Level Up Reformer

Hi. Welcome back. I'm Courtney Miller, and today's reformer workout is a progression based workout. So we're gonna build off those building blocks that we dialed in in our Foundation class earlier. I'm gonna start with 2 red springs on, and we will be using the box today. Join me on your reformer.

Draping your legs over the foot bar, laying all the way down onto your back, reach your arms up to the sky. You'll remember this from last workout, x hail all the way up, we go. Shoulders drop down, core pulls back, inhale, make sure the lower back connects to the mat. This is your chance to connect breath. To body and movement to breath.

No tension in the neck needed. Remember, if you need power, breathe out, and do your best to find that complete exhalation. So totally emptying the lungs at the top of the move. We'll do one more like this, rolling down lower back first. Middle back and upper back.

And this time, we'll stay up. We'll halfway back finding a c scoop position. One arm stretches back. That's a big breath in, exhale return to center. Other side.

So I love this movement because it reminds me to breathe in and get big. So inhaling to expand, to lengthen, and to stretch, exhaling to contract, get smaller, and engage those abdominal muscles. One more. And return back to center. We go all the way down before we come up for another variation.

For head to knees. Roll back. This time just lift and lower the arms. I feel a lot more core when I keep my gaze focused forward. So avoid the sensation of looking up, and this will also teach you how to maintain the scoop shape when you do exercises like your double leg stretch. 3, 2, the lower you are, the harder you work. 1, take it all the way down, and we're coming back up for a third progression. So act sail all the way up we go.

Row halfway back, finding your scoop. Keep your legs relaxed. This is an arm circle, open, and exhale through center. 4 3, 2, 1, reverse. So go out to the sides and down. 4, 3, 2, and 1, take it all the way down. And feet go on to the bar for bridging.

I've got 2 red springs on. If you wanna feel more intensity, reduce the tension, if you wanna feel more support, increase the tension. Rolling up into your bridge, and let's find this position first. So remember from foundations we talked about hip high ribs closed and stretching through the front of the thighs. After we mastered that, we started pressing the carriage out and in. We focused on the alignment of the knees and the hips.

So when the knees drop down, so do the hips, but don't forget when the knees come up, so do the hips. Now that we've got those foundations set, let's practice a single leg weight transfer. So this is called a march, Not only do I have to stabilize my pelvis against one leg lifting, but I have to remember where that foot bar is and find it, even though I can't see it heal to bar, and heal in line with hip. 3. Carriage is staying closed. Hips are staying up.

2. Abdominals participating here. And one. Let's take the right leg up. Press back with the left. Bring that carriage in. Stabilize.

Keep the pelvis level. 4, knees traveling over mid feet, 3, 2, and adding our bicycle. Stretch the leg long. And bring the knee in. We practice this movement in our single leg footwork. Now we're doing it in a lifted hip more hip extensor back body work. 3, 2, and 1.

Foot goes down, opposite leg comes up, take a second to find that alignment, and presses back. As the knee drops, so does the hips, don't forget that up, lift. It should almost feel like the carriage is closing, not just because you're moving forward, but because you're moving up. Last one like this, adding that bicycle, stretch it, and bend it. Arms pressing into the math.

They're gonna help you with stability. 4, 3, 2, and one more like this. And articulations take a moment, heavy those heels, lift the hips, and consciously roll one bone at a time, starting with your upper spine. To increase a challenge, lift the arms off the mat. So this is a weight transfer, taking the hands away.

Now I'm working harder through my center, to find that articulation. 2 more like this, upper, middle, and lower, scoop reverse that order when you come up. 1 more like this, upper, middle, and lower. Awesome. We're gonna do one reformer roll up for spring change all the way up you go. I'm taking one of my reds off, and I'm leaving the other red on.

Roll it back. Reach back behind you and grab one strap. You only need 1. And if you have the double loops like I do, you can choose between long and short. Long will be lighter, short will be harder. Hands go over chest, legs to table.

Right away, we're coming up into our lift. The hand that's not in the strap is gonna be behind the head. Hold the abdominal curl and pull the arm for 5. Try not to twist one side. 4. So we practiced our C point arms earlier.

