Class #728

Cardio Interval Reformer

35 min - Class
472 likes
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Description

Do you need a little cardio but don't have the time? This Jump Board class taught on the Reformer by Meredith focuses on interval-style training alternating jumping with Spinal Articulation, Arms, Rotation, and Back Extension.

New to the jump board? Check out the Jump Board Tutorial
What You'll Need: Reformer w/Box, Jump Board

About This Video

Jun 02, 2012
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Transcript

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Okay, so today we're going to do a little interval training with the jump board. If you've not done jump board before, if you haven't had any experience with it, have a quick look at the jump board tutorial so that you can be sure that you're jumping safely. I'm starting with three red springs set up on the reform. We're going to do a little bit of light leg warm up and here we go. Lying down on our backs. The head rest is down, arms are straight, feet are placed on the top of the jumper. I have my arches on the jump board and the knees are in parallel for a pelvic girl. Breathing in and breathing out. We slide the spine up, reaching the knees out over the feet. Keep the arms straight, keep the shoulders down, pausing at the top to in here.

So we just were lightly pressed the spine back down into the reformer looking for the center of the spine, keeping the carriage still. It shouldn't be too hard with all those springs on Xcel to roll up, pressing down into the feet, activating through the arms. Okay. Feeling the length of the neck, pressing up through the backs of the legs, and then excelling to come back down, articulating through the spine, reaching the pelvis all the way down in back. And again, exhale, lift, long straight, strong control, and exhale to come down. Creating some mobilization of the spine. And one more time.

Exhale until left. Feeling the length, the support, and extra to calm down. Okay. Taking the arms back, holding onto the handles where the straps lift, lifting the legs up off the jump, or we tilt the legs towards the left. First. Breathing in, anchor with the right arm and shoulder.

Exhale as we slide the spine back into the middle and inhale as we go the other way. And exhale to come back. Trying to keep the arms absolutely stuff. So legs in a tabletop position. Inhaling and drying down through the ribs, connecting the ribs into the obliques, coming to center and inhaling and excelling to center and in healing. Excellent. Into Center. Just one more. Inhaling. Okay.

And excelling to center. Okay. And so I'm gonna turn myself around on the reformer, placing the s edge of the reformer. Just underneath my shoulder blade. My legs are held of a tabletop position. I'm gonna take the hands behind the head. Inhale, going into thoracic extension.

Exhale, curling to neutral and then into a chest left. Inhale into neutral and back. An exhale through neutral into spinal flection. Keeping the eyes just above the knees and inhale to come back and exhaling to lift up. I like this here. I liked the extra challenge that the extension of the thoracic spine allows.

I'm going to do two more. Excellent. To lift up, challenging the movement and inhale down. Yeah. And excelling to lift up in Indiana. Down. Okay. And excelling to lift him. Take the hands behind the thighs.

Curl just a little bit higher. Yeah, hands are going to go back behind the head. We're going to take the right leg towards the ground, pushing it down into the ground and then we change. Excellent. So we hold the flection of the spine. We work the hip, it senses into the grant. We're really tight in the hip flexors. You'll get a stretch high, get a stretch and alternating and alternating.

The action of the moving leg is happening at the hip joint. There's not a lot of leg stuff at all happening and we're reaching and one more and reaching going right back to the first leg. Reach across towards the leg in the air lift, pushing your hands into that side to help you find a strong rotation. Don't just let that bottom leg be lazy, push it down and we switch little slow for that first one. Look for the nicest position that's available to you.

And we switch lifting across and across and across and across using the arms to make the exercise more detailed, more challenging. When we take the hands off and we look for that same challenge and back sale, and I feel that the legacy job's coming up to a tabletop position, reaching across, reaching across one more and then both legs up, taking the body over the top, allow the knees to bend in towards the chest, reach around to the backs of the legs and rock up sliding back down onto our backs, placing the feet down onto the jump board, lining up the body, arms down at our sides. Finding neutral spine, making sure that the rib cage is heavy, just gonna press the legs out. So here my three red springs, we're going to bend, just doing a little footwork. So I want us to, then the knees do not lift the heels. Just challenge our play with the edges of where the heels want to lift and then push into them to straight it and then pulling the body and with the backs of the legs and straight. So we get a little bit of a stretch here and we also get some nice feedback for our feet. Where do you feel more pressure on your feet? How can you, your feet, a lie and bend?

