Like salt in soup, the flexband is essential to any studio or home-based Pilates routine. It’s light, easy to pack on a trip, versatile and effective for regressing or progressing nearly every exercise.
Here are four reasons for the Flex-Band:
1. Close the chain for more gain
When your leg is able to move freely in the air without being fixed to an object, it can make it more difficult to recruit the proper muscles and support the weight. A flex-band around the foot will close-the-chain so you can recruit your hip abductors (glutes) more effectively and build endurance.
2. Add resistance to make an exercise more challenging
Place the flex-band on your shins when the knees are bent during the Hundred to create upper body resistance and challenge the abdominals without compromising the spine.
3. Add feedback and support
Place the flex-band behind the ribs during Spine Twist or just below the scapulae to give yourself more information about where they are in space. This trick will also help you control the alignment and movement of the rib cage during rotation and help you stabilize your shoulder blades.
4. Gently compress
Put the flex-band behind the feet during Half Roll Back or Obliques Roll Back to help center your pelvis and hip joints so the spine may move freely and the pelvis and hips can remain stable.