Now we're doing it single arm a little bit more complexity. Last two, And last one, we add in opposite leg to arm extension, cross diagonal challenge, and bring it in 5. Use that hand behind your head with purpose. 4, it's supporting the neck. 3, 2, And one triceps with a double leg press. Keep that elbow tucked in. Everything pushes away.

Inhale and exhale push. 4, 3, 2, And one, find the lift, find the holes, and take it down. Before we switch to the other side, put both hands into the loop. Now my trick is I always like to have my opposite hand in front and then same hand behind. This helps me to get more into a twist.

Float the legs, lift the chest, hold the curl, just the arms pulling down for 5. I'm looking at the corner of the foot bar that's gonna help keep me in alignment 4, 3, 2. Now I'm adding the leg extension looks like this. When my arms stretch back, my legs go long, kinda like double leg stretch, exhale pull in 5. 4, 3, 2, And one more like this.

Really dry and stay lifted and twisted. Don't forget about those pauses, and take it all the way down. Hook up that strap. And then grab the opposite strap for the other side. If you use the short loop, recreate the exact same thing.

It may not feel the same, but you want the same loop that you use on the other side, and then curl up hands behind the head. It is very normal to have different sensations when you're working left to right side of the body. 4 3, the higher I curl, the more stable I feel, 2, and 1. So adding the opposite leg extension when I pulled down everything presses out 5. 4, keeping my non pressing leg in table, 3, 2, and 1, bending the elbow, bending the knees. Everything presses out.

The work is to stay in one long line for 3, but that elbow to sharp 90, 2, and 1, bring it in. You get a little mini break. So here's where I put my opposite hand in cross body. It's gonna help me with the twist. Hand goes behind, legs, load up, lift.

Stay in the lift, just the arms. 5, shoulder off the mat. 4. Look at that foot bar corner. 3. 2.

And adding the leg extension. So as the arm stretch the legs open, maybe you can pause, hold it. Pull everything in. 5, 4, big exhillipull. 3, the lower that you send those legs, the more you're gonna work. 2, and 1, and bring it down. Awesome.

Hook up that strap. Drape your legs over the bar, lift your arms up to the sky. 1 reformer roll up. We'll get you there. All the way up. You go.

You can keep that one spring on. I've got one red. Turn yourself around and face the back of your machine. Reach forward and grab your straps. Same option, long or short, short will feel harder.

In our foundation video, we practice plow, bicep curls, and single arm rowing. That's gonna prepare you. For a round back rowing facing back. On an exhale, scoop through the abdominals roll back, bring the fist high to the chin, the elbows high, and the shoulders down. On an inhale, open your arms out to a tee.

Now two things happen at once. I press back with my arms, as I dive forward into a stretch, trying to get my hands close together and high, circle the hands all the way over to the feet. You're gonna have no tension when you're here, rebuild the spine, and the whole thing starts again, exhale to roll. Inhale to the t. Exhale press, stretch, and dive, circle high. Keep the abs in, and the shoulders down.

And rebuild the spine. 2 more, exhale to scoop. Inhale to to reach, exhale to push, inhale circular motion with the arms. And last time like this, roll it back. Open it.

Push, forehead to knees, lift up and around. Enjoy the stretch, rebuild the spine. The next move, I think it's harder. It's our flat back back rowing series. Arms forward. I tilt or lean back.

Then I sit as tall as I can, stretching my arms overhead, framing my face with my elbows. I lean in a flat back as far as my spine and hamstrings will go, when I can't go anymore, I round my spine, do a full circle with the arms, and I'm ready to rebuild coming all the way up. Tilt. That's a breath in. Sit tall. Lean, sending the hips back, round and scoop.

Shoulder mobility here. Rebuild. You can see why this is a progression. Few more steps than what we've practiced in the foundation video, lean. Sit. Tilt and scoop.

Last time like this, lean back, sit tall, take the stretch, and circle around. Good. Keep those straps in your hands and transition to a kneeling position. So chest expansion is an evolution on plow. And in this move, You'll be up kneeling on your machine, and it's really challenging your stability and ability to co contract your core with your arms. Hold nice and high on the rope, and start in a low kneel position.

