their seat! Tower is also a great teaching tool for exercises like Short Spine, High Scissors, Jackknife and more. And, besides the obvious correlations to other Pilates exercises, Tower on the Cadillac (you can also do it on a Tower) will also help you see how your feet connect to the equipment, learn where you are moving from and how to find that two-way stretch! Once you’ve done it with two legs be sure to try it with one!
As you bend your knees continue to press your feet into the bar.
-Lesley Logan
To set up for Tower make sure you have your safety chain on and then one heavy spring from below. Lie down under the Push Thru Bar on your back. Every body is slightly different but most people can lay about a hands distance from the edge of the mat and their head. Push the bar up to place both feet parallel and a hips distance apart. Make sure the whole ball of your foot is touching the bar. Place your hands on the vertical poles just about elbow height. Press into the poles from your back. Reach your tailbone long and press your legs to straight.
To begin, point your feet and roll your hips off the mat pressing the bar up. Depending on your height, you may stop sooner than the max, which is when the bar is 2 inches away from being lined up with the vertical poles. Once you are at the point where you are standing in your shoulders but not beyond them maintain your hips where they are and bend and straight your legs 3x. Then press your legs to straight and roll down. Flex your ankles and bend your knees then repeat 2 more times. Be sure to bend your hips and not just your knees. It’s easy to pull your heels to your seat and think you are going deeper. You want to try to pull your knees to your shoulders.
It’s also nice to try and roll up to different parts of your back and find a new stretch. Sometimes I like to only roll my hips up, other times I roll to the middle of my back and then to find the max reach I roll to my shoulder girdle. Play with it in your body to see which one works best for you.
Be sure to check out more of my Pilates Cadillac exercises. I want to help you continue your Pilates Cadillac training!
