Class #1765

Reinventing the Tower

45 min - Class
278 likes

Description

Discover new ways of using your Tower in this advanced Tower workout taught by Alycea Ungaro. She strives to reinvent Tower work by focusing on use of the Straps and Poles for the exercises, rather than the typically used Arm and Leg Springs. She also teaches safe inversion movement, and creatively incorporates exercises typically performed on the Reformer, such as Tendon Stretch, Hamstring Curls, and Side Sit-Ups, into this workout. Enjoy!
What You'll Need: Tower

About This Video

Jun 30, 2014
(Log In to track)

Transcript

Read Full Transcript

Welcome, welcome. We're here at plots anytime. Again, I'm so excited. Uh, I'm Alicia and Garrow. I'm, we're going to do a tower workout today and my hope today is to introduce to you some new ways of using your tower. We are all too familiar with our legs springs in our arms springs and our rollback bars may maybe less familiar with your black strap or your poles and how you can reinvent your tower workout. So we'll be making some use of that today. I'll also be introducing you to some of the signature moves we use at my studio in New York. We'll pull out some from our spring tone class, some from our reformat class and just give you a little bit of flavor for what it's like to work out there. But hopefully you learn some new tricks and incorporate them into your own workout. So we're setting up with three sets of springs.

I'd like to say I'm less spring obsessed to them when I was here last, but that is not the case. I'm still obsessed with my springs. Your roll back bar on this tower here is set up at the third hook. From the top we have our arms springs, I'm on the very lowest hook setting that you have and the leg springs. This one on this tower is the fourth hook from the top. That is also true on the grads tower believe it's a third hook from the top.

So depending on what tower you're working on, it should simulate very closely what you have on a Cadillac. So those measurements are the truest you can get. And we're going to start standing up. So let's mount our towers. You can face the tower and I'm actually going to have you guys take hold of the polls and we're going to start with standing foot work one. So take heels together and toes apart and just be a comfortable enough distance that you'll be able to do what is essentially a grand [inaudible] in this position.

And I want you to draw your abdominals inward and upward and take a little Demy PA. So knees will bend and you can let your hands slide up and down the polls as we go. And then come all the way down to sit on your heels all the way, all the way, all the way. Let's see what that looks like. Is that okay? Helping knees, help the backs, help the ankles and come back to your dummy. Liaise. So heels go back down into the mat really down and then all the way up and we're gonna keep doing that.

Take a half way down and then full way down with a little tempo halfway up and all the way so the heels will stay down. Three out of the four counts. Halfway down, all the way down. Halfway up they come back to the mat and all the way, keep going. Halfway down, little rhythm all the way down. Halfway up. Stand tall again, lightly down full way down, halfway up. Good. Barely holding the polls. Keep going all the way. Halfway up. Abdominal is working very strong. Chew more down all the way.

Halfway up and standing tall and one more time. Upward, down full way down. Halfway up and standing tall. Grab hold of your rollback board bar for me. Holding the longer bar. You can hold it in the middle of you're holding this shorter bar. Take hold of the outside and take a little half step back everybody. We're going to do a little chest expansion to go from standing all the way down to the mat. I like to do this series, so heels together, toes apart.

Abdominals in Tush is tight. Press the bar down towards your thighs. Nobody move. Take a deep breath in. Big exhale. Keep the bar there. Again, inhale, maybe you feel a little quiver. That's okay. Exhale, keep pressing. You're not only pressing the bar towards you, you're also lengthening the arms. Keep reaching the bar strongly down on the leg. That's it. One more. Inhale. Exhale. Press the bar. Don't let it go. Don't let it go. Don't let it go.

Now you can float it up away from you. Still with me. Take it one more time, but take a half step back. Oh, I'm so sorry. That's optional. It's optional, but for today, let's do it. Press the bar down. Hold it, and I want you to fire up the whole back of the body. So from the back of the skull, let's get the lats working. Ah, let's get the abdominals working. I can feel that. Let's get this seat working back to the thighs. Backs at the calves, everything working. Are the arms getting longer? Stronger? Oh, I will see a little shake. That's what I'm looking for. Beautiful. Three, hold it to keep breathing and let your bar go. Keep the bar just released this spring. It's come down onto your knees please. We're going to lower ourself all the way down to sitting.

Make sure your workspaces clear so no spring's onto the nice knee. Good Samy idea. Exercise remains the same. These are apart theater together. Take a deep breath in and then lightly press the bar down and then don't get too close. I want a little bit of work. Press the bar down. Squeeze the bar against the thighs. You've got five seconds. I can't slow.

Four seconds, abdominals and and up. Three seconds. Come on, push the bar low. Two seconds, keep stretching it and one with control. Let it up. Let it up. Let it up. Take one more rep, you'll almost warmed up, right, and inhale and press the bar all the way down right onto your thighs. Do not lose contact. Hold for five, hold for four. Still breathing. Hold for three. Press the lots down. I want to see them working. Hold for two. Squeeze back here.

