Straightforward Reformer

Hi, everybody. I'm Maria, and I'm here today with Miku, a lead teacher from Body Line, and we're gonna be working on a continuous flow without any changes. Let me tell you about the setup of the equipment. The foot bar is one lower than footwork, and the foot bar is locked in place. My spring is a blue or a medium, and we're not changing it at all. The box is in the extra short position, meaning it's in front of the shoulder blocks.

I'm working on these compact loops from elements, because they're better for my wrists and hands, and we have moved the risers down to the center position. Nothing changes for the entire workout. Come to the edge of your box. We're gonna start with stuff, you know. Peel yourself down, knees come into your chest, hands to the ceiling, and exhale into your hundred and in for five and out for five.

No better way to get that body warmed up. This was Joe's intention for this exercise. So give me rapid beats. Give me rapid breath pattern. And freeze from here.

Take one leg up to the ceiling. Pull yourself up to meet the leg. Drop the shoulders, and let's change and pause. And change and pause. You can even let that leg go a little bit lower than you would do ordinarily if you were on the mat and change. You have your hands to help you.

So really work that hamstring stretch as well as that ab curl. Last time here, knees in hands behind the head right across to rotation and rotation. And inhale and exhale. We're gonna keep building speed. So we go one, two, we go one, two, a little quicker. One, two, little quicker. One, two, little quicker. One, two, one two five four three two one knees in, rock yourself up, and then have a seat facing forward. We're gonna begin with chair pose.

Bring the heels against the box hinge forward and lift yourself up off the box, pause here. Let's take some little pulses. Really feeling that nice straight line from the crown of the head to the tail. Gently lower your fingertips to the foot bar and step the left foot forward. Ball the foot on the ledge and pause. The hands can stay down or the hands can come up or by your side.

From here, push that back leg out feeling the connection heal of the box and come right back in. So notice my weight is very far forward on that standing leg. That is the load right now. We're inhaling and we're exhaling. And this is a slow tempo. And just taking one hand off that foot bar is gonna make a big difference.

From here, we add the arms over the head. They extend out, pause here. And then lower them down. Maybe the hands never touch to and in, really establishing that connection from the fingertips all the way to the heel last time here, and pause from here, that front heel goes up and down. Two and down widen the shoulder blades.

Three and down. Last one, four and down pause. From here, bend the back knee and bring your body vertical. So it feels sort of like a seesaw action. Slowly reach back out. Remember, you can always put your hands down to that foot bar. Bring yourself vertical again. The knee stops right under the hip, pelvis neutral, and then launch right back out.

Pull yourself up, abdominals press into the lower back. And out, last one, everyone, pull in, and press out. From here, the hands go to the foot bar or the ledge, two feet back to the box. Firmly plant the heels into the box and now lift the hips up into a pike. Get that carriage in all the way. Press right back out to your perfect plank.

Exhale, lift the hips, squeeze the carriage into the bumpers, but so not just in all the way in and out. Last one here, all the way in tight, shoulder blades are wide. And push out. From here, step the left foot down to the floor, ease the carriage in. You're gonna run into yourself, and then wiggle that back leg against The box, hands come to the frame, and we take a breath here.

From here, we slowly transition, bring the carriage in, and begin turning in the direction of that leg. Put your forearm down on your box and set yourself up for a side leg lift. So from here, the leg lifts up and down, right back up for two And three, last time, four, let's point the toe and circle for five, four, three, two, one. Lower the leg down, reach down and pick up the loop closest to you. Take it up over the head. Take your gaze down.

So you're thinking, swak a t. Lift the free leg up and pause. And now take that arm up to the ceiling and then back over your head. Up to you whether you keep the legs still or you move it. I would like your shoulder joint to be more or less still. So the action is really from the shoulder, Maybe your palm is up, maybe your palm is down.

And last time here, lower the leg, put that rope down, turn and have a seat facing forward. Let's come back to your chair position. Stay here and take those little pulses up. Always checking in with that head alignment, using the glute to help, bring the hands gently down to the foot bar and step the other foot forward, ball of the foot to the ledge back as flat. The back leg pushes out, connect the heel of the box for me, and slowly in.

