Athletic Wunda Chair

Hi. I am Lara Hanlin here for another chair workout with you today. We'll be using our handles throughout. Of course, if you have a chair without them, you could always set your chair up next to your Cadillac or a wall or something for more support. For some stability throughout the majority of the work might work for you. Otherwise, those will stay attached at a height that works for your body. I'm starting with two springs on. I have one kinda high middle, one bottom middle. Again, play around with what your chair does for your body.

We'll start facing feet parallel, keeping them underneath our hips and together to begin a little tuck of the tail, and then those palms and fingertips will gently rest on our handles for support. Pull the right knee into your chest, press your right toes, ball the foot into the pedal, and then lower it all the way down towards the floor deep breath. And, exhale, think of that zip through your waistline as you draw that knee back up and in, inhale to press. And exhale to resist. So I'm keeping my right heel lifted, beautiful high heel stiletto position, squeezing underneath the seat, maybe hands come to hips, maybe you reach forward, challenging our balance today, thinking about that corset around our waistline, working both directions on the press down and on that resistance up. Thinking both the legs working.

Left leg is stabilizing here. Right leg is moving. Deep breathe in. Deep breath out, adding a little releve, that left heel lifts as we press the pedal down with the right foot. As the pedal lifts, the left heel will lower back down with control. Again, working both sides, inhale. And exhale working both directions, inhale to lift and press.

XL resist as you lower the heel and lift the pedal. Deep breathe in. Deep breathe out keeping those shoulder blades pulling down. If we have our hands on our handles here, We're not tensing or clenching white knuckling those handles. Crown of the head keeps reaching tall to the ceiling for two and resist. One more time, hold that left heel high. Just a few more presses like so working that balance, inhale, exhale, maybe really take that challenge to hover those hands, keeping that left heel lifted, squeezing that left seat for two.

One more right off the bat. Strong balance and control. From there, left heel lowers. Right foot steps back into a back lunge. I like to bring my arms to my I dream of jeannie position here. That right knee lowers to hover off the floor. Pull the right knee back into your chest, press the pedal back down with the right ball of the foot.

Lift, step it back. Again, a really good balance challenge here. Doesn't have to be huge movement. Maybe you just work on lifting the toes off the pedal and holding there. Maybe you just work with that back lunge today, combining both, moving forward and back using our breath. Two more inhale, exhale.

Keep pressing those arms into one another, pulling that belly button back to the spine, press zip up through the waist to lift, lunge back, hold the lunge a little pulse lower for four, squeezing the seat for three, right knee hovering off the mat too. And one, drive that left foot into the floor, right knee all the way up and into the chest. Press the foot all the way down into the pedal, into the floor, hands come onto our handles, right heel stays lifted, left foot comes to the top of our chair. From here, we shift forward, driving that left heel down into the chair. Step on up, right heel stays high, hands on those handles to begin for a little support.

We lower, and we lift, breathing in, breathing out. If and when you're ready, maybe those arms reach forward working again, balance, control from the core, control from that lower body. For three, for two, one more, lower about halfway, arms back to I dream of Jeannie, bend the right knee, extend the right knee, pull it in, press it back, inhale, exhale, bend, and press. Nothing else moves, stabilize that left leg from that left glute for three. Two.

One, stretch it long, lower all the way down. Already really feeling those legs fired up. Hands onto the handles, both toes onto the pedal. Lower both heels down, feel that lovely stretch, zip through the inner thighs, lift the heels high, parallel feet here, heels lower, zip through the waist, heels, lift, inhale lower, exhale, lift, use this as a time to reset before our second side, evening out through the body, working both legs, two. And one, he'll stay lifted left toes stay on.

Right foot steps down. Left leg guides the pedal up. Inhale, we press it back down. Exhale, we lift it back up resetting on our second side here. Now that right leg is strong pressing into the floor. I'm feeling a lift of my right knee and thigh, an engagement underneath my right glute, so I don't sink into my hip or into my knee joint.

Zipping up through that waist, shoulders pressing down into the back, crown of the head reaching to the ceiling. I like to kinda do a little checklist in my body, bottom to top, feeling that length, pressing down, resisting up. Maybe those hands hover. We add our releve as the pedal presses our right heel lifts, as the pedal lifts our right heel lowers, coming from underneath that right sit bone, lengthening through that right thigh. Inhale, exhale lengthen as you press deep and through the waist, trying to really keep our hips square. So as that left knee lifts, not letting that left hip lift, but firing up underneath that glute as well once more lift.

