Arms, Back, and Abs

Hey, it's Andrea. This is a targeted workout for your abs, your arms, and your back. These are some of my favorite most effective exercises to work different angles, and really get fantastic results. So the setup for your reformer today, we've got foot bar in the middle upright position. I want you to start on a red spring and a blue spring.

This will be your weight for supine works if you wanna go heavier, two reds, otherwise red and a blue. Grab a ball for this workout and make sure you've got a sitting box. I'm working with headrest up to begin long loops attached, and that's it. Let's dive right in. So grab your ball. Have a seat facing your foot bar.

And let's begin just by warming up the core. So take the ball, put it mid to low back, round yourself back into that ball, feet stay down on that platform, holding on gently behind your thighs, start to lower down, bend your elbows, little curl up. And down. Tiny curl, and down. As we dive in here, first thing we're doing together today, make it a soft touch, but use those hands being connected there to get into your form chest stays open and proud, abs scoop in and up.

If you're ready to take those arms away, do it, reaching forward palms facing up, shoulders rolling down. Already feeling that heat working its way through the core. If you wanna progress, it's just a bit more hands go behind your head, adding that extra weight that your body has to curl up Don't hesitate to move those hands around. I move them around constantly in my own workouts. And we're here for ten more seconds.

Big curl. Five more seconds. Now adding a twist curl up rotate to one side, untwist lower down, alternate direction each time. Curl rotate and down. Just breathing naturally.

Let's do ten seconds. Five more seconds. Give me one more each direction to be even. And then bring yourself back center. Walk your feet a bit closer together.

Take one leg out. Table top your leg. Hands back behind your head. Extend that leg lower your chest. Bend and crunch up and extend lower.

Big curl up and down. If you wanna stick with both feet being down and just crunch, do it. If you wanna add on, rotate as the knee comes in, untwist. Bend and twist, bring it back. Ten seconds. We're getting those deep transverse abs, the obliques, five seconds.

Hold the twist on the next one put your foot down and reach across your body outside that leg, lower, little curling reaches here, up and down. If you wanna hold on behind your thigh, do it. Otherwise, keep that hand back. If you wanna add that little bit of control into the court by lifting your leg up off the footbar, do it ten seconds. Five seconds. Hold it up high, foot down, untwist, hands back behind your legs. Thread that leg under, bring the other leg up and out.

Other side hands come back. Here we go. Extend that leg lower, bend and crunch up, and down. Big curl up and down. I'm not keeping breaths, so make sure you're breathing. We've got ten more seconds here. Five more seconds.

Option to add that twist, rotate as the knee comes in, untwist as it extends. Rotate over and back ten seconds. Five more seconds. Hold that twist, set your foot down, reach across your body outside the knee, little pulsing reaches here. Little handshake reach up and down.

Ten seconds. Five seconds. Hold it up high, untwist, hands hold on, bring that leg back. Curl your body forward, open your chest to roll it out. Grab the ball, bring it with you, and lie yourself all the way back down.

Once you're down there, whew, feels good. Give your knees a little rock side to side. Take the ball, set it between your ankles. Reach back. Let's get those long loops into your hands reach up to the ceiling and to begin, little pressure forward, draw the shoulders back and down, get that connection. Then from your core, lift your legs up to a tabletop. Arms press down to your sides and lengthen them up just shy of the shoulder And you go right back down.

So everything we do together is a progression. So this is your foundational movement. Foundational does not mean easier. It means you're connecting into your form. No. You can always return to this.

If this feels really effective and good in your body today. If you wanna add on, flexion, arms lower curl it up, lower your head lift your arms. Big active curl up and lengthen everything down. Big curl. Now let's start to fine tune this.

So as you lower down, your hands don't touch the mat. They come about an inch above the mat, and they focus on the reach forward versus the push down. So that's getting us into that big active flexion. Option to extend the legs out. Everything comes back in.

Big active curl and everything back in. Ten seconds like this. And those breaths help get you deeper into your core. So take them. They also get you out of your neck. Five more seconds.

Hold it up on the next one. Stay up there. Bend at the elbow tricep press out. Try to press out. We're working into the core. We're working into the back of the arms.

