Teaser

3-POINT SET-UP:

1. Hands on your high bars (Your high bars face each other OR the mirror)

2. Toes behind your safety strap. Cross your __ foot over your ___ JUST AN 1/8th OF A TURN or 45 degrees towards the __

3. Hips down in a twisted plank position

Body Part • Direction • Action Verb:

• FREEZE YOUR UPPER BODY

• With straight legs, PIKE your hips towards the ceiling

• LOWER your ___ hip back to a twisted plank

Range of Motion:

• Stop when your feet are under your hips

• The carriage DOES NOT come all the way in!

 Kinetic Checkpoints:

HEAD:
❌ Allow your head to hang down or look up into the mirror

✅ Neutral neck - in line with your spine

SHOULDERS:
❌ Sink into your shoulders (winged scapula)
❌ Protract or “rise up out of your shoulders” too much
❌ Allow more body weight to be in one arm vs. the other
❌ Allow your shoulders to shrug

✅ Keep your shoulders square
✅ Keep equal amounts of bodyweight in each arm
✅ NO SHRUGGING!! Your upper body placement is crucial in this movement .

HIPS:
❌ Allow your hips to rotate beyond 45 degrees
❌ Allow your hips to sink towards the floor
❌ Allow your hips to PIKE too high or shift back behind your heels

✅ Keep your pelvis neutral (not arching or tucked under)
✅ Watch your range of motion. Don’t pike up too high and don’t sink down too low

KNEES:
❌ Allow your knees to bend or pull the carriage in

✅ Keep your legs straight and the action in the HIPS, not the knees

HANDS/FEET:
❌ Take a wide grip on the high bars (note: most women will need the high bars facing each other for a proper grip)
❌ Excessively flex your wrists
❌ Set the feet “heel to toe” or “pointed 90 degrees to the side” or “horizontal with the mirror”
❌ Force the heels to remain DOWN throughout the movement

✅ Take a neutral grip on the high bars with your hands underneath your shoulders and no wider
✅ Find a neutral wrist position with your wrist and forearm in a straight line as much as possible
✅ Feet point at 45 degrees or 1/8th of a turn - NO MORE
✅ Try to keep your heels down at the top of your range of motion but it is OK to allow the heels to lift at the bottom of your range of motion

Talking Points:

• Teaser is a stability and isometric rotation exercise - Keep a “flat” (neutral) spine with no rounding and HINGE from your hips to PIKE up

• The amount of rotation is the biggest concern here! True torso rotation is never more than 45 degrees and often less.

• Point your toes at a 45 degree angle or “halfway between the mirror and the side of the room” - not a 90 degree angle

• It is too common that we see this exercise cued with excessive rotation - this places stress on your shoulders and spine and is NOT a healthy position

• You will alleviate wrist and shoulder pain when you square your shoulders, keep your shoulder blades in a neutral position and actively recruit your upper body muscles to maintain this position

• The range of motion is smaller than it appears to be. Focus on stopping your carriage before your feet come past your hips

• Stay active as you resist (or push) back to your twisted plank