And this time, we'll keep that right heel lifted pressing that left leg down and up, down and up, maybe challenging our balance here, seeing if one side is more stable than the other, for it to zip up through that waist. One more, lift and hold. Right foot lowers. We lift that left knee into the chest. Step on back for a lunge.

Arms come to I dream of Jenny. See if you can get the opposite arm on top as before. Left knee into the chest, toes on the pedal. Zip through the waist as you press the pedal down with control. Lift it up, knee in, and back.

Take that lunge, trying to keep our hips really square towards our chair. So as I lift and I lunge back, I wanna think of both hip bones pointing forward versus going side to side. No off roading. Press and up. Down and up.

Inhale. Exhale. Take it back and lift once more down and up. As time, we step back, lower and pulse, a little deeper for four, squeezing the seat for three, little tuck of that tail, two, and one right heel drives down to pull the left knee in, step the foot into the pedal all the way to the floor, hands to handles, and right foot up onto the chair. Now we're driving right heel into the chair. Shift forward, kind of open up through that hip flexor as you shift and then get all the way up there.

Right heel drives down, left heel stays high. We lower. We lift. Inhale. Exhale, knee tracking right over that right middle toe, not going too far forward or back, not going in or out, keeping that alignment.

Maybe arms extend long in front of us for four. For three, squeezing underneath the seat for two, softening through the shoulders. Now lower about halfway. Arms come together. We bend extend, inhale, exhale.

Pulling it in with control, pressing it back with control for four. For three. For two. And one, hold it straight. Lower all the way down.

Hands back on. Both feedback on. This time, allow them to stay underneath the sit bones. We're gonna lower the left. He'll bend that right knee, lift it up, and switch a little running in place. Inhale.

Lift and switch a little bit quicker, breathing in. Breathing out. Still firing up underneath the seat, lifting through that waist. Breathing in. Breathing out.

Inhale. Last exhale. Both heels high. Both heels down. Carefully step one foot off.

It doesn't matter which one. Stay holding on and ease that pedal up with control. Should definitely feel our legs. Yeah. Alright. Now we're gonna continue to work the right leg first here. So I'm gonna turn away from you, and we're gonna do some side work. So very similar turned out first position.

Heels together. I like to rest my inner arm on that front handle. Left hand could be on the hip or out to the side, pulling the right knee in, bringing the toes to the pedal. He'll still lift it, hips still square. Similar to how we started before. We inhale press the pedal down.

We exhale pull up in the waist to pull the pedal back up. Trying to keep a little tuck of the tail, so this left leg is working as well as the right. My shoulders are down. My spine is long. If you're feeling solid, maybe you let go pressing and resisting deep breath in, deep breath out. Now I'm keeping these two springs on for all this work with this definitely challenging and allows this class to flow without changing the springs too much.

But feel free to modify if this feels too heavy, especially in this turned out position. We want hip knee all tracking open over that middle toe. Really good work for that bottom ankle stability. Press and lift one more. And then we're gonna go right into that lunge. This time, it's a curtsy lunge behind. So my right leg lifts. I step back. I'm gonna hug my arms together.

Hips are still square as much as they can be, but rotated. Press into your left heel, right knee draws to pass a foot on the pedal, press it back down. Lift it up. Step it back. We lower and lift.

Inhale. And exhale. Take your time here, really working on our stabilizing muscles, our glutes, our core, staying proud and lifted through the chest. Lifted with the pedal, lowering through the body, two more. And up.

Sometimes my body feels the way this chair sounds. Little creaky. One more. Lift stay back, little pulse. Get low for four, low for three, squeeze the seat two, and one, draw the foot up, and then step the right foot down. Now we're gonna do one more thing on this side facing this way.

Step behind your chair back to parallel somewhere between handle and pedal. Once again, left arm reaches out, left foot comes to the pedal parallel, and you press it on down. Think hips are square. Little outer stretch for that outer IT band. There's a lot of ways you can do this.