Can you feel equal movement on both feet or as one does one foot feel heavier than the other? If that's true, it's possible that we're putting more pressure on that foot. Then we need to and lift the heels and bend the knees, keeping the heel still. You'll come in further and reach. So I just want a little leg work before I go straight into jumping, continuing to warm up through the center of my body. Just two more times. Come in and say in as close as you can, but not allowing the feet to shift around. Had a great dia last one. So now what I'm going to do is bend in, drop the heels down in press outs.

We get that articulation of the foot lifting onto the toes, bend in, start to roll through the foot and drop the heels down. This is the action that you want and jumping, reaching down, drawing heels down and out. And one more lifting. So we allow, as we roll through the foot for a little bit of shock, absorbency to occur. Bend in the knees, keep the heels down, roll up onto the chosen, reach out, drop the heels downward. Just reversing. Bend, reach out and press. Drop the heels down, bend, reach out in press, bringing the heels together, toes apart, lifting the heels, bend the knees in and keeping the heel still.

For now we just squeeze working, rapping from the hips and press and bend and getting the knees to connect all the way together. Two more times, pulling in and pressing out, bending in and pressing at. I'm going to go through that articulation of the foot. So we bend, we press the heels all the way into the jump board to slide out to straighten, we'll lift the heels, bend, press the heels down into the jump board, pushing the carriage out and lift bend. Let me just want you to remember that this articulation of the foot when jumping is so important. Last one, reaching the hills down and out and then we'd bend the knees, keeping the heels down. Fight for that stretch. Rise onto the toes, stretch the legs out straight and drop the heels down. Bet Rolling through the foot, reaching out and straight. Drop the heels down and bet and again to them dropping the heels down and bend last one and coming all the way in.

Okay. Rolling to the side, helping ourselves that and an to a change. The Springs, I'm undergoing one red and one blue spring. Now two red springs is available too if you prefer working heavier. I personally like to work a little bit lighter. I feel a little bit more in control with the lighter spring. It's definitely a personal choice. However, I like to have my head dress up as well. It helps me see my feet. Okay, so I'm going to start with straight length.

My feet are going to be just underneath me. I'm looking for alignment first and here we go. Bending the knees, finally heels, and then we start to articulate the feet. So we're going to jump point rural through the foot in heels. Okay. Exhaling out, landing on the feet, feel as you're jumping that there.

The sense of being pulled from the center of the body. Squeeze from the hip as you jump. So it's not just quads and by the hip I mean, right where the hamstrings and the glutes meet. We're going to do two more and one I'm going to take my straps and put them on the ground because they make these little rattling noises that I don't love. So there's was that. Okay? I've gone into first position with my feet.

We're going through that same but the same idea. Squeeze the legs, point the feet, roll through them to land, lift up through the center of the body. Keep the arms straight, the center of the body active and work. It's a lot light, light landing on the feet. If your jump board, if your reformer is sliding around on the ground, that is not a good thing. You want the reformer to stay still the work to be light and easy, Huh? Not Easy but controlled control as the name of the game. We're going to do for three. We're going to next alternate those two positions.

So here we go. I jump and I land in parallel. Jump and alternate to first as I continue to move through that alternating pattern, focusing on rotating from the hip joints, reaching open. Feel the lightness in the land and and Oh Brett and in keeping the hips strong, keeping a strong center open and open. And last two and two and coming up to single leg. Keep the left foot on the jump board. Lift the right leg to table talk. Hold the right leg steady, totally stuck. And we jumped through the left leg of rolling through the foot. Tilly, working from the hip.

Keep both hips level on the jump for straighten the knee all the way. We're going to do four more changing on the fourth. Here's three to switching legs in there and we're often running one pressing pelvis down, checking in with the center of the body, keeping the neck relaxed, keeping the Armstrong and straight breathing. Last four and a alternate. These in a minute. Starting Nabal flakes together and land.

We match the legs together in center when both knees bend at the same time. One on the jump board and one in the year. Reaching out, keeping the pelvis level, feeling the legs matched together in the center. Okay. For four long straight arm, long relaxed neck one one jumping off and landing is control. Okay, rolling off to the side. Coming up one red spring, you're treating the straps from the ground.

