The Arm Chair is an apparatus that I’ve been introduced to through one of my mentorships in 2022. My very first time on this apparatus, and I was taught by the one and only MeJo Wiggin! What an incredible lifetime experience that I didn’t know I had to have in my life! The Contrology Arm Chair I have conforms to the original specifications of Joe’s original arm chairs you would find at his Gym circa 1970.
This apparatus is also affectionately known as the Baby Chair, or Baby Arm Chair. The springs on this chair are the lightest springs you’ll find in a Pilates studio. So, the springs were referred to as the baby arm springs. Hence, Baby Chair. And now there are memes of “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” with this Arm Chair. I’m sure we all know the movie reference!
And because of that famous movie quote, it just made sense to me that my Arm Chair’s name was going to be Frances, Baby’s real name in Dirty Dancing.
- By now, you know how much I love the Contrology foam.
- I’ve discussed it plenty here
- You also know how much I love the Contrology vintage springs.
- I wrote about it here.
- However, these arm springs have a slightly different design than others, in that it has a “neck down” design. This means it has reduced coils at the end of the spring, so combined with the wider coils in the body of the arm spring, it effectively acts like 2 springs in 1 spring to provide the right amount of resistance.
- Contoured Handles
- Helps find the proper alignment through the shoulders, as well as the elbows and wrists.
- 2 seat back positions
- There’s a forward position and a more reclined position for options. Both provide core stabilization work to work the upper body and strengthen the arms.
You’ll see by working out on this apparatus how the shoulder blades connect to the back, which gives feedback on how your arms are connected to your back. You’ll also find how to engage your center as you roll up and down. As you know, Pilates is a full body, whole body workout. So, how you sit in this chair will give you feedback on your sitz bones. Then, how you position the legs to engage the hips to use the glutes and abs to find the lift in the spine. You’ll also feel the opposition work in your body the more you use the reach of your legs down, and the reach of your arms up into the handles.
You can see with this seat back, you can really work the tall spine length. And as you move away from the chair, and back into it, you’ll get immediate feedback on spinal articulation and flexion. You’ll really feel the “grow an inch” cue here more than anywhere else. And you’ll feel the work in your center without the cues you’d usually hear because of the position of the body in relation to the apparatus. You can’t help but have better posture in a very straight-forward way.
The “Movement Heals” series continues with the next 3 apparatuses I’ll be writing about in the next few months. These 3 are closely related in terms of their shape, but vary in sizes. We’ll start with the smallest, and work our way up to the largest. Stay tuned!