Class #4485

Squeeze It Out

55 min - Class
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Description

In the sixth class of Wall-to-Wall with Alexandra you’ll find the connection of a household chair to the Wunda Chair, Arm Chair, and Ladder Barrel. In this advanced class she’ll teach you how you can work your body’s internal springs in exercises like Going Up Front, Boxing, and Ballet Stretches. Grab a chair and learn how to recreate the Pilates studio wherever you go!
What You'll Need: Mat, Table Chair (2), Hand Weights (2)

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Apr 02, 2021
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Hi guys, welcome to Pilates Anytime with Alexandra, the Wall-to-Wall series. So we started on the wall and we have been doing a few things on the wall and we'll go back to the wall on the final class. So, today we do the music chair, no just kidding, (laughing) where we go around the chair and you have to sit down as best as you can, no. Right, so you need a chair, we gonna be working out on the chair, and it's a great little toe, where you can think of the wooden chair, and all different equipment on the studio, the layer bare, the armchair, lots of things and this, just this home chair. So I'm gonna be using two chairs.

I will need, you'd only get any the second chair for a few exercises towards the end. Very, very important, you need something that doesn't allow your chair to slip to be, you know, slippery, especially if it's a home chair, you wanna that little thing that goes under the chair to slide really well in your wood floor doesn't scratch. So make sure you have something, this is just a kitchen slippery thing the anti slippery thing. So we're gonna use the chair, make sure you have a little pillow, I have a nice thick pad for my reformer. We, you know, I have been, you can do the chair, the workout with just a pillow from your bed, from your sofa.

So pillow, so you can do exercises comfortably on the chair, a pair of weights. I have the famous two cute, the two pounds, one Kilo and then two chairs. That's pretty much what you need. At one point, I'm gonna grab a mat and you can, I could even use the same pads on the floor but I'm just gonna grab it and slide this mat quite thick as well. So it doesn't hurt my spine or anything.

So that's what you need and let's get started. Right, so you're going to go ahead and sit and the front of your chair, nice and tall Ramana used to call this, the TV exercises, 'cause you could do your front of the TV but that doesn't mean it's easy. You're gonna try to stay nice and tall, pretend you have a book on your head and you pressing the chair, feel the feedback from the chair. And then you're gonna lift one leg up without moving anything. So you try to keep your body completely straight.

Your energy is going through the ceiling. You pulling your tummy in and up and you really lifting the legs from way up here. Now from the hip flexors I like to help us and let's do two more repetitions. And the hand is there. Nice and tall, one more, last time.

And now you're going to lean back a little back without changing very much. So you wanna pull everything and lean back sooner rounding and you're not talking, just leaning back with your center and you're gonna do the same thing. One leg, then the other leg and you alternating. Just gonna do five times. It's two and it's leg, and the hands can just slightly be pressing into the chair.

Like you're doing a chest expansion, four, to feel your back muscles connecting. And this is five. And now let's see if we can do in the air, so you're gonna stay up there and you're just gonna tap the floor. Woo. And pull everything in.

So getting a nice and more warmed up. And let's do another two. So another five repetition and last time, five and five. Now see if you can do it with both legs right away, stay there where you were and you're gonna pick it up the leg and then place it quietly without making any noise. So pull everything into, this one should be a little harder than doing one leg at a time, hold in another five.

So, this is three, let's do two more, four five to eight repetitions healthy last time and five. Good. Now you're going to need you a little weights. So you're going to feel this connection you just made. And you're gonna bring this connection against the wall, against the chair as we did on the wall.

So, snug with your chair go as far back as possible become one with your chair, your legs are together. If anything, you wanna use your feet to push the floor to pull into yourself, push, to pull and then you're gonna bring your arms, right. Your hands, right by your shoulders. Sit up nice and tall. Think of the arm chair, and you're gonna punch forward, doing your boxing here.

Now very important, to not move your shoulders. So the shoulders try to help us giving it lots of range but I wanna your shoulders to be glue to the back of the chair. I'm gonna do 10 repetitions here and your head pressing into this imaginary chair that is much taller than yours or mine. And you punching and you scooping, and you pushing and your legs are together and let's do eight, eight, nine, nine shoulders back 10 and 10. Now let's do it together, so you're gonna press out together and bring it in.

