Class #3604

Active Aging Reformer

50 min - Class
729 likes

Description

Work on building your bones in this active aging Reformer workout by Amy Havens. She avoids flexion in the whole class, using exercises that are great for everyone who wants to improve strength, balance, and endurance. She includes movements to help you decompress, elongate the spine, and challenge your stability.
What You'll Need: Reformer (No Box), Hand Weights (2), Pilates Pole

Transcript

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Hi everyone. It's Amy for another reformer class. And this class is a very appropriate for active aging population. As you know, I like to teach to that demographic. It's good for anyone though there won't be any flection. There's a lot of decompression, um, pretty hip specific arms specific, spiny longation as always, and some standing balance. So come on along.

You are going to need a few things for this class. I have a weighted dowel, but you don't need a way to del or you can use just a regular stick or Dell if you have that. A set of hand weights. And I'd like you to go up on the heavier side. So I'm using five pounds today. If you don't want to use five for a specific reason, you can always go lighter. But I wanted to build in a little bit more strength component with the hand weights. So that's what that's for. And uh, gone to Lapole for some balance work. Okay, so come on along. We're gonna set up a reformer on, I have got a blue here on the balanced body, but just on one spring for your, your home reformer or your other reformer.

Spine Decompression

And so let's step inside the frame of the reformer and we'll walk up. I want you to grab the shoulder rests. We're going to start off with a really lovely decompression and stretch here. So not the normal foot work. We'll get there. Walk yourself back so your calves are right up against the frame of the reformer. Bend your knees, which you to hinge at your hips.

Really allow your sit bones to open and stick back. Please don't be here right away with the Tuck. Okay, so we want to get that link and then let the carriage drag your arms forward. Let your scapula get elevated up your back rib wall. Do put some elongation of course in your spine, but muscularly support that with your abdominals. But I want you to write away, kind of liberate yourself to get stretched. Let the reformer help stretch you to spend some moments.

Start some lateral posterior breathing. You're creating a lot of space between your pelvis and your a rib cage right there. If you want to send some weight into your heels more than your toes, you can do that. I'd like you to think about not overflowing the rib cage in front, although it is going to feel a little open. Okay. Resist the urge to Tuck your tailbone. No, I'm feeling like it's allowed me to move more so you can kind of come along if you want. I'm going lower now.

I'm trying to zip up my abdominals and then feel the focus in your back muscles. Okay, so there we are. Now I'm going to change my hand position right now. They're right up on top. I'm just doing this flight change hands around the corners, thumb up on top, so that's put our upper arm in external rotation. That's a better environment to do some scapular work. All right, so let's begin with the shoulders in elevation and upward rotation.

My arms are straight. I'm letting this drag my arms forward. Then just to contrast that, let's do the scapula movement where we're gliding them down, depression and retraction. We're just going to go back and forth between those two. So it's that releasing the mid traps, arm elevation, scapular elevation, upward rotation, and then depression, retraction. Ms. Feel the glide between the two. You can say easily shoulder blades, up, shoulder blades back down, down and back. Scapula up.

Scapular Glide

Scapula. Down and back. Twice more. Scapula up. Scapula. Down in, back. Scapula up. Scapular, down and back. Okay. Now we're ready to bend the elbow. So I want you to feel like you get that really good sense of reach out your sits bones and out your a sternum. Start to pull. Bend your elbows.

Scapular Glide w/ Carriage Pull

I'm aiming my elbows for the risers and then letting it go and then let the Scapula rise. So there's gonna be four parts to this. Scapula, elbows, elbows, gap, Ula. Okay, I'm going to go a little bit lower. L, Scapula, elbows, elbows. Scapulas. Tapping right into that mid, upper back. Keep reaching your hips back through those risers. Two more times. Scapula, elbows, elbows, scapula. One more. All right, now I'm going to put my hands back up on top.

Let it myself kind of just drag, get dragged forward. Okay. And just stretch now. Peak of look out over the bed of the reformer. Let's do some more elbow bending. But now I'm an appointment. Elbows more toward my hips. So it's just a little bit narrower angle.

Tricep Pull

Exhale still from the upper back. Just three more. Pull and release this time without letting the scapula go up. Oopsie okay, ready? Let's go again and pull this time. Hold and release. Okay guys, let yourself walk toward the reformer. Once it's nice and secure, let's get a little weight bearing on the wrist. So this is a nice environment. It's a little bit squishy on the front side.