X heal the arms move behind the body. Inhale they come just in front. In this movement, there's not a lot of momentum. So if you feel like you're swinging your arms or the carriage is moving quickly, I'm gonna ask you to slow it down and find your stability. My energy is reaching down through my knuckles and up through the crown of my head, and I exhale every time I push back, Once you're feeling good about that basic, you add your hip lift.

Sit when the arms come forward. Push the hips through the arms. Try your best to keep your wrists straight and knuckles pointing straight down. Use the back of the body to lift. And control that sin.

You can stay here, or you can increase the challenge by staying up onto the knees and just moving the arms behind the body. 5, 4, 3, straight elbows, 2, and one. Sit the hips down and adjust the grip. I always loosen a little bit, and I hold my loops instead of the ropes for this next one. Lean forward, but keep the hips low, pull the elbows up, you're in a flat back hinge, tricep kickbacks, inhale bend, and exhale. We practice this move on the box in our foundational class.

Now we're gonna add a balanced component. When you feel ready, hover the hips, keep the tops of the feet heavy to the mat and press 8. 7. Energy through the crown of the head. 6. 5, 4, 3, 2, straighten those arms all the way. 1 and bring it all the way in for a break. Okay.

Next one is a tough one. But you can do it because we practiced our foundations already. Hands are gonna go on top of the shoulder blocks. One foot goes onto the foot bar, toes on, push all the way out. You'll remember how I taught you to be prepared to come into a plank.

Don't be surprised here. You'll be supporting your body weight It's a whole body movement, and the carriage is gonna move. So once you're ready, take the opposite leg up to meet in. Hips are tucked. Abs are scooped. Pushing forward and pulling the hands under the shoulders.

5. 4, 3, it's better to push up and be a little more scooped, 2, than to droop down. And one. I'll take my right knee down to the mat and wait for the carriage to close. My left foot steps forward and I'm gonna grab a hold of those loops.

This time, I'm gonna use the short loops. You certainly have the option to switch to the long, if that feels better for you. Practicing our chest expansion and our plow round 2. The reason this is different is the lower body positioning. So we're in this split squat position, pushing to the front heel. My lateral stability is challenged. I don't feel like I'm gonna fall forward.

But my side to side stability, that's what I'm working on here. 4. And you'll see we will add a progression here in our challenge video. 3, 2, and 1. I want you to change your arms, not your legs, bicep curls curl them in, and out elbows high. The higher you can keep your elbows, the more you're gonna work. Pay attention to that lower body.

If you're feeling a lot of work in your hips, just try to concentrate that energy a bit higher, think navel to spine. One more like this. Now put those moves together. One arm does a bicep curl, one arm presses back. Make sure you have an even amount of tension in both ropes, straighten all the way, and press This is where we test the waters to see if we're ready to stand on the machine.

And if you're feeling good in our challenge video, we will be up here standing. 5 4, 3. Remember, even tension. 2. And 1. Hook up the loops. That foot that's forward can step back to the foot bar.

Push all the way out and get ready for it. Chest is lifted. Abs are strong. Fingers are wrapped. So not feeling the wrists, more feeling the hands and the forearms in this position.

Like, comes up. Big press. 5. 4, 3, 2, One. So I wanna take the opposite knee, bring the carriage in, and then step my back foot forward.

Grab your loops. Now here's another example of doing it twice on a different side because it's gonna feel totally different, or it does for me anyways. Start with your presses back. Push. Here's a little secret I always do when I'm in this position, hands and loops pushing back. I try to push more through my pinky fingers than I do for my thumbs.

And I find that if I push my pinky fingers, I have this sensation of widening my collar bones. See if you can feel that. 3, 2, and one. Now turn the palms up, bicep curls, push down into your front heel, draw the abdominals in, It is always a challenge to keep the shoulders away from the ears when you're working your arms. So if you're feeling neck or shoulder tension, drop your elbows a little bit lower. 4, 3, 2, And now here's that brain challenge. One arm pushes back.

