Moving Towards Intermediate

What's up, Familla? You're back. I'm with you. It's still Mychele, and you're still you. So what are we doing today? We are doing dynamic control. We're gonna be working on the back of the body, the sides of the body, hip stability, arm work, booty work, we're gonna love all of it. So we're gonna start by standing.

So go ahead come to a setting position. Go into your pilates v or your first position, that little pizza slice, I have pepperoni. Alright. So he'll stay together toes are apart, tall spine, pull that midline together, that string at the top of your head, and pull it up, lift and lower. As I'm talking to you, the heel stay connected, and I want you to keep that midline pressing together, nice tall posture, And do about 10 of these. Go as slow or as fast as you'd like.

I think this is like 37. I like that number. Okay. Last one for me. Bring it down. Lakes and feet go parallel. Alright. So we're parallel, the number 11. A little pitch forward, pull that belly button in, and then go up and down. The first ones, I always say my first couple are kinda messy.

So let it be messy and then get into it right there. Uh-huh. You're looking good. Are your legs burning? Right. Mind too.

I think that's 54. Okay. And we're done. You thought it was easier because we were standing. It's not. Now, here's the fun part. That little bird on the perch, can you do that standing? You can.

There's a piece of paper on the floor that you want to pick up with your toes. So scrunch the toes. Scrunched the toes. And you're pulling it in because we're turning on those hammies. Oh my goodness. Did you pick it up like that? I get it. Do you do that at home with your laundry? Okay. Cool.

We're out of it. We're done. Alright. Bring those heels back together. We're gonna have a little bendy time. So think, plie.

So we bend the legs and we threaten. No disrespect to my French people. It just feels like I'm gonna say croissant. Alright. So come on. Yes. Yes. My French speakers, bonjour Allaire.

My name, Jimappelle Mychele. That's all I know how to say. And bringing in. Squeeze that took this. Are you squeezing it? It's like 15,000.

Right? One more. And then come on back. Sign it off. Alright. We're gonna go over here to the reformer. So where are we on the reformer? We have two reds and a blue footwork is springs, but we're not gonna be doing footwork because we just did it right there. So go ahead and come on down.

Place that headrest up if it is not and take a rest on to the carriage. Alright, my friends. My toes are on the foot bar. Take a second and just center, feel your full back, shoulders with even pressure onto the carriage. And I would love for you to take your stance a little bit wide. Bring your arches to the corners of the foot bar, and I'd like you to take your bottom up, just articulate it up towards the ceiling for a bridge.

Ear away from the shoulders, and then bring it down. So just a little lift and lower. Maybe you press a little bit away from the foot part and that is okay. Alright. Keep pressing up. So I'd like to do about five ish Sims of these.

Squeezing at the top, squeeze and hold, and then let it go melt into the garage. Close the springs. If it open, next exercise will be a glute walk. So what is that gonna look like? Go ahead and bring your hips up to the ceiling off of the carriage and hold that position there. Your platform, go ahead and walk that left foot to the platform, and then the right foot to the platform. Squeeze that booty, keep it up, then take the left foot back to the foot bar, right foot back to the foot bar, alternate, right foot to the platform, left foot to the platform, left foot to the foot bar, right foot to the foot bar.

Yeah. I get it. It's happening. Bring that left foot down. Right foot down and lower everything. Shaking those legs off. Yes. The sound people are mad at me because I just slapped my thighs. Alright.

So we've done our lovely foot foot walk right there, and our glute walk, and I'm just resting my legs right here real quick. So I wanna open up the hips a little bit more. I'm gonna take my toes to the foot bar and open up my legs to the side just as a hip opener for a butterfly. Okay to stay here or have the soles touching. So have the soles touching.

We're opening up right here. We feel it. We love it. Let it happen because we're gonna gonna use a lot of legs in this whole series. Take a couple breaths. Lovely. Lovely. Lovely. Lovely. One more breath.

Lovely. Go ahead and bring the knees together back to neutral and go ahead and grab the loops here. We haven't changed the springs. So I want you to take your hands into the to the straps and press just a slight bit away from the stopper there. And we are going to go ahead and bring that right leg to tabletop. The left leg comes to tabletop, checking to make sure that we're slightly shimmied away from the shoulder blocks.