And that's two, the more you press your arms forward the more you grow your ribs the front ribs to say hi to the back ribs. They're just, they're the same ribs, but you wanna pull the front of the ribs to the back of the ribs and then the shoulders are glued to the back of your chair. You're just breathing in and out naturally, squeezing the legs together, pushing your full out weight to pull into your center, stay nice and tall with your neck and out and in, let's do two more nine and one more 10 and release. Now go ahead, bring your arms in front of you a little back kind of towards the corner of your chair. And you're going to bring your arms forward.

And then around back to that corner, or maybe a little bit slightly behind the corner of your chair and again up and I am thinking about my arms but I'm really thinking of scooping my tummy into that back of the chair. That's the most important thing. So we wanna think of the same thing that the armchair, you know, one of the apparatus that we have in the system your center is pushing into the chair and let's do three more and your shoulders are down, not pressing now but they're just relaxed, so your back muscles can help you, one more and then go ahead and reverse To scoop your arms up. Don't let the arms moving dependently from the back and from the waist and from your center. And you try to move the arms equally at the same time evenly and you strive to stay nice and tall in your waist.

And nice and tall. Let's do three more, three, your elbows just soft, two and you smiling with your eyes so you don't tense in your face. Good, now let's go ahead and bring your arms, behind your head. So your index finger are connected and you shaving and you scooping to the chair in order to go forward. So you always, scooping and engaging everything into the chair.

And let's do four more, elbows, nice and wide, dak is long, shoulders down, two, one more and I'll bring it down. Let's bring your arms out to do the hug from here. So your arms are in front of the corner of your eyes your elbows, your lift, and we inhale and push the walls away, exhale. And again, in with the air, out with the air. Think of pressing your head into this imaginary chair.

So you, the back of the chairs, nice and tall like a throne, to think of your queen or king and press and feel nice and proud into that chair. Let's do two more So you should feeling your arms, two, let's do one more, and one. Let the weight, drop your shoulders for a little back and then just struckle your shoulders back. One and two, one more. Now you're gonna finish with your little sparkling.

So your hands is directly to the corner of your chair depending on how wide it is. But you're gonna do a little struggles like this, in and out, and you're gonna travel up. So you try to keep your body completely still And then you come down. Yeah, so this is just the warm up. Don't be full or be hard, but always start a little nice and easy, and then we pick it up as we keep moving.

So keep moving from your waist and your back. Nice open collarbones, clavicle, whatever you wanna feel and call, let's do two more. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, reverse two three, four, five, six seven, eight, and up, last time, energy and alive and down eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one. Well done. You have the option of keeping you a little weights, we gonna do the hundred now.

So that means you can be completely squished into your chair. You still sitting nice and safe. Make sure you tail bone is on the edge, but you wanna make sure you have a little space for your arms. So make sure you, if you need to wiggle, make sure you safe make sure you can bring your arms long. Otherwise just hold the back of your chair.

Reach that legs out and pump your arms with your weight or not. And breath out that's 10, breathe in with the air, and out with the air. Glue those heels together, and exhale. Almost halfway there, inhale, energy through the arms. You won't pump as fast 'cause you have the weight, and again, inhale for five, exhale 60.

in two, three, four, five, and exhale, two, three, four 70. In to the nose, and out through the nose, into the nose and an empty your air. You can lower the legs, if you wish to. And exhale, inhale exhale, a hundred. Let's do one more for a bonus, in two, three, four, five and exhale stay nice and high with your abdominal muscles and rest.

We're done. Now you're going to do some squats from here, so find your distance, so you can still use your weights if you want to and make sure that when you sit your knees are a little behind your toes or in front of, or in line with it. So find a nice, healthy space for your knee and toes. And we reach the arms and sit on that chair. So once again, your arms are connected to your back and halfway there.

So let's do another five and up. Four and up, scoop everything in six, all the way, seven, eight, nine, 10, now, from there, hold and come off the chair a little bit and hold. So now you're not sitting on the chair hold for 10, nine, eight seven, reach your arms like a superhero, five, four, three, two, one, and release, were done. Walk forward, we gonna do lunges from here. So I also need to measure where there's a few safe for you to do your lunge that your knee is stays behind on top of you torso.