If you wanna do this with your head down, do it. Otherwise, you're up. Ten seconds of this. Five more seconds, reach from that pointer finger, hold it out there, lift your arms, bend your knees, everything comes down. Give it a little wiggle, shake it out. Catch the tension with your arms again, knees in, legs up.

Now with your legs, rotate the ball. So one leg is closer one legs further away. Hold that just your arms, press down and back up to shy of the shoulder. Straight down and up. And I say just shy of the shoulder because I want you to keep tension in those ropes the entire time.

The carriage will never fully close. Now you could stick with this. Or add flexion, curl up arms down, lower the head lift the arms. Big active curl, and down. If you feel like that's in your hip flexors today, give me a little bend of the knees and keep it going. Alright. We've got our 10 count here.

Reach and bring it back. Five more seconds. One more. Best one. Everything down. Now stay here. Thumb and first finger together.

Little softness of the knees. Press your hands just forward of the sternum. Your legs lower, and they lift back up to the ceiling. Lower down. Keep that twisted shape of the legs here. Down and right back up.

So we're working into the back of the arms here. With that tension, tricep should be engaged, but it's so much core. The twisting action gets those obliques to join the party as well. Five seconds. Hold it up.

Switch the twist of the legs. Separate your hands. Arms go down. Arms come up. We go back to the beginning. Second side of this rotated twisted lower lift.

Ten seconds straight down. I should be feeling your core right now. I sure am. Five seconds. K. Option to add your flexion, big curl up reach.

Lower your head, lift your arms. Big active curl up and down. Five more seconds. Give me one more everything comes back up, thumb and first finger together, little soft bend of the knees. Now see if you could push your hands an inch further forward into the action, shoulders back, lower your legs, and lift your legs up and down.

Lift it up, lower down. So on this range of motion, totally up to you and your body today. Keep the focus in the lower abs Like there's that little zipper, two inches below your navel. Zip the zipper to lift this up. Five more seconds.

Hold it up, untwist your legs, bend your knees in, separate your hands. Stay here. Arms go down. Bend your elbows at your sides. Give me a tricep, press down. And press down.

So we warmed up the core. We begin to transition into a really great focus for the upper body and the postural muscles. So starting here, we use these shoulder blocks to our advantage, draw the shoulders back and away from the shoulder blocks, and move from the pointer finger straight down. On the next one, bend in, hold it there, and make big circles with your hands out down around and up. So those elbows stay bent in, and I want you to just keep the circle moving. Set a pace for yourself and keep it consistent.

The ball's adding a little extra weight, so the core is still working overtime for us. After your circle, bring your fingers up, reverse direction. Go down around and up. Big circle down around and up. Alright. You've got ten seconds here.

Those elbows are glued in space shoulders are drawing back into the mat. Do one more full circle. Arms go down. Palms facing towards your body. Big straight arm fly out to the side hug it back in. Big fly open and your shoulder blades hug together.

Let's do this for fifteen seconds. Straight out deep and into the core. And set that muscle memory of the shoulder blocks connecting your shoulders evenly down, because we're about to bring it up. And I want you to imagine the shoulder blocks are still with you for the rest of this workout. Five more seconds.

After your next one, arms are in, palms down, lift your arms all the way up, close the carriage. Give it a little rock and set the loops back. Okay. Grab the ball, rock your body up. Come seated. Give it a shake out, roll it out, and let's get rid of the ball for now.

So set that down. Let's lower the foot bar all the way down as well. So bring everything up. Lower it down. If you've got these safety software, slide them to one side just so your platform's free. Now, for spring setting, this is for a single arm work.

I like one blue spring from my body. If you wanna go a little heavier, do a red, if you wanna go lighter, do a yellow. Otherwise, one blue. Head dressed goes all the way down. Let's grab that box. So box is coming on the long direction.

Lengthwise, on top right in front of your shoulder blocks. Alright. Let's bring it up. One more big shoulder roll, and bring yourself all the way up onto your knees facing toward your shoulder blocks. Reach down, grab one of your long loops, square your body off, Then with a straight arm, reach your arm back, and extend your arm forward. Start to flow again.

