Class #3284

Day 2: Efficiency

20 min - Class
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Welcome to Day 2! Today Monica focuses on moving as quickly and precisely as possible. Her goal is for you to feel a rush of endorphins as you flow from one exercise to the next. She starts on the Reformer to get you moving and then finishes with standing work on the Ped-O-Pul.
What You'll Need: Ped-O-Pul, Reformer w/Box, Pilates Pole

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Okay, today is day two of our 30 session challenge and it is all about efficiency. I want you to feel the rush of endorphins as you move just as quickly as possible from one exercise to the next. Just supply is really intended minimum of motion. So we're going to try to get on and off as quickly and precisely as possible. Even myself with my tender tailbone, I am going to give it my best shot and we might see me grimace every now and then, but I am looking forward and thoroughly enjoying working out with you.

So let's get started. We're gonna do our reformer and then we're going to grab the pet pole for some nice upright finale here. Okay. Starting with the reformer foot for springs for myself. You can do it on three if you'd like, but I am going for it. Here we go. Lowering ourselves down with our body, our mind controlling our body, right?

So we're gonna lower ourselves down. Lie Down in one fluid motion. Anchor your back nice and flat. Feed her in a [inaudible] stance. So I'm going to feel that my tailbone is pretty flat because I am a advanced flight instructor, right? Otherwise, I might need to do some something else, but for right now I'm able to get my upper back and my middle back and my lower back. Everything nice and sealed, and let's go for it. Here we go.

We're going to do 10 don't forget what we did in our first session. From arms, from back, the thighs and seat from power house pressing. You're back into the mat, realigning your back. Let's do two more. We're pulling the carriage out, pulling it in, pulling it out, pulling it switched to arches and out. You might not get it right. I'm adjusting. Making sure.

Now I'm in the center now focusing on my powerhouse, squeezing my inner thighs, pulling my belly into my lower back flood. Hang it up to the back of my ribs, pressing my arms down. We're gonna do one more here. Heels or Rohrer, up and under the bar and up to heels. And again, might not get it just right. Maybe you have to just fit. This is it to feel every emotion. We're moving.

We are working on our efficiency here long and pull it in. Reach as far as you can. Pull in five more powerhouse scooping in enough, one more and then tendance stretch down to toes and up and stretch again. I could've done that transition better. We're going to be working on smoothing things out.

Your mind is trying to control your body. You're going over from head to toe. How is think of kind of like the terminator for some reason. Having that computer I and analyzing everything around him and I look at the body from head to toe just like did you do, do you go and do every muscle computing, getting connected, squeezing those inner thighs scooping in and out. Let's do one more and come in and get ready for your hundred.

That means you're going to slide down a little. You're going to lower your bar with your feet. You're going to lower your head piece. As you grab your handles and you're ready to go for the hundred on one count, you're going to reach out long and low. Here we go and pump vigorously scoop your belly and that's 20 and an exhale and in long squeezing legs, scooping in the belly. Relax. Neck, relaxed, head butt from arms, right?

Looking at your toes. Fill those lungs up. Exhale everything. Three more. [inaudible] to one. Yeah, we're just doing a basic reformer [inaudible]. So Ben, we're going to step off and grab our extensions.

So up and around, come to the back and you're going to quickly loop your straps. Grab your extensions. Maybe you can't do this very well yet. Again, just give it your best shot to get back into moving quickly. Once you get a little too sedentary and your Houston talking and having discussions just gets a little too rusty. I'm going to hang them up. You can hold onto them either one. Pop My head piece up.

I'm going to drop two middle springs and I'm going to lie down. Bring my knees in and put on my straps. Ready for frog and leg circles. Here we go. Stretch long and lean. Joseph [inaudible] always wanted us to repair and realign our spine.

So we are pulling our belly in hen up to a tall spine. Two more for this frog, keeping my tailbone down. Last one and now let's do leg circles all round one and two and three, two more and then we'll reverse. Nice. Flew in motion. Feel how different your muscles. One more feel when you've moved fluidly and reverse.

The grots has a little bit of catching. This is the only exercise that it seems to be a bit of annoyance, but everything else it really caters to a smooth one more efficient workout. Let's stretch. Slip these straps off. We're done with our straps, so I'm just gonna leave 'em and we're setting up for stomach massage up. Woo stomach massage. Let's see how that's going to feel on me. I'm going to grab my pad, two springs on eventually maybe by session 30 we're going to be up to the front of this, right, because we need to get back into that move and we're going to bring our mind to our body.