Footwork Toes in Front Support

So I've got actually got the heel of my hand more around the back edge of the shoulder pad. Pretty Nice. And just set yourself their shoulders over wrists. So get your alignment. I'm up on a little elevated, uh, platform and my feet. So Relevate or lifted heels, mint, just hold, get yourself organized. Your back should feel pretty good. You can broaden across your chest. Make it nice and proud. Focus on your tummy a little bit. Okay, now let's stretch your calves. We're going to get ready for some footwork.

So begin to lower your heels however far they go. Some of you are gonna be able to get them down and right away. Some of you won't. That's fine. And then rise back up. So let's just feel a little bit of the weight shift. You can inhale heels down. Okay, exhale, heels up. So when the heels go back, there's a little less weight on the wrists, heels, risers, much more rate on the rest on purpose. Two more hen left. This last one, I want you to go down, lift again, and then just go a little higher so that you're creasing and flexing at those metatarsal is maybe rocking a little bit.

Make sure to pick up those abdominals, put them inside. There we go. And then shift your hips back. You can kind of think this is a a downward dog stretch, if you like that. Queuing from the yoga world. This is just a nice stretch for the back of the legs.

My head is now right between my arms. I'm just gonna do one more reach of my sits bones back toward the risers. And then to come up guys, bend your knees, put your hands on the frame of the reformer. I'm trying to do this out without any real big flection in the spine as you know, as I introduced class with, okay, we're going to move on to foot footwork now. All right, so what I want to talk about with footwork just really quickly, not the high bar, set it down a little bit lower and I want that lower because we're going to go heavier weight. I'm going three red, one blue and want more hip extension to start this whole series off than hip flection. So when the bar is lower, takes you out of the hip flection angle, allows you to work a little more from the back and then with the weights heavier you can, you can get a little more push. Okay? So if that, and also if you've got a knee issue, the high bar can sometimes be a little icky on your knees if you've got that with that much weight. All right, so that's that weighted bar. Let's put it in our hands and it's going to go underneath you guys like this and I want you to really, really concentrate and discipline yourself.

Heels

I've done this before. Wrap your whole hand on that bar. Get your arms close to your body and and embrace the bar. Okay, now with the, we'll start heels parallel, but what's happening here? Because the dowel is right there by the back of my pelvis. The low bar is having it make me feel that it's okay.

I want you to try to resist curling your tail away from the dowel. Okay? It's a little weird cause it's right there on your skin, but sit toward it. Extend yourself toward it. It's much better for your spine in your sacred anyway. Okay, so then here we go. Lastly, I promise. Open up your collarbone. Grab that Bar and imagine that you're trying to pull it apart and I didn't want you to use the theraband. I want you to have something solid. Here we go.

We're pressing out and use the back of those legs to press down against that Dow. We'll, we'll do 10 of them. Here's the second one. So the Dow was there for feedback. Use your hip extensors depressed down against the bar. And Five [inaudible] six I'm Xcel today. All my press, eight nine oh one one more time and 10 so let's come on in balls of feet parallel. Take a peek, make sure you're nice and square heels won't go any higher or lower.

Toes Parallel

It's on the hips and the knees that we extend. Cool. So some of that standing decompression work that we did, hopefully got you aware of your upper back area and your shoulder girdle and bringing you back into that with holding this weighted bar. So keep feeling the pinky finger of your hand pressing up on the bar. Okay. And your thumb. If you like the thumb out, you can do that.

Here's the ninth one and the 10th one is a posture posture posture, right? With this Dick Palase v let's go balls a feed. And then we'll also do a set from heel. So we have 10 remember you're trying to keep your tail in your sits bones on the dowel, not curly way. You want to feel the back of the legs, press down toward the dowel and the floor down. Okay.

Toes

While you stand up in your body. Last two, we'll stay in the turn out. Would you set your heels up? Take a quick beat. Makes you right in the center. The heels are together in line with your navel and yes too. Every now and then pinky finger up on the Dow wall. Upper arm bones rolled back.

Heels External Rotation

He'll be elongated and strong. Seven and eight, nine one more time. And then we'll take the heels up on the corners and way out on the corners like wider than normal. And if you are a person or if you have a teacher watching this and you have claims that you're wondering, Gosh, should I turn them out and let them just turn out? Yes. Do it. So I was teaching this morning and I had a client, she just flopped herself open. I'm like, okay, that's fine.

Heels Wide Second

Now can you hold it there? And she couldn't, her joint took her there but her muscles wouldn't work it. So she kind of had to come back up. So try going wide. If you have it, use your muscles around that, those joints to try to keep that turnout. That's completely fine. Okay. It's kind of Nice to do every now and again that wide [inaudible] pinky finger of the hand, upper arm bone roll back. I think it's just ripping down the shoulder blocks.

