The Mystery Behind the Ab Series Five No. 1

Fire up your engines! 

The mystery behind the Ab Series Five

In Joseph Pilates seminal book “Return to Life Through Contrology”, copyright 1945, Pilates not only laid out the conceptual basis and philosophy of the method but included the original mat work exercises in sequential order. In the book, each of the exercises is detailed with photographs and bullet point instructions.  If you don’t have the book - get it - it is enlightening and fun to read - packed with photos of JP at the age of 60!! performing each of the exercises in white swim trunks! 

The often dreaded “Ab Series Five”  is not a part of his original routine!  Only the first two exercises of the series are in the book. This said - one can find each of the final three ab exercises disguised within much more advanced exercises further down Pilates original order. 

The Ab Series Five includes:

Single Leg Stretch*

Double Leg Stretch*

Single Straight Leg Stretch (Scissor Kick)

Double Straight Leg Stretch (Lower and Lift)

Criss Cross (Bicycle)

*The two Original exercises

In a sense the entire ab series is not really necessary - if you are doing Pilates sequence from start to end. Furthermore - in my humble opinion - I doubt that Mr. Pilates would have called this series the “AB series.”  

The  first two ab exercises (the originals) are the single leg stretch and the double leg stretch. I tell students that there should be an emphasis on the “stretch” and not to necessarily think of these as purely AB exercises.  “Length is Strength” as a favorite teacher of mine once said.  

Further down the list of the original mat exercises - come the more “advanced” exercises: such as the Corkscrew, the Scissors, the Bicycle, the Shoulder Bridge, the Hip Twist and the Side Bend.Each of 

these more advanced exercises incorporate one of the ab series within.

The Scissors exercise is the Single Straight Leg Stretch from a shoulder stand position. 

The Shoulder Bridge is basically a ONE legged scissor kick from a bridge position with the hips raised.  

The Corkscrew and Hip Twist are basically the Double Straight Leg Stretch (also known as Lower and Lift) with a hip inversion (corkscrew) and from an upright position where one is balanced on the sacrum (the hip twist).  

The Criss Cross (oblique ab exercise) can be found in all the rotation exercises -The Bicycle,

The Saw, The Twist.

The GENIUS of Joseph Pilates original Mat exercises was the SEQUENCE of the individual exercises to inform and prepare the body and mind for the exercises to follow. Pilates’ flow - so to speak - hits on flexion, extension and rotation of the spine.   There are no exercises that can simply be described as “the AB exercises.”  No such thing in Pilates!!!  Every exercise involves both the activation of the core in partnership with lengthening of the spine, and the anchoring / or aligning of your hips, ribs and shoulders.