Class #3926

Day 8: Lower Body Challenge

15 min - Class
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Welcome to Day 8! Courtney encourages you to keep going with the challenge by reminding you to use your breath as the driving force, especially when you get tired during the HIIT sequences. She works your entire body, especially your lower body, with creative exercises that will test your stability and endurance.

You can add Courtney's HIIT Recovery class if you need a quick cool down after this workout.
What You'll Need: Mat

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Welcome today eight. We've almost made it through the challenge. Yesterday was a challenging day. All those lunges and hop and I'm feeling it. I know you are too. So let's get you warmed up. Standing at the back of the mat. Remember our focus is breath. Inhale and exhale, touching the toes, filling the length in that back body and just using gravity to find more length in the spine. Arms up and let all that air go.

When you're feeling tired in those hit circuits, you got to breathe. That's going to be your driving force to keep you going. Cactus those arms. Lift the chest and fold forward. Soft knees as you rebuild. One more time, lift the arms, bend the elbows, feel like you're pulling the chest up through the arms. Tummy is lengthening. Reach and touch the ground with soft knees and keeping your weight even into the right and the left foot.

Find that vertical posture and we're ready to go. So our first hit sequence, feet standing a little bit wider than the hips and parallel stance. We're going to send the hips back and low, so get nice and low. In this squat rise, swinging those arms back and come onto your tip toes. So option one is not adding a jump, but instead that balance challenge where you come up onto the tip toes.

Option two is using those arms to swing back and that's going to help you derive up into a jump. 45 seconds. We're ready sitting those hips low to the ground, but keeping your chest lifted. Inhale down, exhale up. It doesn't have to be all or none. You can do some on the toes and some jumps, but try to keep moving. [inaudible] down and up. 10 seconds, five, four, three, two. And we did it. Fell on those size. All right, into the core, we go, taking a seat. We're going to roll the spine all the way back and take your legs up to tabletop. Your leg is going to stay in this tabletop position. Arms reach back, take a deep breath in, reach your hands down. Exhale, roll to a balance.

We're going to call this our modified teaser roll halfway back all the way back, and then arms down, arms up. Find the balance. Roll halfway. So find that Mark and then all the way and down. Exhale as you go up and over, try not to Kerplunk. You want to feel each segment of the spine slowly roll the pelvis back one more time.

This time we're going to stay up and rotate side to side for ten nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two and one. Take it all the way down. Stretch those legs long in through the nose for the mouth. Okay, we're coming back up to that balance position, so these are your V apps when your knees are towards your chest. That's your letter V. from here we're going to lower down to our hundred position and pull the knees back in. Inhale down, exhale up.

Try to get that lower back to touch down on the mat. Five more, four, three, two, one and take it down. We've got one more thing to do here. We're going to come back up to that V position. Roll down and hold arms back, hollow body lever, also known as double leg stretch position, ten nine eight seven six five four three two and fight for it to the very end one. Great job. We're coming back up. We've got some jumps to do so feet are a little bit wider so we have a nice wide base to land on. Inhale, squat, swing those arms back coming to the tip toes or adding that jump.

You find your jam. Here we go down and up, sending those hips low. It doesn't have to be all or none, maybe just a couple of jumps. Then some calf raises. The more you do this, the stronger you get. Inhale down, exhale up. When the hips go low, the chest stays lifted. Feeling lots of abdominals working here when you're up in that highest Relevate position, 10 seconds, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two. And we made it one coming down onto our abdomen. So this is a sea star and a whole body lift. So our sea stars, when we pushed the pubic bone down, legs are apart and lifted.

Arms are forward. We hold. Try to stay lifted and long, no tension in the neck. Five, four, three to draw the feet together, toes down, hands underneath the shoulders. And you're going to try to push everything up in one. Push up, everything down and back to your star holding. Now you can do this with lowering the knees down to assist you up to you and bring it in. Taking the knees down would look like that and back. Arms up, legs lifted. We're just holding. Reach those fingers away from your toes. Tommy. Tight feet together. Hands under shoulders.

So the hardest thing to stabilize is that middle back, right, that low, middle back and pelvis area. When you lift up into your high plank, you have to draw the stomach up, anticipating that lift, take it down and hold it here. Arms lifted. Look down, keep your neck long. [inaudible] [inaudible] everything up, everything down. One more time. Holding legs lifted.