We're just doing this for a setup, but you should feel a nice elongation right where my stripe is here. Two more times out and down. Up and back in in front of you, one more out and down, up and in. Now, step that left foot all the way down. Bring your hand to the front handle if you have it.

And then that right knee will open and come to our turned out position. So think of the way we were standing with the foot on the pedal. Now it's that same hip knee middle toe towards the front diagonal. I'm using the handle. I'm keeping my left arm open. My left foot stays really stable and parallel on that pedal as I press on up facing the side and lower.

A lot of work for this outer right glute, lift, and lower keeping that external rotation. Really working on my hip stability core and glute strength for four. For three. Last two. Last one.

Lower with control. Step the right foot all the way back and down. Hold on and carefully ease the pedal up. From there, we'll do our second side. So spinning on around, I get to face you now, finding my beautiful Pilates stance position, not a crazy turnout, arms reach wide, shoulders pull down, left foot comes to the pedal.

So I think about my seat belt, keep that in external rotation, inner thigh rotating forward, pressing the pedal down, lifting it up with control. Inhale to press, exhale to lift. Press shoulders down. Beautiful posture. Maybe you let go, challenging the balance.

The second you let go, you're gonna feel this side working a little more to support you, which is good. Yeah? Inhale. We press. We resist. We add our lunge arms closed. Holding someone you love in front of you, toes to pedal, press it down, lift it up. Do what feels good in your body with your arms. Maybe you have a pole to hold on to.

Listen to your body, working your balance, challenging yourself, But within reason, we don't wanna fall over here. Press down, lift up, zip through that waistline, inhaling, and exhaling really pressing that right foot firmly into the floor on those transitions. Last time down and up. Press and left take that lunge, turned out knees over the middle toes, pull slow for four. For three squeezing the seat for two, and one, hold that knee up, finding that balance before releasing the foot down.

Then we come back to stand behind our chair for our setup parallel feet, left hand on, right arm out, step the right foot onto the pedal, and then press it on, it will closer here, down. Think of that length for that outer thigh, and then resist the knee back in front of the chest. Inhale and exhale. I'm working to keep my hips and my shoulders square, press and resist two more times down. And, this time we press it to hold, that right foot stays firmly planted on the pedal. Left hand comes forward.

Left leg comes forward and up and turned out. If you have a back to your chair here and it's on, making sure that knee is into the corner tracking over that toe perfect rotation, allowing our hip, our knee, and foot to stay in alignment to protect our joints. Step on up, working that left glute, lower left. You could always challenge yourself and let go here It's a challenge. Take it for four. Squeeze from the seat.

For three. Zip through that waist for two. Last one, lift up up up, lower all the way down with control. We step left foot back. Carefully hold on as you return the pedal up, always making sure it doesn't fly up and break a toe or a toenail or anything. Alright. So we feel our lower body definitely worked.

At least I feel mine. We're gonna move into a little bit of work on one spring. So I'm gonna keep my higher spring up there, kind of the middle to high height, one spring. Again, play around with what works on your body and your chair, and then we'll kneel facing our petal. Open up the spine a little bit. Continue to work the glutes in the core.

Make sure you're about mid chair. We're gonna take our cat cow. We don't wanna end up on our face here. Reach the arms up. Flip your palms forward.

Squeeze your glutes forward and then begin to round down. Lead with the fingertips in the crown of the head, inhaling, exhaling. Trying to keep squeezing the glutes forward even as they shift back. Keep that engagement. Hands come to the pedal. Press it down, think forehead down, and then start to arch through the spine as you lift the pedal up, stick your sit bones tailbone back, pull your shoulders away from your ears, lift your heart forward, breathe in.

Excel, press the pedal back down, round up through your spine. Cat shape lifted in that waist. This always feels so good. It's not easy. You still have to work your body so you don't fall over here. But it feels nice to release in the hips, the glutes after that work to open up through the back and the shoulders.

Inhaling and exhaling, breathing in, exhale to curl up and stay. From here, pelvis starts to press forward, glute squeezing forward, belly zipping up up up, rolling through the spine fingertips to the ceiling biceps for new ears. Open those arms all the way out to the side and then carefully stepping down behind your chair. We'll turn to one side here for a little seated mermaid work. So I'm gonna bend my right knee onto the top of this chair. Again, if your pole is there, we'll use them later, but do what you need. Left leg extends. It could be parallel or turned out just something that kind of allows your hips to release. We're gonna take a side stretch.