The other arm does the bicep curl. Stretch first, flip, and switch. As soon as you get into your groove, you can find a tempo that works for you. Notice if you're leaning back. It would be very common to lean the spine back.

Try to keep the shoulders stacked right over the hips. 5, 4, 3, 2, and one. Great. Let's hook up the straps. And we're gonna go back into that control front one more time. So wrap the fingers, press all the way out, pull everything in, and hold. Now I am gonna give you an option to add one more thing here. Your call. Keep the arms straight.

Push and pull option 1. Bend the elbows, push to straight arms, pull in. This is option 2. 5 4, 3, 2, One. Take a knee down and bring the carriage all the way in. For our next sequence, we'll be using the short box.

Place the box on in front or over your shoulder blocks. However, your reformer work and put your foot bar down. I'm also gonna add one additional spring so that my carriage doesn't move too much. If you'd like to add more onto yours, now is the time. The feet go underneath the foot strap, and I always sit, so I've got a little bit of room to roll back on the box, not quite on the edge. Roll back.

And this will remind you of a series we did in the foundation class. Today, we're gonna add a single leg variation. So keeping the hip square inhale the arms and legs reach away from the body. Exhale hugging. Inhale reach and exhale hug.

5 4, 3, the lower you are in your spine, the harder you'll work, 2, and one. Hands go behind the head. Rotate towards the leg as it's close to you. Rotate to center as it reaches away. 5. 4, 3, 2, and 1. Now hold behind the leg.

If you feel rotated at all on your hips, now is the time to square off. Kick that leg up to the sky three times for your climate tree. 1, 2, hold the leg up, reach out for your ankle, and give that leg a pulse. So I'm pulling strongly with my arms, feeling the stretch in the back of my leg. Start to climb down your tree, keep the leg up, and you can stop anytime you want if it feels intuitive and good to come into this extension. Let it go. Now's your time. The way you come up from extension is always tap your chin and look towards your belly button first.

Then reached the back of the thigh, all the way up, you go. Hands behind the knee. Kick it up. 1, 2, 3. Take the stretch and give yourself a pull. Climb down the leg.

The leg is the tree in this exercise. Drop it back. Think about your collarbone's opening. Arms extending. If that feels right, tuck your chin. Climb back up. Bend the knee, and let's do it again.

1. 2, last time. 3, climbed to the top of your tree, climbed to the bottom of your tree, staying right here, holding and strengthening is a great place to be adding that extension. If you're back here, let the head release. Try not to hang on to anything.

Then nod your chin, look climb all the way back up, and bend the knee. Good. Let's do the other side. So reset, absent, rollback. Opposite leg comes out. This is where I'm holding the scoop, trying not to twist.

Stretch and hug. In heel open, exhale hug. 5 4, 3, 2, 1 hugging hold. When the leg is up, I'm rotated, when the leg is long, I'm not. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, hold behind the leg, make any adjustments you need to, use your arm strength. It's gonna help you stay up here.

Kick to the sky. 1, 2, 3. Walk to the top of your tree. Walk down your tree. Keep that leg up. Drop. One thing I love about Climate Tree is the evolution you feel within the move.

So my first one always feels tighter than my last tuck the chin. Exhale up. Hands go to knee. Kick it. 1, 2, 3 climb up. I'm pulling. I'm really trying to stretch that leg.

Climb down the tree without twisting. Releasing, decompression, tuck the chin, climbing up, last time like this. 1, 2, 3, all the way up, you go. Big pull. Walk it down. Release.

I'm thinking about my ribs coming together and my ribs coming down towards my hips as I rebuild up. Bend the knee and place the foot. Awesome. Let's do our side vents. We've covered the foundational movement. Now we're gonna add in rotation.

So foot is under strap, knee is bent up, hands to a tee, hands behind the head. Take your lean. Reach head away from the foot, find that length. This is the move we've practiced, down and up, This is our progression. Lower.

Rotate. Center. Lift. Let's do it. Down. Rotate, center, lift, again, lower.