No bobbing back and forth. Hold for one. No, it brings smile and then let the bar float up. Good. You get to sit down as a reward. Please sit down. Keep the bar. You'll place your feet against the Poles. It looks like spine. Stretch forward. One more time. Just what you've done before. If the bar can get to your legs, that would be a neat trick, but we'll see what we have. Take a deep breath in. I want you to get taller. As the bar gets lower, so press the bar straight down in front of you. Hold that position. Good.

Look at your spring. So eyes to the springs as you open your spring, that's what's happening to your spine. So you're going up, the springs are going down. You could sit a hair forward. Oh, now bear down into the bar bay or down into the bar. I should see your springs moving. Four, five, lowering four. Come on ladies. Three. You gotta mean it two. One more and let it float up. You can give me one more and we'll be done with that piece. Okay. Take a deep breath in.

Hopefully everything's working and press the bar all the way down. Let me see you get higher. Press up into my hand as the bar goes down. Lower one space between the hips and the ribs to push the poles away with your feet. Three no leaning back. Do not lean back. Four. You got this right. One more count. Five. Ah, let the bar up. Good. You get to do the rollback. Drop your head and rolling down the Mat.

Lower back first please take your time. Middle Back, second, upper back all the way down and then the head. Take a deep breath in with straight arms. Press the bar towards your hipbones. Oh, let the bar come back up. You should hide the ribs. I shouldn't see them at all. I didn't even know they were there. I'm looking away. Lift your head up and then curl yourself back up.

Try to keep the springs open as you come up open as you come up so you resist the closing of the springs all the way and sit up tall. Give me one more pretty one like that and little bit of pressure on the bar to start and take it down. Curl through the low back. Push your poles away. Curl through the middle, back to only that part out. Cruel through the upper back and the shoulders and the neck and the head. Everything is down. Plug your shoulders in. Please hide the ribs.

Push the poles away. There's lots of length happening through the legs. Don't forget about them here. Give me a little bit more pressure on the bar. I'd like you to use your abdominals now. This is a little tricky. Lift your head. Keep your arms straight and long. Press the bar forward toward the Poles with straight arms as you round up forward. Don't bend forward. Keep rounding, keep rounding, keep rounding.

Now you may sit up tall. Try One more, be a little more manly about it. Let's do this. Push the bar down. Curl yourself down. Keep curling, keep curling. Nice. Get all the way down there. I want to see this bar move. Okay. Press it down to the legs. Lift your head and press it lower. Curl up and press it lower. Curl up and send it right into the Poles through the feet. When you're done, sit up straight and tall. That wasn't bad at all.

I thought that was actually quite good. We have a tricky little part to do now, so we're actually going to have to take this bar down underneath the legs. I'm going to have you go ahead and roll yourself down. You can get a little closer to the Poles. Then your knees. Don't wait till you get there. I think it's easier. Yeah, holding on. I think that would be a bad idea if you did that. So hold on.

Curl yourself down and she's right. The legs are over the bar. Yes, exactly. Don't be so far forward that the feet are to the wall. You don't want that and you've still going to hold on, so grab it. Oh, good. Put your feet flat. Press the bar down away from your knees. Yeah. Can you lie down? She can press the bar down. You're still holding it.

Oh, there you are. I know. No one wants to hold the bar. Press the bar straight down toward the mat. Toward the Mat. It's heavy. You don't want to because it's heavy. Put your head back down. Press the bar down. Press the bar down. Press the bar down and then let it up a little bit. It's hard to do it again.

Press the bar down to three. Let it back up. You got it? Okay. Again, press it down to three. Let it up. Here comes the fun part. Curl yourself up. Just head, neck and shoulders. Reaching the bar, reaching the bar, and you'll let the springs pull you. Just a little bit like a baby car lot. That feels nice, right?

Less mean than the other thing. Roll yourself back down. Do that two more times. Little curl up. One, two, three, and instead of letting the bar creep up underneath your knees, try to keep it a little bit low. That's better. And then take it back down. One more. This is all just prepped for a hundred. Curl yourself up. Reach two, three. Stay where you are. Straighten your legs up and out like 45 slide the bar down right into the crease where your hamstrings meet your seat.

Take legs up just a little higher than that, Christie, and just breathe. Inhale profile. Exhale for five, pumping optional here. Inhale for five. Maybe someone will do one. Exhale, provide. Keep it going. You're almost done. Inhale, don't complain here with these springs. Exhale, Christie can complain again into three, four, five. Let me see your abs working hard. Breathing in.

Can you press the bar away from your legs? Don't just let it rest there. Three more breaths in with the air out with the air. Keep reaching in. Open your springs and out. Two, three you guys look amazing. One more. Inhale and exhale. Two, three, four, five. You're done.

Bend your knees all the way in and sneak the bar out all the way and let it go. Beautiful. You can roll yourself up. Let the bar go. Grab the black strap at the foot of your Mat, slip your feet into it. Let's do a regular roll up. So the beauty of your towers, you can kind of pull from every other apparatus, right? A little mad, a little reformer. We can steal from wherever we want. There is no formula, so we just get to have fun. Put your legs together and Shimmy back enough that the strap is hooked on tight, round over your legs, Chin to chest, and keep your arms just above your ear so you're reaching to the far wall abdominals are in and start to roll yourself back. Classic roll up from the Mat.