So right hand comes towards the pedal. Left arm reaches all the way up and over. Trust that it's gonna be there to catch you. Keep your left foot anchored to the floor and feel this lovely side stretch for that left side body, outer hip, outer waist, shoulders pull down, chin lifts off the chest, inhale. And exhale to lift all the way up, still working those obliques.

We reach up and over like a rainbow, press the pedal down lengthening through the outer thigh through the waistline. One more time, inhale. And exhale, lift, and open. From there right over to our second side. Really beautiful stretch to open up that side waist.

Open up those outer hips, start to reach over. Peddle is there. Right arm stretches over the head, shoulders pull away from the ears. Right foot stays anchored to really elongate through outer hip and glute. Lifting up using the waistline to come back arms to a tee, inhale, and exhale feeling the weight and support of this single spring on the pedal for what's to come.

One more time, feel it support you as you press and assist to lift as you come up. Spending back over this time facing away from the pedal, we'll begin our little bit of core work here, kinda modified teaser series. So sit towards the very edge of your chair. If you're too far back, you'll end up all the way back there. We don't want that. Little scoop of the pelvis and the core to draw those knees up to table top.

Start by holding on behind your legs. Lift your chest and your heart forward, pull your shoulder blades away from your ears, take a breath where you are, and then exhale belly pulls back arms reach forward, find your balance. Make sure you're stable here first and foremost. These can be together or hip distance apart. Whatever feels best to engage core and release a little more in those thighs, elbows bent in, fingertips reach to the pedal, squeeze between your shoulder blades, make sure you're stable there with enough space behind you to start lowering the chest down.

Those shouldn't stay at table top. Our belly draws back as our heart lifts up chin off the chest deep breath in, exhale, lift the pedal up, pull those knees a little closer towards you and towards one another if you can. And he'll press the pedal down. Zipping up beneath that waistband belly draws back as heart and chest lift higher. Two more times, knees are staying bent, arms are staying straight.

Really nice open sensation across the front of the collar bones. Last one like this, inhaled down. Exhale up. This time as we press down, right leg extends long and low in line with the body, exhale belly pulls down to draw the knee in and lift the chest up, left leg long and low inhale, exhale. Switch, lengthen, and lift. Deep breathe in. Deep breathe out.

One more time. Each side. We're right. Pull the belly in. Pull the knee in. Last time left. Lift and hold.

Lift the chest a little higher. See if you can reach those arms back forward, lengthen through fingertips, zip up through the waist inhale, exhale draw the knees in, and then carefully step back down. Should feel the core a little more active. We're gonna turn onto one side. I'm gonna lie on my right side first here to work that left oblique.

So I'm laying on my right hip. I'm pressing my right hand to the pedal. I think of setting up for a side plank. I press my left hip forward, so I don't roll back. I'm really on my right outer hip and IT band.

I lift my legs up, not too far in front, not too far behind, shoulders pull away from the ears, left arm reaches to the ceiling, deep breath in. Excel, use the left waistline to lift you up. Small movement, not a huge lift. We're crunching from this left waist. We're using the bottom oblique to control us as well as that bottom shoulder and lapped. Lift and lower. Exhale up.

Inhale lengthen through the spine through the spring for three. Chins stays lifted off the chest, reaching through fingers and toes too. One more time, lift, lower the pedal to hover if you can. Scissor the legs, top leg back, bottom leg forward, top hand comes to the pedal, bottom hand opens wide. Now, I want my hips to stay pretty square, but I want my shoulders and my chest to twist. It's a big rotation for the spine, squeeze your seat to keep your legs lifted at about parallel to the floor so they don't drop too low, and then lower the pedal down. I kind of think of a push pull with my arms here, my shoulders slide away from my ears.

I lift my heart forward and up, deep breath in, pull your belly button up and in as you lower. Really nice stretch. A lot of work to find it. Inhale lift, exhale abs pull in, legs stay long. For three, and lower.

For two and lower. One more lift and lower. Right hand to the center. Leg square off left arm lifts reverse where you got into this, come all the way up with control step on off. We spin around and do our other side. It really does feel good once you get there, but it's a tough transition to find that rotation.