There we go. So holding this here, gonna roll my head, neck, and shoulders up, pressing my fingertips towards the front of the reformer. This is gonna be our 100 hold. So you know what that means? This doesn't count. Alright. We're gonna count five four three two one and five four three two one. And as you keep counting, we are inhaling on five and exhaling for five. We do this for 10 Sims, and we keep pressing the fingertips forward, holding that box that we're making with our knees, and we are breathing, but I'm talking to you so you're breathing, and we're holding it, and that's why it's called the 100.

And if today, that means it's a 70 or the 80 or 85, that's cool to hold it. Hold it. Hold it. And three, two, done, release everything. Let the carriage close, seat, go to the foot bar, and replace the pegs. So again, if you kinda like went past that one.

It's okay. I know you did it. You look good doing it. Let's roll over to the side and go ahead and set ourselves up for some stretches. So I'm gonna leave it for me today. I feel very red, but feel free to go blue. Alright.

Alright. Back on. I'm on a one red spring, and I'm gonna shimmy just a little bit away from the shoulder blocks for some delicious stretches. Go ahead and grab those loops. Place them in the arches of your beautiful toesies and take a stretch. Both legs are up pointing to the ceiling, a slight bend in the knee, and just let the legs naturally come to the back of the reformer.

And that's gonna give you a little hamstring stretch You might have your bottom lifting up just a little bit off of the floor and of the carriage, and that's cool. If you have a little bit more in, you see how much more you can stretch. Good. Let that back lift a little bit too. Very, very good. We like it.

Delicious extra credit. If you grab those ropes, maybe even flex at the ankles and fine stretch there. Soft knees. I feel my hip saying, what are we doing, Michelle? We're stretching that's what we're doing today.

Alright. Our hamstrings are checking in. And then I'm gonna release those ropes taking that left loop off of the foot placing it on to our lovely peg. My left foot is stepping to the floor. So that foot is flat on the floor. If that's not available to you, go ahead and use the platform. So here we are. The foot is on the floor.

We have this extra unilateral stretch on our right side. So use this hip opener here just to give a little stretch in the hamstring, bend the knee a little bit more of the left knee to find more of a stretch in the hamstring, when you've had enough. When it feels so yummy and you can't take it anymore, go ahead and take that left foot to the platform or the foot for and switch outside. Whoa. That was a good one. That's one of the stretches I like to do when I get home from work, and I've been driving a lot.

It's like a little extra stretch. I just jump on my reformer, or I jump on my mat and do the same thing. So right foot now will take a little stretch and we'll find the floor. Find the floor. Yeah. There we go. Or the platform.

And then you have that extra stretch that you're getting on the left leg. Arms are at the side of the carriage. Holding on supporting you. Go ahead and bend that right knee a little bit more, and you see that little slight bend that I got there, that the foot is coming more towards the rear of the reformer. Good stretch. I think I got a little bit more.

Okay. Betty Woods. I will take my right foot to the platform and then take this puppy off and then take a little bit of a rest here. Alright, my dears. Let's take a second and just put her foot back on the foot bar, feet back on the foot bar, and just give us up a little book opener stretch. So we're gonna let that right knee come to the side.

The left knee will chase it. So this is a recline twist. That's gonna release some of the tension that we had in our back. Yes. And then bring the legs back to neutral. Left side opens up to the side, right knee stacks on top, then chases it.

That hip is up. And just let the side, the lateral body of the obliques Your back extensors get a little bit of a stretch because we got a lot of work to do still. And that was a good warm up, bringing that knee, right knee back to neutral, left knee meets it, we're gonna lock in and give a little bit more dynamic control by doing our frog and light circles and adding some beats. So go ahead and put the feet in the loops. Wonderful. Alright, my dears.

Sims at your side. Legs are straight up at a 90 degree angle. I would love for you to push the ropes away, open the legs out to the side, circle them around, and then bring them back together in the middle. Yes? And we'll do about six to eight of these in both directions. So keep making those circles a little bit wider than your reformer.