Continue like this. And maybe you take a little chance and even just taking one hand off the bar. Of course, two hands off the bar is gonna be so much more challenging. And then consider taking the arms up over the head. There's a little pause and everything in.

And take it out. If you feel vulnerable, just put your hands down to that foot bar. Drive that heel back. Really feel the box against the heel. Stay out front heel. You either hold or you lift the heel up and down, and it's just that heel moving.

The carriage is still One more, pause here. Now everything comes vertical, bend that back knee, get your tail under you, and then shoot out relationship fingertip to heal. Lift yourself up, pelvis is neutral, the knee stops under the hip and push out. So notice we're not trying to get the carriage in all the way. We're trying to just find our position. And out, last time, your vertical, you shoot out hands to the footbar or down to the ledge. Two feet back to the box.

Take a moment here and really establish that plank, spin the biceps forward. Let's lift to pike. Pull the carriage in, squeeze it in tight, shoulder blades wide, lengthen back to your plank. And again, hug the carriage in, squeeze it in tight, and take it back to your plank. Last one, hug the carriage in Back to your plank, we transition by stepping that same foot down into the well, bring the carriage in.

It's gonna touch you that will free up the back leg so you can wiggle your knee right up against the box and come down for a little recovery moment here and enjoy that stretch on the thigh. Moving on. Slowly bring the carriage in, begin to turn in the direction of that back leg. Put your forearm on the box and set yourself up for a little kneeling leg lift. Top hand is behind your head, and let's lift that leg straight up and down.

Really lengthening out through that heel. As if somebody was pulling that leg right out of your trunk, Last time, hold the leg up point the toe and now circle that leg. Imagine you have a magic circle there and you're transcribing right around the circle. And then lower the leg down. Reach down. Grab the loop closest to you.

Take it up and over your head. Take your gaze down. You're thinking, Swaka t. Lift your leg up and now press that arm to the ceiling and the arm goes way up and over your head. And again, two, and lower it down.

Minimizing what you're doing from the shoulder, maximizing what's happening at the elbow. Go ahead and add some movement of that leg straight up and down. I said hot shot before. I'll say it again. Maybe you're doing a side kick.

With this action. Keep pushing those hips forward. Last one here, and then put that rope down Turn and have a seat facing forward. We're gonna do some tricep dips this time for my friend, Miku. My hands are at the front of the box, step the feet forward, stabilize those shoulder blades. Here we go. It can be small, down and up.

And two, and three, and four. Don't lose your neck and have a seat on your box. Turn and face camera. This is kinda mermaid ish, so the front leg is gonna bend Notice the placement of this back leg, like tucked in and on the ball of your foot. The arms are east and west.

I call this a moving mermaid. From here, you're gonna side bend, reach that leg out, catch it to the bar, and come all the way over with your hand over the head. Now we're not dropping down. We're getting as long as we can. Fingerhips are light, and then lift yourself back up.

You might need to reposition a little bit so you can catch that bar. Here we go. Catch the bar, and you go over long body, both sides of the body long, and come on up. Let's add a little bit more speed. You go over. A little scary. And all the way up. Now, miku's gonna remove the bottom hand, and you catch over, and you pull up last time, and we catch and we come up.

Let's go to the other side. Now you have a little feel of that. This side should be easier. Set up that foot, reach the arms east and west, let's do the first one slow, Make sure you contact that foot bar before going all the way out, pull the ribs out of the pelvis, head is in line, and then lift yourself back up. And again, we go over in one count.

And up. We're trying not to bang the machine a little quicker, over, and up now, no bottom hand, and over, two arms over the head, and up. And last time, two arms over the head, and all the way up. From here, stand up face the back of your machine. The hands are going onto your box. Put one foot on top of your foot bar push your carriage out. You're gonna establish your plank here, and then take the other foot back to join it and hold it here.

Really reach through the back of the heels. Slowly, bend the knees in so that you're in a crawl position. Hold it. Check-in with what's happening in the lower spine and push right back out. And again, crawl yourself in, crawl yourself out. Last time in, and out, step one foot to the carriage, bring the carriage in and pause.

Now some of you will stay on your hands. Some of you will match me koo over there and you'll come down to the forums. So come back to your plank, either hands or forearms. And now from here, lift the hips up and bring the carriage in. The heels are down, everybody. Come back to a plank.

