Which description best captures the Elephant exercise on the reformer and its primary cues?

Which description best captures the Elephant exercise on the reformer and its primary cues?

• A. The Elephant uses the arms to pull the carriage while keeping the back rounded.
• B. The Elephant involves pressing the carriage with the legs while the torso is supported; cues: long spine and controlled hamstring engagement; pelvis stable.
• C. The Elephant is performed with the head down and the hips lifted.
• D. The Elephant focuses on spinal extension with rapid leg lifts.

Answer: (B)

The Elephant on the reformer is a leg-driven movement where the torso stays supported on the carriage and the pelvis remains stable. The goal is to press the carriage away with straight legs from the hips while maintaining a long, neutral spine and controlled hamstring engagement. This keeps the pelvis level and avoids compensations like rounding the upper back or lifting the hips, so the movement stays focused on the hamstrings and the posterior chain. That description fits best because it emphasizes pressing with the legs, keeping the torso supported, cues for a long spine, and controlled hamstring work with a stable pelvis. The other options describe actions that wouldn’t align with Elephant—pulling with the arms while rounding the back, heads dipped with hips lifted, or rapid leg lifts with spinal extension—none of which match the standard Pilates cues for this exercise.

The Elephant on the reformer is a leg-driven movement where the torso stays supported on the carriage and the pelvis remains stable. The goal is to press the carriage away with straight legs from the hips while maintaining a long, neutral spine and controlled hamstring engagement. This keeps the pelvis level and avoids compensations like rounding the upper back or lifting the hips, so the movement stays focused on the hamstrings and the posterior chain.

That description fits best because it emphasizes pressing with the legs, keeping the torso supported, cues for a long spine, and controlled hamstring work with a stable pelvis. The other options describe actions that wouldn’t align with Elephant—pulling with the arms while rounding the back, heads dipped with hips lifted, or rapid leg lifts with spinal extension—none of which match the standard Pilates cues for this exercise.