Stretches & Cool Down: Teaching Notes

Exercise Series Instructors 6 Related Exercises Updated 24 Sept 2026

Teaching notes for the Stretches and Cool Down family: Eve's Lunge, the carriage hamstring stretch, the lat and side stretch, child's pose, and the standing cross-body shoulder and overhead triceps stretches, plus how to program a settling finish.

Overview

A deliberate cool-down is what separates a good session from a complete one. Most of this family uses the carriage springs as an active partner: the springs assist the lengthening, so the client can ease into a stretch without forcing it. Two of the six are standing arm stretches done at the parked reformer, where the frame simply gives the client a place to stand while the arms do the work. Between them they cover the areas a reformer session leaves tight — hip flexors, hamstrings, the side body, the spine as a whole, and the shoulders and arms that all the rowing and strap work has earned.

Eve's Lunge — deep hip flexor and iliopsoas stretch in a kneeling lunge.
Carriage Hamstring Stretch — active posterior-leg lengthening with a foot in the strap.
Lat & Side Stretch — side-body length with the ribs supported.
Child's Pose — the kneeling fold that settles the breath and decompresses the spine.
Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch — standing shoulder-girdle length with the arm held across the chest.
Overhead Triceps & Lat Stretch — standing triceps and side-body length with the hand behind the head.

Setup

Keep the springs light so the carriage assists rather than resists; each exercise lists its own setting.
For Eve's Lunge, lower the footbar and have the client kneel on the carriage with one foot on the bar.
The hamstring stretch is done supine with one foot in a long strap and the other leg bent.
Child's Pose is a kneeling fold with the hips back toward the heels and the arms reaching forward.
The two standing arm stretches are done on the floor inside the frame with the machine parked — no spring load.

Key Teaching Cues

Breathe into the stretch: inhale to lengthen, exhale to ease deeper.
No bouncing — the carriage moves smoothly with the breath.
Keep the spine long in Eve's Lunge; the stretch belongs in the front of the hip, not the low back.
For the hamstring stretch, keep the hips level and the working leg long.
For the standing arm stretches, keep the shoulder blades drawn down the back and the ribs connected; the length belongs in the shoulder and the side body, not the low back.

Common Faults

Forcing the stretch and bouncing the carriage instead of easing into the length.
Collapsing into the low back in Eve's Lunge — the stretch belongs in the front of the hip.
Hiking the hip in the hamstring stretch to gain range.
Holding the breath through the lengthening.
Rushing Child's Pose and never settling into the position.
Shrugging the stretching shoulder toward the ear in the cross-body shoulder stretch.
Letting the elbow flare forward or arching the low back in the overhead triceps and lat stretch.

Programming

Stretches belong after the working portion of the session, not instead of it.
Use Eve's Lunge after any lunge or glute work (Standing Lunge, Front Splits, Sprinter Lunge).
Use the hamstring stretch after footwork and leg press work.
Finish with Child's Pose in every session that has room — it settles the nervous system as well as the spine.
Use the cross-body shoulder stretch and the overhead triceps and lat stretch after upper-body work (Seated Row, Chest Expansion, Pulling Straps).

Contraindication Awareness

Eve's Lunge loads the front knee — shorten the stride and limit depth for knee issues.
The hamstring stretch requires hip flexion; keep it pain-free for hip impingement.
Child's Pose involves kneeling — pad the knees for sensitive clients.
Both standing arm stretches are pain-free-range work for shoulder impingement — keep the arms below the pinch and skip them with active pain.

Variations

Regression: lower the spring to 1 light spring for a more passive, supported stretch; pad the knees for Eve's Lunge and Child's Pose.
Progression: slow the tempo and hold the lengthened position for two full breaths.
Safety: for hip impingement, keep the hamstring stretch shallow and pain-free; for knee issues, shorten the Eve's Lunge stride and limit the depth; for shoulder impingement, keep both arm stretches in a pain-free range with the shoulder drawn down.