Has to be one of Joe's favorite exercises. Reach all the way back. Palms are up to the ceiling. Give me a nice inhale to round up. Exhale to round over right past your feet. Inhale, bring it back and exhale all the way down. Inhale, bring it up. Exhale, round it over. I want to hear you. Inhale, take it back, exhale and round it back again. Inhale, keep your arms as far back behind your ears as you can. The whole time. Is that even possible? Inhale back. Everybody paused. Arms are aware behind your ears, behind your ears the whole time.

Now lower down and try to keep them there as you come up. Can You keep them back? Keep them back. Oh, hello abdominals rich. Inhale, take it back and exhale. Take it down. You've got just one more. Inhale up. Exhale over. Take it far. Inhale back, scoop it altogether, and exhale. Take it down. You guys look great.

Sweep your arms. Stand around by your side. You can take your right leg into the chest. Give it a little hug. We're going to do a tree here, so straighten the leg up to the ceiling. Keep your bottom. Fook your pops already. Keep your bottom foot hooked into the strap and lift your head up.

Take hold of your top leg and I don't want you to hold on tight. I barely want you to hold on at just graze the leg and come all the way up to sitting all the way up, all the way up straight and tall. Show me your best posture. So from the piece of the spine, you are lifting. Pull the leg up as high as you can get it toward you and we're going to round yourself back down again this time. Don't put your head down lower, lower, walked down all the way, and then walk up, walk up, walk up to the top. Beautiful down and down. Don't move your leg if you can help it. Walk up and up and up.

Sit Up even taller. One more time down, barely touching the leg at all. One more lift. And to stay at the top of this time, I want you to lift your leg higher and then your back higher and then your leg again, and then you're back again. And one more time you're like, and back this time. Oh, that's not bad at all. Beautiful. And instead of doing the tree on the other leg, bend your knee. We're going to do sides. Sit Up. So everybody's going to turn and face your right. Good.

Keep the left foot in the strap and I want you to lean way out until you don't like me anymore. And the foot is really hooked in that strap. Nobody's lying down. Okay? So I was in a yoga class last week and the teacher said, do what you hear, not what you see. And I thought that is a brilliant correction. Do what you hear and not what you see. So sit up, don't follow anyone at all. Scoot yourself out, stay seated.

Take your hands behind your head and you just exactly bring the bottom leg underneath you. Knee forward as much as you can. Everybody's gonna lean way out. So your starting position is on this gorgeous diagonal. Hold it there. Chest up, way high. This is where you start to not like me. That's okay. I'm going to avoid any eye contact at all. And you're going to go away, out and down. Bring the elbow toward the Mat. Come back up to halfway. Beautiful. Go all the way down. Come up to halfway. Awesome. All the way down, up to halfway beautiful. All the way down, up to halfway, one more, all the way down, up to halfway and hold it for five counts. Not really holding, getting longer. Four accounts, three counts, abdominals in. Pull the base of your skull out. One more count, and then sit all the way up and switch legs. We'll do the tree on the other leg.

Good. You only have two legs. Let's try the other one. Sitting up tall. Hold behind the thigh, working your back and your leg. This is all about kicking your back forward into your leg. So extend the leg up. You get a little taller and bend it down. Extend it up and bend it down. One more time. Extended up and hold it.

Walk your hands all the way up to the top. You can bow to the leg here just to give it a little hello and try not to overly rotate this out. They should stay fairly parallel here. Tip back. Take the like with you. Plant the foot right on the ceiling and let's see you walk all the way down. Hands doing nothing, right? Just gliding and then curl into the abdominals.

All the way up work. You strap that bottom strap is important. Take it all the way down. Try not to sail the leg forward. When you come up it stays straight up and then walk yourself up to that leg. Yes, so much improve that time. One more. Take it down to three abdominals and bring it up up.

Stop at the top. This time you can let the leg lower. Little as you lift the back. Chest comes up and let me see the leg come higher and the back come higher leg again. Higher and the back come higher and now leg and back together. Lift up, lift up. Beautiful. And then bend it in and you're done. We have to do side sit ups the other way so everybody faced this way. Keep your top like in the strap and rotate it toward me so the foot is coming toward me and keep it around your heel. Actually the heel still in there. Yeah, you're kind of locked in. Does that make sense? Good bottom. Knees forward.

Lean way out. So shift way out until you really catch the attention of that and you can release your hands, take them behind your head and you're balanced out. They're pretty long. That's it. Nice, long diagonal. We go to the mat with the elbow, come halfway up to the mat, come halfway up, nice to the mat, chest up, halfway up again to the mat. Don't roll away halfway up. This is fun to the Mat. Halfway up and stop and just hold it for five.

Not really holding but lengthening. Open the chest, hold it, get a little longer. Pull on that strap with the foot. You're there and come all the way up. Sometimes you need a little help. We're good. That was great. All right, moving on. This is our tendon stretch, so again, you can use your tower to borrow some exercises from your reformer if you have a full practice. So I'm going to ask you to do this today. Take your flat palms right by your hips and then just walk them forward. One step to like midnight. Bring your nose to your knees, bending over in half, and you want your strap taught. So if you're not there yet, scoot back a little bit. I want to see the strap crazy, crazy tight on your feet. Here comes the fun stuff.

