Class #1693

Glute and Thigh Burn

35 min - Class
118 likes

Description

Amy teaches a fun Mat workout choreographed with the option to wear ankle and wrist weights in order to feel the work and a connection to the exercises more deeply. Emphasis is placed on the thighs and glutes through movements typically performed by dancers, as well as on arm work through exercises such as Rowing and Coordination.
What You'll Need: Mat

About This Video

May 25, 2014
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Transcript

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Hi everyone, it's Amy and I have a mat workout plan for is kind of intermediate level. Nothing really advanced skills, but what I, what I've gotten on my body, I've got wrist weights and ankle weights and each one is just one pound, but that's adding four extra pounds of weight in to what we're doing. So you don't have to use the weights, but it's kind of Nice. I've got the cuffed kind, I don't, I didn't want to hold on weights today. And with the weights on the ankles for some of the leg work that I have for inner thigh and outer thigh, it's just kinda nice to have a little extra they sculpting.

Kind of thought a little extra challenge might be. So let's get started. We're going to roll back onto our back and just start supine. So let's first just feel our contact points. So I want you to lightly feel your head sink into the mat, press your shoulders back now having these ankle on weight and the wrist weights. I can't really get my wrists all the way down because of the weight, but I'm still pressing into it as if, okay.

So just kind of knowing those little extra factors are at play here. And I'm sinking my ribs. I'm sorry, hitting my chest. I'm going to let my pelvis level itself into neutral. I have to really, for me engage my low back and length into my tailbone. Lengthen these lower abdominals deep into the hip sockets. I'm gonna go kind of transition down through my inner thighs are kind of spiraling toward each other. My feet are level, not pronating or supinate.

Nading. So this set up, let's do three deep breaths and exhale and just kind of reaffirm all of those connections you just made. And again, a nice breath in and exhale, ring out all of that air. I have nice salty air to breathe in. Nice and cleansing it, feeling that through the nose. Exhale. So we're gonna move into some pelvic curls. Take a breath. Here we go. Exhale, curl the tailbone, low back, middle back, and right up to the bridge. We'll do three plain ones.

It's a that nice opportunity to again, check in and see how you're moving. Feel how you're moving evenly through your back. Inhale level pelvis. Exhale as curl [inaudible]. I love to just kind of check in all the, all the while it didn't. You know where. How are your feet? Are you feeling even as you roll down, sink the chest, let each ribbon, Thoracic Vertebra kind of have a nice easy joint action there.

One more time. Let's curl back up. No, we're going to stay up in the bridge this time. I have to say something funny while I'm here. So there was a seagull that just flew over my head. I can't help but think that I might get pooped out. Just saying. If I do, we are going to be all pause. Okay, hands on your legs. Press your shoulders back.

We're going to take a breath now as we roll down our spine guys, let's reach our arms back overhead. So adding an element of coordination, but you'll notice as you have those weights in your hands or on your wrists, this allows for more shoulder flection. You've got a little extra weight to support and give you some additional range in your joint. Okay, was we roll up the spine, lift the arms off of the mat and press the hands against the legs. We'll do three of those. Coordinating the motion of timing. You want your arms to be moving in the same timing as well. Land in level, pelvis, extend the chest, extend the arms, press the back of the shoulders more against your mat.

Take a breath and exhale as we curl. Hands are gonna go on the thighs. Let's do one more and rolling down. Oh, all the way. All right, so I'm going to keep my arms back here for just a second and take another breath. As I exhale, I'm gonna bring one leg in the table top than the other one. And then there we have it. I've got those extra weights on my legs. Arms are going to come by the sides, tabletop position.

And then I'm going to go into a little Pele's v float the arms up. Stretch. Let's do our 101 do four, five exhale, three, four, five, two, three, four, five. So I want you to keep rolling the shoulders back to keep the chest broad. Lengthen the weights away from your shoulder. So I'm going to be kind of queuing that a few different times.

