Strength Reformer II

Hi. My name is Ed Botha. I'm from Sydney Australia, and I'm here today to take Elena and Katie through an intermediate reformer session. So I've never met the two of them. So it's our first time working together, which is pretty exciting. So we'll get to know each other as we go through the session. So today, we'll be using some small weights.

We'll need a box if you have one available and possibly, two small balls. It would be helpful but all exercises can be done without the weights or the balls as well. Alright. So, girls, if you don't mind taking your weights for me, one in each hand, and standing up on the front of your Botha, and we'll face in a forward direction. Great. So come a little bit forward. There we go. Awesome. So what we're gonna do is we're just gonna do a roll down or a few off the edge of the box. Alright? So different to a conventional roll down where we kind of stop with our arms at ground level.

If you can and you have the flexibility, feel free to roll down as far as you want, or if you want additional stretch, let the weights take you down. Alright? So we'll start with your arms at your sides for me, please. And you're gonna take a breath in to prepare. And as you exhale, you just allow your head to be heavy. And imagine the weights, they're just drawing you down. So like two pendulums, and your arms are nice and relaxed, let them pass the Botha.

Let your neck go and go down as far as you can. Beautiful. So we're gonna take a deep breath in, and on the exhale, you start rolling your spine back up, and we're using the hamstrings good, the inner thighs, the glutes, and then the back extensors to draw us back up. So the benefit of the weight is, obviously, we can get a little bit deeper into that stretch. So we'll go again, inhale, and exhale, So let the head be heavy. Good.

Just be careful though. You don't compress your neck there, and letting the arms just dangle out in front of the line of your shoulders there. Can I bring them a little bit forward? Beautiful. That's it, Elena. So let yourself hang, take a deep breath in there, and feel like you can hang a little bit deeper into the stretch. Awesome.

And then exhale as we start rolling back up, maybe keep a little micro bend of the knees. Good. And to bring it back up. So the legs are straight. We just don't wanna hyperextend the knees. Good. So we'll go again.

We're gonna do that three more times. So inhale and exhale. It's one of my favorite exercises to do in the beginning of a session. So we really focus on the stretch, getting the stretch through the posterior chain of the Botha. And then on the way up, exhale, we're using the muscles behind the body to draw us back into alignment. Good. And inhale, it goes straight into the next one.

Exhale to go down. Go. Just watch the neck. You don't compress. Beautiful. That's better. Arms, let them hang in front of the shoulders. Good.

So they're not too close to you. Inhale and exhale. Good. And we'll do one last time. Alright? Inhaling. And exhale. So you see the soft chin. So I don't press my chin to the chest.

I just soften it down, and the arms, they're just hanging out in front of the shoulders. Good. I don't mind which way your palms are facing. Good. Take a breath in at the bottom. Press through all 10 toes. And draw back up from the lower back.

Keeping the head down right till the end. Good. Okay. Well done, girls. So if you don't mind, just take your weights from you here. Okay? And we're going to stay on one yellow spring. Alright? So the very, very light spring. So we're gonna face towards the rises direction, and we're gonna go into an IDL position. Right?

So Let me just place these down for a sec. And I know you're gonna take the strap with your right hand, take both straps for me, please. So we're gonna do the same, but with your left hand, Katie. So you've got both straps perfect. Good. You're gonna place your left foot up onto the foot bar, the right leg onto the foot bar for me.

Good. K. You balanced? Awesome. Alright. Okay. Now that you've got your balance, I want you to take the straps onto the inside hand. Perfect. Good. And the other arm, you can stretch it out for for balance, if you'd like. Beautiful.

So you're in this upright position. Alright? And you may or may not have a little bit of tension on the strap. Alright? So if you want more resistance, you can just shorten the strap. So what we wanna do here is we wanna create a hip hinge. So we're gonna start bending forward from the hip joint, your knee does a little bit of a bend, and the spine tips forward for me. So you can bend that knee a little bit more, and they're good. Now we wanna connect with our abdominals.

And then from there, you start lifting your spine back up. The arm stays straight. And you're drawing yourself back up into a standing position. Right? So similar to the first move we did, but the back is straight. So we're going down inhale as we tipping forward. So just to about there. Good.

And then exhale as we're coming up. Good. And we try not to extend the backup, but we try to extend the hips up. And inhale as we're going down, keeping the arm that's in the strap nice and straight for me. So again, don't worry if you lose the resistance and then exhale as we are drawing back up good. So let's do that twice more.

So inhale as we hinge. Good rib cage stays soft. And then exhale as we draw up good one more time for me, please, lady. So inhaling. So tipping forward.

And then exhale As we're coming back up. Good job. Alright. And then you can step down, and you can hook your straps. So what we'll do is if you don't mind just walking around with your boxes and take them to the other side. So you can walk around the back there for me, please, Katie. Awesome. So and what I did is I lined the boxes up pretty much with the end of the carriage there.

