Pilates Spine Stretch Forward

Muscles worked by the Pilates Spine Stretch Forward

Primary

Lower BackErector SpinaeAbsRectus Abdominis

Secondary

HamstringsHamstring MusclesDeep CoreTransversus Abdominis

Also called: erector spinae, spinal erectors, lower back muscles, back extensors, abs, six-pack.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Pilates Spine Stretch Forward

1. Sit tall with the legs straight and slightly wider than the hips, feet flexed.
2. Reach the arms forward at shoulder height.
3. Drop the chin and curl the spine forward one vertebra at a time, reaching past the toes.
4. Restack the spine from the base upwards until you are sitting tall again.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Form tips

• Keep the pelvis upright: the curl comes from the spine, not from tipping the hips.
• Press the heels away throughout so the legs stay active.
• Sit on a folded blanket if sitting upright already rounds the lower back.

At a glance

Pilates Spine Stretch Forward 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-spine-stretch-forward",
  "name_en": "Pilates Spine Stretch Forward",
  "name_de": "Pilates Spine Stretch Forward",
  "name_es": "Spine Stretch Forward de Pilates",
  "description_en": "A seated articulation: sitting tall with the legs apart, the spine curls forward segment by segment over the legs and then restacks vertebra by vertebra.",
  "description_de": "Eine sitzende Artikulation: aufrecht sitzend mit geöffneten Beinen rollt sich die Wirbelsäule Segment für Segment über die Beine nach vorn und stapelt sich anschließend Wirbel für Wirbel wieder auf.",
  "description_es": "Una articulación sentada: sentado erguido con las piernas abiertas, la columna se enrolla hacia delante segmento a segmento sobre las piernas y después vuelve a apilarse vértebra a vértebra.",
  "category": "stretching",
  "force_type": "dynamic",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "rectus_abdominis"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "hamstrings",
    "transverse_abdominis"
  ],
  "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, feet flexed.",
    "Reach the arms forward at shoulder height.",
    "Drop the chin and curl the spine forward one vertebra at a time, reaching past the toes.",
    "Restack the spine from the base upwards until you are sitting tall again.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of repetitions."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Setz dich aufrecht hin, die Beine gestreckt und etwas weiter als hüftbreit, die Füße angezogen.",
    "Streck die Arme auf Schulterhöhe nach vorn.",
    "Lass das Kinn sinken und roll die Wirbelsäule Wirbel für Wirbel nach vorn, über die Zehen hinaus greifend.",
    "Stapel die Wirbelsäule von unten nach oben wieder auf, bis du aufrecht sitzt.",
    "Wiederhole für die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Siéntate erguido con las piernas estiradas y algo más abiertas que las caderas, los pies en flexión.",
    "Estira los brazos hacia delante a la altura de los hombros.",
    "Baja la barbilla y enrolla la columna hacia delante vértebra a vértebra, alcanzando más allá de los pies.",
    "Vuelve a apilar la columna desde la base hasta quedar sentado erguido.",
    "Repite las veces indicadas."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep the pelvis upright: the curl comes from the spine, not from tipping the hips.",
    "Press the heels away throughout so the legs stay active.",
    "Sit on a folded blanket if sitting upright already rounds the lower back."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte das Becken aufrecht: die Rundung kommt aus der Wirbelsäule, nicht aus dem Kippen der Hüfte.",
    "Druck die Fersen durchgehend weg, damit die Beine aktiv bleiben.",
    "Setz dich auf eine gefaltete Decke, wenn schon der aufrechte Sitz den unteren Rücken rundet."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén la pelvis erguida: la curva viene de la columna, no de bascular la cadera.",
    "Empuja los talones hacia fuera todo el tiempo para que las piernas sigan activas.",
    "Siéntate sobre una manta doblada si ya sentarte erguido te redondea la zona lumbar."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/pilates-spine-stretch-forward-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/pilates-spine-stretch-forward-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-spine-stretch-forward");

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.