Arms Perpendicular to Front Leg?
Group: Author: Dawson | Posted: 2026-01-22
Hey I can’t quite tell if I should have my arms be perpendicular to my front leg which would require a further twist and add a stretch on my back leg’s quad, or if I should have my top half be at a bit of angle from my front leg (not perpendicular nor parallel).
Replies
Section titled “Replies”Reply by Patrick — 2026-01-22
Section titled “Reply by Patrick — 2026-01-22”@dawson.woods Great question about the arm positioning - the answer depends on which specific lesson and form you’re working with. Could you let me know which Primer lesson this came up in? That will help me give you a more precise answer about the intended alignment.
Quick note: even though you can start discussion threads from within individual lessons, the platform doesn’t yet automatically reference which lesson the question came from yet. So for now, just mention the lesson number or form name when you post, and that’ll help me (and others) give you better feedback.
Looking forward to helping you sort this out!
Reply by Dawson — 2026-01-22
Section titled “Reply by Dawson — 2026-01-22”Oh! Silly LearnDash :P It’s on the Star Tilt form. Lesson 2.8
Reply by Patrick — 2026-01-22
Section titled “Reply by Patrick — 2026-01-22”@dawson.woods 😁 It’s not only Silly LearnDash, but also silly BuddyPress! We plan to write some code or use a hook to fix this problem in the next week or so. We can chat about that when we meet in person!
Thank you for posting this comment. This is exactly the type of stuff we’re looking for on the forum! The most important thing here is not to think about the arm position relative to your front leg. Instead, when you create the arm line at shoulder height—uniform with your upper torso—keep that relationship intact as your feet pivot forward to set up the hinge. Don’t let the arm line separate from the upper torso. The hips move when you pivot the feet, and the upper torso and arm line move with them as a unit.
The key is understanding that foot movement influences the position of your pelvis and hips. It’s not a twist—it’s the byproduct of how your hips respond to the foot movement. Initially, we don’t want any added stretch. You’re sensing how subtle movements in different parts of your body influence one another. The feet move, which moves the hips and pelvis, while the upper torso, shoulder girdle, and arms stay uniform—almost rigid—moving only with the turning of the feet.
With a hypothetical that we turn our left leg forward first, starting from the feet-at-parallel position, the left foot turns forward as you pivot, pivoting on the heel, while pivoting on the ball of the right foot to drop the right heel back. The femur (thigh bone) automatically rotates into the acetabulum (hip socket). The movement should feel quite comfortable—you may feel a bit of a stretch down the back of that front leg, but just allow the upper torso and arm line to move naturally with the position of the hips.
My recommendation: Practice this form (Start Tilt: Lesson/Node 2.8) repeatedly, following the narration in the video. (and also refer back to the Key Points Start Tilt) Focus on maintaining the arm line position while continuing to spread your fingers and draw your shoulders down, pulling the legs away from each other to anchor—and keep the shoulder girdle/arm line position, shoulder height.
Remember, none of these movements should feel rigorous or tense. You should be able to carry on a comfortable conversation with someone as you do this (more on that later!). At this point, we’re not thinking at all about flexibility, mobility, strength, or needing to endure—we’re focusing on form, micromovements, and distributed activation. Hope this helped, but please feel free to reply with any more questions you might have!