I think that's good for me. Let's go ahead and start, your arms are gonna be next to you. And we goes straight down. Notice that I'm my toes are pressing on the chair. Three and up, four and up, five stay nice and strong.

Six push with that leg, scoop deeper, shoulders are back nine, 10, now let's that stay down and bounce for 10, nine, eight, seven, five, three, two, one, and swap. So remember what that foot is and then place that foot there, or maybe a tiny bit in front, if you feel like that's better place for you, and we go down and up, and your hips are nice and relax. I'm not trying to talk my pelvis. I'm trying to pull my tummy into my lower back and stay nice and tall halfway there, five, four, three, two and one. Now stay there and pump for 10, nine and smile.

Eight, seven six, pull your tummy in, four, three, two one, and come out of there. Yay, good, so that should keep your legs warmed up for you're going in front. So you don't need the weights anymore. I'm gonna give you a few options. You can place your foot on the chair.

So they're going up front on the wooden chair or the high chair, your hands gonna hold the chair, if you want to, and one hand on your thigh. And you just maybe go half the way, quarter of the way go on your toes, depending of your level. And if you feel comfortable enough, you can take one of the hands and maybe two. So listen to your body and then you can stay here or you can bring your hands behind the base of your scope and up. Let me try and for that number 10.

Now, when you come down, try to come down nice and slow. So you don't wanna hear yourself touching the floor versus this yeah. So stay nice and smooth. Pretend you have imaginary spring helping you to go down slowly, eight and nine and 10. Now stay there, we're gonna go down nice and slow.

10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Well done Now to the other side, because if you need to hold onto your chair. Yeah, so one for there, hands on your thigh, and we go maybe a little bit back or maybe not just one hand, or maybe both hands, pick your option and we go. 10 and down, nine and down. Remember, we don't wanna hear you coming back down and all the way up, scoop deeper.

So, this is what ultimately you want to do on the wooden chair is they use the springs but then you get so strong that you don't use the springs anymore, you use your internal springs and up and almost there, four, and three, get your head to press into your hands, two, one more. Now, stay there and go down slowly. 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Yeah, you did it. (laughs) So now, yo can do this on the floor if you wish to but I'm gonna make you do on the chair, If you can.

We gonna do the five, somatone, so same measurement as the hundred, your tailbone is on the edge, you lean back, make sure you feel safe on the chair, your whole torso is on the chair. So you can then pull one leg in. Ready, and we go, right knee left knee two, two three, three, four, add resistance, five, six, breed, eight, nine, 10. Now both knees in, you can reach full, like, you're gonna do the a hundred again and bend in. You can go crazy and bring so for the hat, if you want to.

Forward or back, pick your option and make sure that your ribs your floating ribs and your abdomen, your sternum stays on the chair and reach, and bend, and you feel secure on the chair. Otherwise you can do the same thing on the mat is just this stomachs use yeah, on steroids, I guess, on the chair, so it's a lot harder. Make sure that you head is in space, so you wanna make sure you head is being supported by your center and now hold it in, let's do your single straight leg. Now here you can indulge yourself in a stretch beyond the floor to stretch the hip flexors. Pull pull swap pull pull, and then you can find out what hip flexes a bit more tight, for me I think the right side, 'cause my left side goes forever down to the floor that leg and my right doesn't.

So see, I need to stretch that right. Hip flex is a bit more so here's nice 'cause you can really feel that stretch. Feel like you're gonna touch the floor. Pull, pull, pull, pull, bring your knee to your nose and touch and down and last one in its side. Now keep both legs up, bring your hands in front of the chair, pull the chair into you to pull into yourself.

And we go down, down, down and up one Breathe in, exhale, breathe in exhale, inhale draw the legs together. Don't let the little mountain come up, pull it down. Have somebody sit on your tummy for you, don't let it pop up down, down, down and up, three more and up, feel free to go beyond and down, down, down, down. And I come up, last time and hold. Now, hold it there and now stay on, you know, frame off of the chair and just rotate a little bit but I'm not gonna make you go really rotate.

