Arms & Abs

Hi. I'm Danielle English. Welcome to arms and abs. I will be using some light dumbbells. I have three pound, but to your discretion, use what you've got. I will be using a Pilates ball, and I also have the handles preset on my reformer straps.

If you have loops, it's totally fine. We're gonna start with the ball on one red spring. As I come onto the reform, I'm gonna take my legs just under the footbar to get settled here. Because I wanna bring the ball to about my mid back. As I tuck the tail and recline, I want the back of the rib cage on the ball trying to make sure I'm really centered here.

Walking the toes up to the foot bar, give me a high heel pilates stance, nice pilates v. And then allow the knees to bend at a comfortable range just about over the hip creases. As we get settled here, they're gonna warm up through that spine, getting into our abdominal work. Take a big inhale and drape yourself over the ball, allowing the chest to open. You can feel any little shift you need to really get centered on the ball. I'm gonna make sure that sacrum feels really heavy into the mat and allow your head to rest for a moment.

Big inhale breathing three sixty expanding the ribs. Big exhale. Arms maybe open a touch wider, palms to the sky, just a nice big chest opening, inhale. Exhale. Start to narrow the ribs, slight tuck of the tail on your next breath.

Inhale expand. Now as I exhale slight tuck ribs in and together, sweep the arms up and forward, hollowing the tummy, really pressing into the balls of the feet sustain that carriage, inhale as you recline back over the ball, take your extension. Maybe a little head tap and then exhale scoop the belly. Reach the arms. My palms are facing the sky. Inhale as I go back.

Exhale two more. Feeling my extension. Oh, it feels so nice, opening the chest, moving through that sticky part of the back, into my flexion. This time as I go back, I'm gonna change my arms on the way up x hale is I sweep, see curve, high heels, hands come behind the head. I'm gonna think of rounding my spine.

Can I deepen the abdominals a little bit more? And then I'm gonna start to extend the legs. Take the legs straight, push, push, push as if it's footwork. So give me that high, heel active caps, inhale backward bend over the ball, bend the knees. Exhale slight tuck of the tail ribs and abdominals flexes I curl up.

Elbow slightly in on the angle. I'm supporting the skull like a little hammock with my hands interlaced. So I can shrug my shoulders down as I find that curl up. Big inhale, exhale. I pull it all in and together as if I'm tightening that corset from all sides. It's power through the leg. So treat this leg super light footwork.

I'm sending energy all the way through that big toe knuckle to the ball of my foot. Two more. Already feeling a little tremble, a little heat. That's great. We're connecting. We're waking things up.

On your next one, curl up, hold it. Reach your arms forward. Give me a little baby roll down. Baby roll up. Strong through the legs. A lot of times I see the heels start to relax here as we're focusing higher up in the body. High heels, power in the legs, squeezing the heels together.

It's not enough that they touch. Little inhale, exhale five. Strong legs. Four, I feel inner thighs rotators. Inter thighs spiral to the sky. And, one, separate the heels, roll to parallel, bring the hands behind the head as the carriage comes in, take the right leg over the foot bar.

High heel on that standing foot as you exhale enable the spine, knee to nose. Inhale up and over the footbar. I'm maintaining my c curve now. Xhale on your next one option to add your twist, pushing out rotate opposite armpit to thigh and then inhale over that footbar. Exhale, high, heel, slow controlled, rotate.

On your next one option to go under the foot bar, exhale, rotate, inhale over the foot bar. Exhale, rotate. One more of each, under, good for the brain, finding a little coordination, inhale, exhale twist and hold, take the shoulder blade a little over the ball, bring it up. Inhale, exhale. Inhale. Strong standing leg. Four.

Three. Two. And one, we try not to take a break. Come back to center, bend the knees. Second side, let's finish it.

Left leg up and over. Bonus if you point that toe, exhale, high heel, tuck tail. Think knee to nose, and then inhale. Exhale. I empty the lungs to try and hug the abdominals in a little bit closer. Option to add your twist. If that feels good in your body rotate up and over opposite armpit to thigh.