Maybe you have the reach to go further than that. If you do that, make sure that your core is engaged and that you are controlling those legs. I got one more in this direction, center, and then reverse your circles out around and up. And these are just fun to do all the time. If I do nothing else, I love feeding straps like everybody who lives, Pilate is on the reformer. We love feeding straps, and circles, and frogs are like my favorite.

And sometimes my circles look like ovals. Sometimes they look like the letter d, but it feels good to that whole hip socket. I'm gonna do one more. One big circle coming around. And hold your legs together, 90 degree angles right there, bring the heels together, heels are together, ankles are flexed, bringing it. Ankles on the heels right towards your bottom go as low as you'd like to go, and then we press out and away keeping the heels connected, point the toes.

Flex the ankles, bring the heels towards your bottom and press away abs are pulling through the carriage, pulling down in the neck. We like it. So we said dynamic control. We're not rushing through this. We're controlling, moving the hips, and the ankles, and the arms, everything.

I got one more to do after this. You do too. Last one. Come out. Stay out. Keep the toes pointed.

Go ahead and come up to 90 ish degrees. Now, where we are here, the feet are touching together, I'd like you to take the toes apart. And then touch them together, and then take them apart, and then touch them together, and then go faster, and faster, and faster, and then faster, faster, faster, faster. Oh my god. We're doing beads. Here we go. Be beep beep.

So do about 10 to 20 of these, keeping the toes pointed, hold, we like it, and bend the ankles in, take a hamstring stretch. I'm holding the ropes, for more of a stretch, letting my butt lift a little bit off of the carriage. And my leg says, good job, Mychele. And I'm saying, good job. Y'all. You're doing great.

Bring those knees in. Take the loops off. Replace them on our lovely pegs, and we're gonna come off and grab our box. So carefully step off to the side, pressing up. And then our our straps, I'm gonna leave it. I'm gonna put myself on a balloon.

Blue, blue, blue, lowering the headrest and grabbing the box. Hey, new box. We're going on long box way, and because my legs are kinda long, I'm gonna put the foot bar down for me. So you need to do that. Right now is a great time to do that. Alright.

And then come on to the pot's very carefully. Tommy goes on. And we're gonna use some arm positioning here. So as we're here, our shows are slightly in front of the edge of the box. We have a couple letters that we're gonna work with right now. We have the letter y, the letter t, and the letter a. So when we without the straps, our y looks like this, like y and c a in front of us, We go to the letter t, and then our a comes back.

We get a little back extension. So that's what we're gonna be doing. You ready? Grab those ropes. Alright, my dears. I like to choke up just a little bit on them because I have that y.

The y is the hold. The back of the body is on. The legs are up away from the box. You're pulled to your tee. Gazes above you, looking forward, and then pull back.

T, back to your y. Keep the legs engaged, t, and extension y, lifting that chest off the box, back to your t, The letter y, head looks up for the t, and really raises up for the extension. We have one more set t to our y. Last one, strong. T, armed at our side, the a, reach the hands back, t, and then lower everything to the floor. Strong, strong, strong, strong. You had no idea how strong you were.

Go ahead and replace these puppies. Loops go on to the pegs. Now we're gonna use our risers. So if you are really froggish, you can jump or walk yourself on the frame to your risers. Hello. How you doing? So nice, tall spine. The legs are still engaged back here.

Pull your chest towards the risers and let it go back. So think of pull ups. Let the carriage go back and forth. And your legs are like, what are you doing to me? I'm not done with you yet.

Last one, come out, stay out. The legs that are back there, swim. Oh my gosh. It feels like I'm doing a triathlon. They keep going.

Keep going. Keep going. Hold it steady. You got it. Keep holding those legs up and then walk your hands back on the frame to finish this series. And you did it, let the legs rest. Awesome job. Okay.

There's more. But wait. There's more. Press yourself up and carefully step off to the side. Yes. Now we turn this into a short box.

Turn it around to the side. Now, because I'm doing arm work, I'm still on that blue because my arms they're getting there, but we're not at red yet. So if you need a little more strength in there, go up red or go down in yellow, but I'm saying that blue. So carefully step onto this puppy. Stay on the box, feet are pressed into the headrest, grab your straps. Your straps on your hand, cross your straps.