You're going to push down with your arms so hard that they get straight and your hips lift up off the mat. Lift. Slide your heels back and pull on the strap. Pull on the strap, pull on the strap, come back down. That's it. Just three counts. Start with the head all the way over. Use your arms strongly into the mat. Push them straight, lift the hips and slide yourself back. Pull on the strap. Keep rolling, keep pulling. Keep pulling and let yourself back down.

You get one more. Try and then we're going to lose the strap. Drop your head, push down with your hands. Arms. Get straight. Hips get higher. Keep scooping back like you're sending your hips behind you and up behind. There she is. You're holding out on me. Come all the way down. Okay. Lose the strap. You don't need it anymore. Definitely warm in here. Keep the feet flex. So when I said pull on the strap, I want you to really do that. Now there's no strap, so I should see your heels physically. Slide back. Put hands up by the hips.

Walk them a little forward. Bring those to knees. Let's see it. Drop the head, straighten the arms, lift the hips and slide the heels way back and then you slide the boat and sit back down. Good. It worked. Do it again. So it was touch and go there for a minute. Lift, come on, Christie, pull back, pull back, pull back and then sit back down. You go one more and push with the arms lift with the hips. Slide back to three. She's done. Excellent. Take a stretch over your legs just for five seconds, not too much for three, two and we're done so much flection. We must do extension. Please turn onto your stomach, spacing your tower, head to the wall, and I want you to be a full arms distance away.

You're going to grab hold of your poles. We're going to do three types of swans. One where you push away from the polls, one where you pull on the polls and one where you press the polls out. So walk your hands up a little higher than your head. There you go. Take a deep breath and you're down. You're inhaling on the exhale. Lift everything up. Head, chest, shoulders, legs. Yes.

Now push the poles away as far as you can. Keep pushing. Keep the shoulders in. Keep lifting the legs to where they, oh, there they go. Hold it. One key pressing to. Could you get a little higher? Maybe the hands even. Want to walk a little higher? I'm fine with that. Keep reaching. Thank you and bring it all down. Take a deep breath in. You get to go again.

Energy is a little different. Inhale down. Exhale. Bring everything up this time. Pull on the polls. Bring your chest forward. Don't actually slide. Just enough resistance. There you go. Let me see the chest sail forward the shoulders. Drop back your lats on fire. Working like crazy legs still lifting. Beautiful. Come down for the inhale.

Take one more rep at this time. Take your hands to the insides of the Poles with the backs of the palms. Flip the other way, Christie, they're out. Inhale down. Exhale, come up this time. Push your poles away. Push them away. Little harder. I need more work. Keep pressing. If you slip on your sweat, that's forgiven. Keep going. One, keep pressing to push the bowls wider. Three magnificent. Come down, push back on your heels, round your low back.

Give yourself a much deserved stretch. Still with me, just checking. So there's a lot of things on your tower and sometimes just lying on your tower and looking around at all the things that are there, who reminds you that there's things that we don't really make much use of. So it's good to use all of them. Okay, we're going to flip around on their backs, put your head to the wall again and then reach behind you and hold onto the towers. And it's a good place to practice our inversions here, which we sometimes leave out in that class. But the tower, having the Poles gives you an opportunity to practice upside down things rather safely. So try this, get a good arms distance away. Hold on tight. Bring your knees all the way into your chest and with complete control, roll upside down like an upside down, rolling like a ball. Keep your knees in, keep your heels to your bum. Get as tight as you can. So you're almost enrolling like a ball. Hips even higher.

Shoot your legs straight up to the ceiling. Ooh, so pretty. Hold it there. Press your hips back toward the wall, but your feet forward. Yes. Hips to the wall. Feet forward. Ooh. Beautiful. One more lifting. We're gonna roll down just the top of the spine. Just the top of the spine and press back up with the hips.

Top of the spine comes down. Press back up with the hips. You've got the Poles. Use Them. Lower. Little. Press the hips up and back. Lower little. One more. Prs it up. Take one more lower. Show me how high you go. Lift, lift, lift your there. Bend your knees to your ears before you roll down one vertebrae at a time. Roll down. Once you're down, put your feet flat on the Mat.

Knees stay bent and give me a little shoulder. But just to undo what you just did. Arms down by your side. Feet are flat. Hips come up just for five counts pressing up. It should feel like someone's there. Maybe me pressing down on your hip strongly and you have to fight with them.

It should feel like someone's at the front of you pushing on your shins and that's a wake up call to the glutes. Keep pressing, maybe bursting into flames is not a good metaphor, but press forward. Feel that where that's a good spot. Stay for one more push. Push, push. Do you feel it? Yes. It shouldn't be a mystery like I kind of feel it. None of that. It should be quite obvious. Roll yourself down.

Try it again a little bit different this time, which for the pulls behind you, bring your knees into your chest. Roll upside down. Let me see what that looks like. Use Your polls. They're there being a nice upside down, rolling like a ball. How high can you get the hips? How high, how high, and then extend the legs straight up. You've got to push through bar. Big, beautiful square behind you. We're going to actually work into that square. Take one leg through the square.