Left hand on the pedal, left hip on the chair, right hip pressing forward, legs gluing together, think of lifting your bottom leg to the top leg, and then reach the right arm high to the sky shoulders away from the ears. Inhale lower a little further. If you can, exhale reach up, up, up, up, up, inhale down, right oblique lifts, ribs draw together, legs squeeze together. I like to think of being in like a narrow hallway here. Yeah. I don't want my butt, my chest, to be leaning into a side wall, really stay narrow and square.

For three, shoulders keep pulling back, chin keeps lifting up. Two. One more down and lift to hold, scissor the legs, top leg back, bottom leg forward, keep them lifted, and then twist down, right hand to one end, left hand to the other. Twist the chest towards the floor. Press the pedal down, pull the shoulders away from your ears, deep breath in, exhale, lift the heart up. One side's going to be tighter.

This one feels tighter for my body today. Can I squeeze my shoulder blades tighter behind me to really feel that open sensation across the collar bones? Not easy. Pull your abs up and in to support your spine as you lower. For three, and down. Keep using your breath. Anyway you have it to one more big deep breath in to lift up, shine the heart forward, pull the belly up as you exhale and lower, left hand to the center, right arm to the ceiling, squeeze the legs together, take a breath wherever you are.

Exhale come all the way up with control. Should hopefully feel even on both sides. We're gonna add a little bit of forward facing little more chest expansion, opening work here in hyperextension of the spine. So that our pelvis comes onto the chair square. This time we press it down with both palms to hover.

My legs are connected. My shoulders pull away from the ears. Still kind of in that plank sensation, legs stay lifted as the chest lifts a little higher, heart shines forward squaring everything off, pull your abs up and in, exhale lower down, try not to dive forward. The crown of the head stays long. Squeeze those inner thighs and seat tight, deep breath into lift.

Pull your belly button up and in to lower. Two more. Inhale to lift. Sholders keep sinking down away from the ears. Ribs kept kneading towards the midline.

One more time, we lift We lower to hover and stay. We bend those elbows in for a little tricep push up elbows towards the ribs. Belly pulls up palms press down. Elbows bend, elbows extend for three. For two, keep those thighs lifted one more.

Right arm stays where it is. Left arm out to the side. Bend extend single arm. Try to keep both hip bones even on that top of the chair. One more, bend.

Extend hold, left palm down, right arm long, we bend, and press. Squeeze the glutes, pelvis stays square for three. For two, belly pulls up a little higher. Legs a lift a little higher, both hands down, take one more beautiful lifted swan, heart forward shoulder blades back, exhale lower with control. Carefully, let the pedal release all the way down if you can.

Slide on back, feet touch towards the floor, bend your elbows to bring the pedal to rest, and then carefully press yourself back. Take a second for a forward stretch here, hands on the top, heels to the mat, chest to the thighs, feel the shoulders opening the back lengthening deep breath in deep breath out. Coming all the way up, spinning around again for our another teaser series. This time, if you can moving into straight legs, of course, an option to stick with those bent knees. Same setup. We're very close to the edge here so we don't fall off the back.

Little tuck, knees drawn to the chest. Maybe you're holding on. Maybe right away you reach forward. Take a breath in. If you can those legs extend. Elbows bend into the waist.

Finger reach behind us for the pedal. Find it. Hold it. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Teaser one to start. Just the upper body lowers.

Pedal chest heart lift. One more time, inhale lower, exhale lift. Now chest heart stay lifted. Think teaser two, legs lower, inhale. Pull your abs in legs lift, exhale. Can you keep that pedal stable?

One more, just the legs? Exhale, they lift, now everything together, body and legs, horizontal breathe in, everything up, find your v shape, pull back in your waist, inhale down, exhale up. This time, lower horizontal stay and hold, elbows bend in, elbows press back, inhale, exhale. Chinn is lifted off the chest, legs, inner thighs squeezing together for two For one, arms stay straight. Take one more deep breath in.

Pull that waistline and lift everything up, up, up, find your lifted through the heart, hover the fingertips, reach those arms up, lengthen through fingertips and toes, carefully bend your knees and dismount your chair. There's a reason this is our favorite apparatus. At least it's mine. We're gonna come back around before you do so. Add that second spring back on.