Now if you'd like a little more work, start to lower your legs. I'm going to go down toes, eye level three, four, or five. I'm wrapping my shoulders back. Okay. Four, five, nine, three, four, five, 10 energy out the top of my head. I'm going to hold and just three times moved my arms back by my ears. One again, controlling the weight. Press down. Inhale, stretch to last one as my arms come back to me.

I'm going to bring my knees into tabletop and lower my head for a moment. Okay. Many of us know the arms circles from the reformer. Let's do some now. Plug your shoulders into the mat. Arm circles five times down. Rotate and stretch. Now when you close the arms above you to the sky, shoulders should stay down on the mat, the shoulder blades, nice and flat right here, flat and wide. Press down three. You certainly could do this with your head up.

Anybody if you want chest lift four. I'm just enjoying this imprinting on my back without my head up. Here's five. We're going to go around the other way five times. Expand your chest, use your lats and lift arms are heavy into the sockets and lift. Three more. How expansive can you get the stretch all the way through your biceps, your deltoids. Last one. I'm going to open and close.

Take the arms just up to the sky. One foot, one foot. Let's slide the legs out. We're going to go in for some roll-ups. Alright, so as they take the arms back overhead, they allow in the shoulder blades to glide down the back body. I'm going to just keep my feet soft for a moment. Inhale, exhale and roll. I know I'm going to just take my hands to the mat and slide forward, but I want to pull my tummy way back away from the weights. I'm going to roll back. Let's go five rollbacks today.

Hands can come down. I'm just keeping them down for variety, pulling the stomach away from the weights and roll back. Inhale, nice and sequential. XCL end up slide. Last two, shoulder blades, arms drift back. Last one here or two more. Excuse me.

Yeah, and the last one we are going to do roll over, but I'm going to move my hips forward a little bit because I don't want to roll off the back end too much. All right, so as I do rollover, we do rollover. Take a moment again and anchor the wrists, the shoulders, and you can either lift both legs right now to 90 if you feel steady and ready or you can bend your knees and take them up. I'm going to go straight legs and I'm going. Now when I lift my pelvis up, I'm going to rollover. You can either stop here or flex the feet and put the weights down and your feet down. Slide the feet open. Take a breath now as you roll down your spine, keep reaching those heels back and your arm weights forward. Traction. That's fine.

I'm going to come down to about 45 close the legs and go up and over again. Okay, touch the toes down open. I'm trying to really round my low back for me. That's always a challenge. Press the weights into the mat and close. Let's just do one more [inaudible] and open. Even the Pinky toe should be on the mat guys and roll. Keep reaching through the heels.

Anchor the weights and I'm not going to reverse it today. Feel free to do that if you'd like to bend your knees though. If you're coming in with me, bend your elbows hands by shoulders, and let's bring our head and chest up. We're going to do our coordination from the mat, or excuse me, from the reformer. Now I want to use my abdominals and curl up much higher. I'm going to open my knees slightly and I'm going to press open, close.

Pull the knees in. Elbows bend five times. Pull the knees toward the nose curl. Can you squeeze your belly a little bit deeper on those contractions? Last too, and I'm okay if you actually come so much that your butt kind of lifts right here. It's great. Low Ab work and last one cruel in, in, in, and pause. Okay, let's come up for some rowing.

So kind of sequential from the reformer. If we do rowing, facing back, this would be the back of the reformer. Let's make some fits, but I'm right there in front of your chest and take a second and squeeze through your Derriere. Lift up. Bring your shoulders back on your back and breathe. So we're going to flex our spine and roll back. I want to still hold the nice strong tummy there. Try to bring your energy, pubic bone up toward chest. Open the arms. Now rotate your thumb joint down. The elbows facing forward now and start to press your arms back.

If you're in a canoe, you're pulling those oars back row over the legs. I want you to rest your fingertips. The reason being, I want you to contrast that low position to reaching the triceps in the weights up. Now really rotate the arms and circle. Stretch the spine, but don't come and collapsing over your legs and roll back up. I'll flow a little more now I'm going to do thumbs down. Pull back deep stomach contraction. Lift your triceps up, lift your weights up, ease the neck and shoulders, and let's go three more and row.

