Press Down Side on the Pilates High Chair is a great exercise to challenge your ability to square off your hips with external rotation. The whole Press Down Series is excellent for challenging your whole body and in all different positions. This Side version will engage your inner thighs, strengthen your external rotators and really make your standing leg. As the pedal comes up you'll feel yourself get pulled off your foot. Can you stay tall over your standing leg? That will be the goal as you press the pedal down and resist the pedal back up!

Stand with your body facing sideways to the High Chair with feet heels together and toes apart in the center of the chair and about an inch or so away from the chair. Place your inside foot on the pedal, ball of the foot on the pedal turned out and heel up. Place your inside hand on the handle in front of you and use it to connect your arm to your back. Before you begin to move the pedal, be sure your hips are square and you're standing on top of your standing leg. It's easy to lean off of your standing leg.

With your heel up, press the pedal down and feel how tall you've grown. Maintain that as you lift the pedal back up. Repeat three to five more times. As the pedal lifts you'll want to lean to one side or hike your inside hip up. Try to maintain square hips as your leg goes up and down with the pedal in its external rotation. Switch sides and repeat three to five times. If you notice one leg is weaker than the other, repeat on the weaker side.