'cause the back of the chair is there, Read and enjoy the burn and the pain last time and rest. Now if you feel safe, you can hold the back of the chair, and look back. Or you can go to the back of your chair, just gonna show on this one so you can see it but you just wanna open up, look for a little bar so you can stretch your abdominal muscles. You can open the legs a little back, bend the knees, and come out of it. I need a towel.

(laughing) Hopefully you sweating like me. Hopefully you really feeling it. Nice, so now that you've done all that crazy stuff, you gonna do another crazy thing called the horseback, so this is just a fancy way to get there. You're lifting and then you place yourself down, but you can just sit down. We're gonna use the weights too.

So I am trying to keep my C curve, my long C curve into the back of the chair. And I wanna become one with that back of the chair. So, my elbows are gonna come by my waist, my legs are wider than my shoulders and the corner of the chair there. I'm gonna point my toes, I'm gonna reach my arms full and my waist is going to go behind that chair, reach, reach, reach, reach, reach, reach, reach and come down. Here we go.

Reach four as your abdominal muscles go back into the chair and you lean forward little there and then you come down. Now, if you feel that you can come off the chair a little bit, you can reach for lift your hips off the chair a little bit, reach, reach, reach and I'll circle the arms and scoop into the back of the chair, so your lower back is... Like a hoover or vacuum is right behind your lower back, drawing everything back. Last time, and come down You gonna add shaving to that. So you can reach for your arms and legs.

You're waist at the back of the chair and you're going to bring your arms behind your head and do your little shaving from here. Squeezing the chair, lifting your hips off the chair, scoping a lower back into the back of the chair. Now do your struggles from there and lift your bum off the floor, off the chair, lift and lift, last time and come down. Well done. Good.

So nice and neat, pull your weight away. And you can come in front of your toe at the side of the chair. And you're going to do your, gonna a little pillow for me a little pad for my tailbone. You don't have to. I broke my tailbone doing snowboarding many years ago.

So just since then, it's a little sensitive but you don't need to, you can just sit on the chair. Now we're gonna replicate the spine stretch forward here. You're going to place your hands on the chair and you wanna feel that you have enough room for your arms to be completely straight. So you wanna press the chair to scoop into yourself. So you're gonna have to really use mental power to think that you pushing this chair down to the floor and towards you.

So we're gonna go, press the chair, scoop use your back muscles, your waist, your tummy and release. So I'm pressing the chair, I'm lengthening my body up to the ceiling and release. Now start thinking that that side of the chair, the back of the chair, you're gonna press down. You're going to lift the back of the chair because you pulling that chair in and up, in and up, in and up in and up and up in and up in an up and release. Let's do that one more time.

So you press grow taller, press down pull the chair and feel that big, giant scoop when you pull the chair towards you and grow taller and release. Nice, now let's pop this. The heels around the edge, so that means I'm gonna need to go back a little back, 'cause I want my heels right on the edge of the chair. My fingertips are gonna press the chair now. And I'm gonna just give myself a little teaser stretch here.

I'm stretching over, and lengthening everything over my thighs and release. Now I'm gonna think of what I just did with the spine stretch forward and think of a teaser. So I'm gonna press the chair, to lift my right leg. So half teaser and bring my leg down. Press the chair and lift my other leg up and release.

And again, press the chair and lift both legs, and release. And again, I'm gonna have to scoot a little bit further, press down lift both legs and lower, lift both legs and this is your teaser, up and down. Draw the legs together, up down one more time, press the chair, last time, let's do three repetitions. Lift and down, lift and down, lift and stay and rest. And then come out of there.

Now from there, we're gonna think of the same idea. And you're gonna bring your arms up, dive into the chair, place your hands on the chair. You have your little Pilates V and you're gonna push the chair to pull into yourself. So pretend you're going to lift your legs up to the ceiling, both legs and you gonna do a hand stance on the chair which you're not gonna do, but think of that. You wanna press the chair, scoop, push, push, push, push and then lift your heels to kinda give you the idea of I'm gonna lift, I'm gonna take off any time now, and release.