If that's where they are coming up onto our knees for some kneeling arm work. We take the straps, lining the body up, shoulders over pelvis, pelvis over knees feel the hamstrings and the abdominals working to help you maintain this position and keep the body still. The arms are straight at our sides. Lift the spine long hand. Exhale, press back as the arms press back the legs. Press forward as the arms reached down. The spine lifts up so there's lots of different oppositional patterns that we can focus on as we do this and forward and on and back and forward and down and back and forward working through the backs of the legs, working through the abdominals. I want to do that two more times. One more time.

Bend the elbows close to the body. Sit the pelvis back, but keep the body straight. Connect into the back, connect into the abs and holding the balance as we go through a tricep extension. Exhale into stretch the arms and again, reaching out, reaching out. Start this focus in the upper back area before the arms straighten so that it's back, not just arms that were challenging. Last three, last two, one more. Coming in and coming up. Placing this drops down. Coming back down onto the reformer.

Now put my red SMY blue spring back on. Am I going to continue jumping? So we slide our way down and on the headrest shoulders up against the shoulder blocks and then start in first position this time and I do three different movements. The first will just be an opening out of the legs and a landing back in first. The second will be a cross in action in the upper thigh. The third will be a side to side action, so Oh QM as I go arm straight.

Find control breathing. As we breathe out, we jump and open about as wide as the jump board. Okay. Landing Nice and lightly on the feet. So absorbing that movement with the rolling action, the fee using the hips to open the legs. Nice light landing. From here I got, I don't want this straps.

Okay, we're going to go into crossover. So we start with the knees. Ben Jump, take the right like over the left leg and Landon first left leg over the right. Landon first, continue to alternate, continued the stability of the spine, the lightest landing possible as you come into the gym. Part work coming from the backs of the legs and the front of the legs and the insides of the legs. We cross the legs with a straight knee reaching over and over and oh and landing with that flat. He'll start trying not to allow the heel to lift up off the jump board at off, lifting out through the middle of the body and across.

One more time on each side and across and in bringing the feet parallel to one another in check. Bring the feet together, push out, align the legs, bend in, find the stretch. So we're going to go into an alternating movement. That one hip will lift will not come through center again until we get to the end. Here we go. Breathe in, prepare, jump off. Bring the leg position now to the right and to the left and to the right. So I am lifting the hip that I'm jumping away from. I am rolling through the footstep.

I am focusing on my hip action. Still reaching out, reaching out, reaching out my upper body, however, is staying nice and level right in the center. Ah, and, and trying to land evenly on both feet. That's not easy. And last four and three, you land without making any noise and what gotta go one more time to the left to make it even and center and in turning to the side, helping yourself up, treating the shops from the floor. So I'm going to take my blue spring off now. Nope, I'm going to take my red spring off now. So I have just a blue spring coming back onto the nice feel, a little reverse knee stretch.

So my knees are right up against the shoulder blocks. I'm in a position myself so that my hands, my shoulders are slightly in front of my hands. From there, creating deep flection through the spine. And from that position we focus on deepening the flex chin of the spine is the knees reach underneath and release and deepening the flection of the spine as the knees reach underneath. So the challenge here in my mind is not to move with the legs, but to send the spine rounder and as the spine rounds and use respond by pulling under and then we don't lose the rounded position in the spine as we allow the knees to come away. Work deep [inaudible] exhaling as we flex and in healing as we release. Excellent. As we flex and inhaling to release one more and release, allowing the carriage to come back home. [inaudible] sliding the feet up against the shoulder blocks, talking to toes under, sitting down on the feet, reaching back for the straps.

[inaudible] coming up onto the knees. The feet are pressing back into the shoulder blocks, hips, knees and shoulders. All in alignment. You're going to reach up on the exhale and out to the side and a reach up on the exhale. Yeah, to the side so the body stays stationary as the arms go through that circular motion. Work on drying the shoulders down as the arms left and challenging that. What does it? Freedom of movement in the shoulder blocks as the arms stay straight and narrow coming just towards the ears. We'll do one more legs are still working.

Abdominals are still working by legs, I mean hamstrings more than anything. Reaching up into the, or feeling the whole spine length of turning the hands towards the ceiling to draw them down and inhale, stretch up and exhale, open down and reaching. Let me just find a nice rhythm here. Using the breath, working with control. I'm going to do three more shoulders dropping as the arms reach and shoulders dropping as the arms reach and down. Last one. And to keep the arms up, bring the first fingers and thumbs together. Ben, the elbows right behind the head. Keep the head reaching back for the hands. Keep the pelvis pressing forward and take the arm straight up into the air and heel to bend. The elbows reach out wide and exhale to stretch.

