Pilates Beginners Tucked vs. Neutral Pelvic Alignment in Exercise By Marguerite Ogle MS, RYT Marguerite Ogle MS, RYT LinkedIn Marguerite Ogle is a freelance writer and experienced natural wellness and life coach, who has been teaching Pilates for more than 35 years. Learn about our editorial process Updated on January 15, 2021 Reviewed Verywell Fit articles are reviewed by nutrition and exercise professionals. Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Kristin McGee, CPT Reviewed by Kristin McGee, CPT Kristin McGee is a certified personal trainer and currently teaches yoga and meditation for Peloton. She is also certified in Pilates by the National Association of Sports Medicine. Learn about our Review Board Print Understanding pelvic alignment in exercise should be a priority for anyone seeking to maximize the effectiveness of the other athletic moves they do. The alignment of the pelvis affects everything above and below it, from the alignment of the spine and neck to that of the legs and feet. It also impacts gait. Tucked pelvic alignment is associated with poor posture, back pain, and ineffective movement patterns. When we over tuck the pelvis, we engage a vast set of muscles, including our hip flexors, glutes (butt muscles), and quadriceps in a way that creates an inefficient, and potentially injurious, alignment of the pelvis. 1:21 Watch Now: How to Find Your Neutral Spine Position In Pilates instruction, there are differing views about whether to do certain exercises with a flat back or a neutral spine. Some Pilates exercises are done in a way that allows the back to lengthen along the mat in response to the engagement of the abdominal muscles creating a slight tilt of the pelvis. But this is not the excessive tuck that is getting in a lot of people's way. There is not much debate about the potentially negative impact of an overly tucked or misaligned pelvis. Here is how to recognize if your tuck is excessive. Neutral Pelvis Verywell / Ben Goldstein In the photo above, our model has a neutral pelvis. Neutral is generally the most efficient and natural alignment for the pelvis, whether you are standing, sitting, or lying down. To see that our model's pelvis is in a neutral alignment, notice that if a plate were set on their lower abdomen, it would lie flat, not tilting down or up. If the model were to take this position standing, you could imagine that their pelvis was a bowl of water and that the water would sit evenly and not slosh around the bowl. Meet Your Ab Muscles The Overly Tucked Pelvis Verywell / Ben Goldstein Here our model has over-tucked their pelvis. This is a common habit in exercise, but ultimately it is very limiting. It is a position that does not stabilize the pelvis nor work the abdominal muscles in optimal ways. You can see that if a plate were set on our model's lower abdomen, it would not lie flat. Rather, it would tilt toward their belly button. In order to get their pelvis this tucked, our model has engaged their hip flexor muscles in a way that inhibits freedom of movement. There is too much tilt to the whole pelvic structure. This position might look familiar. Lots of people end up here when they try to do exercises like crunches or the Pilates roll-up and chest lift. This position makes it harder to get up, and harder to work the muscles you really want to work, like the abs. Tucked Pelvic Alignment Take note, especially if you have trouble doing the Pilates roll-up. If you attempt to do the roll-up with an overly tucked pelvis, your effort will likely be futile. In this position, your hip flexors are bunched up at the front of your thigh at the hip crease, your quads are overly involved, and there is no way you can get your upper body up-and-over with your pelvis tucked. Not only that, but you might be able to imagine how the exertion of hip flexors can make the legs want to fly up, a common problem in roll-up moves. Learn to work with differences in pelvic alignment for exercise by taking the time to focus on your pelvis before beginning each move. Practice finding your neutral alignment. Then, go to the roll-up and do it without a tuck. Once your abs get stronger, keeping a neutral alignment will become much easier and start to become a habit. 10 Benefits of Pilates 1 Source Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Cho M. Effects of pelvic adjustment on pelvic posture and angles of the lower limb joints during walking in female university students. J Phys Ther Sci. 2016;28(4):1284-1288. doi:10.1589/jpts.28.1284 By Marguerite Ogle MS, RYT Marguerite Ogle is a freelance writer and experienced natural wellness and life coach, who has been teaching Pilates for more than 35 years. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit Advertiser Disclosure × The offers that appear in this table are from companies that partner with and compensate Verywell Fit for displaying their offer. These partnerships do not impact our editorial choices or otherwise influence our editorial content.