Wunda Chair: Pumping Standing

aka Hamstring II & Washer Woman II 

What’s Pumping Standing good for? ⁠

Muscle focus
This exercise will develop control of your torso and articulation / mobility of the spine. It strengthens the abdominal muscles, stabilises and strengthens the shoulders and stretches the back of the legs and opens up the lower back.

Objectives
This exercise will help you improve all exercises that require a mobile spine – and there are a great many.  So rather than list each one individually, I’d recommend this as a complementary exercise for the Roll Over on the Mat:  Click here

The “how to”

Middle spring.
Three repetitions.  If your spine is especially stiff (endurance athletes take note!), why not try three sets of three repetitions each?
Set Up
Stand behind a chair with your arms raised towards the ceiling. Roll down your spine and placed the heels of your hands on the pedal without moving backwards not forwards.
Keep your tailbone tucked in and your waist high as you press the pedal down and and pull it up again by talking in your tailbone and activating your abdominals.
Repeat this to more times on the third repetition lift your hands off the pedal and roll up using your abdominals again to stack up each vertebrae on top of each other.

Deeper Practice
Perform the previous variation but keep the pedal down on the third repetition and pump your arms with your elbows out to the side three times whilst keeping your torso perfectly still. Bring the pedal up with straight arms and repeat two more times.

Hints and Tips

💡  In the early stages keep the movement small. If you push the pedal too low at the start this will cause you to push from your shoulders instead of working from your abdominals.
💡  Rather than moving the pedal with your arms think of your spine moving the pedal and pushing it down and pulling it up. Lift your ribs and waist away from the pedal to press it down and lift it up.
💡  Imagine that you’re rolling over a prickly cactus as you press the pedal down – push your waist up and away from the cactus!
💡  Initially focus on moving a pedal from your abdominals and spine before starting the pumping.
💡  When you are ready to start pumping open your elbows outwards. This is different to any other Wonda Chair exercise that involves arm pumping. In every other arm pumping exercise your elbows are kept inside the frame of your body.
💡  Whilst pumping, keep your body lifted don’t allow it to sink down when your arms bend.
💡  You control the chair don’t let the springs push you around when you bend your elbows.
💡  If you are sure replace the exercise with the pumping kneeling exercise.

Related Links:

• Wall: Roll Over: click here
• Step Barrel: Overhead Stretch: click here

Photo credits: Emma Hogan Photography.