[inaudible] in everything up and everything down. We're going to hold for five, four, three, two and one. Definitely feeling those shoulders. Draw your feet together. Take your elbows right underneath your shoulders and lift up to a modified or low plank position. Alternating side lift. So I pivot. Take one hand flat to the mat, other hand up, come back through other side. Pivot and lift, so challenging that stability as you go from one side to the other.

Pivoting on the feet, shoulders right over each other. Hips are right over each other. Placing that elbow down right underneath your shoulder. [inaudible] one more each side. [inaudible] and take it down. Nice work, feeling that upper body. You're ready to jump. Come on up. Feet wide, toes forward. Inhale down, exhale up or vertical jump. Let's go.

[inaudible]. When the hips go down, keep that chest lifted. Get nice and low and then push your arms back. Push the floor away. Coming onto those toes, taking that jump out. You do you guys, but keep moving all the way to the end.

Inhale down. Exhale up and heal. Lower. Exhale, lift, knees right over those ankles. 10 seconds, push it through all the way to the end. Five, four, three, two, and one. Get back into the booty. This time we're going to come down onto our elbows and forearms. Elbows ran underneath the shoulders, palms together.

Pull the abdominals in in the shoulders down, sending one leg back behind you. Lift and tap work to keep the hips level so you're going to have to drop that hip. A little exhale. Up. Neck is long, definitely feeling the upper body working as well. Your stabilizing knee is right under your hips. Three more straight, leg up, two and one. Then the knee in and kick back.

Try flexing the foot. When you kick, you'll feel more activity in the glutes and hamstrings. Keep pulling the lower body in and up and back. Three, two and one. Adding a clam and then kick. So the knee comes up and push back. Push knee up, leg kicks [inaudible] and push five more guys.

Up and back for three, two and one. Hold that leg up. A little pulses. Really work to find that length. Head away from toe. Five, four, three, two and one bring it in. Push it back cause those shoulders and that upper body was working hard too. And then set it up for the other side. Elbows right underneath those shoulders.

So if you can hold your elbows, you know you're in a good position. I like to make a triangle shape with my hands pressing together. Send that opposite leg back. Lift and tap [inaudible] so we want to keep those hips level so we keep the work in the glute. You might have to drop that hip down a little bit. Notice your head and neck alignment should be one long line from your ears through to your tailbone. Straight leg.

This is not coming from the knee, it's coming from the glute. Okay. And adding that knee in and kick back and up me and and back. When you start to get tired in your upper body, you might find your shoulders lift up by your ears. Work hard to keep them down.

So the next day is long and free of tension. [inaudible] adding that clam so neat in the whole shape of the leg lifts, kickback. You'll definitely feel your hip lift with this one. But then find those square hips again when you kick back. Five, four, three, two.

And one that's Paul set to finish. So create an imaginary floor and just lift up higher and higher each time. Nice straight leg. We'll keep the work in that glute. Four, three, two, and one. Bring it on in a was a good one. We worked really hard guys, you are so close to finishing.

I can't wait to doing those last two classes with you. I'll see you soon for day number nine and 10.

Comments

1 person likes this.
Great exercises! Really enjoying this challenge.
loving this challenge!
8 people like this.
Has anybody tried doing two of these back to back for a longer workout?
Ann I've been doing one of these with a more traditional 10 minute mat, especially one more ab focused. I don't think I could hack two of these back to back!
Lisa V
Ann, yes, I've done two back-to-back and it makes for a nice workout.
Enjoying this challenge. Have just done this back to back with Day 7.  Definitely pushed me. Thank you Courtney.
1 person likes this.
Ann I completed the complete challenge day by day the first time through.  On my second "go round" I'm doing two a day.   I'm probably one of the older practitioners on this challenge at 69 and I wouldn't say I am "camera ready" or doing the HIIT exercises nearly as rapidly as Courtney. I am finding that I have a little more verve and have been doing the second non adaptive version more often.
….and I always make time to do the recovery workout when I'm done!
1 person likes this.
I'm loving this challenge Courtney, you're such a great instructor...thank you!   
Loving the challenge Courtney! 
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