Don't crack your Shin on the robot bar and then press both legs up. You go a little higher with the hips. So use the squares and reference which through the square. One leg, two legs. Come up, keep going, reach through, press the hips up. I'm underneath you. Reach through and press up a little higher with each rep and press up.

Come on, use the Poles. Reach and press uptake. Four more. And we'll be done for and lift the hips. Awesome. Three and lift the hips again too. And squeeze the seat. One more time, a one and press up before you come down. Then the knees into the ears. Roll down the upper, middle and lower back.

And take one more quick. Shoulder bridge, putting feet flat. Knees Bent, arms down by your side. Good thank you. And hips come up and just release your hands from the post and by your side. Toes. Face forward. Heels in line with them. Good. Stay for five. Good. So the pose can provide some extra support that you don't normally think about using, but they're there for you. So it's a great opportunity to practice all of our upside down exercises that are hard to do on the mat when there's nothing else to hold on.

To roll yourself down. Upper middle, lower back, bring your knees into your chest. You are all set up for leg springs. So reach behind you and grab the like springs. We're going to do a circuit today. Um, this is not out of our, actually our classic spring tone class in New York, but it is inspired by that. So here's what's gonna happen. We're gonna do a few exercises and in between those exercises we're going to do a little routine. The routine is the little shuffles, which are the walking and slow open-close beats and then fast beats.

And so we're going to come home to that little series in between each of the other exercises I, and so I'll tell you when that, okay, hands behind you on the poles ice and walk your hands up just a little higher than your ears. And let's take legs out to 45 and we're going to start with legs circles, nice and easy. Just eight. Don't go wider than your polls opened down together, up, open, down, together, up. Keep going. Open down, together, up. Let's see you really move. This springs together. Up. I'll fix that. Open down together. Up. Opened, down, together, up. Keep moving. Open down together. Open down, together, up. Open, down, together, up. One more. Open, down together, up. Stay there with your springs on. Stretch.

Flex your feet and turn into parallel. We're going to take three. Shuffling patterns. Go down. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Up, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Again, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Up, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Third, one, down, down, down, down, down, and up. Up, up, up. Stop at the top. Take like some 45 silence your springs. They shouldn't be shaking or moving. Give me a little open and a little close. Don't let them shake. Open close. Keep going. Open, close. Keep going. Open and close. Open.

Squeeze together. Open. Squeeze together. Open. Squeeze together, open. Squeeze together. One more. Open. Squeeze. Hold it here. Now as fast as you can beat your heels. Go. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Pause. Reverse your circle. Push down. Open up together. Push down, open up together. Keep it moving down. Open up together. Push down. Open up together. Four more down. Check your arms down. Check your abdominals down and around. One more. Down around.

Stop at 45 here comes the shuffle. Walk down. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Up. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Can you get to the mat please? Up. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Third, one and up. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Walking, halfway down and stop. Open. Close, open and close. Open and close. Silence the springs. They don't shake. They don't bounce. Open and close. Little longer. Maybe you're not getting enough tension.

There's more available. Take two more together. Open and close. Fast beats go. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Hold it. We bicycle, pedal, right leg out, and then the other pedal a huge bicycle and pedal. Keep reaching all the way down and out. Down and out. Beautiful. Reach to the center line and four and three. Stretch your arm straighter and out. Both legs out to center. Take your shuffle.

Here we go. Walk it down. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Up, two, three, four. Smile. Walk down. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, all the way up. Flex your feet down to three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Up, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight stock. Take it halfway down. Here's your open close. Where's the arms and open? Squeeze, open, squeeze. Little whimper is good for you. Together. Open together, not too wide. Quiet and controlled. This is three and two. One more. One. Stay and hold. Length in the springs. Give me 20 fast beats. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three. Last can and it is, we proceed bicycle pedaling in reverse the other way.

Take a second and figure that out. And three, you got it. And for really push the spring away and press arms working. Avs working. This is reach and reach. Final four, then three, then two and one legs out at 45 make sure they're parallel. Feet flex. Take your last shuffle set. Walk it down to three, four, five, six, seven, eight up. Beautiful. Go down. Flex your feet and up. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Don't miss any steps. And up to three, four, five, six, seven, eight Daf, way down. Hold it here. Here's your open, close, open, close, open, draw together. Open, squeeze, open, press. Last four. Good phases. Three.

It's almost over two and one your final coup de Gras. Beat your heels fast. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two. Freeze. Reach out, stretch out. Open your springs. Bring your knees all the way in and give yourself a stretch. Good. Exhale. Bring the soles of the feet together and let them stretch and open the inner thighs. You can hold onto the black straps. I actually like it when the soles of the feet come all the way together and so the knees open and the hands come right into the middle.

And then you can take a half split with one leg just for fun. Yeah, just one goes up. Why not? Oh, and then switch to the other. And if you like your neighbor, you can always do a full split. Or if you don't like your neighbor, that's okay too. Beautiful. Okay, great. Bring legs in. We have to do one more thing with them. We're going to do our hamstring curls because they're critical. So slip your feet out and then roll yourself up. We're going to be facing out to the center.

