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Stability before mobility: what I cue first in every Lagree class

The first thing to cue is what should stay still. In most Lagree exercises the skull, spine, rib cage and pelvis hold steady while the arms and legs move. Without that stability, the movement does not matter. Mobility is never more important than stability.

By Nelly Ilyasova

Educational content only; this is not medical advice.

Two parts of the skeleton, two jobs

The axial skeleton is the skull, the spine, the rib cage, the sacrum (the triangle of bone at the base of the spine) and the coccyx (the tailbone). Its job is protection, support, posture and stability.

The appendicular skeleton is the limbs, upper and lower. Its job is movement, locomotion and force.

In Lagree, the job of the axial skeleton is to be stabilised as much as possible. The job of the limbs is to move.

The bear: what stays and what moves

Come into the bear, a tabletop position on the carriage. Head, neck, upper back, lower back, sacrum and tailbone are all parallel to the floor. Shoulders and hips form an "H", which is the Lagree reference. Then the knees move.

The axial skeleton is completely still. That is what we are trying to achieve. If the hips drop or the shoulders travel while the knees move, the exercise no longer exists.

The bear exercise on the Megaformer, side view: spine, ribs and pelvis hold still while the legs move
Green muscles hold the position. Orange muscles move the legs.

Cue what stays first

Start cueing from what needs to stay, not from what needs to move. Tell your client the tabletop, the neutral spine and the shoulder position first. Then the movement.

When someone cannot hold it

Don't progress. Hold the position. If they cannot do a bear, do a saw. If they cannot do a saw, just hold, 15 or 20 seconds. Stability first, then mobility, then range.

Why every exercise exists

Every exercise and every variation in Lagree is designed to challenge stability: the twist, the leg raise, the kick, the external rotation. All of it is destabilisation. If there is no stability, there is no point in doing Lagree.

Every stabiliser in your body is made of slow-twitch muscle fibre, and the way to improve slow-twitch quality is to challenge stability, not to add weight. That is why sitting on someone's back does not challenge the core. It loads deep stabilisers that are not built to carry weight. To challenge a core, destabilise it: lift a leg, then the opposite arm.

Try this

In every exercise you teach or take this week, ask: what is happening to the axial skeleton, and what is happening to the arms and legs? Say the first before the second.

Frequently asked questions

What is the axial skeleton?

The skull, spine, rib cage, sacrum and coccyx. In Lagree it should stay as stable as you can keep it.

What does "stability before mobility" mean?

Control what must stay still before you move what should move. Without stability, mobility does not matter.

Why cue what stays before what moves?

Because the movement only works when the base is held. If the hips drop or the shoulders travel, the exercise is gone.

What if a client cannot hold the position?

Don't progress. Hold it, or step back to a simpler version, then build again.

Written by Nelly Ilyasova, Lagree Global Master Trainer. Source: Nelly's Functional Anatomy & Physiology of Lagree course.

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