I'm pushing to pull into myself, draw my navel into my lower back and release. Last time, press down, scoop, draw the legs, take off to the ceiling with your hips and release. And round. So hopefully that made sense, that push to pull. Now you're gonna scooch back a little back, bring your arms long, feel free to grab you a little weights.

You're gonna bring your leg forward, and you're gonna use the side of your foot, you gonna churn out your legs, think of your center, think of your bum and your thigh and press the chair, pretend you're gonna do a karate kick and break that chair in a half. Press, press, press, scoop, scoop, scoop, engage, engage, engage, and release and relax. And again, press, press, press, press, press down, down, down, down, and release. Let's do it one more time, so three reps, press down, feel the back of the thighs with the bum and the leg meets feel your scoop length and the lower back and release. Now hot potatoes, you're gonna lift your leg off the chair for five, four, three, energy through the ceiling, two, one stay there, come back in and balance if you want to.

So you can take your arms forward, you can hold on to the chair and just walk on your balance a little bit and place it down, then swing the other leg or bend and go forward. Place that side of your foot on the chair, turn now, scoop deeper, reach out long body karate chopping, press, press, press, scoop, scoop, lengthen, lengthen, lengthen, C curve and release. So with the arms you're thinking of this maginary bar and you're pressing it down with the back of your arms and the waist. Press the chair one, two, three, and release. One more time, lengthen and we go press squeeze the juice out of your muscles and release.

Now lift your legs, your leg, nice and light one, scoop deeper two, three energy out up and through, last time and bend balance if you want to and come down. Yay, shake it shake it out, shake it up, happy dance. Now we're gonna do some extension work, because now your tummy's nice and warmed up for you to be able to extend. So you just gonna make sure you have a pillow on your chair or maybe sometimes some chairs are padded on lucky you and you wanna try to keep your toes back there. My heels are flax and my chest is off.

I'm gonna bring my hands behind my head and I'm gonna lower and lift, and lower and lift, and lower and lift. I'm still scooping into my center, lift, two more for eight repetition. Let's do one more, and down. Very nice. Now from here, see if we can lift both arms now, out, up and down, up and down.

So I'm getting somewhere. I'm building up on the swimming exercise, but this is breakdowns. You can stay at any level that feels comfortable for you and rest, now see if we can hug your chairs. Thank you for helping me move. And I just sit on you and lift the legs up and I'll see your chairs are not just for you to sit and drink some tea, or coffee.

You get to move and sweat, so now you join your legs together and you lifting up and down and lift up. If you have ankle weights, good luck, and up, some of you are very brave to be using that. Well done, last time. Now let's see if we can do it together. I feel like a superhero.

I feel like a superhero dressed on this red outfit mine and again lift like a superwoman and down now stay there and go for a nice refresh swimming, lift lift, lift, lift, lift, lift, lift, lift, lift, and rest. Now round your head ribs, belly button and go say hi to your feet, around your body, bend your knees, hold the back of your thighs and round, into your lower back and round round, round, round, round round to roll all the way up. Well done. Good, so now that's why I asked you to make sure, you had a little mat available so you can lie on your back. But if you have a towel that we'll do as well I just wanna make sure you're spine processes.

This is this little boney landmark when you're back, it's nice and comfortable. Make sure your heels are comfortable as well. And we're gonna go lie into a bridge because we just extend, now we wanna fold. So you wanna lift and then just around from there and come down. So you lift and then you round from your chest to your sternum, to your ribs, to your waist and now stay up there, and make sure your feet are in line with your hips.

And you're just going to lift the hips and go up to not articulating or stretching you just moving up and down. Now, after five, we go to stay up there and then take your right leg out and do five with the right leg up moving with your supporting left leg on the chair. Two more, last time and swap. Now the other heels on the chair or the straight leg is up and now we go five, four, three, so hopefully feeling it, two ,one more chest expansion with the arms here. One, please sit down, bend your knees, give yourself a little hug.

And then from there, we going to go into your shoulder row down. So I'm gonna scooch back a little tiny back, my legs are now completely straight arms long, lift your hips into a little long bridge this time. Pick your favorite bridge in the world, think of that, ribs are in, seat is tie, I do have my little Pilates V, my knees are soft so I'm not going into the back of the knee, I'm just talk to you so your muscles can work, good. Now, hold it there. Kick your right leg up and then do it again to seem like, three swap leg, and one, and down ribs in.