Five more and press one press. We want strong legs. We want strong hips, strongly hip extensors turning out like this. Why you might feel a little different source. Deep, deep, deep underneath where that femur and hip socket lived together. Okay. Same thing in the toes up position. Make sure your heels aren't too beveled like mine are.

Toes Wide Second

You're gonna want the more turnout from your hips. Here we go for it's the hips, not so much the feet. Three, four, all the way in and five feel in the five. Press down against the dowel. Seven, eight, nine, and 10. All right, let's come to the middle of the bar, balls of feet parallel, and then go ahead and just press up everybody into your high heel position. I'm going to do a little countdown. We'll do six repetitions. Heel lower left. So we have down and up, down and up, and the sides are pressed against the Dow wall. Five and six coming in.

Lower Lift

We'll do five reps counting down, maximize Dorsey flection and Plantar flection. Really work the range down and up. Here's your fifth and in, remember we want to build strength. Here's for strength, endurance three and four all the way weekend, next for three and rise. Rise. Get along in your body last to keep with it.

If you're burning up down there, it's good for you. We have one more than yes. We're going to take a little walk stride. Go right back out. Let's just do 20 changes. Brisk. Two, three. Make sure you're not hula or salsa in your hips. Sits bones to the dowel. Alright, 10 more. One, two. Let those total joints bend.

Running

Seven, eight, nine and 10 rise. And then Louie N. Okay. Lift your feet, shake them out a little bit. Hope you've got some additional things connected in your body with this. You could just tuck that away. Single leg time plus drop it down. I'm going to go with just three red.

Heel - Single Leg w/ Weighted Arm Press

Okay. And now it's time for the hand weights. So again, I've got five today. You look like Fred Flintstone in weights. They're big. Okay, one heel on. It's your preference. The other leg up in a nice clean tabletop. And I do want you to Dorsey flex a foot today. Just start pushing, just start pushing. I'm going to have you add lifting both arms up at the same time and bringing them down as so part of what's going on too with the weights because they're heavier is one might want to lead versus the other one to try to keep them moving at the same rate. Okay? The same speed, the same speed.

Okay. For now. Last two, just basic lifts with your leg presses. There's 10 on that side. Just a quick change. 10 here and we go in one. So all that work we did to open the collar bone and chest, using your back for support to open that up. Use that here. You don't want to lift the weight and curl your collarbone forward.

Remember we're building better posture as well. So keep your, your spine long. Three two and once we're going to come back to the first foot, you can go ball of foot or heel. It's your choice. I'm going to go ball a tabletop with a pointed foot. Now let's do bicep curl. Okay, so same thing, just easy for 10 movements to same concept. You want them work, the weights moving at the same time. For now, five, six, seven.

Toe - Single Leg w/ Bicep Curl

I've got my elbow down so it can keep my collarbone and upper arm rolled back. There's nine and Ted is a quick change ant 10 more to [inaudible]. We're going to keep your hips even in square. And right now the Bicep curl style I have is fairly traditional palm toward the shoulder. Seven eight.

This is three red springs and 10 extra pounds on my arms. It feels pretty darn good. Okay, come back to the first side. Turned out, excuse me, with both feet on the bar. Now I'm going to take my, uh, the bicep curl in a little different style. Okay, so turned out legs to start with. Then lift one leg up. You've seen me do that before. If that feels wacky, you can also just go to parallel. Now the bicep curls are going to be this way, so it's more of a hammer curl they call. Okay, this is heavy weight for single leg turnout. Do it though. Try get into those hips. You guys, make your clients. Get into those hips. It's right around the back of that booty and the hip, so the curving arms of kind of messaging that.

Toe - Single Leg External Rotation w/ Hammer Curl

That's the angle I want the muscle fibers to curve that way underneath my Tush, seven externally, rotating those upper arms nine and 10 other side for 10 displace the foot. Check that you're right in the middle. Lift the other one up. Here we go. And then and night, upper back, nicely engaged and those shoulder blade tips down your back. Collarbone, really open. Nice open lung and heart zone. Seven, eight, nine and 10 okay, we're still on three red springs. Just put your weights here for just a second. Put a heel on.

Heel - Single Leg w/ Arm and Leg Opposition

Now let's add a little bit of opposition. So I'm going to take you out. Push one leg out to the other leg up. Flex that foot. Now raise the weight that's opposite of the leg lifted. Okay? Now this is some coordinations good for everybody. Aging or not. This leg will lower straight down to the over the foot bar.