Shoulder square off. And lift 2 more lower. And up one more time. Get low. Find the twist, untwist all the way up, finding that counter stretch, going right into the other side.

Switch legs, bend the knee. I always like to kinda just find my alignment, hands behind the head reminds me of my standing roll roll down that we did, right, finding that alignment head in line with shoulders, Here's the move we practiced earlier. Here's our add on lower. Rotate, center, and up, lower, rotate, center, up. Again, down, and lift, final 3, cinch final 2, cinch one more time down, twist, and all the way up. Alright. So we do have to make a couple of adjustments.

1, the foot bar is coming back up to our start position 2, if you've added a spring, reduce it so you're back to your single red spring. I do wanna say if you feel like you need more support in this movement, add an additional spring. We've already practiced our knee stretches. Now we're going to elevate it onto the box and single leg. Feed against the box, heels on, toes onto the carriage, hands onto the foot bar, press out into your plank or long stretch position. I just wanna say if your chest is forward on this move, I want you to get way back.

It's gonna help. Bend the knees in and low and kick it back through the heels ten times. Shoulder stability, use the glutes to press, find that strong plank, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, bring it in, take a seat, reset. Let's do our round back neck, so feeling more of a scoop. Same setup, heels high, ankle stable, press it out.

Push it back. Round your spine and push push. 10 is your goal. Last three, two, One, bring it all the way in. Alright. Choose your favorite long spine or scoop spine.

Let's do single leg five per leg. It's gonna be tough. We got this. Press out. One knee comes to the chest. Here we go.

54 3, 2, 1, switch legs, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and We've made it. Oh, that's a tough one. Let's come off of this short box and turn at 90 degrees. So now we're in our long box position. I like the foot bar low and I'm gonna keep my one red spring on. If you're feeling that this is heavy, feel free to reduce to a blue or another tension that works for you.

Coming on to a 4 point kneeling position on the box, let's practice the move first. Abdominals are in, shoulders are broad. One leg is going to be extending back and bending in. And then it's gonna be sweeping down and sweeping up. Once you feel good, you're gonna grab this loop placed around the arch of your foot.

I like the long loop when I'm on a red, and I make sure the loop is close to my heel. My setup is hands wide and stable, supporting me under my pelvis, presses back, and in. Now my goal is to keep my hips directly behind my shoulders, not to lean onto the knee that's stabilizing me. And when I find that sweet spot I feel a lot of core. 3, 2, And now keep the leg straight.

Sweep the leg down only as low as you can maintain the shape of your spine. Sweep that leg up. Inhale down, exhale up. A lot of glutes, a lot of core. Inhale down, exhale up. I like to do somewhere between 8 12 of these, depending on how strong I'm feeling that day, Let's do 4 more.

43 2, and 1, slide the loop off, and let's practice the move on the other side. I'm not really in a 4 point kneeling. If I was, my knees would be wide under my hips. My position is more similar to a triangle. So I take my stabilizing knee to the center and practice my presses back.

Like stays long. Sweep and lower. I'm visualizing balancing something on my low back. And not letting it fall off. Once I'm ready to go, the foot goes in, long loop, close to the heel, and we're ready to rock kicking back and bending in.

It is really common to wanna lean the hips, so do your best. Keep the pelvis right behind your shoulders. In and out. Try to push to a straight leg, pulling up through the knee, driving through the heel. 3, 2, and 1, straight leg sweeps, and big scoop.

Low back stays as stable as you can. Stable shoulders, soft elbows, head long, neck, long, and lying with spine. Final 4, 3, Last two. I'm really trying to get that lift, that hip extension. 1, and bring it in.

Alright. You don't need to hook up the loop because you're gonna be using them. You can leave the tension you have on for high challenge, or you can reduce. I'm gonna do this next series on a blue, but I'm gonna use my short loops teaser, We practice without the loops. Now we're doing it with the loops. So you'll take a seat on the box, remember to sit towards the 1st third because you're gonna lie down.

Short loops for me because I'm on a blue. Now the main difference between what we're doing now and what we practice in our foundation video is the moving carriage. So anticipate that movement and stabilize. Hands beside the body, roll the hips back, keep the chest open and find that hover. The arms lift and lower.

