Elbow to Knee
One thing I've learned over the years is that people rarely struggle because a movement is too difficult.
More often, they struggle because too many things are happening at once.
That's why I like breaking an exercise down into individual steps before putting it back together again.
Learning one movement at a time gives the body a chance to understand what each part is supposed to do.
Then, when those pieces come together, the whole exercise often starts to make sense.
To me, the purpose of this exercise isn't in making the elbow and knee meet.
It's focusing on everything that has to happen before they can.
And in the end if they don’t, that’s OK too.
Your pelvis has to remain stable.
Your trunk has to flex and rotate.
Your abdominals have to organize the movement while your limbs follow.
If your elbow and knee meet because you are pulling on your neck or losing pelvic stability, the reason why performing this exercise is beneficial to your body is easily lost.
But if the movement is well organized, the elbow and knee often come closer together as a result of the movement, not as its purpose.
I often joke to my clients if they try to speed through this exercise, or any exercise:
“Are you double parked?”
They laugh, and slow down 😂
When practicing Elbow to Knee, the goal is to maintain the upper curl and a stable pelvis while rotating the spine and moving the legs. That takes more than knowing the choreography.
I teach my clients to understand and practice the skills behind the exercises. It changes how they practice Pilates.
In What Pilates Is: The Essential Skills, I break down foundational skills like pelvic stability, upper-body organization, and abdominal control so they can be practiced on their own. Then, when they come together in an exercise like Elbow to Knee, there is a clearer understanding of what needs to stay stable, what needs to move, and where the movement should come from.
Can You Maintain the Upper Curl and a Stable Pelvis While Rotating the Spine and Moving the Legs?
When do you straighten the opposite leg in Elbow to Knee?
If you straighten it too soon, you may make the exercise harder for yourself.
First, stabilize your pelvis and rotate your spine. Bring your elbow and knee toward each other. Then straighten the opposite leg.
When you straighten your leg too soon, it can affect pelvic stability and make it harder for your knee and elbow to reach toward each other—or touch, if your range of motion allows. You may then try to make up the remaining distance by pulling on your head or neck.
The sequence of movements matters.
One of my favorite moments as a teacher is watching someone stop “fighting” an exercise—all they need to do is organize the skills they already have. 😁
One thing I’ve learned from teaching this exercise is that the order and timing of each step completely changes the outcome and how it feels.
It’s hard to work on strengthening muscles or improving flexibility when there isn't enough attention spent on each individual component of the movement.
Each movement helps activate the muscles that need to get stronger
Take a moment to connect to these muscles that we wish to lengthen and strengthen.
I see it work over and over again—once I fix the timing, this exercise makes so much more sense to my clients and their body. 😊👍️
Elbow to Knee is often rushed, perhaps for different reasons: because it feels too easy, too hard, or simply does not make sense to the person performing it.
When I teach this exercise, I ask my clients to begin by engaging their abdominals, lift the upper body into the upper curl, and while stabilizing the pelvis begin rotating the spine. As the trunk turns, the knee and elbow move toward each other, sometimes touching, sometimes not, depending on the individual body’s abilities. Once the rotation is complete, the opposite leg straightens while the rest of the body remains stable.
When the opposite leg straightens too early, it disrupts the sequence and can move the pelvis out of its stable position. As a result, the bent knee moves farther away from the elbow, making it much harder for them to reach toward each other through trunk rotation. Many people then compensate by pulling on their head or neck in an attempt to close the remaining distance.
Sometimes the missing ingredient is not strength or flexibility. It is clarity.
I have learned that people are often more capable when they learn, understand, and practice the order, timing, and purpose of the movement.
When you practice Elbow to Knee, you should rotate your spine while your pelvis stays stable. But keeping the pelvis organized while the trunk and legs move is a skill that needs to be learned.
This is where I see all the time that learning the skill separately makes a difference.
In What Pilates Is: The Essential Skills, I teach skills like pelvic stability before they become part of a more complicated exercise. Once the pelvis can stay organized while the trunk and legs move, an exercise like Elbow to Knee becomes easier to understand, practice and benefit from.