I want you to find your own pace and your own range. So as you do this, You just think about your connection to those shoulder blocks. Right? So we're imagining they're still behind us, square off. And this is up to what works best for the length of your arms and your body. You can see I popped up to my fingertips to find that squared off connection. But if you feel better with a flat palm, do it.

And you're here for ten more seconds. When we're working the back of the arm, the tricep here, five more seconds. That arm goes all the way back, bend at the elbow kick it back, reach it back and in. Keep that going. I love beginning this series with a straight arm to get the connection into the entire arm bone. But here building and progressing into that heat and endurance. Five more seconds of this.

After your next one, lower your arm all the way down. Now, flip your grip, your palm faces forward, square off straight arm back, straight arm forward. Keep that going. And when I say straight arm, I mean a little soft bend in the elbow. So we're working muscularly from the back of the arm.

We're not pushing from a hyper extended joint, which I am the most guilty of. Let's get five more seconds. Structions much harder. I'm sure you're feeling that right now. Hold it back, bend at the elbow, kick it back.

Bend it in. I always say this is functional training for your bowling league. Let's do ten more seconds. Five more seconds. Bring it all the way down.

Close the carriage. Set that loop down. Both hands down. Give me a cat cow here. Opening your chest, rounding your back, roll it out.

Whatever feels good. We're going right into the second side. So loop comes off, square off, and here we go, straight arm back, straight arm forward. On this first one, you're high fiving behind you. So make sure your palm's facing back and scan through your body.

You just did this on the first side. You know, nothing fancy being thrown at you. Just functional movement, square it off. And connecting to your core, we started this workout by warming up the abdominals. So keep them working, keep them connected.

Link them out and away from the top of your head, and away in opposition from your tailbone. Reach your arm all the way back, bend at the elbow, kick it back. We go for that endurance again. Little bending high fives here. Straight back and in ten seconds.

Five seconds. Your arm goes all the way down. Flip your grip palm forward square off. Straight arm back. Straight arm forward.

Take a quick peek down at your arm. Make sure you're not curling in and you're not pushing your knuckles out. So depending on what your body is wanting to do, I want you to find that balance. And then just bring that connection to every workout you do from this point on. Double checking your form.

Bend and straighten on your next one. Kick it back and in. Bowling league. Here we go. Side number two. Ten seconds.

Five seconds. Hold your arm back and lower it all the way down. Close the carriage. That loop comes down. Lie down on your stomach, like you're lying on a surfboard. We're here by the beach.

You imagine you're here with me. Open your legs out as wide as the box. Make sure you're in the center, slide your legs back together. Take the loops off the frame to the side, walk your hands up the rope. Just above the metal hardware, shoulders down, straight arm reach back, open your chest, and lengthen all the way back down with control.

Flowing through pulling straps one here. It's so important to get extension in, and it's honestly one of my favorite things about Pilates is we really balance out these planes of movement. So right now, again, whatever range is working for you, it's about the extension of the spine with the connection of the core. Let's do just one more and meet me back on the next one. Stay there. Open your shoulders.

Bend at the elbow, kick it back. And in. So now we do triceps with both arms. This is your moment to find balance and strength, but the focus is the extension. Five more seconds. Hold it back. Lower all the way down.

Slide your hands out to the middle of the outside of that loop, open to a t, shoulders back. Now reach back to your hips, open your chest. Go wide to the side, lower your chest. Straight back. And wide to the side. Ten seconds shoulders hugging back and together. Five more seconds.

Meet me back on the next one. Now, bend your elbows and give me a little broken flap backing in. Palms are parallel to the floor, and keep it moving for ten seconds. Little bend, and press five seconds. After your next one, arms go all the way down. Hook the loops down.

Carefully step off to one side. Hold on to your box and rock out side to side. Ben your knees roll your body all the way up. Grab your ball. I'm staying with one blue spring for this, but if you wanna start to progress with load, one red. Otherwise, one blue, Have a seat, feet on the head rest. Reach down, grab both loops.

Once you've got those ball goes mid to low back. Round back into it. Cross your loops, cross those ropes and reach out straight in front of you. Round back, fly open, and close. Okay. Let's do a couple of these.