No need to lift your hands any higher than your shoulder height. Lift. Chest is wide. Lift. 5. Find that big exhale.

4, pinkies up, thumbs down. So really work to keep the palms open. Last two and leave the arms up. Here was our next move. We roll back with control.

Spine to the box, we push through the hands to roll back up. Inhale down and exhale up. Lower, and lift. 4 to go. 3 2.

One more time. See if you can hold it and resist to come down. Now, we will be working into our full teaser We'll do that in our challenge video. The box can come off and I have a reward for all of your hard work and that is feet and straps. You'll wanna increase the spring tension for this flow.

I'm gonna be at 1 red and 1 blue, and I'll leave my foot bar down. We'll use the loops for the feet, and I'll place my feet in the long loops. We're gonna work into some hip ex, rotation and hip extension this flow. Keep the head down to start. Hands down. Find your Pilates V.

Just wanna remind you that happens from up here in the hips, not down there in the feet, bending and extending. Now this is not a new series. We worked into these diamonds and into these frogs before. Knees are gonna be shoulder width, pelvis stays heavy, Keeping the heels together, right, really finding that synergy between the left and right sides of the body. Adding on, bend to your diamond, These bones don't move.

So your upper leg bones stay still. Open your legs to a big v and close. This is your full swimming frog. Open and close. Inhaled a bend.

Exhale to open and close feeling it high in the inner thighs. Upper inner thighs really acting like the bottom of our abdominals. Right? So as we squeeze the legs together, we feel that pulling up. Through the core, deep core. Try the reverse, see how it feels. Open, bend that frog, and push open to your V, bend to the frog and press big sweep, heels connect, push out, big sweep, heels connect, push out. Now I want you to keep the heels connected during this whole next flow.

It's a circular motion, but it's not out to the sides. So you lift, pull, and press. That's the circle. Heels stay connected. 5.

4, 3, try to get the backs of those legs together. 2, and 1, reverse, push up and down. Bend in, push up, and down. Try to get those legs to straighten, feeling it high in the seat, 3, 2, and 1. Alright. Let's do an inversion.

We practice short spine. Now we have long spine. It starts the same. Find the l, find the stretch, deepen the stretch, try to close the carriage, and roll yourself up onto your shoulder blades. Here's where it differs.

Separate the legs, turn out from the hips, and keep those legs straight. I want you to think about, or you could even do it. Place your hands under your hips. Hips are gonna stay high as the legs start to press forward. Now I'm not using my hands to hold up my hips.

I'm using my glutes. When I think I cannot anymore, I lower down with control, and the whole thing starts again. I lift the legs, roll through the spine, find the turnout, use the backs of the legs and the core, to hover as I articulate my spine down, legs together, one more time in this direction, big stretch. Big lift. Separate the legs, find the turnout push through the backs of the legs, lengthen through the front of the body. And let's reverse.

So you lift with the legs apart, roll up. Draw the legs together in parallel, press down. Separate the legs, turn out, find the stretch, roll up. Legs come together, push through the backs of the legs, not through the head, not through the shoulders, push with the legs, and roll it down one more this direction. Lift.

Roll out. Legs come together. Parallel push. Find those open open hips. Roll yourself all the way down.

Bend your knees in. Feet come out of the loops. Roll yourself up through your reformer roll up. I always keep my feet low. Walk them away if you can.

One big exhale up. Swing your legs off to one side. And we're gonna finish with a pilates pushup. Now, we've done this before, but I'll add a little progressive challenge. Hands go on to the carriage, feet step back. 1, down and up is what we practiced.

Today, we're doing a progressive lower. So take the chest down for 3. 1, 2, 3, push all the way up, narrow elbows. 1, 2, 3. Push all the way up.

Do it again. 1, 2, 3. Push all the way up. 3 more. 1, 2, 3. 2 to go.

1, 2, 3. Last time like this. 1, 2, 3, push all the way up, and rebuild the spine. That was an awesome workout. I hope you found the connection between the movements.

We're gonna continue to build on this work. I'll see you next time.