You keep breathing, but don't let the ribs pop last time and around to come down. Let's do that again, so go up, so now we're gonna start with your left. Stay up and we go left leg, one, two, three swap right there and again, one, two waist high, three round to come down. So chest, throat, chest, sternum, ribs, bend your knees, give yourself a little stretch. And, now go ahead and turn to your side.

So you're going to do some inner thigh work, I call the inner thigh burn. The side of your foot or the inside part of your foot, the whole thing is gonna go to the side on the side there on the chair. You pop the handful, you stay on your elbow and you just lift the hip up, bend down your neck as long you're looking straight through, nice and the hand can either be on your hip or in the back of your head. It's up to you, or up like a star, and now come down. Now that's where we have pick things up.

The hand can go in front of you and you're gonna stay up now and your legs are gonna come straight up. And now two, three, four, five, now stay up there, take your leg and your arm up, up, up, up, up, and come now. Nice, and go ahead and face the other way. So, I'm gonna face my back to you, but you can go to the other side of the chair to keep watching if you want to, but essentially we're doing the same thing. So hand, hand, just up and down up and down, looking straight, so your neck is long.

Four and five, now stay up there and lift the leg for five, four, your hand position is anywhere you want, two, one. Stay up their right to the ceiling, feel like a star and come down. Well done. Now, I'm gonna give you a plank position, two options, you can either gonna face the chair or on the floor. So if you on the chair, you're going to face this way and you're gonna stay there or you can do on your hands.

Yeah, it's up to you. And I just want you to alternate your knee. So you're gonna alternate your knee coming in. Now we are gonna do the crazy ones, I'm gonna turn around, place your foot on chair, slippery things, so make sure nothing's moving or even, I guess the wall, if that's your option and you're going to stay on your hands, pushing the floor away. So use your back and now bring one knee in, swap other knee in, swap, two, two, three, three, four, four, five, five.

Now come out of it, round your back and give you a little stretch breed and then go back to that position. If you try one hand on the chair maybe you wanna try one hand on the floor. Now you can do the same thing with your hands on the chair, if I give you the option or on the floor, yeah, without the chair. Now you're gonna lower your one elbow, then the other elbow then come up with the same hand, you went down, and you're gonna do that three times. So left, right, come up left, right again, left, right, it's very hard.

Now with your right hand, right, left, right left, right, left, last time it was at two or three and rest. Bring your foot down, go into that little round little bowl. So that's one stretch for your lower back. Now look forward, open your knees and that's you stretch for your chest. So you got to take care of those two muscle groups.

Well done. Dry the love and excitement. So now, we don't need this anymore. I'm gonna neatly put under my reformer and then I'm gonna bring the second act, the chair. It does look like I'm gonna do a music chair, right?

I'm going to do some triceps work here, and once again, you don't need to have the chair, but if you want some fun, you can. So you can do this on the floor, just we're gonna do some tricep dips. And then if you want to challenge yourself, then you can pop your hands on the chair. So I'm just gonna see if I can have, yeah I think I'm good there. So the first option is this one, nice and easy with control, moving right along.

Now, you can take a step up, or you actually can keep it straight if you want, that's the next one. And then you can go down and up and then if you really want, you can go on top of it and, now go down and have fun. One, two, so I didn't count the other ones I did show you, three, four, scoop to push and let's do five more. Five, why not? Four, three, two, and one, good.

Now step out of there, have a seat and just go ahead and give yourself a little stretch here. So you're just gonna bring the arm over the head, with the other hand and you touch as far as you want to, and then swap. So you probably feel, felt burn, and then you come out of it. Nice, so I'm going to bring the chair a little closer together for us to do something really fun. Make sure you have your little slippery thing coming with you.

But before that, 'cause your arms are probably a bit tired, I'm gonna come back to the chair here and Ramana is to give these with that bar. She used to make us use the football to do these exercise for the tendon stretch. So you're gonna hold on to the chair and you're gonna lift the leg and bring it down because there's an exercise you do on the chair, make sure that on the reformer that you need to keep that leg in the air. So, and I thought, Oh, this is good for us, so we can do it on the chair as well. So I'm just doing 10 make sure the supporting knees slightly bent and three more.