Good. So you can both step on to your Botha. Again, we're gonna repeat the same exercise. So we're gonna face away. Good. You can take both straps in one hand, and now you know what's coming. So if you feel you've got the balance and you can go straight away onto the inside hand, alright, and then reaching the foot onto the foot bar. Perfect. So we're in this upright position, and when we're up, we've got a pretty straight leg, straight arm, and already have tension on the strap. Alright? So from there, we're gonna create our hinge.

So I'm bending forward from the hip joint. I start losing tension on my strap. Good. I'm really loading my standing leg, not the footbar leg. And from there, I'm gonna press myself back up into tall standing. Good. So we're going forward again.

We create our hinge. Think of a little bit of a shortening between the ribcage and the pelvis there, and then exhale. As we come back up, good drawing ourselves up, go posterior, slight posterior tilt there, and then a good. And again, and inhale, as we go forward, and exhale, as we coming up. Good. And again, inhale hinging forward. And then exhale as we go back up one more time for me.

And inhale as we hinge forward, good. I want you to hold that position just there for a second. Pull the shoulder blade back slightly. Make sure the arm is staying nice and straight. Good. And then draw yourself back up for the last time all the way up into tall standing.

Good job. So just careful now because you've got tension. You can just lean forward to intention the carriage good, and then we'll hook the straps back on. Awesome. Good job. Okay. So really a good exercise to warm up, again, the posterior chain of the body. So we're gonna place our box in a long position on the carriage for me, please. Cool. And then you can lie on your back. So we're gonna have our feet on the foot bar, and your shoulder blades are close to the edge of the box.

So we're gonna do a few chest lifts to warm up. Alright. So, Katie, you could scoot back a little bit, so bring those shoulder blades just to about there. Awesome. So the springs, again, you just want a spring that keeps the carriage kinda still. So then it come into the stopper and scoot back with your shoulder blades just on the edge hands behind your head. Perfect. Good. And then you can stretch over the box for me. Alright? And you can see I'm a little bit conservative with how far I take you back.

Because we're gonna lift the legs up into the tabletop. So we're gonna go one and two. Good. And I'm gonna bring the knees in a little bit. So if the if you too far back as soon as you go into that tabletop position, you're gonna feel like you wanna fall the end there. Right? So we're gonna take a breath in to prepare. And on the exhale, we're gonna start lifting the head and the chest. Good. Getting careful the neck left for me, Katie. Yes.

You wanna keep that space in the neck good. And then we're gonna inhale as we lower ourselves down. So we're gonna sync, and we wanna try and get that little bit of extension off the end of the box. There we go. And exhale as we lift to good. Try come up a little bit high every time, and inhale as we go back down, Great job.

And exhale as we lift. Good. That's it. Great. Space is much better in the neck. Inhale. And we'll go up one more time, and then exhale. So beautiful, good.

And we'll stay in the position. We're gonna bring the legs down to the footbar. Both legs can tip. Good. Awesome. And then you're gonna bring yourselves up to sitting carefully. Just, obviously, you've only got one yellow spring so the box can move a little bit. Great.

So for those of you at home, if you have a small ball, you can pick it up. And I'm gonna pass you the ball. Alright? So we're gonna go back down into that same chest lift position. So we're gonna hold the ball and you're gonna lie down onto your back again. Good. We're gonna bring the legs into the tabletop position. So we're gonna do a variation of the crisscross. So if you don't have a ball, you can do the regular crisscross. Perfect.

So we're gonna bring the elbows are gonna hold the ball in position here. So hands behind your Ed, you've got it there, and then we are squeezing in with the ball. So, yeah, elbow, and then the other elbow comes in as well. And we squeeze that's it. So the trick here is to bring your knees in as close to your body as possible. That's what makes the exercise accessible. Good. So now we're gonna open opposite arm and leg.

So it doesn't matter which side. So for Elena, she's gonna open her left arm and her right leg, and she opens And she's gonna press into that ball for me there. Good. Beautiful. So at the same time, you're opening you lifting up, and I'm gonna bring this leg up, try to keep your feet on the same horizontal line. And then we bring both legs back in, squeeze into the ball, press in. Yeah. You wanna connect and change, and we open to the other side too.

So I'm just gonna lift your leg a little bit, Katie. Good. And then we bring it back in. And we switch and change good. Give it a good squeeze. So the elbow coming towards the knee, the knee coming towards the elbow good, and then bringing it back in.

And change, and press good, and then bring it back in. And switch. Good. We'll do one more switch, and we go in. And we're gonna switch. And we bring it back together with the knees.

Good last time squeeze the knees to the elbows, elbows the knees, you've got it, and then you can relax. So you can just take hold of the ball, and you can pass me the ball, ladies. And up you go. So if you don't mind just taking your boxes and putting them up at the head of your reformer, And I'm gonna change your springs for, footwork. Alright? So I would go with three and a half springs for the girls. So three reds. And a blue, and you can have a lie down on your reformer for me, please.

So on your back so feel free to adjust your springs to whatever suits your body. Am I right? So I've got them on a lower foot bar, which I kind of like for the hip joint. So I'm gonna place you on your heels. Very good. And I want you to maximize the dorsi flexion of your ankles. Good. So think of your feet as if they would be flat against the wall. Good. Alright.