So feel the weights and the arms. Yes, but they're down on the back. I'm almost sensing that. What if the weights were right, which technically I could have done. Put the weight up here so you have the more weight closer to your core. Core to your front body down. Lift the triceps. Really reach in, scoop the belly.

And one more time reaching up and contract back. Nice relaxed feet. Rotate deeply. Scoop. Oh, we're going to hinge. Just easy hinges. I'm going to bend the knees, separate the knees a little bit and feet flat and I want right angles for us. Lift the sternum and bring the shoulders back and just Hinze back and lift five times. So that relationship of the abdominals and the back muscles keeping those elbows in writing and goals and for digging, both sits bones evenly into the mat and fine and lift and extend.

So let's turn around again if we were on the reformer for rowing facing front. Okay, so here we are, long legs. Let's put our hands by our shoulders and participate. Sacrament to face you and I want to have an emphasis really of kind of the elbow pressing forward to increase the external rotation of the upper arm at the shoulder. So you can see that from the side really. Okay, so from there I'm just going to reach the hands forward, tap the Mat, lift, circle around to the shoulders and reach. Now I'm leaning forward a bit so that I can work on squeezing my glutes and lifting up out of my lower back and using my low back to help me sit up.

It's a full body thing going on here. Press and lift one more and then we'll go into rowing too. And now I have a be nearby. That's great. Inhale, slide the hands down after you've bent down, slide down. Now what I want to do, roll up the spine, shoulder, stay, arm level, arms stay shoulder level. Now reach out a big lift around. Here's a B. I love it. Okay, and round down and slide. Roll up and pause. Energy reaches forward and lift.

Squeeze the bottom and grow taller as we come through. Five, three more. Greet, roll up the spine, arm, stay shoulder level. Then you reach out. Big Circle. Squeeze those glutes around. Two more guys. Bend down, slide and center. Reach out and scoop your belly and all the way. We've got one more rowing front, so feeling the work in the back muscles quite a bit.

Just with this extra little bit of weight on my wrist. Let's turn into diamond. Hands behind our head. Hinge forward just a little bit and I want to do some rotation here so I'm just going to easily rotate the trunk to the right and center. Left and center. My head is slightly pressing back on my hands.

I'm trying to press my knees more to them. Matt, lengthening both sides of the waist and the back. One more time and twist and twist. Now let's come up and just do shave the back of the head from here and press up one and press up to and I'm going to hinge forward a little bit more. Three and you'll see me take my hands apart. He goes a little bit better with the weights here.

Forward one more and five and center and release. Okay. Lot of backwards. It feels good. Let's do some soft legs. Open. Arms out to the side. I'll twist to the right first I face you. Breathe in Nice and tall. Feel your sit bugs now round forward. Put this weight to the ankle weight. Put those weights together.

Now if you have the shoulder flexibility or you want to lift the back arm up again, think triceps up or the weight up and scoop into the belly. Lower the shoulders off the neck, reach the front arm and back arm and lets roll up. Check into it once on the other side. Twist arm, weight to ankle weight, lift the weight, turn a little more scoop and lift and let's do four more with a little flow. I have a tighter left shoulder. You're probably seeing that here. That's okay. It's getting better with my Palladio's practice and stretch and lift.

Now circle the arms. What the, what are these four? This is deltoid work. This is back extension eight, nine, 10 other way one I want to think of reaching out to you to the water. Expand my chest for three, two and one arms in front and one but the shoulder. Stay on the back, fi six, seven, eight, nine and reverse in one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and 10 and relax. Hope you're feeling your arms a little bit. Okay, let's turn over onto our tummy and we'll do a little bit of Swan. So that same angle that I showed you a minute ago for rowing front, this one you're going to do on the mat here. Okay, so you're going to have kind of this w shape face down.