You can point your toes, flex your foot, anything you want. Now stay up there and bounce it up. 10, nine, scoop seven six five four three, two, one. Bring it over and give yourself a little stretch. See, I'm nice sometimes and stretch it out about, and then go ahead and do the other leg on your toes, so we can keep your cardio moving your heart pumping your lungs, diaphragm, everything involve three, four.

I'm leaning a little bit to the side reminds me of sidekick and martial art and halfway there. So five more, five, four, as high as you can of course, three, two, always listen to your body. One buss it up from there, 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five four, reach out, so two, reach that leg to the window and down, bring it over, give yourself a little stretch here. Feels nice, and come out of it. Nice, now from here, we're going to do pushups.

Yay, and I just want you to go ahead and make sure that you have the right setup here. So, make sure you can go down and up, you know, test to feel the waters. So what I'm gonna do is a little choreography, so you know what we're gonna do. I'm gonna do, three pushups, then three pushups clap, you don't have to do it. Then we're gonna swing the legs, circle and clap, so that's the choreography.

Ready to go? Make sure you save them, make sure everything is in its place, keep everything long, good luck. And let's go, down up one, down up two, down up three, now clap, one, two, three, nice work. Put the legs through, circle one, circle two, circle three, clap for Joy, One, two, four, five, six, seven, eight. Bend your knees.

Go in the back of the chair and stretch it out your pack muscles. Yeah, abdominal muscles, you can look forward, Oh, I'm breed out. Nice work. Good, and then from here, you're just gonna try to bring everything together. Bring your heels together.

And you're gonna do your little running as if you were going, doing it on the reformer and you can either have your hands there or you can have your hands in the front of you on your head. So challenge your proprioceptives, instinct in your joints, your muscles and keep moving breathing, two, and one. Now bring both legs together, heel together, and just gonna lower your heels and lift up one, breed, lower your heels bringing it up two, lower your heels bring it up three, nice and slow four five, so my heels still together, my toes are apart and I'm gonna aim for 10 again, feel free to do extra if you want. And 10, now I'm really interested to see the strength of your one leg at a time. So just bring the other leg behind, hang up back there, keep it in the air, whatever you need to do.

Three, four, the same thing with the hand maybe just hold with one hand, five, six, seven, eight, nine, so that's what you should be feeling, 10, go ahead and swap. Same thing. Make sure that the weight is more, you have more of the weight than your hands. They can hold it if you need to maybe one hand but eventually you wanna try to do with no hands. So, find the fine line for you all the way up.

The strength of each calf may be different as well, eight, nine, and 10. And you wanna just step back with one foot and keep the heel really nice on the floor and stretch it out. And then go ahead and do the other foot, heel on the floor, stay nice and tall. Ah, good work. And now let's pretend this is the letterbarrow, right?

Another piece of equipment. And you're going to find on your chair what it's more comfortable for you to place your foot. So I have a low setting and then a medium and a highest. So, find what that is for you. I had to shift my heel to be kind of more under my hip hands are on the chair.

You still pulling it in and up. And it's very simple, you just gonna lower the heel and lift the heel, lower the heel, lift the heel. So that's all you're doing really. And, now you're going to keep you heel down and round your body, over your knee. And then you come back up, do that again, lower and lift, lower and lift, lower and then go over with your head to your knee and then come bend your knee to the outside of your shoulder and stretch and then come out of it, and then you round.

So you have to make sure you place your foot in the right comfortable spot for your foot or your toes. One more, now stay for here and open your chest, pull your tummy in, everything's still engage and come down. Good, and then do the same thing on the other leg. Find that spot for you. If this leg is different, you may wanna stay on the lower setting depending on where your chair is like.

I'm very blessed that my chair kinda looks like a little bank in terms of levels. And you just slowing the heels and lifting and low as you should feel all this, the muscle groups back here stretching. Now keep you heel down and bring your head forward. Nice. And again, lower the heel, lift the heel, lower the heel, bring your head to your knee breed.

