The Saw in Pilates

Reviewer Instructor-level depth on this exercise - alignment and breath detail most videos skip entirely.

Moderator Entirely, deeply about the Saw - alignment, breath structure, and highly specific cueing detail for this exact exercise from a master trainer. As on-topic as content gets.

Reviewer The progressive breakdown (rotation, then bend, then arms) with the tug-of-war cue is excellent teaching.

Moderator Fully dedicated to the Saw, extremely thorough, precisely on topic.

Reviewer Hits purpose, modifications, and common errors - about as complete as a single exercise video gets.

Moderator Textbook complete treatment of the classical mat Saw - purpose (postural muscles, obliques, back extensors, the 'ring out the lungs' full-exhale idea), setup, and full cueing. Never strays from the exercise.

Reviewer Best safety cueing of the group, explains exactly why leading with your chin instead of your spine can hurt you.

Moderator Entirely and precisely about the Saw, mat version, start to finish.

Reviewer Thorough, well-cued, hits the faults people actually make — shoulders creeping, head twisting too far.

Moderator Squarely the Saw, full technique breakdown start to finish, no other exercise sharing the screen.

Reviewer The heel-creep and hip-lift cues are the kind of detail that actually prevents bad habits.

Moderator Full setup, full movement, full cueing, nothing but Saw for the entire runtime.

Reviewer The feet-pedaling cue alone is worth the watch -- that's a fault most people never notice in themselves.

Moderator Builds Saw up from its component parts (isolated spine twist, isolated spine stretch forward) before combining them -- every minute of this is in service of teaching Saw.

Reviewer Nails the scoop-vs-hinge distinction, which is where most people go wrong.

Moderator Purpose, setup, full movement breakdown, real-time reps -- all Saw, nothing else competing for airtime.

Reviewer Catches the mistake most people actually make and fixes it -- this is how you teach the Saw.

Moderator This is a dedicated, start-to-finish Saw lesson and nothing else -- T-position setup, the twist, the reach, modifications, the works. Textbook case of the sub-skill being the whole point.

Reviewer Nice staged progression - isolate, then build up, with a clear reason for each layer.

Moderator Also a full, focused treatment of the Saw - isolates the rotation first, then layers in the reach and the 'opposition' between the two arms, then breath, then names a more advanced flowing variation used in some advanced classes. All still squarely this one exercise, just broken into teaching stages.

Reviewer Comparing two real schools of thought on the same exercise - useful if you've seen it taught differently before.

Moderator Thorough treatment of the Saw including a second, named variation (the 'Buzzy'/Body Arts and Science flatback approach vs. the classical rounded-spine version) - still entirely about this one exercise, just covering more ground within it.

Reviewer The twist-vs-turn cue alone is worth the watch — most instructors never mention it.

Moderator All Saw, all the way through — from flowing out of corkscrew to arm mechanics to the hip-shimmy fix. Nothing else competes for airtime.

Reviewer Clean, patient teaching with real modifications — exactly what a beginner needs.

Moderator Dead center on the Saw from first word to last — setup, arm position, the twist-round-reach pattern, breath cues, plus two clean modifications for tight hamstrings and shoulder issues. Nothing here is padding or tangent.

Reviewer Thorough: purpose, modification for tight hamstrings, and a clear fallback if it doesn't feel right.

Moderator Fully, precisely about the Saw.

Moderator Full classical Saw instruction — tall spine, spiral from the waist, the door-knob arm cue, breath tied to the movement, Powerhouse engagement.

Reviewer Clear cues you can actually use — the door-knob image is a nice touch.

Reviewer Clear progression with the right cues — good one for someone building up to the full version.

Moderator Whole clip is the Saw, taught through three progressively harder seated variations. Squarely on the sub-skill.

Moderator She names it outright -- 'our saw, or sometimes I call it a reverse saw' -- so this is explicitly the Saw exercise, done on the tower. Squarely on-topic.

Reviewer Detailed, well-cued breakdown -- you could actually follow this.

Moderator Full, correct classical Saw instruction — pelvis stability, spine elongation, breath timed to the rotation, and a real modification for tight hamstrings.

Reviewer Detailed cueing on posture and breath — better than most short demos.

Reviewer Good cues buried in a ramblier delivery — worth it if you're patient.

Moderator Same coach, same exercise, another full pass — moon box width, sit bone placement, the hip-pulling-back cue against the shimmy. Entirely on the Saw.

Reviewer Smart teaching sequence - isolate the twist, then add the reach. Cues are specific and correct.

Moderator Squarely The Saw - a seated mat exercise, correctly described (twist, then reach 'over the birthday cake'). Directly on topic.

Reviewer Clear breath and movement sequence with a block option and a wrist variation. Could use more on keeping both sit bones down and not collapsing the spine.

