Pilates
Pilates Teaser Leg Lower
The Pilates Teaser Leg Lower challenges abdominal control by lowering and lifting your legs from a balanced V-sit while keeping your upper body steady.
- Advanced
- Compound
- Low injury risk
- Rest 45 sec
How to do it
- Sit on your mat with your knees bent, feet flat, and arms reaching forward at shoulder height.
- Lean your torso back with your spine long.
- Lift both feet off the mat with your knees still bent.
- Extend your legs together on an upward diagonal to form a V shape with your torso.
- Lower both legs a few inches toward the mat.
- Lift your legs back to the starting diagonal to complete one repetition.
Form cues
- Keep your chest at the same height.
- Exhale down; inhale up.
- Keep your shoulders away from your ears.
Common mistakes
- Swinging the legsTake about two seconds in each direction instead of using momentum.
- Tucking the chin tightlyLook toward your toes without pressing your chin into your chest.
- Starting without a stable balancePractice holding a basic teaser comfortably before adding leg movement.
Safety
Lowering the legs too far increases the demand on your trunk and can strain your lower back or hip flexors if control breaks down.
- Use only the range you can manage without arching or collapsing your lower back.
- End the set when fatigue changes your position, even if you have repetitions left.
- Finish by bending your knees before placing your feet on the mat.
Choose a bent-knee teaser preparation if you cannot support the position comfortably; seek advice from a physiotherapist first if you have ongoing back or hip pain.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Exercise Mat
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 2–3
- Target
- 4–8 reps
- Rest
- 45 sec
Count one lowering and return as one repetition.