We just did that great work for the lats and the traps in the back of the body. So now we find that opening of the chest that's scooping in of the abs. This is our entire target zone today. The core, the arms, postural muscles. Okay. Let's add on a little bit.

Hold your arms wide. Stay there. Reach out more shoulders back. Little pulses up. And up. And up. Could you keep the carriage totally still?

Ten seconds. Five more seconds. And then bring your arms back shoulder distance, hold on to the loops, palms up, bicep curl. Give me that big curl in, and out. As you do this, the first thing I want you to think about is shoulders drawing back, punch your abs in, and watch those elbows aren't creeping down. They really wanna get rid of that tension.

I don't want you to. Keep it up high. Stick with this, or we add on, give me a curl reach up with a little extension, bend and reach out. Curl reach up and bend in. Ten seconds with either just those bicep curls or this extension reach and back five more seconds.

And everything comes back forward. Round forward uncross the loops. One loop goes down, grab the ball, make sure it doesn't go anywhere and slide one of the loops up above your knee. Slide forward, balls coming with you, lie down with control on your back. Take that ball, put it on the free knee.

Take the elbow from that same side into the ball, hands behind your head. Now that loaded looped leg extends out to a high diagonal and it hugs back in straight out and right back in. So we're simultaneously working this connection of the lat the trap, and deep core connection, deep loaded reverse crunch. Hold the knee in on the next one. Take the opposite elbow across into the ball, open the other elbow you're twisted and your loaded leg extends out and in.

So your legs are doing the exact same thing. Hips are squared off and even, and it's just your upper body ringing out like a towel. Five more seconds. Hold it in on the next one, both knees in a tabletop, little crunches into that ball up. And up now on this one, match my pace here, lift, and lift, and lift.

Let's go for eight, seven, six, every time, get deeper up for four, three, two, hold it up. Extend your legs up. Take that ball. Roll it up as high as you can on that leg. The loaded straight leg lowers, and it lifts up, lower down, and lift up. Give me ten seconds. If you wanna bend that knee a little bit, do it. Keep reaching up practice that curl. On the next one, keep the legs together.

Little rolling reach. Roll the ball up and up ten seconds. Make sure you're breathing here. Five seconds. Bend everything and come center, and rock your body up.

Let's take that loop carefully off. Set it back. Other loop comes up. Right above the knee. No rest for the weary. Here we go. Lie down.

Take the ball onto that free knee. Same elbow into the ball, hands behind your head. Extend the loaded leg out. Draw right back in. Keep it going.

Breathing into it. Second side, you're gonna feel this a lot faster. Same muscles working. Slightly different increase on this opposite oblique now. You've got five more seconds.

Hold it in. Let's get more oblique, opposite elbow into the ball. Open, hold that rotation, and your leg goes out and in. So keep this going at your own pace. And remember, only the upper body is twisted. Lower body squared off and even. You got five more seconds.

Hold it in on the next one. Stay in there. Little curls up into that ball. Lift and lift, and this is endurance. I want you to match my pace on this.

Go up and up and up. Here we go. For eight, seven, six, five, four, and three, two, hold it up on one, legs go up, take that ball, roll it up to the top of the foot, stay twisted, and the straight leg lowers and lifts. Lower that loaded leg. We're practicing a curl here with accountability. You have to hold that lift, and you've got ten seconds straight up, and down.

Five seconds. Hold it up, heels together, roll the ball up and down. Up and down. Ten seconds. Five more seconds. Everything comes in.

Rock your body up. Come seated. Slide the loop off, set it back. Step off to the side, get rid of the ball. Now I'm on one blue.

I'm adding a yellow. So a blue and a yellow spring. Set yourself up if that feels like it's too heavy. You take the yellow right back off. Okay. Have a seat.

We're sitting on horseback style. I want you to be a palm's distance from the back edge. Reach back. Find both loops. Feed can begin just like so on the carriage side hugging the box. Bend your elbows in, hinge slightly forward, extend your arms out, and in.

