Class #865

Tower Abdominal Flow

10 min - Class
119 likes

Description

A challenging sequence of exercises for abs, obliques and back that flow from lying to sitting to kneeling to standing. Rolldown bar is used.
What You'll Need: Tower

About This Video

Oct 08, 2012
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Transcript

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Okay, so today I'm going to show a sequence. You're using the roll down bar on the tower. This can of course also be done at the Cadillac and it's a more advanced sequence of pick and take what you like from it. Starting out with the rollback bar, doing roll back, rolling down to articulate the spine, pulling three times, keeping the legs nice and long and then rolling up again through the spine. I personally like to work with slightly bent knees so that I can get more length through the legs as I do this wonderful warm up for the back. Very good for beginners, for advanced people.

The other variation is of course working with the heels lengthening into the bar, which works so well, allows you to start integrate the second power house, which is a shoulder girdle rolling down with one arm in the middle. Now here's where we start to stretch to the side body lengthening out, bending the knee, and then as the leg lengthens down, the waist opens up, which is a fantastic sideways spat stretch. I've never met a person who didn't like it and rolling down again. Sometimes it's more challenging when the body sniff but it opens up the side, body and airy. We very seldom do so nice length through there.

Very nice. Oh I love that one and coming up. Now the thing to do when you working with yourself or with somebody else as you come down to watch that, in this case my left hand is holding the left side of the rib, stays on the mat. It will be the side that will want to flop up, but you need to keep it integrated so the spine and the back stay connected to the pad even though the body is now in a arch bending sideways so that where the side that's being stretched gets a huge stretch. If you don't compromise the side that's being shortened and then coming to a straight legged position is fine. Stretch forward, just like in the mat work, taking a breath in, breathing out, pressing down fabulous to integrate the core a little bit further and lifting the stomach as you bend over. One more time. Lifting the stomach to bend over and coming back up. Going into side bends can be done with Bentleys or straight knees depending upon the strength of the spring, the lengths of the body starting out with the bar above the head, lengthening in the trunk, going down, coming up, very good.

Four obliques for control through the spine depending upon the strength of the strings and the strength of the person. Some people can get all the way down, some people cannot, but very challenging and probably I would say intermediate through advanced, so you want to watch not to just squash into the side of the body, but keep the spine long and you're aiming to stay as even in the trunk as you possibly can as you do this. Coming up onto the knees for chest expansion. First of all, lovely place to get along, stretch through the spine, shoulders, stay down, working the head. Very good to expand the chest and also to integrate into the lats and work the upper body. One more time, nice and long. Broad shoulders and again the mount at the bar goes down. Depends upon the strength. The goal is to actually feel this lengthening up in the spine as the arms go down. One more time from me and then moving into size. Stretch the knees. I hip with the part. Very important to start to work on opening up in the hip flexes.

Now it's a big lift through the hip bones, moving up, slightly contracting the front of the body and then hinge and keeping the hips lifting so the thighs get a stretch. I like to work with the feet parallel and the little toe side pressing into the mat in order to make the shinbones and the inner thighs work as well. So it's not just the size, it's a whole leg that's really opening up and giving stability to the body. Going into rolling and rolling out, scoping this stomach, ironing the bar through the body till your peril. Or now this is a point where the hips come up, the head goes back and the shoulders broaden all in one movement.

So you start to work into this amazing flowing, expulsive, explosively beautiful movement that once you figure out the logistics of it and the body is ready to do, it has a very exhilarating equality. And the reverse is even more lovely because there's this huge lift up through the spine and our king back in the bar actually helps the student go back, pull the bar to the chest and that iron that bar out and up again lifting up, pulling the bar through ironing, it's Fru. And one more time. Yeah, pressing through, ironing through and rolling back up to an upright position. And then from here, coming up to an standing position again for chest expansion in a vertical plane, which is nice, nice lift through the spine, pulling the bar down, head, head and again.

And the focus is as the bar goes down, the spine gets longer, powerhouse lifts up. So there's always this elongation in the spine as the movement challenges the body. One more time. Usually I will do about three sets of each and broad shoulders, making sure the shoulders are gliding wide and down the back. And now adding into this a Relevate. So as I pull in, I lift my heels up, turn and turn. So this takes more balance, lowering down, pressing down to lift, head, head. Whoa.

Definitely takes a lot more coordination because the bar pulls you forward too. There's a lot more chair challenge into the powerhouse and a lot more work needed in the legs to give you a foundation. So this is really fun for advanced people that already have good understanding of their own anatomy, their own body and their abilities, but they need that next level of challenge in order to keep them fully engaged in the workout. And then lifting up, pressing down, going and play all the way down and again, head, head straight and coming back up. And again pulling the bar in, lifting the spine and literally imagining yourself sliding down a wall so the whole body is now engaged because you need to control the bar, you need to control your trunk and your legs. And of course the powerhouse is a secret ingredient. One more time, lifting up as you, I work my innercise, hugging the midline, lowering down head, head straight and coming back up and I forgot that I need to do two sets of each. So last one, pulling in, nice lift to the powerhouse, pressing down with the arms up with the spine in with the inner size, lifting up and coming down.

Now moving into shaving the back of the head, pulling the shoulders down the back, slightly leaning into the bar, working the arms up and down, keeping the shoulders engaged in the back. So I feel my shoulders gliding down the back as I worked the arms. So again, another way to interpret the exercises that is more challenging, more interesting. If you're advanced, you've been doing this work for a while and the equivalent of long stretch lifting up. I'm slightly leaning into the bars, have to integrate my powerhouse lengthening out and in so doing push ups from a long stretch position or her whole, the bar, the bar is pushing me backwards and then bringing the arms down bar down. So now that I've completed the little variation, variety of variations, just to finish standing close to the bar, lengthening out the side, body opening up. So again, the stretch into the side body. So important, and an area that usually gets congested for people are their side. Always a hand close to the bar is low, the other arm is up.

Big Lifts are the powerhouse lengthening out, opening up arms are in front. And just like the prow of a ship opening up the chest, opening up the shoulders, we're keeping the lower spine long and hands low, broadening through the collarbones and lengthening forwards. Again, opening up the chest, but keeping the spine integrated so you get this lovely open feeling and that's it.

Comments

Great quick sequence!
1 person likes this.
I love your energy, Niedra!
Great energy, great variations .. lovely work Niedra! Thank you! :)
Niedra Gabriel
Thanks Anita, Nicole and Yoly, enjoy your workouts and Happy Holidays ( Xmas is almost here...)
Thanks Niedra! Good sequence!
Kicked my booty in 10! Love everything about your style of instruction Niedra!!
Niedra Gabriel
Love that you enjoyed it.
Niedra, you are awesome. Love your style of instruction!
Niedra Gabriel
Thank you Patti, Happy new Year - may this year be physical, inspirational and filled with growth!
Good exercises with clear direction and purpose. I really like the teaching which is gracefull and verbally well instructed. Thank you!
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