Come up onto your knees and reach behind you and find the loops. Because I find these hard, especially if you're on your own working out to put on your arches and maintain their, you can go ahead and slip these right on your ankles. So reach behind you and slip the loops around your ankles and then you're gonna lie on your stomach. I come all the way to the edge of your mat. In theory, I'll get you in theory, you're so far out that your forums drop right off the edge of the Mat and you priest cross your arms. You are in charge of your own intention. So if that's too far, by all means back up, up, bend your knees. Yes please. We'll come round. Yep. It'd be your backup a little bit.

How's that? Better? These are open theater together. Got that. This is acting a little funky. So it's the, it's the sweat. Here we go. Perfect. Give me an inch of tension on your spring. So just take up the slack and pull your heels in enough that you feel the springs kind of turn on. Is that it? Good. I want you to pull in for three counts. Pull in one, pull in more to bend them in all the way in three hello springs and back off.

Good time for a terrain. Take up the slack, pull your springs on an inch and then give me three counts to pull. Two counts to pull. One count to pull and back it up. Good, good. Excellent. Let's try it again. Give me an inch of tension. One pulled for three, pull for two bend. Pull for one and back it up. It looks great. I could get a little more glued action.

So we're going to add on. Here's what happens next. No cheating. Pull an inch attention one. Let me see you kind of squeeze your glutes so tight that your hips talk a little bit and then give me more of that. A little bend and a little talk, a little bend and a little squeeze. More bend and more squeeze and then back it all off. Whew. Two more times in ship tension to start and then a bend in a squeeze.

The glutes bend and a Tuck. The tail. One more bend and really squeeze and let it all go. You've got one more. Go with this. Ready? Give me an inch attention. One. Let these come to the outside. It'll be easier. Feet to the outside of the strap. They otherwise, there you go and bring them in. One. Where's the glutes?

Two glutes, three glutes, let it go. Okay, it's good, but you still have one more opportunity and it is an opportunity. Heels together, knees apart. Give me an inch of tension. It'll be over after this, I promise a little. Pull a little squeeze and now lift the knees and thighs in the air and more. Pull. Squeeze, lift, pull, squeeze, lift. One more pulse. Squeeze left.

Put them down. Let it go. Try it two more times and I'll let you be done. I promise. Heals together. Give me an inch attention. I got you. And pull, then Tuck. Then lift, pull, tuck left. Again, pull, Tuck, lift and put them down. Let it go. Take one more. I'll stay with you and give me a little pull and squeeze the glutes. Lift the knees more. Pull more. Talk more. Lift. One more. Pull more.

Squeeze more. Lift. Hold it there. Let's see if we can pulse up up with the knees up. Go. Four, three, two. It's over. Stretch your legs all the way out. Slip these off your feet. Let's turn around and face your tower and we'll do a little teaser and leg pull combo, so sit back toward the middle of your mat just so you have enough room for this and I don't care how you get there. I want everybody to just take your teaser position from the top right here, reaching arms up, taking legs up.

Show me your beautiful teaser palms face down over the legs. Who I know without a warm up, it's a little hard. That's okay. Just the body moving. Lower the body back a little bit. Bring it back up. Not huge. Just small. Take a little half roll down and sit back up. Having fun yet half roll down. Sit back up. Stop at the top.

I'm going to ask you to sweep your palms down behind you. Take your legs down to the Mat and then lift your booty up in the air and you come into leg pull. Put your hands on the mat, lift your hips up. That's tendon stretch. Christie leg pull. Oh yes. This is the exercise. Then hold it there. Good look down along your legs. Look down along your legs. Look down along your leg. Didn't that make it easier? Hips up, hips up, hips up.

Again, you're going to come back to the teaser with grace. Lower the hips, lift the legs, reach the arms up and stop at the top. For Five. Hold it for keep breathing. Hold it. Three lift. Hold it to you guys. Look awesome. Hold it. One, don't move. I only want you legs to go a little down and up. A little down and up. Beautiful. A little down and uptake. One more. A little down and up.

Back to that leg. Pull. Take your hands back. Take your legs down, lift your hips up and look down your legs. Roll the legs into parallel here. Yes, and then easy on your knees. If you can push down into the mat. Keep lifting, squeeze the glutes. You've got one more set. Just like this to do before it's over. You're ready to come back to teaser with control. Lower yourself down.

Sweep the arms and legs up and show me your final teaser. Holds it there. We did a little half roll back with the upper body. We did a little lower with the legs. Let's try it together. Take your arms up to the ceiling. Lower everything a little. Come back up. Not Big. A little. Come back up again.

Lower a little and come back up. Final one. Lower. A little. Nice. Try. Come back up. Stop. You have one more leg pull. Take the arms down, press the legs to the mat, lift the hips up. Excellent. Needing that upper body strengthening. Look straight ahead. Not Yoga only. Pull out these lift. Squeeze the legs together. Despite what I said earlier, keep squeezing her legs nice and high. Push your mat away for just your mat away.

Pushed your mat away and then lower the hips. You can stretch over your legs. Although I take a little breath just for a brief second. We still have to do some arms. So I want you guys to flip around. Put your head toward the wall. Grab your lowest set of springs for a little arm work.

They should be ready now cause you did a little weight bearing. So time to add a little bit of resistance. If we go by the book, you are all the way down to the edge of your mat. Your feet are off the edge of the mat. The book also says adjust accordingly so that's too much tension for you.