Now, we begin with the feet anchored because I want you to feel that connection of the inner thighs of the midline, hugging in on the box, So your abs immediately get engaged, scooping in. If you feel more comfortable with the legs down by your sides, do it. If you're on the taller side, that might feel better for you. Let's do ten seconds here. I always imagine I'm holding two cupcakes, and I don't wanna get frosting on my fingers. I really do, but this is what we're imagining to keep the line of the hands.

Five more seconds. Hold it straight out there. Now your arms lowered down towards your legs. They scoop up shoulder height and right back down. Lift it up and lower down.

Shake out your neck. Relax your jaw. And use your breath to connect into the core. Five seconds. Hold your arms up shoulder height meet me there.

Trace little circles around the shoulder. Up and around, and you're still holding those cupcakes, so don't let your hands rotate and drop them. Five seconds. Lift your arms up, change direction around, scoop it up, and up ten seconds. Harder direction here.

Five seconds. Hold it where it is. Little pulse. Up an inch. Up an inch. Give me a shake out of that jaw and neck again here. Five seconds.

Three seconds. Bend everything in. Reset roll it out. Now make a fist. Hold on to the loop.

The other hand wraps over that hand, go low elbows in, leaning forward, extend your arms overhead, and bring it back in straight out and back in. So the hand that's underneath the bottom hand is the side we're really focusing on. Both sides are working, but the top hand, really, we're thinking about that as our stabilizer in this moment. You have ten seconds straight up, ending shoulders actively pressing down. After your next one, Bend it in and switch. The other hand goes underneath.

Other hand goes on top. Press up and down. Reach and down. Do a cord check for me. Scoop your abs in. Ten seconds.

This is endurance. This is time under tension. And this is a lot of load. This is a bone density moment. After your next one, bend in, interlace your fingers.

Press the heel of your hands together. Final round. Give me fifteen strong seconds here up and down. All the way up and down. Ten seconds. Give me that neck check. Five seconds.

Go all the way up, and bring it all the way down. Roll it out. Set those loops down. Step off to the side. That should have felt really hard, and that is exactly correct. Take off your blue spring. I want you on one yellow grand finale.

Here we go. Hold on to your box with control step up onto your frame. Feed her two inches apart. Take one elbow and forearm and lower it down. So your fingertips are pointing toward the other hand. Press out to a plank.

Drop your heels back. Turn, top arm reaches up. You meet me in a side plank. Hold it here abs in. Now option number one, just hold this. This is so much work.

Do not hesitate to make this your choice today. Otherwise, bend your knees in and extend back out. Bending in right back out. We're on a light spring. That means lots of focus on those bottom ribs lifting up, shoulders staying proud and open.

Hold it out. Find that plank. Now pike your hips up reach back for your toes. Untwist reach back for the ceiling. So it's a twisted pike up, and everything comes back. Ten seconds.

Always option to hold the side plank. Five more seconds. Now meet me in that side plank. Hold it here. Little hip pulses up. And up and up.

Ten seconds. Five more seconds. Hold it up there. Bring that hand down. Bend your knees in.

Turn and face your box. Both hands come up. Reset here for a moment. Opposite elbow and forearm comes down. Press out.

Drop the heels behind you, open the top arm up, meet me in that side plank. Hold it here. Option number one. Abs are in. Bend your knees in. Extend out. Almost done with this entire workout.

I want you to find your breath, find your connection to your form. And give me five more seconds. On your next one, side plank, meet me there. Say there. Pike your hips up, reach back for your heel, and unwind reach back up to the ceiling. Pike it up, and bring it out.

Don't rush this. Think about your core guiding all of the movement, and give me five more seconds. Meet me in that side plank when you're there, chest open, little hip lifts up, and up, and up final ten seconds. Five more seconds. Hold.

Bring that top hand down. Bend your knees turn back to face your box. Now, this is my fancy transition. Hold on with support. Look behind you, step one foot down. Step the other foot down, reach down, add a blue spring, take off your yellow, holding on to the box, feet are hip distance, press the box away, open your chest, big lat stretch.

Draw your hips back in opposition, stretching out your core, your entire upper body, bend your knees, tuck your tailbone, roll up. Roll up reach for the ceiling, lower your arm stand tall, stand proud, My friend, you are all done with that workout today. I hope you feel amazing. I'm sweating. I feel good. I will see you for the next workout.