This arm is going to open out to the side of the reformer. So get ready some coordination and lift on that hard, but it's hard enough. So the way out there, my arm might tempt your rib cage to skittle around and move. So we're working to keep that stable. We have five, four and three, two and one. And then Ben both limbs and come down the side. So reached the leg out. Push first, get the leg lifted, get this arm lifted. All right. And here we go. Open and open and up.

Open and up and open up. I'm not really good at my coordination as well on this side. Did you see that? Seven my leg didn't want to go down as wore as low and 10 and down. Bend your limbs and come in. Okay. Oh well. Got To practice it. So come on up. We're going to be done with those.

Whole Foot

Now we're going into some side lying leg work, foot and ankle as well. So I'm in taking us down to two red springs here. We'll keep the low bar. Okay. The way I like to set it up guys is take the rest down so you can thread your arm through there. You can also just do a head rest up with the pillow, but there's something nice about having this additional space for your body on the Mat. It's a great shoulder stretch and tricep stretch for this underneath arm.

And we need our triceps to be flexible and long a to help the shoulder move and the uh, arm move. Well, okay, tuck this one in here. You're going to take this foot on. You have to see your heel in line with the sit bone. What I'm not is toes to the front of the bar. Okay, we've done that before, but this is different. So this gives you a chance to really pause here for a minute, push this heel into the foot bar and really feel your effort of extending the hip opening this line. It might even feel like you're getting some abdominal stretch through here.

Okay. So then just take a moment in, reach this arm over your leg and just enjoy, in fact, we'll take this arm overhead and feel like we can get this side of our body even longer as well. And then bring this down. Okay, so for now, just keep it here. We're going into ankle flection of don't lift that heel. Really try not to take your heel off the bar yet. There's going to be another uh, exercise where you do get the heel lifted, but stay right there for a minute and drive your heel into the bar.

You're going to feel it here and use that to extend. Okay. Any other thing we want to monitor is that the ankle isn't deviating, getting naughty and going in now like that. So right in the center of your ankle and press your hip should be nicely stacked. A sense of LHI elongation, that axial lengths that we always talk about. Four and three. Palm is up here, two and one. Now when you push out, hold this time, stay, have a strong hip extension and raise your heel a little. Some of us can go a lot and that's not what we're after. Actually, this exercise, think about two inches. If I had my fist underneath your heel on the bar, it'd be about a fist height.

Toe Parallel w/ Heel Lifted 1 Inch

No. Can You keep that amount of height as you move through your hip and your knee? Sometimes there's a reflex that at the very top of the extension where the heel may want to go, boom and pop up. Don't do it. Try not to. Okay, so this is really keeping the theme around your hip extension, not ankle extension down. Should you be feeling some good work around your lateral hip fire stays parallel to the floor. Two more. Okay, we're going to stay up at the top. There's one more sequence.

So now from the femur through the Nishan Ankle foot, we're going to externally rotate. Okay? And now continue bending and straightening the knee and lower lift. It feels really nice on a low bar. Can get that focus on your hip, not so much your knee and lengthen and bend and lengthen. Trying to keep the hip over hip, deep, external rotation three and two and one. You get the whole drill. Last time you guys were going to take it and hold it. Hold it.

Toe External Rotation

Let's go back for that stretch again. Can you clasp both hands? Can you stretch? Get as long in both sides of your waist as you can. Good and release. Okay, and let's take it to the other side. Roll it on around. Lying down. Get your arm long. Paul must be sat. I can't see you all.

Whole Foot

You can see me a little bit maybe or not put on the bar and then take a quick peak though. You do want your heel in line with your sitting bone. Okay. Your hips stacked if you have a mirror, that's really helpful. Do you have a teacher? Of course. That's super helpful. Do you have to pretty well gauge on your own? If you can't see anything strong, long leg, you may want to feel like you're pulling that up into your body more than pushing and out of your body because that actually can unlevel your pelvis. Okay, so we're going into Bendon straighten of the hip and the knee.

All right, before we go, I'm going to take my arm over. I did do that extra stretch. I know on the first side cause I remember feeling so good. Okay, now we're ready. We'll pick it up. Eight more in this first round heel has to stay down. That's the amount of Dorsey flection you have in this exercise.