So I'm going back to how I started. Two springs total. One top or middle, one bottom or middle. We're gonna open up those hip flexors with a little bit of pelvic lift. So take a seat on your chair.

Feet come to Pilates stance. Seems so innocent to begin. Yeah. Alright. Our knees are over those middle toes. We're not letting them plop. He'll stay together, but not touching the top of the chair. Hands come to those back corners.

Think about where you want your hands to be. I like to go on a diagonal. It allows my shoulders to open, but I also feel stable here. Try to keep your pedal lifted without moving. Take a breath in.

Press your palms down. Scoop through your waist. A little pelvic tuck to start. Working deep, transverse abdominals pelvic floor, lift your hips up, lift them higher. Imagine a string on your pubic bone and on your heart lifting to the ceiling.

Can you hold the lift as you press the pedal down? Pull the pedal up. In how we press exhale, we pull from the seat. Those heels are squeezing together, glutes are squeezing together. One more time, press, lift and hold, lift the hips a little higher gazes up, breathing, exhale think of articulating through your spine as you roll down with control, hips release to the chair.

One more time, inhale prepare, pull that waistline in, scoop the abs down, reach the knees forward over the middle toes, lift your heart up, lift your pelvis up, squeeze between the shoulder blades, press the pedal for five, zip through that waist for four. Three, two, Last one. Keep it lifted. Elvis maybe one inch higher. Breathe and exhale to lower with control.

Alright. From here, we press the pedal all the way down. This is where you're going to need those handles. Grab hold on top. Carefully, how careful how you get into this. Yeah. We're gonna move into our press ups. So Pilates stance.

The legs are how they were before, but straight, inner thighs are connected. Belly is tight. Hands are back, palms pressing inward, squeeze your shoulder blades together. Right away, be aware that your shoulders aren't lifting or rolling forward. We don't want a torn rotator cuff.

We want strong lat, strong triceps. So be cautious how you get into this. Take a breath to prepare. Press the palms down squeeze those inner thighs, press all the way up. You can always adjust your feet a little bit here.

Think of pressing your pelvis forward, pulling your shoulders back, lifting your chin off your chest. Make sure you're stable and solid. My legs, my core. Everything is engaged. Now little simple bend of those elbows, back, think like low back diagonal, press it up. Inhale to bend, exhale extend. As my elbows bend, my shoulders aren't lifting or lowering, just a bend of the elbows for four.

For three, chin off the chest, two. One more. I hold my arms pretty straight. Try not to lock out if you're hyper extended. Press into the hands, pull up in your waist, hips can shift back a little, hover your toes off the pedal, be in fifth, start to lift those legs up. Can you pull them into your chest? Be and lower back down. Inhale.

Inhale. XL one more time. You got it, zip up through your waist, squeeze into those inner thighs. Beats come back down, feet find the pedal, lengthen through your hips and thighs with control, lower all the way down. Make sure you're standing firmly on the pedal as you spin around here, shake out your wrists if you need.

We have our reverse. Feet come to pilates stance. Take a moment. Let the heels release without releasing that leg connection. Feel your core, your seat engaged, your palms on the handles. Little forward shift.

Long diagonal from heels to crown it ahead, breathe in to prepare, exhale. We press those handles down. We pull our shoulders down. We press our bodies up. Adjust at the top, zip through the waist. We bend the elbows back.

We press it down. Inhale, exhale, lower, and lift. For five, chin off the chest, four. Squeeze into the seat. Do what you need. Three. Two.

Last one, we hold at the top. Anchor the shoulders. Lift through the chin. Hover those toes be in first behind your body, inhale, and exhale. Inhale and exhale for four three, two, and one toes to the pedal.

Can you lift your heart a little higher? Take one last beautiful big arch of the spine, chin back over the chest, elbows bend back, pedal lowers down with control. Swivel the feet back to parallel, allow both heels to release down take a breath in. Exhale bend one knee, left heel a little closer to the floor. Lift those heels up. Right heel a little closer to the floor.

We're back where we started. Inhale, little slow, prance, or run lengthening through the back of those legs. We so nicely worked, lengthening through the spine, softening through the shoulders, calming our breath, our mind, our body back down, both heels lower, carefully step one foot off and ease your pedal up with control. Well, I feel my whole body very well worked from this lovely apparatus, and I hope you do too. Thank you for joining me.