So without rocking with your feet, so flex the left foot a little bit more for me there, Katie. Good. Then you can push the legs out straight. So we're going out one. So try to stay on my hands, good, and then bend the knees to come in. Good. And exhale as we press out, you feel how we're keeping the feet stable, two, and coming back in. Good.

And we go three, and back in. So press on the insides of your feet a little bit of length and four. Good. There we go. And five. And inhale and exhale six.

Good. We'll do four more times. So get a nice flow. We go. One and in and two. Yeah. There we go. And in and three. Good.

And inhale. And four good. And one more time. And beautiful. And then come in all the way to the stopper. Good. So we're gonna change into the toes parallel position. There. Right.

So we'll talk about this position to set up. What I'd like you to do just before we get there is to straighten your legs completely for me. So the straight position is what keeps us honest. So I want your legs completely straight, and your heels as high as you can lift them without rolling your ankles. There.

Good. Now keeping the heels stable so they shouldn't lift any higher, bend your knees to come in. Good. And then press one. So that's your position. That's how we figure it out where we wanna be. And two.

And in. And three. And in. Good. Full straightening. Good. Especially your right leg for me. Four five. There we go.

Six. Excellent. Three more. One. And two. Good. One more time. And then bring it all the way back in. Good. So that same ankle position, we're not gonna move the foot.

We're gonna roll up with our pelvis so you pull the curl up for me. So they're good. Keeping the thighs parallel. Beautiful. Come up a little higher.

There we go. And then coming back down. So it's a really good way to test if that ankle is articulating and the feet are staying stable. So We roll up. So without the heels lifting good, try bringing the pelvis a little higher. Good.

And then we're coming back down. Excellent. So we're gonna be so consistent with that angle of the foot. And we'll go two more. So we roll up, and that same angle we established is the same angle that we're using for the toes parallel or the small v position. Do one more. So as you're coming up, k, what I want you to come up again, I want you to think of those legs reaching towards me, the knees. So you're stretching forward.

Good. And then coming back down. Awesome. Then from there, we're gonna just touch your heels together. Bam. That's it. Small. It's a very small movement, and then the knees just adapted. Alright? So same movement. We push out from the legs and go.

One and in. So again, nice flow. Two. So keeping the inner thighs there and three. So if you think of the the hip position is relative to the feet. Right? So the feet aren't very wide. So the knees aren't very wide.

There. Good. So it's still getting that full straightening for me, Elena. Good. So yes. Beautiful. There. So we press and we back in. We'll do three more.

One, and two. Good. One more. And full length, three. And then we'll bring it back home all the way. Awesome. So from here, you can just float your feet out and place them in the open v on the heels there. So we can just float both legs out.

And so you can utilize the full foot bar width. There we go. Feed off flex. But we're not collapsed. Right? So we're still using the inner legs. So so initiate from the inner thighs as we push away and go. One, and back. And two, and in good.

Three and there and four, five, six, seven. Good. Three more. One, push equal with both legs, two, and one more time, and three, and let's bring the carriage all the way home, change from the heels to the toes. Alright. Now, again, what I want you to check for yourself. So, okay, now feel your heels are gonna be a little bit high, but that's okay.

We'll figure it out. Press your legs out straight for me, and you see how the heels automatically drop. And that's telling you where you wanna be with your heels. You wanna be at the highest point when your legs are straight, not bent. And now we bend the knees, and then you articulate on the ankle. And we go press two and in, three and in, and four good, and in full, straightening for five.

And in, six. We'll do another four. One and two and three and one more and four, and then we're gonna bring it back in. Keep the ankle. So position here, foot is stable. Now we're gonna roll up with the pelvis again, and now we're moving at the ankle joint, but the foot stays stable.

And then we roll back down. So you can lift your left heel slightly for me then. There we go. And up. Good. Still getting the articulations are rolling through the spine. Good.

And rolling up. Good coming up as high as you can. And then rolling down will do one more time for me. Roll it up all the way good. Come into the stopper if you can.

Draw yourself as close in as you can. And then rolling all the way down. Well, Daniel, we're gonna bring the feet to parallel for the calf raises and the prances. Okay. So first, just regular calf raises. So, again, we wanna straighten the legs out keeping the ankles stable. Check your pelvis that you're in neutral so you shouldn't be tucked here.

So find that little bit of space in the lower back, and then we inhale as we lower the heels. Exhale as we lift one. Inhale as we lower, and we lift two. Good. Down through the heels and up.

And down and up. Good. And this is active here, you're drawing yourself down. So you wanna draw, you wanna feel the muscles along the outside of your shins, pulling you into position, and then lifting up. Good. We'll do three more. One, and down. And then two, and down one more.

And we hold the top position. Good. Now the right heel's gonna lower, And the left heel is lifting to its maximum, but the leg's bent. So this doesn't matter. And we're pressing I want you to think of the ball of the foot pressing into the bar there. Maximize this lift for me There we go. Good.

Now we wanna change at the top, so we push up at the highest point, and then we switch. And the highest point, and we switch. So we're just slowing it down a little bit today. So to get the technique perfect, so change the highest point, and then highest heel and switch, good, and switch and switch and switch. Good one more switch. And switch. Good then come up both heels highest point.