And I cue the armpit because it's not about the elbow. I really want you to create that crisscross through your trunk. Option to now go under the foot bar, inhale. Exhale. Str it in long standing leg. High heel. Inhale over the foot bar.

Exhale. Inhale under. Think of getting higher as you find that rotation. Last one, hold it. Little inhale. I think of arcing over the ball, and then I come up even further to the side wall.

Little exhale. Inhale, exhale, binding the waist, ringing it out, like a wet towel, get one more drop out. Last three, two, and one, oh, two feet to the foot bar. I'm gonna bend the knees drape my knees over that foot bar, creeping down my carriage a bit, take a well deserved backward bend a big belly stretch, upper rectus abdominals feel some heat, nice rotation for those obliques. And then ease off to one side.

Take that ball out from underneath you, but keep it with us. As we sit up, go ahead and add a blue spring. So we went from one red to a red blue. I'm gonna return on to my back, but now the ball comes underneath my pelvis, bridge the hips up. Set the pelvis onto the ball.

Take the handles into your hands. Now that ball is above the glutes, but below that lumbar curve, Think of the bowl shape of your pelvis being settled right on top of the ball. If I find tension in my arms and hands to him together like a little triangle, thumbs and pointer fingers connect, micro bend the elbow, shrug your shoulders down. Slightly tuck your tail up, sink the ribs and draw legs to tabletop. On an inhale, I'm gonna hinge both thighs forward, tap the foot bar, exhale scoop the tail up, shoulder shrug down, hug into your lower transverse abdominals.

Inhale. On my exhale, I think of smooshing the ball, pointing my tailbone up as if there is a crease forming through my low tummy and I fold it in a little bit deeper on itself. At the same moment, my armpits feel firm. It's like I'm shrugging my shoulders down as I curl the tail up, carriage stays in its place. Connecting to those lower hard to reach abs now.

Little tuck of the tail, but I'm also now warming up my upper body. I'm feeling connected to the triceps, under arms, lats, nice support from the serratus, subtle pressure forward in the palms as the legs come up. Option to extend the legs. Full pike, inhale flex to lower. Exhale, scoop the tail abs in, it's like the legs come up last. Inhale, I'm gonna lower, feel that little plank through my body. Exhale, can I point, tuck the tail, breathe, scoop the abs in, legs feel like heavy weights? I'm lifting with my breath and my abdominals.

Shoulder shrugged down. Keep the diamond over the chest. Don't let it creep up over the shoulders. Three. Two. On the last one, can you come down hold it low?

Hold for three, two, one big exhale scoop to lift, soften the arms and the legs come in. Take both handles with one hand, bridge the hips up off the ball, rolling down, set the ball on the ground. Low back now feels spacious and airy. It's pretty happy. My arms come up just shy of the shoulder.

One leg at a time, regular tabletop. I like a slight tuck to pelvis. I do like a little imprint through my low back. Arm circles as you exhale press down, inhale circle out and around. Shrugging the shoulders down to the hips, give me your longest neck, and then circle.

If you're craving a little more curl up, adding in that upper body, chest lift, arms and abs together in a very happy marriage here, exhale curling up. As I curl up, I still think shrugged the shoulders down and high five the handles to the very edge of that mat. One more. Pause in your teeth position, big inhale, reverse it, exhale handles, high five hips and thighs, inhale the arms up to open, exhale shoulders shrug down. It's like I'm tightening my corset right when my neck gets really long.

I'm feeling the subtle drag of my shoulders down to my hips. Almost like I'm carving out those armpit muscles. Curling up if you want to nod the chin towards the chest and think of a rainbow of that heart. It goes a little up and forward right between those two thighs. Three.

Feeling connected to the edges of the torso now. It's like I'm working for my underarms down to my waist. Two. One, pause on your back. Palms face down arms long to the carriage finishing with triceps.

Ben straighten. For the challenge, we hover those elbows off the carriage. Try not to let them rest. Still think of broadening the collarbone. Sometimes it's easy to cave in the chest, roll the backs of the shoulders into the carriage, slight tuck of tail up.

