Pilates Saw

Muscles worked by the Pilates Saw

Primary

Lower BackErector SpinaeObliquesOblique Abdominals

Secondary

AdductorsHip AdductorsHamstringsHamstring Muscles

Also called: erector spinae, spinal erectors, lower back muscles, back extensors, oblique, obliques.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Pilates Saw

1. Sit tall with the legs straight and slightly wider than the hips, arms out to the sides.
2. Rotate the torso to one side, keeping both sit bones on the floor.
3. Fold forward over that leg and reach the opposite hand past the little toe.
4. Roll back up through the spine and return to the centre.
5. Repeat to the other side and continue alternating.

Form tips

• Anchor both sit bones; lifting one of them turns the twist into a lean.
• Rotate first, then fold - the order is what makes the exercise work.
• Sit on a folded blanket if the pelvis cannot stay upright.

At a glance

Pilates Saw in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Back Extension
• Barbell Deadlift
• Bench Child's Pose
• Bodyweight Good Morning
• Bow Pose
• Cat Stretch
• Cat-Cow
• Child's Pose

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "pilates-saw",
  "name_en": "Pilates Saw",
  "name_de": "Pilates Säge",
  "name_es": "La Sierra de Pilates",
  "description_en": "A seated twist and reach: sitting tall with the legs wide, the torso rotates and then folds over the opposite leg so the reaching hand passes the little toe like a saw.",
  "description_de": "Eine sitzende Drehung mit Vorbeuge: aufrecht sitzend mit weit geöffneten Beinen dreht sich der Oberkörper und faltet dann über das gegenüberliegende Bein, sodass die greifende Hand am kleinen Zeh vorbei sägt.",
  "description_es": "Un giro con flexión sentado: sentado erguido con las piernas abiertas, el torso rota y después se pliega sobre la pierna contraria para que la mano que alcanza pase junto al dedo meñique como una sierra.",
  "category": "stretching",
  "force_type": "dynamic",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "obliques"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "adductors",
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "mobility"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "mobility",
    "stretching"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Sit tall with the legs straight and slightly wider than the hips, arms out to the sides.",
    "Rotate the torso to one side, keeping both sit bones on the floor.",
    "Fold forward over that leg and reach the opposite hand past the little toe.",
    "Roll back up through the spine and return to the centre.",
    "Repeat to the other side and continue alternating."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Setz dich aufrecht hin, die Beine gestreckt und etwas weiter als hüftbreit, die Arme zur Seite.",
    "Dreh den Oberkörper zu einer Seite, beide Sitzbeinhöcker bleiben am Boden.",
    "Beuge dich über dieses Bein und streck die gegenüberliegende Hand am kleinen Zeh vorbei.",
    "Roll durch die Wirbelsäule wieder hoch und komm zur Mitte zurück.",
    "Wiederhole zur anderen Seite und wechsle weiter."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Siéntate erguido con las piernas estiradas y algo más abiertas que las caderas, los brazos hacia los lados.",
    "Rota el torso hacia un lado manteniendo ambos isquiones en el suelo.",
    "Pliégate hacia delante sobre esa pierna y alcanza con la mano contraria más allá del dedo meñique.",
    "Vuelve a subir a través de la columna y regresa al centro.",
    "Repite hacia el otro lado y sigue alternando."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Anchor both sit bones; lifting one of them turns the twist into a lean.",
    "Rotate first, then fold - the order is what makes the exercise work.",
    "Sit on a folded blanket if the pelvis cannot stay upright."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Verankere beide Sitzbeinhöcker; hebt einer ab, wird aus der Drehung ein Lehnen.",
    "Erst drehen, dann beugen - diese Reihenfolge macht die Übung aus.",
    "Setz dich auf eine gefaltete Decke, wenn das Becken nicht aufrecht bleiben kann."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Ancla ambos isquiones; si uno se levanta, el giro se convierte en una inclinación.",
    "Primero rota y después pliégate: ese orden es lo que hace funcionar el ejercicio.",
    "Siéntate sobre una manta doblada si la pelvis no puede mantenerse erguida."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/pilates-saw-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/pilates-saw-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "pilates-saw");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.