The Most Common Mistake in Scooter on the Reformer

Scooter should be a regular in your classes and lessons. It works on so many necessary things all at once! It strengthens your thighs, glutes, hamstrings, lateral hip stabilizers, and adductor magnus. It lengthens your hip flexors (which so many of us desperately need) and improves our balance. Whew, that's quite a list!

When you have taught or practiced Scooter, have you noticed that the low back can be super tempted to arch while pushing the leg back? It's a very common mistake. Let's see how we can help to prevent this: 

• Focus on lengthening all four sides of your torso equally.
• Make sure to use your glutes to push the carriage back.
• Keep the movement small to maximize lumbo-pelvic stability. Extend your leg back as far as you can keep your lower back long.
• Self-tactile cue: If you’re able to take both hands off the bar, place one palm against your lower belly and the other against your lower back. Keep the area between your hands still and stable.
• Place a dowel against your student’s spine and help her connect the three points of contact.
• If you're unable to keep the lumbar spine from extending, perform the kickback in a gentle C-curve. It will greatly reduce the range of motion in your hip, so keep the push back very small. It will open up your hip flexors (psoas) in a really powerful way. 

 Related: The Cueing Cure: Dramatically Improve Your Verbal Cueing in 30-Days

Here are a few more awesome cues and hands-on corrections

Inside the Pilates Encyclopedia membership, we look at every detail of Scooter, from head to toe, to help you get the maximum benefit from this exercise.

What are your favorite tips or cues for this exercise?