He can always increase it, but don't cheat it. Okay. Keep that heel down and really push you. Focus on the hip extensors again, deep. They're super important. Last two and then we will lift the heel, which is here now again, as you lift, not the highest lift, you can try to stabilize what you just felt and continue Ben and stretch and bend in. Stretch in the back of that hip and open the front line. Yeah, and seven bottom hand palm turn up.

Toe Parallel w/ Heel Lifted 1 Inch

You've got a beautiful externally rotate an arm and nine on your last one. 10 okay, that are third rounds. You've got your pivot from your femur to your foot. Hips are stacked, and now we're in external rotation for 10 extensions. Getting deep into those rotators three and for see if you can maintain that length out through the top of your spine. It's easy to start getting kind of introspective here and look into oneself, but stay open. Strong, good posture.

Toe External Rotation

Even when you're lying on your side, here's and 10 we're going to hold it when yummy stretch. One more time. See if you can get your hands in class together. Stretch. Push your foot against the bar and then come all the way in. Okay guys, we're going to go back to the first side, lying on our side, but we need the head rest up for this one and one blue spring only. So take off those two reds or just get your blue. So we're doing some not, I think I'm going to keep the head rest down. Keep it down. We're doing some sideline single arm. Okay, so get a little company, not going to be totally demanding on what to do with your legs, but this feels right for me. Get your head organized.

Bend and Stretch

Bend your elbow to make a little pillow, and then take this hand. Bring your elbow by your side first and then push your arm down by your, by your hip. The first little sequence goes, just put your head down and lengthen this arm. I'm just feel that, okay, now I'm going to take this arm and reach it in front of me. Just right in front of my shoulder. Straight palm is facing the foot bar. Okay, now bend your elbow and straighten your elbow. See if you can do this movement without moving the carriage.

But do keep the collarbone expanded just about five of them. It's an interesting exploration and some core connection like obliques and an ABS, keeping your body steady carriage pretty steady. Okay, and then elbow ans we're going to go five elbow extension Z or just one and two or three, four, five magic. Play with the thought. Every time you pull the strap you stretchers by in longer. Last time you're gonna keep the arm now long, but we're going to change it.

Tricep Press

So palm face down again and then arm up, so toward the ceiling and then arm to hip, lat, tricep and same thing. Pull the strap, stretch the spine, all the spring stretch the spine can do this with a closed fist if that feels better for you. Okay. And then were make it a circle some coming forward. This is going to arc up without moving and carriage and then pull down. It's a blue spring. It's pretty strong. Even in this, you don't need to go heavier. We already did that stuff with the five pound weights on three [inaudible] and for and five of course the other way for five nice and tricky up we go try to stabilize the carriage as it comes down and then pull.

Up and Down

That's all that and tricep rear shoulder. It's like a single arm chest expansion. It's kind of fun to do arm work on her side like this and our last one for this side and then we'll just take it to the other side. But to get out of it, bend the elbow. That's going to go right up on the post. You can see it, put it there, and then up around we go to the other side, we up and down. So thread your arm through. Bend the elbow, make your pillow so your head isn't hanging, and then you can put your hand on the post if that makes sense. Grab that strap, get yourself organized in. Once again, I'm proud you in with your hand right here. And then extend the elbow first. Okay, there's our setup. Now shoulder blades are low on your back.

Arm Circle

Reach your arm in front of you, um, to the window. But then we went into bend the elbow, extend the elbow, try to keep the carriage stable. So if your arm doesn't go straight in front of that shoulder, that's fine. Concentrate more on your stability of your carriage, holding integrity of your posture across your chest and your upper back. Work two more.

Bend and Stretch

And of course recognize that both sides are different the way it feels in your body. It should. Okay, now we did five elbow extension. So here we go. Triceps, like crazy and too three cool. Four and then hold the arm still on, went straight up and down. The palm is face down. We went up and down toward the hip. I remember pool the springs stretched the spine. Feel that opposition, that dynamic connection that the reformer gives us, the strength and length, and then five, and then this arm is going to come forward again toward the window, right in front of you to start the arms circle so it's front up and pull.

Tricep Press

Take it front of your shoulder up and pull. Maintaining your arm and your peripheral vision, preferably, especially if it's a beloved view and down. Let's take one more and forward and up and reverse. So we'll go up from here and when you come in front of you, try to keep the carriage stable and then press cool cares steeple and press get it resembles a little bit of chest expansion. Focus of the lat, bringing the arm toward the back.