And come back to that pike, squeeze the carriage in tight, drop the head, and back to the plank, adding on. Lift yourself up this time, right knee to the outside of the elbow. Knee draws in, and lift up, step on your foot, and the other knee pulls in, and step up to your pike hold it here This time, step your right foot to the outside of the machine and take a lunge. Now, I'm gonna come down to my forums for sort of this, this series is gonna be easier on your forums. Take a second here. From here, lift up to pike, pull the carriage in all the way tight, hold, hold, hold, step the other foot down to the ground.

Enjoy this moment, reposition as needed, and then lift yourself up, high, high, high, and step down. Hold it there. Nice strong back leg for me. Again, lift up. And lower down. We're gonna start adding some things to this.

So lift up to your pike, hold it here. Push out to your plank. Lift up to your pike, lower down, right foot down, and lift up to your pike and push out to plank and up to your pike, and lower down. Take a moment. Final variation would be lifting that knee up. Let's give that a try, or just keep your two feet on the bar.

So you lift up to your pike. One knee pulls in. You go back to the pike. Right foot goes down. And you lift up, drop the head carriage in all the way.

You go to the plank. The knee comes in. You go back to that pike, hold it, and you step down. One last finishing move, back to your pike, hold it here for four, three shoulders out of the ears, two, and one. Step yourself down. From here, we're gonna lay on top of the box.

Unusual setup, the feet are going over the foot bar Bring yourself forward, but really flex those feet hard. So I want you to feel like you're holding yourself up with your feet. Find yourself in a straight line. The hands can stay on the frame or the hands can be behind the head lower everything down. And one more time, just lift up into that straight line, hold it here, and lower all the way down.

Up to the straight line. One more time, maybe the two hands are behind the head. Wherever you're at, we're gonna rotate to the right and lower. Keep doing what you're doing with coup. Same side again.

Rotate and back center. Rotate and center. Give me strong legs. Rotate, back center, and lower everything down, lengthen up to that straight line. Pull the abdominals in, pubic bone on the box. Change hands and do your other side.

Inhaling and exhaling you're getting tall. Inhale for two and get tall. Inhale, rotate and get tall. Last time, strong legs, rotate, and get tall and lower everything down into the well. Lift your legs up. Use your hands to walk yourself forward and grab your hands around the risers.

And then bring your body into a straight line and just let the shoulders get pulled to your ears. We're gonna do some shoulder shrugs. Pull the shoulders down. And let them lift. Notice the carriage is gonna move, and I don't want you to bend your elbows.

There should be a a certain amount of range that you can do just by elevating and depressing the scapulas. And now find that place where your scapulas are wide on the back and begin swimming your legs. Always with a lot of breath, inhaling and exhaling, and without changing anything, the right hand goes to the side. Really feel those two hip bones equal on the box, two hands back to the riser, and the other hand goes side. Keep the stabilization of the shoulder blades, two hands on, release the first hand, keep growing. Let me hear the breath, two hands on, and the other hand comes off.

And the two hands are on, legs are still. From here, pull the elbows in towards the box, the elbows point down and take it out. So you can stay neutral here, and take it out. You can also add some extension. Follow me Koo for that. Lift.

And again, And let's stay in this time. Pull the carriage in and little pulses in from your lat, not with your biceps, not from the elbow. Start this from the shoulder blades. You can swim your legs if you'd want. Go ahead and swim for mimiku.

Two, and one, let your arms go straight. Take your hands to the frame. Slowly walk yourself in. You might need to lift those legs a little. And now bend your knees.

Use your hands and swivel forward. Little break dancing. Bend your knees. Catch your feet. Let your hand shoulders hang for a minute.

And from here, take one deep breath in, pull the feedback, take the heart forward, and lower down. And again, big breath in. It's okay if the knees need to open. I'm gonna take mine open. It gives me a little bit more freedom in my back.

And lower down. Oh, really pull those heels into your booty last time. And lift. Don't hold that breath. Come on down. Hands to the box.

Release your feet. Push yourself back. Cut those hips back into a nice hamstring stretch. Take your feet to the floor. Take your hands to the floor.

Take your hands to the floor. You almost got me. Drop your head. Soften the knees, peel yourself slowly all the way up. And that's the end of our flow through today.

Thanks for joining us.