The Pilates Hundred

Why do my Hip Flexors hurt doing the Hundred?

This is common, many say they feel the Hundred (or Table Top position)  in their Hip Flexors!  This is common particularly when you are new to Pilates or you just overuse your hip flexors (psoas major amongst others) during abs work.   There are things that you can do to alleviate this.

I must add having strong hip flexors is not a bad thing.  They help support your back, pelvis and move your legs! but.. we would rather not have them ‘take over’ when aiming to strengthen the deep stabilising muscles of the core.
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✳️Take your time to build up and find that deep connect to your core muscles (transverse, pelvic floor amongst others)  so that the hip flexors don’t take over.
✳️Have the Legs aligned properly i.e knee to centre of the hip joint.  Don’t allow them to move back in towards the belly.   Try this you will feel the difference straight away.
✳️Build up gradually moving the legs back to the floor when your start to feel your hip flexors taking over.
Pilates is all about keeping that mind/body connection, losing focus can lead to the body taking its own path of least resistance so using muscles that are already strong.​