Hands In Straps Series

Hi. I'm Tracy Mallett. Today's setup is supine on the carriage. We're going to be using the over ball today. I love the over ball because it challenges your pro perception and also stability within your core on your pelvic floor. We are going to be putting our hands in the straps, but I would really focus on your core and your arms connecting to the back.

So your hands are going to be in the straps, but I want you to focus on drawing your scapula down, working into the serratus, working into the intercastles so you can feel a little bit more inter abdominal pressure within the core. The first setup is going to be with the ball underneath the sacrum. And then we're gonna be taking the ball away and work individually unilaterally, which is so necessity, such a necessity for working out today because our bodies are not symmetrical. We really truly need to work in that unilateral fashion. And this is a way that we can work simplistic exercises that we know, but adding that little ball kinda adds that little spice to it. We're going to be doing it with the head rest down.

Because we're going into a bridge with the ball underneath the sacrum. We're gonna work with 1 red spring today. What I love about a red spring is that it allows you to work for that stability while we're up in a bridge with the ball underneath the sacrum. So let's roll down place the feet on the bar, roll your hips up, place the ball underneath your sacrum. Before we start, we're gonna make sure that the tailbone is anchored into the actual ball.

Pick up your straps. I'm going to focus on the smaller straps just so I've got a little bit more resistance. Place the hands of the strap. Reach forward so you're pressing your hands into the loops And already, you can feel your lats drawing down, feel your serratus, feel those obliques, your intercastals, and your abdominals are firing before we float the right knee up, and then the left knee up. So we've gotta get that position first before we start.

Hold that position, feel the abdominals working, and now we're going to reach the fingertips towards the bar and then come back again. So you're gonna draw your shoulder blades down towards the hips as you press your hands down. Now we're gonna integrate a little bit of movement, take your right leg out, and then you bring it back to chair. Switch with the left leg. Now the head stays down, obviously.

So this is a great opportunity for those students that feel a lot of pressure in the head, neck, and shoulders now they can work those apps without going into flexion. Let's do 1 more. Now both legs. Inhale back. XL.

Reach the legs diagonally out. And we're gonna do a couple more. Now we're gonna add. We reach out. Lift the legs up.

Lower the legs down, bend the knees in, reach out, lift the legs up, lower the legs to diagonal, bring it in, reach out, lift up, lower diagonal. Bring it in 2 more. Reach lift up. Lower down. Give me 1 more. Reach diagonal.

Lift down. Now we're gonna add on. We reach out. Lift the legs up. Circle down. Bend the knees.

Reach out. Lift the legs up. See how we're layering those moves. Bring the knees in. Let's reverse it.

Reach out. Lower circle up. Lower bend the knees in a little different. Reach out. Circle.

Up lower the legs, bend it in. Now coordination. We exhale. Open close, bend the knees, and back. Excel. Dada. Dada. Make sure when you open your legs, they're only about a little bit further than hit with the parts.

Dada. 2 more times, keep that connection with the back and the arms, 1 more exhale, dada, dada, bend the knees, bring it back from here. Drop the feet down onto the bar. Take both straps into 1 hand, pull away, place in between the knees so it's kind of out the way, and put your strap down. So now we've got your strap in your right hands. We're gonna press up, fill your resistance, take your ball into the opposite knee and bring these up and float them up into chair position, the same position as you was before.

So here we're gonna work unilaterally. So just press the hand down and back. Now you have the choice to keep the head down, or you can exhale and lift the head up. I've kept my hand in a short strap so I can feel the resistance of the arm connecting to the back to get more intra abdominal pressure. Now we can add the leg goes out. Bring you back. Just kinda like what we were doing before, but I'm resisting the ball.

So as a lift up resisting the ball, the knees deriving to the chest, but I'm stopping it with the ball and resisting. There we go. Just do a couple more, and then we're gonna add on. Ready to add on. We reach out. Lift the leg up. The lower the leg down. Bend the knee in.

Excel lengthen that leg out. Remember you can keep your head down. I'll do a rack with my head down. There we go. So I've always got that ability to do that depending on your class. Let's do 1 more.

And down, bring it in. Let's switch to the other side. Drop your feet down. Place it to the other side. So always cue for the transitions are just as important as the exercise.

Place your feet down on the bar, place the ball in front of your thigh. Grab your other strap. There we go. I'm gonna go for the Mallett strap. Connect your arm to the back. So there we go. Now float the knees up, that's your start position before you even start.

My abs are like a little earthquake here, and we exhale and press down. Now I'm resisting that ball, resisting. Breathe on the exhale. Now let's shoot the opposite leg out, shoot, and you have the option to lift the head, neck, and shoulders, chin towards your chest, keep resisting that bush, or, as I said before, keep your head down. Let's do 1 more then we're gonna layer on.

Are we ready to layer? So we go out, lift it up, lower down, bend the knee in. Reach out. Use your apps to lift that leg, lower down, bend it in. Hexale. Lift up. Lower down.

Bring it in. Exale. Lift up. Should we do 1 more for good look? Feel that connection as you reach the legs out and your fingertips, and then we bring it back in. Drop the feet down, drop the strap down. Now we're going to pop the knees, open the legs, put the ball in between the knees.

We're gonna grab your straps. Now I'm gonna go for the longer straps now, and I'm gonna connect Get that ball, go into a little froggy position here. Can you see I've got that ball squishing that ball here? Now from here, you and your frog, we excel, shoot the legs out, shoot, open, together, frog. Got that. We go. Shoot.

Now flex your feet, point your toes, bend your knees, and come back. I just like to add that little flex kind of feels nice, little hamstring stretch and bring you back. Let's go again. Dada, flex. Point bring you back. 3 more and reach flex open feels good to stretch out.

And back lengthen flex. Point 1 more. Dada. Flex. Point and bring it back. Hold it there. Now from here, we're gonna bring the opposite knee over. And rotate.

Are you ready? We're gonna exhale lift up. Inhale. Back. So now we're incorporating the obliques with that little switch, your knees are going 1 direction. And your body's going in the opposite direction. Let me just do a couple more here. Feel that outside oblique.

I've got my right oblique firing. 1 more. Switch switch to the other side. Knees go to 1 side and exhale. Once again, you're lifting your head neck and shoulders, keeping your knees as still as you can, focused on shortening your lowest rib to your hip, and you're reaching out, let's do a couple more, 1 more, and then bring it back to center, grand finale, lengthen that leg out, and we go tap, bring it down, and tap, bring it down. It's like double, tap, and back, exhale, tap the ball.

Now if you want, bring the head up. Head down, head up, and down, exhale, tap the shins just below the knees. 1 more because we can and we hold it there. For 4, for 3, for 2, and for 1. We lengthen those legs out. We bend the knees.

We take the ball away. Pop your feet. Onto the bar, squeeze the ball, put your straps down, and then we're gonna turn to the side and sit up. Oh, see, just by adding that ball adds a whole new spice, 2 exercises that you've been doing for years, and it just adds a little bit more variety, but you're staying in line with the Pilates principles. Thank you for joining me.

Let's do that again. Bye bye.