Yeah, and it does. Again, it feels a little odd cause the weight, the risks isn't all the way on the mat due to the weight here, but that's okay. You'll feel what you need to feel. So let's begin with our forehead. Just lightly touching the mat. Feel like you're pulling your elbows to your hips, down to your hips at the same time your chest is reaching towards your hair, right? So you've got some opposition. Now I want you to lift the arms an inch or two off the mat, then your head. These are tiny. Lower the hands, lower the head, easy pattern. Hands, head, lower the hands, lower the head.

I'm going to be a little more clear and as I lift the hands, forearms, my elbows a little lower than my wrist, chest up. Now when I lower it to the mat, let's go. Elbows down, head down, elbows up, head up, elbows down, head down. One more. Elbows up, chest up, hands down, all the way and elbows down all the way. Okay, peel into a little bit more of a swan. And what I want to think if I press my elbows more from that, I can arc my upper back. Mainly. I'm not going to do a big swan today. I want to focus on my upper back and I want to bring a town. I'm doing two more. I want to accentuate the elbows, pressing down wrists and roll the collarbone back as a stretch my chest bone forward and down. Going one more time.

Anchor into the mat. Basically you're tapping deep into those external rotators and upper back extensors and all the way down. Okay, let's do a transition for our back and just push up making a little cat shape can walk your hands back and just [inaudible], oops. Push that spine up to the sky. Okay guys, let's come back down on her tummy and we're going to do some hamstring work now. All right, so this is great. With the weights on the ankles, stack your hands rest your head.

And let's first start with a long leg lift. So I'm going to extend one leg and reach it back and up and lower down. We're going to start basic and add to it. Opposite leg lift and lower. So similar to the cues of the arm, work with the weights.

What if the weight were really strapped around our upper leg, near our bone. That's where I want you to lift from. So it's more lifting from the crease of your gluteal fold right there and then you should feel it more in your butt than your hamstrings. I want you to feel your glutes a lot and the connection of how your leg joins your pelvis. One more single leg should have a really straight knee. Of course, pelvis level. Okay, now I'm gonna move my hands back to where they were for that little mini swan and want to press my elbows down, hover the forehead, and I want to lift into that little tiny swan and I'm going to lower down. I want to use both legs and lift those up at the same time and down.

So I'm kind of breaking down. Swan rocking in a way, using the glutes which are working for me there and the upper back, mainly hamstrings, glutes and upper back. Let's do one more. Why I've chosen to go kind of small rain is just due to the extra factor of those weights on my ankles. I don't want to overdo it. Hands are restacking. No need to overdo. Okay. Bend a knee. Flex that foot. Here we go. Now this is more hamstrings and glutes. I want you to press your thigh up.

Now what I want to think underneath me is that I'm stomach is really lifted off the mat. I'm doing to try to push the sky up with my foot lift and lowered all the way down other knee bend, flex the foot, anchor the pelvis, push the sky up with the foot, lower that down and straighten the knee. Let's do that a couple more times. So bend the knee, flex the foot, push the sky up, down, foot to the mat. Other side bend and flex. Lift one more. Push the heel up, lower the thigh. So that extra effort of lifting the thigh off of the mat is where those hamstrings are getting really loaded. Now let's try both legs.

Flex, push. I want you to hold for a second. So anchor the pubic bone. Relax the shoulders, open the knees a little bit and we're going to pulse the heels up or push the sky up 10 times one. But think about your glutes squeezing more than lifting the legs up. And three, you're going to feel your low back a little here, four or a lot and five and six and seven and eight and nine. We're not quite done with this. 10 Lower and take your legs down. Okay, go back to parallel.

Kinda just shake for a second and we're going to do one last, last little bit here. I want you to bend your one knee again, flex the foot and lift a tiny bit. That's a parallel lift. Now I want you to turn your leg out, turn it in, turn it out, turn it in, turn it out, turn it in, turn it out and keep it out. And then post there. 10 Times one and two, three and four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and 10 and change sides. Hopefully feeling those glutes flex. That's lift. Turn the thigh out. Turn it in. The leg doesn't have to be very high off your mat.

