146 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 SHAPE.COM
Candlestick roll
Squat deeply, roll back
onto upper back and
straighten your legs
toward ceiling, roll for-
ward onto feet, squat
deeply, and stand again.
Do all that without
stopping, and you’ve
got yourself a candle-
stick roll. “A candlestick
roll fires up and con-
nects every muscle in
your core while you go
from standing to active
to standing again,”
Widerstrom says. This
gymnastics-inspired
exercise tends to be
tough because in
addition to calling on
strength, mobility, and
coordination, it requires
you to be comfortable
moving blindly. “You
might be a little scared
to travel backward—
then when you’re in it,
expect it to feel a little
weird—but then you get
the hang of it and know
what to expect,” she
says. “It actually starts
to become fun, and sud-
denly you’re great at it.”
Go from newbie to pro in
three simple steps.1
Master the rock-
ing position (it’s
harder than it looks) by
doing a hollow hold. Lie
faceup on the floor with
arms extended behind
head and legs long and
squeezing tight together.
Pull your abs in tight and
press your lower back
into the floor, then lift
your arms, head, neck,
shoulders, and legs 8 to
12 inches off the floor
(try to make your body
resemble the shape of
a rocking chair leg). Hold
for 15 to 30 seconds.
Repeat 2 to 3 times.2
Learn how to use
momentum to rock
while maintaining the
hollow-hold position
by weighting each end.
Hold one 2 - to 5-pound
weight with both hands
behind your head and
the other one between
your feet. Start in
a hollow-hold position,
then, without changing
the shape of your body,
rock back and forth, let-
ting the weight pull you
one way and then the
other. Do 2 to 3 sets of
10 to 15 reps.stick roll
fires up
and
connects
every
muscle in