Up and Down

I've got two more [inaudible] last one and and okay, bend your elbow. Let's put the strap on the post. We're going to keep the blue spring. Come on up guys. I've one kneeling exercise. Not always the best to be up on our knees for very long. So this we won't be, but I want you to come into of semi kneeling position, not high non all the way down halfway. Okay. And what that gives us is an opportunity to create that diagonal line from head to tail. We're in a hip hinge, we're balancing and it's going to get a little more dynamic with the arms by grabbing the straps. Be ready for some balance challenge when you pull them, Kay, plug them right in by your side body and then press your shins down.

Arm Circle

Hold for just a second and feel the work in your whole body. Take a couple breaths. All right, so hold on. Good. You held it. You held it with me. A nice and long time. So can the neck elongate? Yes it can. You have to effort reaching your neck longer away from your shoulders.

Semi Kneeling Tricep Press

Keep that. Let's go for 10 more movements of those elbows. So good to keep the back of the upper arm strong. The back of the shoulder strong. Five, four times in one. Yeah. And to make sure to keep those stomach muscles in three and for in five. Okay. Excellent.

That's all with it's all we didn't need to do kneeling underneath, so everybody just put those straps down round your, uh, dough around your back. Okay. We're coming into something we were doing at the beginning in a way. Stepping inside, watch the ropes. We're going to add a little bit of abdominal work, single leg stretch in here. Uh, but from a front support position. So once again, hands on top.

Front Support Knee Raises

If you like the filling of your hands on the side, you can go there. I just feel a little bit better in this exercise here. Find your friends support position, shoulders over wrists. Now let's get a little more concept here on the weight bearing that we're not locking those elbows out. Okay. To my elbows of just spun right toward the front shoulder, foot rest, put bar, angle a man a little bit.

I'm actually thinking more about pulling the Ri the shoulder blocks off the reformer to keep more connection into the stability of the scapula and the upper body. Okay. Where to focus. Look right at the foot bar with your eyes stand strong in your arms and your feet. Okay, I'm going to take my outside leg, the one that's closest to you up first. You can really see as I bring my knee toward my chest, try not to move the pelvis side to side. It can curl under and you can add a little lumbar flection if you need to pull your stomach deeply in and as you stretch the leg back, hopefully your hips don't go side to side. Other ones slowly stare at that foot bar. Your standing leg is very strong. It's not going to turn out. You're going to keep it parallel.

Let's breathe in and 10 times. Wow. And in and yeah, seven standing log standing leg very strong and nine and 10. Whoa. Okay. Rest off your wrist for a minute. You all know by watching this and it's hard for us to just, the team can do this at the same time. Okay, we're going to come back to that friend support position one more time, but instead of leg in, take your leg. I'm going to take the outside leg.

Front Support Hip Extension

Just pull it a little bit and stretch it back through where the shoulder rests are or the risers. Okay. And just hold your leg up. You have to kind of Proprio CEP where that leg is, hopefully a straight behind your pelvis. Okay, and that's all. We're going to do that a few times each side. So pick it up, stretch it right behind your hip, hold integrity of your position. And then in, now I'm going to try to take my leg a little higher because I want my hip extensors to really actually do some more work. They'll pick up my leg. You will feel your back muscles is part of you. It's okay.

They're supposed to work right. Lift one more. So it's a stretch engaged to pick it up. [inaudible] stretch, engage and that's enough. Okay. Step off that. Shake your wrists. It's good for you though to bear some weight.

Standing Hamstring Pulls

Now we're on a blue. Yeah, some standing balance, some hamstring work and some ankle flection stuff. Okay, I'm going to grab the devil, the Gondola Pole. I'd suggest you all grab yours too. I'm going to put it in the same hand as foot that goes up. So I'm going to take my right heel right up against that shoulder pad and before you do much with the carriage, steady your standing leg as best you can, your heel is straight below this hip and we know it's not sitting to the side. You've got yourself really pulled up. You've done that all hour or all class.

Now start to bend the knee and however far you pull the carriage towards you is how far you pull it in. But I've got my other hand pulling down on the dowel like I could stab it through the dirt to allow me to go taller up this arm. Maybe it feels good to the side. Pull and pull. My knee cap goes straight up. Yeah, I'm going to add a little coordination so you could keep going with that. Or as you bend this, the working knee, we're going to make this also working me and bend it and straighten it. I need a hot backward and bend it and straighten it.

Standing Hamstring Pulls w/ Plie

That's okay. And Tao, so absolutely more balanced. Challenge. A lot going on also in this lateral hip, but you worked at earlier so we prepared it for this type of load. [inaudible] three more guys. Seven. Okay, and good for your ankle. Stability on your standing leg. Okay. Now throwing a little curve ball at you. You can rest if you need to. What I'd like to try have Australia is Relevate this foot as we bend the knee and pull this one in. Let's see what shows up. I think we can do it.