Good. Keep the ankles stable. That's it. So we don't roll to the outside. Beautiful. And then we're gonna bend the knees to glide back in and click. Good job. Okay. So you can just let your legs stretch over the bar for a sec. Give them a little bit of a stretch out. So I'm gonna drop you to one and a half springs.

Okay? So if you wanna bring your feet back on, so for those of you at home, you can change your springs now. So one and a half so it's a red and a blue spring, and we go back to the same position for me, please, on your toes parallel. Alright. So we wanna establish that position, push the legs out straight first for me. Good. So then I'm just gonna bring your right left foot out a little bit. Good. So your highest heel position without rolling the ankle.

So press onto your big toes. Good. Now keep your feet stable, bend the knees to come in so the ankles are articulating, and then we touch. Good. We're gonna do that same pelvic curl up, right, or a bottom lift. A little bit lighter spring. So it's gonna be a little bit more hamstring. And then we're gonna roll it up.

We're gonna hold it up at the top there. Good. Yes. Now we're gonna do a very small little push pull. So we push there and pull, and try touch every time click. Push and touch.

Push just there and touch. I want the hips extending from the hamstrings and the glutes and the inner thighs, and then I want the hamstrings pulling us back to the stopper while you lift the pelvis. Good. Three more. One. And two, and three, and then bring it back in, find the click. Good. And then slowly roll the spine down one vertebra at a time.

And Relax. Good job, ladies. Okay. Awesome. So you can hop out of your, carriages for a sec. And we're gonna do, an abdominal exercise. We're gonna use the ball. So, again, you can do this without a ball.

And what I recommend is if you could just place your ball close to the top end of your carriage there, and we're gonna work on a red spring. Alright? Again, if you feel this exercise in your lower back, I would recommend someone goes a little bit lighter with their springs. Okay? So you're gonna have a seat on your carriage. We're gonna put our feet on the Ed, and we're gonna put our knees in the straps. Okay? Good. So I've got the foot bars up for this exercise on this reformer.

It doesn't make any difference. Some reformers, you do need to bring the foot bars down. So, k, if you lie down for me, And I've got that ball. You can feel it's right between the shoulder blades. So I'll bring it yeah.

That looks good. Are you comfortable there, hon? You're awesome. Right. So you're you're gonna have your hands behind your Ed. Fingers interlaced. And now what I want you to think about is your ribs, your bottom ribs here, they're drawing down towards your ASIS bones or these bones of your pelvis over here on the sides.

So it's getting you into that flexed position. So I want your eyes to come a little bit looking through your thighs. Alright? Beautiful. Now, we wanna stay as stable as we can, so draw in with the abdominals, float both legs up to a tabletop position if you can. Good. And I'll bring your shins parallel to the mat.

Awesome. Right. So this exercise, we're gonna pull really deep. We wanna access those deep flexor muscles, the psoas, and keep the abdominals active. So we bring the knees towards the forehead. Go in in in in in in in good and forward to knees, and then just take the legs away a little bit, but the spine stays stable. Just there. And we go knees, go in in in in in and away a little bit, not too far.

And exhale. So we go four and away. And five good trying to stay consistent in the trunk flexion. And six So you can think of a real deep posterior tilt of the pelvis, Evan. So the flatter you can press your back to the floor, the better on this exercise, one. And Two, we're coming up into our last one, and last one, keeping the chest lifted in there, hold it there. Now with control, we're gonna lower both legs down to the headrest.

Well done, and you can bring yourselves up to sitting. And you can pop the straps off there for me. Good. So we'll move the balls out the way again, and we're going to lie on your backs for me. So in the supine position again, and I'm gonna pop, another spring on for you. So we're gonna have a red and a blue spring.

So back to a red and a blue. Now ladies, you're gonna push your legs out straight. So all the way out straight, you're gonna put your right foot into the strap for me with a bent leg. Alright. Good. So this is where I want you to hold. Now I want you to hold the carriage stable in this tabletop position.

Good. And remembering the other leg up for me. And then put the other strap in. Yeah. So just being quite methodical about getting yourselves into the straps. Good. So when we look for this frog position I wanna do today, is Ignore the straps for a moment. Just bring your knees to nineteen ninety.

So then if you could squeeze your legs close together and then drop your heels a little bit lower so they're in line with your knees. Awesome. Now from there, All you wanna do is get the straps without moving the bed to the outside of the knees. So you just open the knees out and there. That's gonna be our position. So it's quite a conservative frog position there.

So if we could just pop there, and did I say to the outside? I mean, to the inside of your knees. Okay. Alright. So your feet should feel like they're pushing up against the wall. Now imagine your feet can't move, alright, up and down the wall. So they glued to the wall, so you just wanna push yourself away from the wall, straightening the legs out, and bending the knees gliding back in. Good.

So just to there. And we press out two. So remember, we just came to 90 degrees at the hip joint. So we bend. Just to there. And exhale press out.

Good. And back in. And press out straight and back in. Good. And press out straight. Good. And back in, we'll do another three times.