Okay to choke up on the ropes, tall posture, We love it. We have the letter x with our ropes. We pull. See that? It's just right there to about where your shoulders are, and then release. And we pull.

Good. And you really wanna take a second to squeeze those shoulder blades back. Yes? Scapular mobility. The rhomboids, a little muscle in between the two is getting a muscle squeeze. Squeezy, squeezey.

One more. Hello. We got it. We like it. Now, we're gonna pull those ropes towards us and then we're gonna punch up. See that punch. So think goalpost.

We flip up, strong, and then forward. Knuckles come up to the ceiling while you're holding the straps, and then the arms come forward. So again, this is for more of the rotation in that shorter girdle. Let's do two more. Last one, best and strongest one, and relax.

Alright. Last part of this, we need a little twist in our trunk. So holding on to my left hand. Gonna just lightly hold the right. I'm gonna pull and twist at the waist. So I'm gonna do just this side right now. Gonna do about five of these. So what you're getting is some more of that pull.

You're hitting the triceps. You're hitting a little bit of the obliques with that twist. One more. Biceps and triceps and rest that site, other site, pull across the body a slight twist in the trunk, and keep going. Let's do three more.

Whatever number you pick. Just go even. Otherwise, you'll be lopsided. I don't want that for you. Last one.

And come back to center, uncross those straps and place them back on the pegs carefully step over to the side because we've got some more work to do. Yeah? Alright. I have my blue spring still on. I would love to do a plank with you. Are you ready? Let's do it together.

So we come on to our platform, or you can also step inside of the well around the springs, and go ahead and put your forearms here. Or you can go high with the the hands flat on the box. So if we use our forearms, we pitch our body forward feet, both feet are flat on the floor, and we press out. Yes. And then we come back just to almost a standing position. And if you're on the platform, Sims thing applies.

Press out, pull that belly button in, and take it up. I'm gonna drop my head towards the box because that's proper form. I was trying to show you guys what I'm doing. Lots of planks, lots of hip stability with the legs, and the hips piking up. Last one.

And wringer all the way home ish because your legs are there. Go ahead and press up with the hands onto the box, take your right knee on top of the box, and press it against the box. We're gonna do it like a little modified split here. You see that split, tall posture here, and then close it just a little bit, or maybe just stay here and hold a static stretch with that split. If you need more, go ahead and lower your body towards the box onto the forearms. And take that stretch.

And then three, two, one, change outside. So I'm gonna press myself back up to the top, switching legs, taking that left knee to the box, planting that right foot on the ground, and then pressing away for that split. Go as far as you're comfortable. And if you need more, feel free to take those forearms down and find more of that stretch and just sit here and let that happen let the stretch happen. Good nice long stretch, lifting the top of your head, through that ankle and the back of that foot, breathing, and we're closing it up. Finishing this up in three, two, one, go ahead and replace that foot to the floor, set yourself up, and carefully step outside of the frame, let the carriage close.

Take the foot part. Place it back up because we might need it. I'm gonna put this one at the highest position for me, but your whenever your foot bar is, place it high for you. Now the next exercise that we're gonna do, we're gonna use this box still. We're gonna go into a little yoga esque type thing.

So So I will go on this side. I'll come over here so you can see what I'm doing. Hi. Alright. So I'm gonna take the foot that's closest to the frame to the front. And I'm using the side of the box just to give me a little bit of feedback. The back leg is facing the same direction.

So think about step stepping on train tracks. Here, we're gonna push the box away for a little bit of a lunge. Yes. The lunge is happening. And we have our arm. We have a free arm here. So the knee is slightly bent if you need it, but otherwise it's straight.

Hold that there pressing forward. Now, when you take that arm that's out and go into a circle, opening that chest, Come back. Good. Open. Looking over the fingertips. We have one more in this direction.

Good. And that's that stabilization. Go the other way. Round, watch where the hand is going. You are balancing. You're stabilizing. You're using all those hips and legs that we just worked out.

You look lovely, by the way. Nice and strong. Hold that there. Are you ready for more? Oh my god. Yes.

So another thing that we can do here is if we could take this hand in front of us, take it back, and maybe we twist and hold. This back foot can flip out to the back, and you press away. Good holding it. Three, stabilizing on that front leg. Two, one good, and then twist yourself back to train tracks, and then step together. That side is donezo. Other side.

