PRO | Vertical Lunge Flow

So in today's session, we started with that yoga sequence. You see that happen a lot. In this side of the machine in my athletic athletic conditioning classes. I'm gonna change the springs to one red. We're on a blue this whole time.

The red's gonna give us a little more umf back here and a little more support when we come up into a plank. Foot closest to the machine is up, opposite foot is down. The closer you stand to this foot bar, the lighter the tension is, but light isn't always your friend. When it comes to balance, you have to find what I call your sweet spot. Your sweet spot is enough resistance to help you recruit the muscles needed so that you feel stable.

So too light does not do that. Something to think about. Adding the arms, reach forward, reach back. I want you to remember that yoga sequence we did at the beginning of today's class, and remember that choreography. Three Two, and now I want you to stay low. One.

Hands go on to the bar. Now just like long stretch, you want your fingers and thumbs wrapped over the bar. Instead of being open palm, palms pressing, I want you to be wrapped with your fingertips pulling up. So we're feeling the forearm, the upper arm, and the back. The first thing we'll do is lean forward finding that alignment where the shoulders are directly over the wrists.

So for me, that's here. Now it's this floor leg that's gonna be moving. So the three positions we practiced before was knee through. Into the lunge. The second position we practice was knee to same.

There's our home base, and then the third was it coming across to the opposite elbow. And that's where this move comes from. It's from the yoga sequence. So as you flow through it, that's what I want you to think. Here we go.

Need through. That's a scoop like a pike. Knee the same. That's a side cinch. Me comes across to the opposite elbow.

There's a lightness as I sort of leap off the ground. Bringing my shoulders right over my wrists. This will be our last time, and across. Bring it in well done. Okay.

I'm so glad that we practice the step ups and the up and overs in the box because we're gonna do another version here on the reformer. This carriage can move, but your goal is to not move it. So we really have to think about a vertical lift. Let's practice it again. Sending the hips back, knees over toes, shifting my weight to the higher leg, rising up, decelerating, lift, and lower. Lift and lower. I have a little more height and distance to travel both on the up and on the down.

Two more. One more. Now here's where things are gonna get different. Instead of the up and over, hands on the bar, we're gonna do a vertical pike. So I have to press down on my feet, jump up, and try to find my core. Here's what it looks like.

Sounds easy. It's not. A vertical pike, I'm gonna come up and down. So there's a moment where both my feet are up. See if you can find that. Pushing down into my hands. Four, three, two, one.

I think it's pretty fun. Build bone density, builds booty, builds a strong core. What's more to love? Okay. So here we go into our lunges. This is your time to kind of slow things down.

If you're programming this sequence for yourself or your classes, I want you to build in moments where there's high intensity cardiac output, and then moments where your focus on power, control, and alignment. This is the ladder. So I'm taking my time and finding my breath. Adding the arms. Bending deeply into that front leg.

We've practiced the lunge so many times now. Your body knows it. One more time. Alrighty. Let's always do the first one slow, even though I know you know it. This is your home base.

This is where you come back. We'll shift forward. Sholders over the bar, shoulders over the wrists. The floor leg comes up and simultaneously, there's movement in the spine. Land.

The next move is knee to same. Little side cinch, and I'm resting my knee on my elbow. Then I wanna try to drive the knee across and up. If you can reach your elbow easily, try higher. And then when you know the flow, you can go into a rhythm.

Lift, cinch, twist. Lift, new same. Twist. Two more. Through same. Last one. Think of a pike. Little side cinch, and twist.

Great. Let's do the same thing on this side. So we know the carriage can move. If the carriage is moving, it's an indication you might be shifting forward or back when your emphasis is gonna be straight up on this one. Power. Just like we practice, lift, lift. If you're able to go down really low, like, I can go low because I have a lot of ankle mobility, but if I go too low, it changes the shape of my spine.

So I'm gonna try to only go as low. Is I can keep my spine long and not go into the flexion. Three. Last time. And here we go. So you got those pike jumps again.

I wanna remind you a pike is a rounded spine. If you drop your head, you'll be better at it. Here we go. Exhale. You wanna get as much airtime as you can. So push into the arms, like you're gonna jump up and do a handstand.

Last time, and he made it.