So careful of the v going too wide. One, and inhale. And two good. And inhale one more time. And we go three. Then you can hold the legs out straight.

Plant to flex your feet, so point. And then bringing the legs up to vertical. So your pelvis, you wanna still try keep your sacrum anchored down on the mat, and we're at close to 90 degrees at the hip joint. So I'm gonna bring your legs a little bit away from you, Lynn, there, and then keeping the v position with the feet. Good. So we're gonna go into our circles down. Alright?

So I'm just gonna hop in over here. So, want this movement to be very circular, but I still want you to maintain the integrity of this midline. Right? So we're keeping the heels squeezing, together. We draw the legs down, and they come to just above the foot bar. So all the time squeezing and now we open round, and we come back to that midline and squeeze. So we're going to round to the midline and squeeze. And three good.

And round to the midline and squeeze. And four and round to the midline and squeeze. So what I like is you're not dropping the legs. So you're getting to here, and then it's a open and together. So we're going down. So I don't go any lower now.

It's opening and together. Do two more. We're going here, open, and together, and we'll go here, and we go open, and together and pause. Now so you can lift your legs a little bit higher then. There. Good. Katie, pull your legs a little just there so you're keeping that 90 degrees. Now we're going to do the reverse. So I want your movement as you're opening the legs, you should already start drawing down into the resistance.

Alright? So we're going open and down and connect. And lift. And open and down. Connect and lift. Open and down.

Connect and lift. Great. Open connect and lift good. Open and connect. Lift a little higher with their legs, and they're good. And there and up.

Good. So, Katie, what I wanna do, just one with you is here, as you're opening, you Ed start pulling for me. So I don't want the carriage to be still. Yes. So there's always movement in the carriage. Do there. Yes. And do one more for me.

That is the always movement, and then bring the legs back to the vertical. Awesome. Right. So still keeping the external rotation. So we're gonna bring the legs down to about 45 degrees. That. Soft plantar flexed.

So keeping the feet on the same level, we're gonna go into the openings. So we open out with the legs. So without dropping, bring the legs round over the hip joint. You feel where you are here, and then draw back in. Think of the heels coming together, like they're magnetized all the way together. That's even a word. And then we bring it round and open over the hip joint, and then drawing back in and squeeze, give me a little bit more of your left side.

Yeah. It's beautiful and open and round without dropping. So lift the legs a little bit. Hold there. And then bringing straight back in good. So we go open and round and pause just there soft plant to flex feet. And then bringing it back and in. One more time, we got open and round, and bringing it back, and in. And then on the last one, you can open and have a little bit of a stretch. So you can take the legs round And you can place the hands on the inside of your straps.

Yep. And then just press down. So yep. And get a little stretch through there. Good. And then relax, bring the legs together. Beautiful, and you can take your feet out of the straps one leg at a time.

Find the foot bar. Good. And the other side. Alright. Good job. Okay. So we're gonna go into a semi circle. So The spring spectrum is pretty wide for this exercise depending on what your goals are.

So we could start with a red for some people, very hamstringish. Alright? Or you could go all the way up to two reds, which becomes very shoulder dominant. I think we're gonna kind of go somewhere in the beginning, so Ed yellow. Alright? And if you feel you want more or less, please yell. So if you could you can change your springs to a red yellow, And what I would do is we're gonna start on your back, and you're gonna drape your legs over the foot bar. And you can come in all the way till your legs are bent and hanging over the bar. You feel that position? So it's like you're about to do a pelvic core. Alright? So legs are together. Awesome. Now from here, it's very easy to get your hands into the shoulder rest now.

Mhmm. Fingers pointing to the outside. Uh-huh. So what we're gonna do as we straighten the arms, you can bridge your pelvis up for me. So give that a go. Yeah. So it might be a bit of a shuffle, which is probably a good thing. It means you're not slipping and sliding on the mats.

They're good. Awesome. Now you're gonna keep that height of your pelvis, the arms are straight. Both of you are good. Now you're gonna step your feet onto the foot bar in that same v position on the toes that we did earlier. So on the toe position.

And then you can come in for me. And then it's a bender bend the knees and lift the pelvis. Right? So we were up, up, up. So the goal is to drop your heels a little bit. Lift your pelvis up, Katie, there.

So the idea in this exercise is to bring your knees as close to me as you can. So you get that real opening through the front of the hips. So we're gonna take a breath in on the exhale. We're gonna start articulating down. So get the posterior tilt good, rolling, rolling, rolling, and then right at the end, You wanna let the pelvis touch the spring. So try. You get a little tickle from the springs there.

Good. We're gonna gently brush along the springs as we straighten or almost straighten the legs out. And then we stop there. So get bend a little bit more there. And now keep the bed still. So you gotta use your legs and your arms roll your pelvis up. Keep the bed still by pushing with your arms and your legs, and then bending the knees to come back in and lifting the pelvis.

Don't forget you're always trying to lift and reach those knees over towards me. Good. So let's go again. We're gonna roll the pill the spine down. Think posterior tilt of the pelvis there. Good.