Let's finish it all together. Chest lift double leg stretch with your triceps. Press extend. Almost like coordination. Just keeping those legs long.

Biceps close to the ribs. Only take the legs as low as you can give me that supported low back, concave tummy for three. Two. Last one, hold it. Little flutter kick, inhale, exhale.

Laser be marm shooting forward round up off of those shoulder blades for four little exhales threes, two, and one. Oh, come all the way down. Handles to the pigs. Take a big twist, knees and hips go to the right side of the footbar, chin and chest are gonna go to the left. I hold on to my pigs and then slow switch. Up and over with that pelvis. Oh, you may hear a little snap crackle pop. That's good. Things releasing, realigning.

And then coming up through center, you can hook the knees over the footbar arms to the sky, take a big inhale. Xhale, curling up, roll up, scoop the tummy, reach, reach, reach, and then I'm gonna come all the way up to sit. Shifting myself away from the foot bar spring change. We're going into some kneeling arms. So red is gonna feel nice and heavy.

If you would like a blue or a high blue, it's gonna give you just slightly lighter lifting and chest shoulders, biceps, all that good stuff. Coming onto your knees safely tuck the toes up against the shoulder rest and always start with the hips on the heels as you grab your handles. Finding tension in the ropes first, I usually bring my palms forward once I feel steady. Rise up high kneeling position, slightly tuck the tail, engage the glutes, the abdominals, and give me proud chest. Starting with that serving platter, serve a tray inhale as we exhale serve out and forward.

But I'm really thinking my abs hugging in as my arms go forward. There's some nice opposition there. As I serve the tray, shoulders shrugged slightly down. It's like I'm trying to stabilize the scapula on my back as the arms press forward. So nice pump, that red is such a great challenge, heavier weight lifting. It is arms and abs, so give yourself that nice heavy lift if it's available to you.

Nice and satisfying on the red. You will fatigue. Of course, you're even welcome to go heavier. Listen to your body. On that next one, keep those arms long on your inhale.

Take a little down, exhale circle up and in. Inhale lower. I'm gonna keep the arms in my peripheral vision as I circle and squeeze. Inhale, proud chest, exhale wrapping my waist in like a belt. I imagine it's my abs flexing that pull my handles in towards center. One more. Reverse it, inhale out and open a little down, exhale push through space.

Microbend in the elbows. Can my shoulders shrug down as my arms go up and around? Three. Flag, pull running right up between my shoulder blades. A little bit of a sternum lift.

On the next one, as you open around, the arms go right into your hugs, hug a tree. Arms stay in that peripheral vision, exhale. Think of narrowing the waist as if it's that tension in the tummy, pulling the hands in. I think of initiating from that power center, and then the arms follow. Letting it build, shoulders, biceps, chest, getting a little fatigued.

One more. Now open, keep your frame of your hug, hinge the hips so that the tail goes back. The heart shines forward. Palms face the ceiling, but still think of that hug a tree, take it overhead. My shoulders did not creep up.

I keep that frame. So it's a hinge from the shoulder. With that nice shoulder scapular stabilization, it's like everything's shrugging a little down, even though the handles are arcing up. Over head hug. Four.

Thury. In this hinge, my upper back's elongated, two. And one. So nice starbursts, those arms bring it down reset to your tall spine. Finishing with a twist. I'm gonna make fist on my handles as I exhale, little tuck in the tail.

I'm gonna rotate now, follow through with that twist, come back to center, exhale, punch twist. Following through with the waist, nice tension, like I'm pressing through mud, feeling a little scrunch into one of my side bodies, little oblique work, exhale, little punch twist. I'm not taking the arm all the way across my body. I'm just thinking, like, corner to corner of the foot bar. One corner.

One corner. Let's go four. Three. Oh, good pump. Two. And one, come back. Bend the elbows.

Lower the handles. Hips come to heels. Reset. I would say whatever you liked in terms of spring setting for that series stay on it as we turn around sitting on the carriage facing the back. Red for heavier lifting. Blue will be a little bit lighter.