Standing Hamstring Pulls w/ Releve

This is going to help push this down. Here we go. Let's try five of them. One. We're not going to speed through this one and two. Woo and lower. Stare at something right in front of you. Maybe it's your pet, your person, whatever and up. Whew. Oh, did you see me? Check my ribs.

I'm sure half of you did last time. I'd come up and hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Okay. This tubular challenge. Look someplace else in the room. Turn and look. It's going to be fun. They're in luck. Let me turn and look at the ocean. What's it doing now? Oh, center. That's enough lower year, he'll release the carriage. We did it.

All right, other side. So switch hands. That leg is the working leg because it's going to bend and straighten standing legs. Also you're working like, because you're using it to balance upon this hands pulling down the stick. Here we go. And we did 10 strength and length three. So this, these all these exercises, they're good for everybody. Bone loading people. Men, your active aging. That's including everybody who are all aging and we're all active.

Standing Hamstring Pulls

Seven and eight. Nine, 10. Okay. Second layer if you want to. We added a bend of the street, uh, standing knee bend and stretch our mount bend. So you do want to keep a relatively neutral pelvis as you've been. Not going into too much of an interior or posterior tilt of either. All right? You're working me here on the carriage defending straight up ribs, not thrusting forward. Seven.

Standing Hamstring Pulls w/ Plie

Okay. Ate can feeling really healthy. Ankle stability down there. Alright, so earlier we did that little relevation on the foot bar for this reason. Ben, the working on the on the shoulder block. Raise up to her, elevate her, rise up and lower with control. Exhale your way. Push down on the stick.

Standing Hamstring Pulls w/ Releve

Oh, it feels so good. Make sure to focus your eyeballs on something right here. Really helps to steady your balance. Your head is back over your shoulders. If you push the floor down, you rise. Okay, let's do one more. We stood up there. Here we go. Stay. Okay. Turn and look someplace. Oh there. Then front.

You've got it. One more vision change and then lower your heel and rest. Okay, we did it. Awesome. I'm going to turn toward you guys and keep using your dowel. Lower your head rest. You're just going to put your foot here. We're still working on a Dorsey, our plants, our flection of your feet, your calves. Okay. Maybe this is better. This foot's up. You did all that turnout for this, so here you are.

Single Leg Releve in External Rotation

This leg is straight underneath your hip. You may or may not need the dowel but may as well start with it and all I want us to begin with is pressing this foot down to lift the heel. Okay, we'll take this arm out. It feels kind of Nice to gesture. Okay, and that's all it is. We're not moving the carriage. It's a challenge for your balance. This wood could be pushing in the heel, could be pushing down as you rise. This one you can get fancy with your dowel. Some of you are going to want to use it for arm work. If you are. Okay, I'm going to keep going with my eyes closed. That's my challenge right now.

That's why I want to keep holding this stick. Five more. Really Nice for your sense of where are you over your standing leg in your body. Last one. I'm going to hold it. I'm going to open. I did pretty good. I started veering a little bit not bad and then down. Okay. That's all other side turn around. Foot up.

Relatively natural turnout. I've backed myself up against the frame. There we are. Dowel is at my ready. I'm using it. Push this foot down, rise up the other heel or lift up the other heel. Okay. You can't tell if I'm cheating. My eyes are open or closed. They're still, cause we did a set with eyes open. I really feel the push off strength of your ankle down there in your foot. [inaudible] okay, I'm going to close my eyes here. I'm now closed.

Still doing the work. [inaudible] you can trust your teacher. I'm challenging myself. I'm pulling my heel down. I'm lifting it up. Going for four more. Three, two, last one. How'd I do? Pretty good. I didn't move as much as the first side. Pretty good.

Okay. Keep playing with that stuff is really fun and add different challenges in that when you feel ready and when you feel like your client's ready to start moving a little bit or move this with your heels, you guys will get creative and it's all for purpose of challenging that standing balance. Okay. I'm not quite done with that. So last little series we're going to do here, standing up on the reformer for some leg lied. So guys go into a red spring. Now head rest up. We want that foot barn down and I'll face you for the first round. Of course, pretty standard so they may or may not need the Dowel, but I'm going to use that and then just stand, organize your clothes. It makes a difference. Okay, so here we are foot real close to the edges and I want you to slide your carriage out and then once you're there, hold it, hold it, don't go anywhere. We're used to moving in and out. Just hold.