Keeping the elbows straight. And we just get the touch of the springs. We push out, and I would stop about there. Stop there. Good. So we keep the hamstrings engaged. Now bed doesn't move.

Roll the pelvis up, so articulate. Coming up all the way, pushing those arms straight for me, and then gliding back in, and lifting the pelvis up a little higher, a little higher, a little higher. That's it good. We go one more in this direction. So we're rolling.

So curling, so try to keep the tilt. Yes. As long as we can, pelvis drops down. Good. Pushing out with the legs almost straight legs there, so just so we keep the muscles engaged, rolling the pelvis up. Keep the carriage still good. Excellent. And then gliding back in for me, lifting lifting.

You've got it good. And think of that stretch over there. Good. So let's do a couple in the reverse. So we Push away, inhale, push out with the legs. Almost straight. Good. Exit.

Keep the carriage still roll the spine down, and let the back extend, find the springs. Inhale as we draw back in. Good. Exhale as we roll up. Inhale as we push out. Pause over there, exhale as we roll down, so a kevel of over straightening the legs.

Good, gliding back in. And we'll go up again. And we'll push out. Good. And then we Botha roll back down. So keeping the bait still at this phase, gliding back in.

Good. Lifting back up to finish. Good. So we all we can do from here to straighten those elbows, you're gonna just hook your legs over the bar again. So one. And two, good. And then you just gotta shuffle your way back out of there. Good.

There's no glam way of getting out of that. Okay. Awesome. You did great. So let's hop you out, ladies. And we're gonna go into a a lunge kneeling position. But what we might do is we might use the ball as a little bit of a tool to check that we're not dropping our pelvis. So I I love doing it with us.

So I'm gonna give you your ball. And if you could just go onto so I think let's go with a one red spring. Nothing wrong with the red yellow, but it might just be a little bit heavy on the push. So if you could put the ball in the front of your carriage there, perfect. And then you're gonna go onto your knees for me on the carriage with your hands on the bar. So, you know, like, on a knee stretch position.

Cool. Awesome. Alright. So what we'll do is you're gonna put your right foot up on the foot bar. So just ignore the ball for a second. Good.

And you wanna find your fingertips. So you're pressing yourself up. Cool. Alright. So what you can see is we've got this angle between our phi and the back of the carriage. And so what I wanna try to do is keep that consistent.

Right? So if I brought this ball just over there, that's perfect. So, and then could you put your foot against the shoulder rest for me? So I didn't see that there. You got it. Perfect. Now lean your pelvis forward a bit.

Chest up. There. And it's similar over there. So we just wedge it in a little bit there. Is it gonna stay with you? We'll see. Yeah. Lift your thigh back a little bit good, and I lean into it's like there. Perfect.

So you can wedge that in yourself. Right? So you can feel now your goal is to not push into that ball when we do the the stretch phase of the exercise. Right? So place your hands onto the bar, palms down. Good. Now slowly start pushing out with your front leg, but I don't want you to lean into that back leg. And stop. Good.

You both did really well. So can you feel how The urge we have is to lean into that ball there. That's it. Good. So this keeps us stable and keeps the pelvis moving on the straight line. We hold this for three to five breaths. Good. And now we're gonna slowly start coming back in onto the fingertips, and you should just have that ball just lightly connected over there. Great.

Good. So we take a breath in to prepare. And we place the hands down so careful of leaning into the ball, Katie, with your back leg. Good. Awesome. I'm gonna pull your back leg in a little bit good and then drop this side of your pelvis there. Good. Land him for this last one, strain this leg a little more, get a little push, and then coming back in And good. Okay. Well done.

Let's change legs for me. You did well. Alright. So the the goal here is just to keep that ball connected and definitely not to press into the ball on the way when we straighten the leg into the stretch. Alright? So this foot, could you bring it more wedged? Yeah. So if you think we did footwork earlier, right? And it was the same position with my foot. Yeah.

Alright. So I'm gonna bring your knee a little forward. Push the back leg out slightly just there, and that's you. That's that's it. That's your height. Good. Upper back is lifting a little bit. Perfect.

Good. So no change in the ball pressure. So your backfire's angle stays consistent. So we bring the hands on, and we push out so you could feel how you have to create a little bit of a hinge in that back hip. Good. Yes. Now we just drop the side of your pelvis a little bit for me a little bit.

There we go. Good. We'll try to get the palms flat. It'll add little bit of joy to that stretch. And then coming back in, and then you go on the fingertips when we return. Good.

Alright. We hold this position. We're gonna go one more time, so we go palms, go flat. Push out, create a little bit of hinge in the back hip. That's it good. So that ball's not getting squashed. That's at back extensors.

Dropping the side of the pelvis slightly, very good. And then coming back in slowly all the way. Okay. Awesome. Good job, ladies. So you can just pass me your ball. Thank you.

And then we'll go to one and a half springs. So one red and one blue. Do you mind changing that for me? Alright. So a little bit on the heavier. Alright? So we're gonna stand up with hands on the bar and your feet up at an angle against the shoulder rest.