Moderator A walk-through of the Saw from the classical Pilates mat work: seated wide-legged with flexed feet, rotate, then fold over one leg with three pulses, plus a palms-forward variation. This is exactly the exercise.

Reviewer Smart simplification - takes the arms out so beginners feel the real movement first.

Moderator A deliberately simplified version of the Saw for people just learning it - removes the arms specifically so the learner can feel the spinal rotation and back-extensor control without the arm swing becoming a distraction. Still squarely about the same exercise, just an easier entry point into it.

Reviewer Accurate but brief — a reminder video more than a first lesson.

Moderator On the Saw the whole way through — setup, rotate, flex, recover, repeat. No detours.

Reviewer Does the job, but it's instructions without much coaching behind them.

Moderator Video Jug's whole runtime is 'step one, step two' Saw instruction, purpose stated up front. On topic throughout.

Reviewer Solid quick refresher, but too brief to be someone's first lesson.

Moderator Short but squarely on the Saw — setup, twist, bend, reach, all covered, nothing else creeping in.

Reviewer The 'saw your pinky off your toe' image and the waist-not-shoulders cue are genuinely useful corrections.

Moderator Entirely focused on the Saw, clearly cued.

Reviewer The cues are correct, but it's a rambling delivery that's harder to follow than it needs to be.

Moderator Entirely about the Saw — leg extension, spine position, torso rotation, reaching to the foot, explicitly flagged as one of the first exercises taught to new students.

Moderator This is 'Twisted Saw' on the reformer -- a kneeling plank push-pull with rotation. It shares the Saw family's twist-and-reach DNA but the actual movement is quite different from the mat Saw most people know. Presented squarely as a Saw variant in this Pilates equipment series though.

Reviewer Packed with the kind of detail that actually fixes form.

Reviewer Accurate and clear, just fairly brief.

Moderator Correctly identified and taught as 'une spine stretch avec une spine twist' — the actual classical Saw, with the right seated setup and rotation.

Reviewer Good if brief — one solid cue worth remembering.

Moderator On topic — correctly places the Saw in the classical sequence and gives the key technical point (the reach comes from the twist, not from disconnecting the arms).

Reviewer Solid basic cueing, but doesn't go beyond the bare mechanics.

Moderator Straightforward, entirely about the Saw, delivered by a credentialed studio director.

Reviewer Clean, simple cues you can use right away.

Moderator Standing Saw -- same rotate-and-reach pattern as the classic Saw, just off the mat. On-topic variant of the skill.

Reviewer Only useful if someone already taught you this move -- there's no setup instruction here at all.

Moderator Purpose statement plus the actual breath-cued rep sequence, no other exercise sharing the clip. Squarely Saw.

Moderator The caption is squarely about the Saw - spine flexibility and core engagement, which is exactly what this classic mat exercise trains.

Reviewer Looks like a solid, focused rundown of the Saw from a Pilates-specialist page.

Moderator Directly demonstrates 'o serrote' (the Saw) step by step — right exercise, right name.

Reviewer Shows the move correctly, but doesn't teach much beyond the basic count.

Reviewer Fine as the last step in a sequence, not much of a Saw lesson on its own.

Moderator Only the back third is actually the Saw — the rest is Spine Stretch Forward and a separate Twist drill building up to it. What IS there on the Saw is accurate (arm reach across, palm-down back arm, three-part breath) but it's sharing the video with two other exercises, not owning it.

Reviewer Useful if you're a teacher learning to hands-on cue this; if you're trying to learn the move yourself, less directly useful.

Moderator The Saw is what's being performed and discussed throughout, but the actual subject is a hands-on cueing technique for instructors to use on clients, not a direct how-to for someone trying to learn the exercise themselves.

Reviewer Cueing works but there's not much meat on it, good for variety, not for learning the exercise from scratch.

Moderator This is a standing adaptation of the Saw's rotate-then-fold pattern, not the classical mat version. Clearly derived from and named after the Saw, but a viewer expecting the standard exercise gets something adapted.

Reviewer Too thin to learn from. No setup, no cues beyond 'twist and reach,' doesn't even explain the elongation the title promises.

Moderator It's the Saw, cued directly, on the mat, correct exercise.

Reviewer What's here is decent general Pilates breathing prep, but it's not teaching you the Saw itself.

Moderator Title says this whole 20-minute video is dedicated to Saw, which would make it squarely on-topic, but everything the transcript actually shows us is breath-work and core-engagement preamble ('corset crew', pelvic floor) -- we never reach Saw itself in what's readable. Giving some benefit of the doubt since it's a single-exercise video, not a multi-exercise class, but can't confirm the actual Saw content from what's here.