Side Splits

So you have that moment isolate right in there in the side of your pelvis is the stabilizers right? And then bring it back in just five times. We are going to hold with each one hold. I'm feeling like I'm pushing this heel out that way, that heel out that way. And then in all this is organized three more times press hold and hold and hold. Suddenly it feels right to do this with my arms.

Hold and hold and hold and one more with two straight legs pressing hold and hold and hold. If you want to keep holding, you can. You can keep working at pattern or Ben both knees. This is going to go out here. Now all your weight I want you to put on this leg. 95% 95% of it, okay.

Speed Skater

And then I sulfate this carriage leg right from that hip, that lateral strength. Again, stand tall shoulder. Stay over hips for five. You can keep going if you want. However, I'm going to move the dowel to this hand. Bend both knees still. This leg stays stable. Now while I pushed this leg street, it's a little bit of coordination. All right. Push this outside leg straight. Three more times. You can probably feel your ankle. Oh, that good.

Dorsey flection we did prepares us for things like this. There's four and five. Okay, so in both legs, step down behind that moving leg, carriage goes first. Carriage. What goes first? Walk yourself around. Stable side. Mobile side can, once again, the devil is just right in front of you. Pretty much in the center of your body. Light, hands lifted elbows. Press yourself out. Hold it there.

Side Splits

Concentrate again. That connection right in the side of your hips and that both heels are pressing out and you'll really it. It's just so instant right into the pelvis right there. Okay. And then carry on. We'll press for out and hold it for three, two, one and in, and we're not tucking our tail. One, two, three, twice again. One, two, three, Ooh, and one, two and three. Next set down on the outside, Ben, both knees is this leg that's going to do the pushing. So again, you have to transfer that weight and push. I've transferred the weight but I haven't come off of ribs over hip.

Speed Skater

Definitely don't want my ribs shifted either side. That'll cause a imbalance. All right, last round of this exercise is move the stick. Now this leg stays bent, you stabilize it and you push from the platform side, come back to it and push off of it, right again, trunk stays over the pelvis, ribs over hips. Four good one last time. And then we're last exercise that we're going to do. Guess what?

We get to go back into that well area for a quad stretch step in again, headrest down, and I'm doing this instead of Eve's lunge, just to get a different opportunity for some quad lengthening. Hold the risers, put a foot up toes right on the edge. You can hop your forward leg there, Ben, both knees. Now you can see I'm a little bit in my lordosis feels homey there. Then nothing wrong with this, but I'm not getting the quad stretch so you know what we've got to do. I'm going to take these two hip bones.

Quad Stretch

I'm going to bring them up and into me that does it, and then a posterior hip again to press the femur forward. Let's try this. Okay. If you're ready for it and just hold and hold, should feel pretty good and hold. Yeah. Okay. Other leg, everybody. Then you're almost done.

Let's Tuck those toes going can start off in your normal. That's fine, but then let's change it. Hips up, hips back in, puts in a little more posterior tilt of this bothers your knee. Abort. You don't need to do the exercise. Find the other way to start your quad and then just be, take a few breaths. Yeah.

All right. One more together. [inaudible] all right. We did it. Come off your carriage. Thanks everybody. Let me know what you think. Keep building your bones. Keep building your bond. Strong bodies. The later.

Comments

2 people like this.
Love this!!!! Thank you everyone needs this! Very yummy flow. Love love love.
So good! Excellent work!!
1 person likes this.
Perfect for majority of my clientele! Thank You!
1 person likes this.
Love it my older clients are going to enjoy all this balance work.
Michael Mary S
Amy, this is a great class. I've done it three times and used it in class. My students loved it. Thanks for all your work and great classes.
1 person likes this.
Fun and so different from the norm! This is what we all need. I’m an older gal, trying to stay in good shape . I loved the entire workout, especially the balance work. Thanks, Amy!
1 person likes this.
Loved it Amy! Feel invigorated and ready for my weekend. Can’t wait to share with clients. Thank you!
1 person likes this.
Nice one.....lots of gems in this one & easily adaptable to the mat! Thank you thank you
1 person likes this.
Amy, great class. So important for lots of people!!
1 person likes this.
Thank you Amy, always appreciate the non-flexion classes. Sidelying hip/glute work however it tends to be difficult for quite a number of my elderly clients, due to hip or shoulder problems. I just love the lengthening feeling of the sidelying; have you got some other ideas? Thanks
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