So it's in an up stretch position. Right? What we may consider is changing your bars if it feels like you having to reach, but let's have a look first. I like to have a look. So if you stand up on the carriage, good. Yep. So keep the carriage on the stopper for me. Click and now pull yourself into that pyramid shape.

So bring your chest as low as you can, laying Ed up a little bit there for me. Good. Bend your knees and sit back a little bit more, and I lift your pelvis. Good. So that's gonna be your position there. Now straighten your legs for me a little bit more, Kaye. Oh, yeah. Okay. And then come back in for me.

Come down onto the knees. I'm gonna give you both a little bit of a higher bar. So it's just gonna help you feel a little bit more stable in the shoulder girdle. So let's go on the higher bar setting. Yep. So that's gonna work well for you.

I'm spoiling you with this, by the way. Okay. So let's do that again. So same setting. So up, good. So come on to the stopper. Pull yourself into a pyramid position.

Alright. And what I would do is I would also bring your feet a bit more of an angle. Good. And I'll get your back as flat as you can this way. There we go. You feel the angle you have? That's it. So we have a straight line from our shoulders through our spine. Now without moving the carriage straighten your legs for me, without moving the carriage.

You see? They're good. Right. Ribs in a little bit and hold. Can you hold that position? Should be pretty comfy. Okay. Elena, I'm with you here. We're gonna pull the carriage in.

You're gonna bend your knees for me. We're gonna take your body weight back. There. Chest down. Hold their head up a little bit. Now straighten the legs for me a little bit and hold.

Alright. Now we're gonna move at the hip joint. K. Just care for you to drop your Ed, and we move the hip joint open and close. One. Just little openings and closing. Two.

Just from the hip joint. Three and four. Left your head up for me a little bit there. And five. Hold it in the stopper. Good. Try get your weight back a little bit more feeling. A little bit more.

That's it. Good. Straighten the legs a little bit more, and then come down onto your knees. Good job. Okay. So I'm gonna take your bar down, and we're gonna go into a shoulder push position. Right? So this time I bring the bar all the way down again, and I'm going onto a a red spring for me.

There. So could you come right to the front of your carriage? And then sitting down with your bum to your heels. Uh-huh. So on your knees, yep, you are good. So just into a a kneeling position there. Yeah. And sitting right in the front edge.

You're gonna place your hands shoulder width apart. And there. Alright. Now keep your back flat. Yeah. Push the carriage out with a flat back. And stop there. Right? So we don't wanna drop below the bar, lift up a little bit higher. Good.

You can push out a little bit further. Go push with arms. Keep pushing pushing pushing, pushing, more more more good, sternum forward. Now from there, bend the elbows out to the side, bringing The Ed, yeah, there. Good. Lift your spine up a little bit over there. Good.

Yes. And now press straight back out from there. One and bend. Today. And press two. Good. And so keep aiming your sternum slightly forward.

Yeah. There we go. And, Theresa, we're using the upper back extensors as we're going in. And four. Good. And we're going in. For five.

Beautiful. See how the elbow is pointing straight out to the sides and six. And in, and seven, and inhale, and eight, and inhale there. Two more, and nine. Good. And one more time, and press out 10 to hold that position. So you wanna get that flat back. Now, keep the back straight and start lifting yourself back up. Good with straight arms straight back, all the way up straight arms, straight arms, straight arms, and sitting down.

Okay. Good job. And you can hop out there for me. Awesome. Right. Ladies, if you don't mind getting your Botha, and we're gonna put them in the short position against the shoulder rest. So we're gonna set up to do a side over on the box. Alright? So I'll pop the bars down out the way, and we're gonna connect all the strings on to get a stable carriage or at least most of the springs.

And then we have a strap here for your foot. Alright. So Ed you're gonna have your left leg bent. Yep. And then your right leg is going through the strap over there. Perfect. Okay. Now what's important is that you wanna feel like you're sitting on the side of your right side, and then on your left side. Your right hand, you can place on the shoulder rest, your left hand, laying on the shoulder rest.

And what that's gonna do is see it sets you up at an angle. So you're seeing the whole wall at a diagonal. That's what it should feel like. Right? Perfect. This foot is flexed, so dorsi flexed, and this leg is straight. So you've gotta have a little bit of trust in the strap here. Alright? Now, good. Without moving your spine, bring your top hand and just place your fingertips behind your head.

Good. Alright. Now we're gonna trust the strap, and we're gonna bring the other hand and we place the hand behind the head. Try keep on that little bit of a diagonal position here. Good. So think of just that foot is working, top leg, quite relaxed.

Inhale as you laterally flex, think of your elbow going down towards the Ed, and then exhale, lift back up just into the diagonal. That's the hard part is not coming up into a full lift. And we come up two. Good. So we're lifting up through the spine over here. Inhale. And three good. Keeping the length.

And inhale and four good. And one more time. And five good. Perfect. Then you're gonna put your forearm on the headrest and see if you can stretch over. If you can't, you can put them over the shoulder rests.

There we go. Excellent. This arm is reaching, and we're going into that bit of side stretch. Good. Now from there, you're Botha rotate and hold the frame. So one, two, hold there.