So that's something I often think about that why that pull apart in the elbows and it's not really the elbows. That is the focus. It's the focus on keeping the back broad and open and as the arms reach into the air, shoulders pull down in opposition. [inaudible] we'll do three more. Here's one. Working both of m's evenly. Last one, separating the arms and bringing them down. Sitting down onto the feet for just a moment.

Nice little stretch for the toes here. Joy that I'm going to put my straps down and put a red spray on. So now I have a blue spring and a red spring attached to the reformer picking up the straps again, coming back onto the knees, sending the Elvis up behind the shoulders, slightly narrow a that. Let me say that differently in line with the shoulders, not inside of the shoulders are outside of the shoulders. From there the spine lifts and we take the arms out straight, finding the stretch to the front of the shoulders and we bet as we take the arms in and out the upper arm stay. Absolutely. Still the spine continues its lengthening upward feeling and we're work through the abdominals.

[inaudible] it's nice and strong through the center of the body. As the arms do their work. We'll do four more and three. Yeah, and sitting back down on the feet again. Instead of putting the straps onto the hooks, I'm going to put mine onto the ground again. Got One more jumping patterns when I take my headdress down cause that will give me um, a place to put my head. I do a side jumping series.

I still have one red and one loose spring on and allow my side the, I put my arm on my headrest and then I reached back and hold onto the, the hook that's behind me head is just going to rest on the arm from there, sliding the spine back. So we're in like a squat position with the hips behind the shoulders. The bottom length is going to rest on the reformer. The top leg is going to be our jumping way plan. Good commitment to the center of the body. Squeeze from the hip.

The opposite arm can just reach either into the shoulder block in front of your, onto the mat. And here we go. Jump and land. Nice and easy. So we push from the hip, feel the work resonating through the spine. Exhale, landing evenly on that heel. Last four, three, two and one. I'm going to rotate from my hip joint, bringing the knee up. So if that's not available to you without shifting the pelvis back, you should think about moving your foot forward a little bit. Inhaling, prepare, and then we would jump in. External rotation and land and reach.

Tracking the knee just over the big and second toes, letting the neck be relaxed, working through the hip, working through the foot. Last four, three, two and one. And with control, bringing the carriage in, coming all the way up to chain sides. Do I slide over to the other side, lying down on my right arm, reaching back to the handle, putting my head on my arm and then positioning my body. So I have my foot on the jump board, my pelvis behind my shoulders. Here we go. Strong hands and it's rich. [inaudible] controlling that movement, reaching through the center of the body, working from the hand, working in the spy for three, heading into extra rotation. After this, here we go and open the head.

So you're turning the knee just in your mind as you jump off that foot. Again, tracking the knee last four, three, two and when we come all the way in and okay, so back to one red spring. Finished jumping for the day, but we're going to do a little bit of rotational work and a stretch. So what I want us to do is place the hands on the jump board. Slide the toes underneath you as you put your heel one heel up against the shoulder block. Opposite knee is going to come forward or the foot is going to come forward first. Maintaining that upright position with the shoulders over the pelvis.

Just rest the hands slightly on the bar. That's not a bar to jump forward, but you get it. Push the hip forward as the knee reaches back. So just there should already be a stretch. It doesn't take much for me if you don't feel when yet. Start to go down, but don't lean forward to take the leg back. Ah, oh. Make the stretch less valuable. Let me just reach down and just easing our way down as a nigos further back and the spine goes, body goes further down.

Keep reaching up and forward through the spine and just breathing here. Did a lot of work through the front of the leg. Let's let it stretch. Okay. Reaching down, reaching down, easing your way just a little lower, just a little taller, okay. And then coming in and putting weight on that front leg, stepping down onto the floor and walking around to the other side and the toes are tucked under. We've got the heel up against the shoulder block, front knee bent, back knee on the carrot. Body upright.

Starting to take the Snead backwards without letting the spine be affected. Reaching down, pushing into the shoulder block, continuing to lower again. Don't lean forward to lower it. I mean try it if you want to, but I promise you that your stretch will go. I pretty much right away. All right, Chang. Also, don't arch the back to do this, but keep the back as long as possible.