Leggs come through onto the headrest. If they fit comfortably side by side, great. If you like a little cross, go for it. I'm gonna wiggle forward, making sure I have at least a palms distance between my seat and the back edge of the carriage. As I start to roll down, palms are gonna face the ceiling, inhale sit up taller, exhale tuck the tail, engage the abdominals, find your c curve, however low you would like to be, those heels stay anchored as I bicep curl.

Just one time, I'm gonna round the spine and then sit all the way up, little flow. Exale, tuck and roll, bicep curl, unfurl, scoop the belly, think of the abs drawing in to curve the spine before I sit up tall, feeling those sit bones click back into place. Little flow. Only going as low as you can keep the heels anchored. If your feet pop up, you've probably lost that position of pelvis, really scoop it underneath you.

On the next one, hold it, tuck and roll, feel that tension, elbows up on a little shelf, bicep curl handles up and in, exhales, up and in. Like a little arc, I'm bringing the handles up into the shoulders as opposed to dropping the elbows down, long arc, up and in. Maybe you can curl a little lower. I had come up out of it a little bit, so I'm gonna reset, roll it down for four. Three, Two, can you hold it? Hold that right angle? Elbows go down a little bit. Up a little bit. Down.

Up a little down. Little, up a little down. Little up. Three. Two, hold it on the up little windshield wipers out in, out in. Inhale, exhale. Four, three, two, one, sitting all the way up. Take a little forward fold.

And then switch which leg is on top if you're crossed just for body symmetry. Proud and tall, lifting the heart, shoulders roll away from that back while you're facing, chest expansion as we reach down. Now I think chest expansion with legs straight is the most difficult version because it really challenges the posture. If you're tight through hips or back body, you may want to bend the knees in order to get that height out of a spine. The spine is really the priority.

So adjust the legs, whatever you need in order to give me that really tall back, not leaning forward or back, not rounding the spine. Adding in a head look, chest expansion hold it look over one shoulder. Center return, exhale, down back over one shoulder, and return. Gonna try not to let my handles go so far forward. I saw it swinging a little bit.

So slow it down. Can you stop where you still have tension? One more each side. Do your head look, but hold it. Come back to center. Can the left arm go out and in and keep the carriage still push your handle to the footbar? Four, three, two, one other side, inhale exhale keep pressing through the hand that's stationary.

Can you set up a little taller? Belly button up and into the ribs for three. Two. One, bring it in. Let those arms come forward.

One more here. Chris cross the handle so the ropes make an x. Ben both knees so the feet rest comfortably on the headrest. Palms face each other, tuck the tail roll down. We're gonna exhale. Pull the handle sideways. Nice big fly. I'm gonna stay in my c curve now, so I exhale.

Flex the abdominals, feeling that stability. Now my elbows have a microbend, and they're almost a little rounded, think more of pulling sideways than rowing. It's more of a fly. Option two, you wanna level up legs and tabletop, find your balance, little scoop of the tails, burrow the belly button down to stabilize, shoulder shrug down a little bit, finding your fly. One more option, fly legs extend. Inhale slow.

XL. Maybe my arms don't go as wide, but I fight for it. XL. Three more. Whatever version you're doing. Veat can stay on the headrest. Two.

Last one, you know we're gonna hold it, exhale. Scoop the tail. Long legs. Can we hold handles go up, down. So slight. Proud heart. Long legs, can we point the toes for four, three, two, one. Oh, yeah. Back to the shoulders as well.

Oh, catch your breath. Uncross. Handles go back onto the pegs. I'm gonna dismount and grab my box. Box is gonna go on shortways. I'm gonna cover my shoulder rests.

If you like a little more stability in your carriage, you're welcome to add a heavier spring. I'm gonna grab my dumbbells. As I sit on the box, maybe I'll add an extra red just so carriages isn't so wobbly. Then I'm gonna pull my safety strap up from the depths, bringing my feet in. Setting up for round back, wiggle back, the backs of the ankles up into the lip of the carriage, inhale both arms forward, sitting tall, flex the feet, and pull your safety strap apart.