Three last one. Hold those poles for 10. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, lower. Unless do that same transition. Oh, excuse me. We're going to do double leg kick four times. Guys, hands on the small of the back. Both heels in for squeeze. Two, three, weights the way down. Now stretch. Lift. Once again, lift your triceps up, lift your weights up, turn to the other side. Kick. Get One, two, three weights down, stretch. Breathe into the chest. Other side, and kick. One, two, three, legs down and reach other side. Last time. One, two, and three and legs down.

Chest lifts. Okay. Now we're going to transition and go ahead and find that same cap back position. So let's come out of this cat shape and we're going to turn all the way over onto our back again and work a lot more in our inner thighs and we're going to be on our back. So bringing your legs up guys. Okay, I will preface this real quick. If you need some support for your low back, put your hands underneath your pelvis is a little speed bump or a little assist. If you don't feel like you need that, just come along. We're going to do something from the dance world is I love this series, especially with the leg weights.

You really have to control what you're doing here. We're going to point the feet and if these are the shellers walls, so you're just going to open those legs, control how you open and then come up and change, change open, cross the other leg on top, open and meet Leed Open. And you can do this with flex feed and then point, flex and point, open beat, beat, open and beat. Beat, open, beat, beat, open, beat, beat, open, beat bead. You're going to hate me. We're going to do the whole thing. Eight more times and one and two. Reach into the sky with those legs and four, five and six.

Starting to feel a little heavier now with those weights and eight and open. And then just lift. Okay. Hands behind the head. Curl up into chest if you'd like. You can also keep the head down. We're going to do eight frogs on an angle. One Pool in. Exhale to pull in, curl up off the chest. Three.

Exhale for five. Six. We're going to do parallel. Same thing here eight more times. So there is a go to parallel and pull in one just like on the reformer and to push the air airway with those legs. And four tried to curl a little higher. Five, six and then we're gonna roll on to our side for some inner thigh work on this side. Ready and rest. Okay, so I'm rolling to you. What's your arm as a pillow? Extend legs out long and in line with you.

Let's first just do eight of the talk leg lifting. So I'm going to have a up and a down and to the pelvis is stacked nicely on the side thing more about lengthening than how high you lift ten five and six and seven and eight. Take that leg, turn it out and step onto the calf of the other leg. Eight lifts of the bottom, leg one. So you've got a lot of extra weight. You're lifting. Be carefully not to drop the inside waste will still stay stacked on your side. Five, six and seven. [inaudible] and ate. Okay. Lifted again and try four little circles of the bottom leg. One, two, three and four other way.

Circle and two and three and four. Keep both legs lifted. Hold them up. I want you to extend into your scissor. Okay. And hold. Now put the friendly down, roll a little more afforded and take eight lifts of the back leg and two, three reach to the glute. Four and five. Six, seven, eight. Hold it up for little circles each direction and one, two and three and four. Last little bit on the side. Pass.

Develop it. So I want you to turn both legs out. Draw that line of toe up to knee, leg up, and flex to lower eight of these work to turn out from the hip. Extend the knee flex and lower. Draw the leg up and extend and down. So I've talked about this before. Once you bend your knee, that's it.

As far as hip, hip flection, no more hip flection today. Another day we'll do a bigger thing, but for more up lengthen and down and three up and down. And to keep it in the glutes, lift and lower. Last one and up and lower. Okay, let's just do an easy transition, meaning just slip up on, over, lay out, tuck your arm under, starting with your legs long. Top leg for eight, seven.

A lot of reach from the hip joint to the heel. Five, six, seven kind of easy but basic. I know. And then inner thigh ready for eight do alright or keeping that pelvis forward and to stay stacked on your side. And seven, hold it up for eight, four little circles of the bottom. Inner thigh. This is a little awkward in the setup. I've got us here, but we're fine. And four, three and two and one and leg down. Okay, let's do a little scissor bottom leg down.