You can sneak back a little bit. You're always in charge of your own tension. Legs are straight, legs are held together and doing something so they remain active. Arms are up to the ceiling and hold it there. Nice. Take a deep breath in and remember how I said put an inch attention on your springs. Show me that. Just put an inch attention, taking up the slack and let me see maybe a coil or two open. I read the other day that these are called windings and I was like, that could be a new polarities word we use. Open the windings holds it, they're beautiful. If I see a quiver you are working hard.

Take your spring straight down to the mat by your side. Does that work? Stay for three. He preaching to you. I should see you double the length of your arms right now. Double the length of your arms. That's beautiful. Lift the springs an inch and hold it Hubbard there an inch an inch.

Beautiful. Float them all the way up to the ceiling and start the whole mess again. Open an inch attention and pause there. Squeeze the seat, squeeze the legs, pull the springs. All the way down by your sides and stop on the Mat. The chest rises, the abdominals lower. Ooh, that's a nice combination. Hold that there and then float the springs up an inch stay and then bring them all the way up to the ceiling. You've got one more. Just like that.

Pull an inch, stay, lock your lats down there working hard, pressed down to the mat and stop at the bottom. Lengthen the arms length in the windings of the springs and then lift an inch and pause. They are just hover, chest rises, abdominals lower and then float the springs all the way up. Drop your elbows down to the mat. Stay with me. I want you to do the same exact pattern. Okay, wrap your fingers around the dowels or your padding here. Keep your elbows firmly rooted into the mat and then give me an inch of tension.

So the fists will come just over the elbows. Hold it. That may be the hardest part of it. Stay there and then straighten the arms. You go right to the mat. Stay there for three. Reached them out to come on arms, the length and even more. One. Give me a little tiny bend, a micro bend at the elbows. Hold it to three. And then Ben, super slow, super slow, super slow to the top. Try again. Open an inch, one and two and three straight and all the way down for one. For two, for three bend just a little bit. Press your elbows even more firmly into the mat. Yes.

And then let it all the way up to the top. Give me one more set. Tippy done. Breathe and presidential one. Hold it to work your springs three. Straighten all the way down and stay there. One abdominals in and out. Please. Two legs on fire. Three give me a tiny little bend.

Elbows really tight into the ribs. Tiny little bend. Work them down into the mat and let them come all the way up. Arms Springs are over. Bring your knees into your chest, give them a little hug. We have to work our roll back bar again. So I want you to spin around and start where you left off.

So toss all the springs away. Clear your workspace. Grab your robot boss from wherever it is, put your feet against the Poles and take your spine stretch position. Again, slightly different this time. Okay, arms just shoulder with pressing on the bar. Take a deep breath in. Get a little taller and straighter as the bar presses down, shoulder height or lower shoulder height or lower stop there. Take a spine stretch in this position, so drop your head even lower than the bar and take the bar down with you like you're trying to press the bar to your ankles. Keep pressing it, keep pressing it. Keep pressing it, keep it at its lowest point and then roll yourself up tall and straight. The bar gets lower, the bar gets lower, the bar gets lower. That's not an ask, and then let it come all the way up and try it again and press the bar down strongly. Use your laps, use your abs, use other muscles better.

Drop your head all the way down. Under the bar there is your spine stretch. Press the bar even lower. It's trying to get to the ankles. Now it goes really low and roll yourself up really lower the bar as you lift up, lift up, open your spine. Open the springs. Who said, let the Laura, I can see you and let it come all the way up to this. Awesome. Final a bar down. No cheating. One spine. Stretch forward. Round your back. Let me see it.

Do something to the bar like push it lower all the way and then roll yourself up tall and straight. Tall and straight. Show me your maximum height and let the bar come up. You may rise up to your knees. Keep the bar, keep the bar. Knees are apart. Heels are together. We did this earlier. You should be better at it. In theory.

You could scoot back just a little bit and see how much better you are at it. Again, not asking, press the bars down. Hold it for one. Rise up a little higher. Hold it for two. Maybe you don't quake anymore. That's a good sign. I saw that little walk forward. You guys are sophisticated cheaters. This is not a novice group. Hold in there.

Three, keep holding. Don't bounce your bar around. You're in charge of those springs. Don't let them boss you around. Let it float all the way up. One more. These are the light ones, right press again, push, push, hold it back at the body. Working heels pressing together is a great anchor point for this. It can really help you squeeze, squeeze more in the springs, work gears, springs and let it all the way up. Excellent. You get to come to standing.

This is the fun part. Heels together, toes apart. You want to be at least a step behind your button, your moon boxes. So take a good step back. Arms are long. Take a deep breath in. Christie, that might be far with those springs. Just so you know. Press the bar straight down to the hips or lower now. No, there we go. Springs. They're long. Hold it for five reaching. There's no such thing as holding in piles, right?

You're reaching dynamically moving, recruiting more muscle fibers, lengthening, getting higher, no posing. Everything is working. Which the springs down further before you let them back up all the way. Try One more time. Press all the way down and hold it there. Has looked pretty good. Stay. I feel swept too, which is good. The steam rising off the body. Keep squeezing. He pressing.