Lift yourself up as high as you can with your back. Twists as much as possible towards the floor, and then you can lie forward and stretch your arms out. And that's gonna give you the best stretch, and then you can stretch out further there. So you can get real rotation. So you're almost rotating your pelvis as well.

Through your whole spine. Good. And then slide your arms back in towards you and we're gonna lift up and then we're gonna turn to the other side. Alright? So a little bit of antisocial, but we we gotta do both sides. Right? So if you could put your left hand, Katie, and then a right hand on the shoulder rest.

Yes. Good. Try keep your leg as straight as you can and flex are there. So it's all about the foot. Uh-huh. So on the shoulder rest over there. Perfect. You see a diagonal. Alright.

So you might even get a little bit of a reflection Botha of you now, and you can see your angles over there. So we don't wanna overdo the neck. Good. So top hand goes behind your head. So just fingers.

This is where we wanna be stable. I think soft in the ribs. Bring the other hand behind the head. Just fingertips. Good. Relax the hip over here.

Legs straight there. And we go inhale as we go down. So laterally flex while you elongate, elena, elongate, and exhale one. And inhale as we go down and exhale to so there we go. And inhale as we go down down down.

And three good. Finding your length. Two more. Four. So I'm just gonna pull the ribs in. Good. One more time. And up.

Good. Keep it. Keep the diagonal, and then go down onto your headrest or the shoulder rest with your forearm, laterally stretch over. There we go. Take a couple of breaths. See if you can go further into that lateral flexion and reaching this top arm for the lat. Good. So let's rotate towards the frame.

Lift yourself up by pushing your arms up So extend your back, turn even more with your spine, and then slide your arms away along the frame and go deeper into your stretch. Good. This is one of the best stretches to do. So good for the q l, the lats. Good. And then you can slide the arms in, and you can come back up. Awesome. So let's turn the boxes long for me, please, if you don't mind.

And we're gonna bring our footbars back up. So I might actually push let's go to a red spring. So I'll just push this out the way, and we'll have our foot bar. I'm gonna say in the middle setting. So you wanna try to get your foot bar as close to the height of the box for this exercise. Alright? So that makes a real difference.

So from here, sorry, I'll just pop this in, and we'll move the box back a little bit. And I think it was the middle one I used. Yeah. So that gives me a good height. Okay. Cool. So we need our weight handy. So if you could take one weight, and we're going to lie with our chest off the edge of the box facing this way. Alright? And if you just put both hands on the binder, you've got a weight in your hand, but just to set up as if you would be doing a shoulder push position or a breaststroke prep.

Good. So legs are together. Now you're gonna take your hand that's got the weight and I want you to aeroplane that arm out. To the side. It's just there. Mhmm.

Good. So we're keeping this posterior deltoid working to stabilize Alright? And then we're gonna give it a try with this resistance. This is the Ed, and we'll see if you can push out with the arm, and then bringing it back in. Good. And just to where the forehead is over the bar, and we press out with the arm to And bringing it back in, keep reaching the arm out to the side. And three k. To give me a little bit of legs.

There we go. Good. So you're active through the whole back of the Botha. Four and we go in one more time, and then we go five. And then we hold it on the in. Pause there for me.

Now the arm that's got the weight is gonna do five lower and lift, so down. And lift one. Try keep the scapula nice and wide and two and in, and three and in. And four good. One more.

For five good, and then will change hands for me, please. So the left hand has got the weight. So try to stretch that arm out for me. Spread the shoulder blades. So we really gotta rely on the deltoid posterior here.

Give me a little bit of legs, Katie. So you parallel, and then let's push out for five presses. One, Yeah. That's good. And then the left arm needs to stay. Two. And three. Four so keeping both ASIs bones equal pressure one more into the Botha, four five.

So those are the bones in the front of your pelvis, bring it in and hold, forward it over the bar, lower the left and lift. One. And two good. Three, four. One more. And five good. And then you can put your weight down.

You can put it on the front of if you can reach, that's fine, or the front of your reformer. Okay. That's perfect. Bring both hands to shoulder width. Uh-huh. Lakes a little bit active. Push your arms out till they're straight.

And then we just do a last little stretch of the front Botha. So keep your arms straight and start lifting up into extension for me. Yes. Just through there. And then pressing back out straight arms. So it's like a swan dive. So we go up again, lift up the head and the chest good. So we're stretching the front of the body there, and then pushing out.

And we'll finish by doing one more time. So we're gonna lift and coming all the way forward to up, you've got your weight. And then pressing out. Good. And then you can bend your elbows to come back in. And so just watch the elbows that they don't go into shoulders into internal rotations or keeping them nice and wide.

Perfect. So from there, ladies, you can push onto your box into a child's pose position or a rest position. Yep. So you just scoot yourself back, and you can just stretch. Over the box. Good. Just nice and relaxed. Taking a couple of deep breaths.

Think of your sacrum dropping down towards your heels, and then later you just be very careful because you've only got one spring on there. You can roll yourselves up to sitting. And thank you very much. Well done, girls. Good session. Good job. Alright. Thank you. I hope you all enjoyed it.