Nice in stretchiness. Right? So leg is next to the box. We press the box away, finding that balance at center, arm comes out, looking over the fingertips, take that stretch. And circle the arms back, looking at the hand, come back to the center. So it's the arm circle up around to the front.

One more in this direction. To twisting ever so slightly at the hip, good, and then reverse the circle looking at that hand. Keep pressing the box away with the other hand finding the balance. One more holding it there. Alright.

We know what to do now. Open out to the side, press the box away. Twist the body back leg and switch out. Sweeps out. Hold it. Hold it.

Press that front foot into the floor to find more stretch. I like it. And then when you're ready, come out, Wonderful. Great job. Now, we're gonna work the inner thighs.

So we have our foot bar up. We're gonna take our knee to the carriage right against the the short box. So here, we're gonna take it out and just a little stretch opening up. So think of that machine when you're at the gym that opens and closes the thighs. There we go. Three of these real quick. So we're getting a little opener out and in.

Beautiful. Close it. Now turn your body towards the front so that outside foot is really pressing against the frame. Now you're gonna give me a little lunge, split hip opener. The hip is open. Hold that. Three, two, one, and bring it back because we have another side Gonna come over here and do this side too.

I feel so pretty. Okay. That knee comes on to the to the carriage pressing away. You'll see the in and out watch the leg, my leg, and my hip. This whole big bone is what's bringing the leg in and out. Bring it in.

And because you're so awesome, turn your back towards the foot bar, There you go. Front leg is facing forward as well. Press back. There's your london split, hip opener, holding it there holding. And as you can see, that front leg is doing the work. It's stabilizing everything.

It's not passive. It's very active. And 32, 1, close it. Close it. Close it. Close it. Nice little shake off of the legs. Now we're going to go ahead and step back into the well.

So go ahead and press the box away, carefully step inside of the frame, careful to make sure you clear the springs. Now, because we're gonna plank into a pike, I want you to really push the box away. So both of my feet are planted strongly on the forward in parallel, and I'm pressing all the way forward, bringing my head between my arms. So that is really a pike if you think about it. So to close it, curve the back, come close, almost all the way, and then press back again.

Good. And then, pike, there is a pike. Going through the pike, press away again, maybe even further. Good. And then bring close. If you're like, I got this Mychele, do it again, but come up to the balls of your feet. Oh, a shalom. So press it away.

Oh, yeah. You see it now. And then come back There's your plank. Merry Christmas. And there we go. Happy New Year, whatever.

Just come back. Nice. And then I'll drop it down. Maybe we're gonna hold this. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. A little challenge of Zikor, hold it, feel the stretch.

I'm on my my balls and my feet in Releville holding in three, two, one, and I'm closing the spring. Halfway stepping out to the side and letting it close. I am roasty, toasty, deliciousness. Are you roasty toasty deliciousness? Okay. We're both there.

Last thing, a finisher, if you will. We're gonna go back to that glute bridge, take it off. She's so mean. I don't know. Last part, Put a little more spring on. So I'm gonna put a red, two reds on.

I'm gonna take this foot bar down to the second position for me. And then I'm lay back down and finish out strong because my glute says I'm ready. They're ready. Alright. We are nice and flat away from the shoulder blocks. Take those feet to the footbar, wide stance.

Alright. The bottom. We pull our tummies in and we hinge the hips up for that forward plank, where there we're holding it, it looks better already. Alright. Let's walk our feet down to the platform. Left foot down. Right foot down. Good.

Right foot up. Left foot up. Left foot down, right foot down, right foot up, left foot up. Oh my gosh. Hold it there. Squeeze your tuckers.

Squeeze it. Three, two, one, roll down your spine. Vertebrae by vertebrae rolling through, tailbone to last to hit the carriage, bring the feet to the platform, roasty toasty, done, you look delicious. I'm gonna go ahead step off to the side and say, OMG. Amazing dynamic control. That's what you just showed you. You showed me. You did it.

High five. I will see you for next workout, the next workout. Rosie, almonds like me. Okay. I'll see you guys next time.