Keep the abdominals working. Okay? Check in with the shoulders. It shouldn't be God of alignment. They, in fact, we use the shoulder, the upper back to hold your hands in the position that they're being held in and then to come all the way in and sitting down, bringing the legs into the mermaid position, putting the hand on the jump board closest to it, opposite arm down on the headdress. You never reach the spine that's inhale and exhale turning the body towards the jump or it allow the hands to reach towards parallel to one another.

Inhale to open and exhale to sit up over both hips with a straight body and how's the reacher keeping the body law exhale as we spiral into the junk port. Inhale as we open and exhale as you come in. And just one more reaching out. Yeah, reaching around. Okay. Finding a stretch and opening an n and take that on those on the gem board, reaching it up.

My other arm on the shoulder, black just in front of my knee and I'm going to pull myself into the opposite direction. Still working with one red spring here, turning around to the other side. Okay. Is there anything with a straight arm, a straight spine inhale to take the body out and exhale, spiraling around, keeping the carrots still and in healing as we open Ben and n taking the carriage out as we breathe in feeling the length of this spy and I are really into the jump board and opening back, I don't know, lifting up all the way and one way, taking the time, feeling the stretch, I mean back and lifting up so no workout would be complete without a little back extension. So let's do the down stretch. To accomplish that, we slide the feet up against the shoulder blocks, one in red and one blue spring is appropriate. I like to use one red spring. That's a personal preference. So whatever works better for you.

I'm just going to stick with this spring. I've got hands on the jump board bringing the pelvis forward so we want to again activate the hamstrings, activate the ABS. So as we come into that arch shape, there isn't any pressure on the lower back and then we're going to reach out through the arms keeping that spine held nice and still. As the spine comes in and up, we pressed down into the arms, up with the spine, bringing the character all the way into the stopper and reaching out, excelling now, feeling the shoulders dropped to allow the arms to float and we reach in pressing the pelvis forward, bringing the spine up like there's a brick walk rising straight up off that jump board and reaching out and putting the focus into the upper back, pressing back through the legs, lifting up through the spine, supporting with the abdominals all the way in and back and all the way hand and holding ourselves. Yeah, I lightly lift up onto the fingertips, reach the right arm up, bring the right arm back, reaching for the shorter block on that side. Bring the left arm back, spiraling up in, around, opening through the chest, lifting the left arm, lifting the right, placing both hands down onto the jump board. Pressing Ah, oh, lifting in an app. Okay. Coming all the way in, lightly reaching off, taking the left arm up into the air, reaching back for the left shoulder.

The right arm falls in a windmill type action. We pull the chest up and forward. Press forward with the pelvis, open through the shoulders. Lift the right arm, lift the left arm, untuck the toes. Reach the hands for the top of the jump board and back onto your heels. Okay. Stretching the shoulders.

Stretch in the back. Taking a moment to relax. Let's try to gently ease your way back up into a sitting position, pulling backward into a rounded shape, away from the jump board, and then allow the hands to just slide down towards the legs and lift the body out. And that's it. You.

Comments

Perfect way to start this beautiful Saturday morning in Gainesville, Fl. I am now out to my pool to do a little water running and get some sun. Thank you, Meredith!
3 people like this.
you are the gift that keeps on giving!
Thank you so much for taking class and taking the time to share your comments. I appreciate you!
3 people like this.
Loved that. Perfect balance. Definitely "borrowing" some of these sequences. Absolute BEST!
3 people like this.
Great job! Fun, innovative and clear concise cues! Thank you:)
2 people like this.
Super fun interval class :)
Thanx for the energetic start to my day !!
5 people like this.
I would have liked to see more jumping :) How about a video with pure non stop jumping for 20 min?
Hi Pele! Nice to hear from you again. Hmmmm...non stop jumping for 20 min? Something to consider...any ideas on variations to keep it interesting??
2 people like this.
Meredith, how about stuff from trad. ballet jumps such as jumps in first, second and third/fifth positions. Changes (changements), beats (battus) would be great. And of course, jumps on one leg such as jettes or coupes.Then the usual more basic type of jumps. How about including hand weights somewhere in between too?
Thanks Pele! All great ideas...unfortunately, I have never studied dance so am hesitant to teach that which I don't know well. I will research......
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