Overview
Long Stretch is the Reformer's classic full-body plank: feet in the straps, hands on the footbar, the whole carriage pressing away through the hands. It demands shoulder stability, core control, and spring resistance in one long line — and it is the progression the Reformer Push-Up points toward.
Setup
- A medium-strong setting (in our reference ladder: 1 Red or 1 Green); footbar down.
- Face the footbar in a long plank: hands on the footbar, feet in the straps, body in one straight line from head to heels.
Key Teaching Cues
- Keep one long line from head to heels — no piking or sagging.
- Press through the whole palm and spread the fingers.
- Exhale to press the carriage out by pushing through the hands and extending the hips; inhale to control the return.
Common Faults
- Piking at the hips as the carriage travels.
- Sagging the belly and losing the long line.
- Shrugging the shoulders or letting the head drop.
- Letting the carriage snap back instead of controlling the return.
Variations
- Regression: lower the knees to the carriage to shorten the lever and reduce the load.
- Progression: add a pike to the press-out to increase the shoulder and core demand.
- Safety: widen the hands and skip if there is active shoulder pain (impingement protocol).
Programming Notes
Long Stretch belongs late in the session, after the core can hold a long line — pair it with Down Stretch so the client finishes the plank family with the spine released. One to three presses with a full, controlled return is enough; quality of line beats repetition count.