Back leg is one for glutes here too. How long can you extend from the hip? I think of lengthening your glute muscles. Really, and seven and eight. Four circles. One, two, reaching behind you for reverse. One. Checking the shoulders. Long tailbone. Okay. Are Passe. Develop a both legs. Turn out and draw the line. Toda knee, foot up. Flex and down, toe to knee from the knee.

Flex the heel and reach a little longer. And in Lincoln and lower, they still have the thought of my abs working. I'm really trying to en emphasize the turnip from the hip, so I get those glutes working for more. Well, once again, this extra little weights on my ankle. I'm feeling it. It's only one pound, but it's enough. Last time, lift and lower. Okay, let's turn onto our stomach again and just push up it. Touch your feet and push up into your plank position.

Organize. Let's do three pushups here. Broaden your packs contract, broaden the pecs and tract and broaden contract. And then just put the knees down. Wants to go into a little bit of rolling work. We haven't done any yet. So let's do a couple of balls and a couple rockers. Hold your weights. Kerlin and just roll.

You're gonna probably experience cause there's more weight at the lower extremities. Now a little suspension at the top. It's really pretty fun. [inaudible] one more and then we'll go for five rockers old. Extend. Ready for a moment. Press the legs into the hands. Scoop and roll back. Woo. Legs in the hurl the tail.

So there's a little suspension I want you to feel right there. And five, one more time. That was the middle of four and five. Let's hold. Bring your legs together. We're gonna have this bend her knees and finished with a Nice Mermaid stretch. So we'll tuck our knees to the side and hold onto the weight or the ankle and just bring your arm up. What I want us to do today.

Instead of having a long arm, bend your elbow and drape that forearm overhead. Let this extra weight help you get your arm more overhead and just side bend. I'm going to actually turn my head. It feels better on my neck. If I rotate the head and just breathe. Talking the tail a little bit. Let me start to sit this hip down on the mat.

Reach out to come up and circle your arm down. We'll do it again twice more fold. Turn and look over the leg. Now slide the shoulder down as you reach the weight away from your head and all the way up and last time on this side, big breath stretch up and then your bend. Tuck that tail in. Reach out and all the way up.

Just an easy transition with the legs. You're almost there. Three more on this side. All right, arm comes up. Then the elbow drape, the weight and side bend. Tuck in your tail. Take a moment to x joy, the long lower back stretch. Reach out, lift the weight, but drop the shoulder and circle the arm and up. Bend and over. Reach it out, lift up, and you're already there. Last time. Breathe in weight over side bend.

Reach out into space all the way up and lower. Let's just finish last little bit and took your feet together round forward. Just take an easy stretch for your low back and over the right leg, over your left leg. So I hope I adding a little extra element to some of your mat exercises. You felt a little bit more work in certain places.

Found some deeper connections, possibly in certain places. And if anything, I had a little more fun. See you next time. Thanks.

Comments

1 person likes this.
yum!
1 person likes this.
Always a great workout with Amy with some new bits again, love it!
Great cue's. Thanks Amy!
Love it as always Amy. I see your low back is opening up. :) Too bad there's not a nice view behind you though. Haha!
Thanks so much ladies! :) Yes Kerry...my lower back and shoulders both are opening up. This Pilates stuff really works, eh?! I was also nice and warm out there....that always helps!
Julibeth J
Delightful! Thanks for a wonderfully cued and connected class.
1 person likes this.
So much fun Amy! What a great evening work out.
Thank you Julibeth and Francine! :) I appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Weel, if I cant be with you in SB, this is the next best thing! Loved the added weight. blessings
1 person likes this.
too little energy to get to a studio, too many "to-do's" I'm avoiding.... your class was perfect! Thanks! My spirits are now salvaged. I didn't have ankle and wrist weights but I had 8 lbs of cat on my back for all the extensions....
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