So you feel active in the outer edges of the hips. Inhale sit tall. Exhale, familiar friends, c curve round back. A little inhale at your low point, exhale chin to chest, abs draw in, dumbbells feel way heavier than three pounds, right at the end of our glass. Exhale tuck the tail, adding on, can you hold it? Inhale the arms up biceps by ears.

XL, round, round, round, like a tidal wave, curling up and over belly button to spine at the last second, sit up tall restack to the sits bones, inhale the arms up. Exhale, down, round, enable in. We sit up nice and tall. One more. And then as we come all the way up, little change. I'm gonna tuck the tail and now take it down into the outside of the rail. An exhale, sweep, ribs in, tighten the waist, sit up.

Really important to keep the pressure of your ankles out to the sides of the room. So as we twist hips and knees don't shift, Can you wrap back to center? Sit up tall. One more. Coming the center. Tuck the tail roll it down. Can you hold it in your low point? Little circles.

Palms face each other. I try not to bob my chest up and down. I'm really bracing with the abdominals with every exhale, reverse it, inhale exhale four. Three, two. Bring the weights to tap together.

Give me a baby roll down. Little inhale, exhale lift. Baby roll down. So it's larger than a crunch and a little more intentional. Three, shoulders burn in two. Last one, come up, stay up, kayak to finish, little twist figure eights.

Take that dip in the water. Little exhale. Six five. Four, three, two, and one come up through center. Take the dumbbells down.

Take a forward fold. Let's push to the end. I'm gonna dismount ditch my dumbbells. I like one blue or one yellow for plank. This is your grand finale.

Bring the box just in front of the blocks. Have a seat. Pop your heels up high. Hands to the footbar shoulder width. Shifting my weight to my arms, I press out. I'm gonna take my firm plank position.

Little tuck at the tail, little stretch the heart forward, exhale, bend the knees, round the spine, push back out. Yellow's a great challenge. Blue has a little more stability. I like the yellow. Scoop tuck curl.

Little softness in the elbows if you hyper extend like me. It's my life's work trying to correct my hyper extension. Adding on one push up, wide elbows, chest over the footbar, pump it up, exhale scoop tuck curl, push it out, inhale, exhale power in that push up. You take your time in those transitions. One more.

Scoop tuck curl. I'm rounding the low back. One push up. Now pause. Bring your left hand to the center of your chest. Roll the toes to the right. High heels. Find your side plank.

Bend the knees. Tap your hip, pull the carriage in, push it back out. Exhale. I'm trying to lift through that bottom waist, and then push it back out. You can stay with this. Or integrate a little pike. Finishing with a little pike reach lifting left ribs, can you close the carriage?

Open it back up one bend. One pike twist. One bend, one pike twist. Maybe we close the carriage, coming to your final side, see if you can not take a break, right hand to the center of the footbar. Roll the toes to the left.

Pop the heels up high, find your side plank, exhale, scrunch the waist, lift the hips, inhale, bring it back out, pushing down through that foot bar, lifting from armpit to waist to hip. All on that bottom side. Option to add that pike. Here we go, exhale. I'm lifting the right ribs as I pull the carriage in.

Like, I'm gonna tap that bottom ankle, bring it back out. Ben straighten. Up and in. Lower it back down. Two more.

Breath is everything. Big exhale. Empty the lungs. Pull the waist in. One more. Finish with me. Exhale. And pike twist, pike twist, pike twist, come all the way back to side plank, retrace your steps back to regular plank, nice and strong, put a nice exclamation point on the end of your workout, and then bend the knees, come all the way in.

I'm gonna turn to face the box. Little child's pose moment. You earned it. Mees open wide. Bring the elbows to the box stretching the triceps. Hands connect and bring the thumbs behind the head close to the neck.

Now sit the hips back until you feel that length across the tricep. Hips to heels. Slowly unfurl the arms, push away from the box, bring the hands behind you to the foot bar, pushing down through palm, squeeze the glutes open your chest. Big camel. Glute squeeze squeeze forward, chest up head falls back.

And then slowly sit the seat down. Return. And think your body, think yourself. That's the end of your class. I'll see you soon.