Mermaid

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Springload:

N/A

Duration:

60-90 seconds

Regression:

use your hands as support

Progression:

extend your arms out

3-POINT SET-UP:

  1. Sit on your __ hip facing the ___

  2. Your Left/Right ANKLE goes under the safety strap

  3. Meet me in a DIAGONAL LINE and HOLD

Body Part • Direction • Action Verb:

  • LIFT up (ONE INCH)

  • LOWER down (ONE INCH)

    NOTE: Mermaid is a largely isometric exercise. There is no “crunch” or lateral flexion.

OPTION TO ADD ROTATION:

  • Without lowering your body - Rotate your torso 1/8th of a turn or 45 degrees to the __

  • Actively engage your obliques to rotate back to center

Range of Motion:

  • Mermaid is either ISOMETRIC or a MICRO-MOVEMENT. Even if you add rotation, the movement is minimal (1/8th of a turn)

 Kinetic Checkpoints:

HEAD:
❌ Allow your head to hang to the floor or tilt towards the ceiling

✅ Find and maintain a neutral neck - straight line from your spine to the top of your head!

SHOULDERS:
❌ Protract or ROUND your shoulders forward

✅ Shoulders stay stacked and in a neutral position. Think “wide collarbone” or “a flat line from shoulder to shoulder”

HIPS:
❌ Allow your hips to move away from a still and stacked position
❌ Sit on your “cheek”

✅ Hips are stacked one directly on top of the other
✅ Sit on the outside of your hipbone - your hips and spine are neutral and in a straight line. Think “tailbone points towards the mirror” or “cheeks off the platform”

KNEES:
❌ Allow your top knee to bend

✅ Keep your top leg straight

NOTE: Where you place your bottom knee can be modified based on comfort.

HANDS/FEET:
❌ Point your toes to the ceiling or FLEX your foot and grip the safety strap

✅ Point your toes down to the floor. PRESS your ANKLE into the safety strap “like you’re doing a jane fonda leg lift”

Talking Points:

  • Alignment is EVERYTHING in this exercise. Spend your time setting this exercise up correctly for maximum effectiveness.

  • Think of Mermaid as an “upside down side plank”

  • There is a tendency to want to make this a lateral flexion or “side bending” exercise - this takes away from the stabilization and rotation/anti-rotation role of obliques and recruits the lower back (QL) so we want to avoid that.

  • Think about a long, straight line from your ankle all the way to the top of your head

Common Mistakes.