Last time, lower the heel, lift the heel and bring your head to the knee where it's comfortable for you. And I'll go ahead and bend that knee. So all you're doing is you're taking that knee to the outside of the shoulder and you're stretching it all about. It's nice to stretch after doing all these crazy things. Now go out and then bend the knee again and stretch it out.

Good, and last time stretch. So, three times a good number, and two to three times and stretch. Very nice. Good, and then you're going to bring your feet out of there. Shake, shake it out.

One thing that I did want to share with you today for a final, for a final close, gonna move these things. So you don't, we don't need them. Teachers anymore, is, the last class is gonna be really fun. And we're gonna do lots of crazy things. So, make sure you have enough room for you to have fun with it and just gonna break it down some handstands.

So, we did a lot of upper body work today, didn't we? we did pushups and triceps all these things for you to be able to be upside down. So I'm gonna give you just a little idea of what it's like to feel like you're gonna go upside down. So your hands there, and you wanna feel that that pushing into the wall to the floor like we did on the wall, you pushing using your center. So you can feel we're gonna count to three and then swap leg, you push you lift two, you push the floor and lift three, and then swap and then find which leg is best for you.

So you push and you lift is definitely my other leg two and three. So now I'm gonna talk about the legs, so feel really strong when you push the floor that that's coming from a strong place and not just from the structures here. So you wanna think of now your legs coming really high to the ceiling and then try to feel comfortable with that. Now I'm gonna go for it, get attached to the wall really light, without you hearing so you couldn't hear, and that's the idea. And if you can get there today, I'll be very happy.

So you hand can be long. I'm pushing the floor with my back, with my waist with my center, and then you can stay there as long as you want, come down nice and smooth and round to come up. So hopefully you enjoy that today. So all those upper body stuff we did on the chair we wanna replicate and bring it to the wall and do handstands. So breaking it down a little bit, practice, have fun.

Now I can sit down and have a cup of tea. Thank you for joining me at Pilates Anytime, see you next week.

Wall to Wall: with Alexandra Bohlinger

Comments

5 people like this.
I admit to loving a class that plays to the strengths of the male physique  - that doesn't happen so often in Pilates. Usually we're playing catchup and it's nice to get a little ego boost now and then   I'm really enjoying the creativity of this whole series and look forward to the final one - sure to be crazy (in a good way) !
4 people like this.
I think that when Alexandra is not teaching Pilates she is either a gymnast, an acrobat, or both. Fun Fun Fun.. If you like  some challenge, this class is for you! I used 2 sturdy folding chairs. My torso is too big to lay sideways on one chair, so for exercises like the 100 I but the 2 together and put a towel over them.. that worked well. I got a good workout, feel great, & am looking forward to her next class. Thanks Again Alexandra:) 
Jennifer E
3 people like this.
Loved this class! Fun, unique, challenging! Thank you so much!
Laurie C
4 people like this.
Amazing!!! Wonderful class. If you are looking for a class with challenge and a whole lot of fun this is the one! Will be doing this a few times over. Been working on mastering a handstand for the last year. I think this class may getting me doing one soon! Thank you, Alexandra. You make everything look so effortless!!❤️❤️
Hi Brian B as you can tell by the intensity of the class I completely agree with you! Yes for ego strength! 😆🙌💪 with a salt of humility which Pilates makes sure of that 😂! Thank you so much for you valuable comment I love hearing how you feel about each class. Yes last class will be full of fun! 🙏 
3 people like this.
You are a superwomen!
Maike S Oh thanks you are so kind, I guess I did feel a little bit  like one with the red outfit haha. 
Hi Gary M, haha thanks for the huge complement! When I'm not doing Pilates I do feel like an acrobat: juggling 3 kids, 2 dogs, patients, clients, videos, and my personal practice (which is so important for us all), not a dull moment ha! Brilliant idea for someone with a long torso, thank you for the great tip! 
Jennifer E Oh yay thank you! I'm SO glad you enjoyed! 
Hi Laurie C thank you so much for your lovely comment!! I'm delighted to know that you thad fun while pushing yourself and yes  keep up the good work with your handstance. On the last class we will do a whole lot more. xoxo
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