Are the arms getting longer? Yeah, that's fine. Getting longer. Where's the bar on the body and let it float all the way up. Let's add on just a little bit before we wrap this up. Okay. Press the bar down to the hips. Drop your head and see the bar and we borrow just a little bit from the [inaudible] chair. Okay.

Scoop high in the belly and roll the bar down to the mid thigh. Keep it on your body and just stay there and work on you. Scoop and your powerhouse and do that by really drawing your abdominals in and up. Keeping the tail under you, drawing the Chin in and keep a little bit of weight toward the front of the feet. You get to unroll. Now Roll yourself up. Keep the bar on your legs. Keep it on your legs, keep it on your leg. Show me your very best posture, your very top. Where's the bar checking and then you can let it go. Try again. You get one more chance because it's good for you.

Press the bar down and Chin to chest. Roll the bar down the thighs. Maybe it gets to the knees, maybe it gets to the shins. You're one of those that can put it on the floor. They're all good. I do not want your hips all the way behind your feet. Stay forward just like you do on your chair. Hold it there. Squeeze the glutes, squeeze the hamstrings, push you. Springs down.

As you come up slowly springs go down, you come up, springs go down and open. You come up, stand up very tall and straight. Very tall and straight. Hold the bar, hold the bar, hold the bar and then let it float away from you. Good. Grab your, let your bar go. Grab your Poles. One more time. Cross one leg in front of the other and lower yourself back down to the mat because we should always do a rolling series when we haven't done any format. Right? So sit in the middle of your map. Get me four rolling like a ball, so ahead into the knees, hands around the ankles, and just four roll upside down. Then right side up. Roll upside down. Then right side up, deliberately upside down. Put yourself there right side up.

Be there one more. Take it back. It's not an accident. Come up and stop at the top. Take your open like rocker position. I won't look at the first one. Stay straight and tall. The chest is high. Don't be turned out. Take a look at your poles. Their legs are only as wide as the Poles ready upside down.

Not Looking right side up, not looking. Oh, now I get to look. Take it back. Bring it up. Lock your arms. If they bend it doesn't count. You get a do over. Take it back. Oh boy. Bring it up. Yeah. Then jete one more. Take it back. Bring it up. Stop at the top. Stop at the top. Stop at the top. Lift your chest. Bring your legs together.

Show me a teaser with arms reaching towards toes. Don't change anything, but your feet crossed. The right over the left. We're going to just do half of this exercise. Roll upside down. Bring your arms to the mat. Take your legs over the pike. Everybody stop. Just a half. Boom ranks. What's your feet? Sit Up in a teaser. Slow motion. Catch yourself. Stop at the top. That's the only piece we're going to do.

Roll right back over. Arms to the map. Chris crossed the feet. Roll up with controls. Sit Up and tease a ridge. Take it again. Rule yourself back. Open, closed, and sit up tall with control. Find your balance. Last one and take it back. You got a canvas and open close. Take it all the way up. Stop at the top. You're there. Bend your knees. Hands Together. Take your seal, driving the hands through the legs, around the outside of the ankles. Got It.

We're there for seals. Roll upside down and right side up and prepare because at the end of the fourth one, I want you to uncross your arms and legs. Reach for the Poles in front of you and help yourself up to standing. So know that that's happening in two more rolls. Take it back. One, two, three, take it forward. One, two, three, and last one, back. One, two, three. Take it forward. Reach for everything. Bring yourself up to standing. Whoops.

Don't die. And you're there. Turn around. Take a bow. That was a great, great job. So we worked different parts of the tower, your strap, the Poles, and things that can help you in mat and also in your regular practice. And also borrowing from larger pieces of equipment, but one to chair the reformer and bringing it all together, all with her polarity sensibilities. So thank you.

Comments

2 people like this.
Love this. Great to pull exercises from other pieces if equipment to make a varied and challenging class.
3 people like this.
I loved this as I often get stuck in a rut with teaching tower classes. So inventive taking movements from other pieces of equipment. Now a sweaty mess, Alycea I love/hate you!
Thank you Lynn and Jon. Since the Tower had no actual order, it's a great place to "play".
Wow, great class! Thanks Alycea.
Loved how all the exercises were tied together.
1 person likes this.
Tons of fun!! I enjoyed the quicker tempo, and clear, concise cues. Thank you!

2 people like this.
So great...loved that we weren't moving springs, etc to dif places...all set up at start...very smooth. Especially loved the 1/2 boomerang, jackknife/bridge, and the leg springs sequence. Thank you Alycea...and thank you PA
Loved your sequence and creativity, your attention to the posterior body! You chose exercises that compliment and enhance one another. Thank you!
Pamela P
1 person likes this.
This class was so much fun! Loved the variety, and your cues were awesome. You're a fabulous instructor! More on the tower, please!!
Thanks everyone. We had so much fun during this class. It reminds me that if you aren't having fun - don't do it! Enjoy your workouts, laugh and have fun!
1-10 of 36

You need to be a subscriber to post a comment.

Please Log In or Create an Account to start your free trial.

Footer Pilates Anytime Logo

Move With Us

Experience Pilates. Experience life.

Let's Begin