Sit feet up here and I'm going to round over and here we go. Pull in it, damn lift in it. It's very smooth. Strong arms scooping in. Squeeze those inner thighs. Stretch those hips and out. Damn lift. Always look at those knees. Don't let them roll in too.

One more. Now drop the middle. Spring both arms. Same time and out. Yeah, we are preparing for our short box, right? We just did our round and now we're doing our lift for tall back. Think of all those things. Wheezing those legs. Strong arms. Gimme. One more.

Moving with the purpose and dropping one spring in with the air. Exhale, think about your spine. Stretch forward, strong arms, no La Ligety Armstrong, and exhale forward. Forward, forward. One more. Exhale. Ready for short. Bucs stepping off. I'm going to lower my bar and my head piece and I'm going to go grab my box bar and box at the same time. Moving as efficiently as possible. Staying on two springs.

I'm going to put my pad right here and I'm going to grab my safety strap. All right. All right, so we're going to hug and we're going to scoop in and curl back up. Okay. I'm just keeping the first one a little smaller cause they haven't done this one in like seven weeks. Here we go. Maybe a little bigger now and one more up. Get my lower back flat.

Enjoying. Ah, straight back. Grab your bar, hold it with a purpose. Straighten that spine and lower back pulls all the way up to your upper and forward and inhaling back. Exhaling. This way you keep your muscles engaged. One more and from the entire time you're working out a little rest side, which, and that's what this is. It's a workout, right?

So reach up and then reach over and post center and up and exhale and go. So everything is working again, bottom bellies in an up. You're trying to get a stretch and a space between each rib, your intercostals twist up, strong arms, twist the body, reach out and exhale. Yeah, trying to get my belly to stretch my tight lower back. On this one. I can feel the pushback one more and want to feel the deep scoop that I know I can get.

All right. Stretch tree. I like to sit nice and upright and then draw that right leg out. And here we go. Stretch. And this is another one I haven't done in seven weeks walking up because the rock back was enough to make my eyes water scooping in and get it all back. And now stretch my lower back. I'm locked down.

Two more. Working through every vertebra. Straight arm, leg up to the ceiling. Energy with the bottom leg. Feel so good. One more time. Yeah. And pick the apple off the tree and switch legs.

Both hips are anchored pulling up the left leg and stretch and two and three. I don't know how can happen and I'm going to stretch forward and rock back. Pool into that barrel or a box I should say. And walk down two more. I'm trying to really make sure I stretch my lower back here. [inaudible] and worked at Long Lake [inaudible].

One more. Pick the apple. Lost the tree. Okay. Same for elephant. We're going to bring the pad completely down. Grab your pole and your box, take it back. Always try and do things with both hands.

Practice all of these good techniques working from one end to the other. Two Springs, bar up, hand, foot. You'll see my foot's a little forward cause I'm a little short hand and I'm in position. Here we go. It's out and in four and back of the thighs and scoop strong straight arms. Let's do one more and kneeling down. We're going to do 10 10 and 10 for knee stretches. Here we go, ending, so it's smooth out. Quick, smooth, quick, smooth, quick. Think of your mountain. Climb.

Work on your c curve to switch. Keep your upper body steady, work your hips, lift your chest, open your heart lift. Stretch your spine to lift into knees off. Hovering like you're a jockey on a horse. Letting your legs move freely. You could take an arm off.

You could take a leg off hand, enough. Step off to the side running and pelvic tilt. I'm going to keep it on too and I'm going to lower myself with control and it's out run and we're running. I don't know how slow your pace has gotten, but I know my clients and myself could use a little more from arms, from seat lifting and running lots that pull it in, pelvic tilt or pelvic lift, whatever you would like to call it, opening those knees. Really Challenge your flexibility here. Your don't let your feet continue to turn out.

If your knees aren't turning out the turnouts from the hips, work the back of the size and scene. Don't lift your ribs up as you come in and try to get them to go back down three and lengthen your hips away from your ribs. Okay, let's do one more for good measure. [inaudible] enjoy Rawling Dan, hugging your knees and let's grab I pet a pole. Okay, we are going to grab our Pedo poll.

I like to have a pad at the bottom where our heels would be a little bit more elevated than the balls of our feet so that our weight will be a little bit more great way to end your workout. So we're going to take our handles and we're going to align our spine, right heels together against the pole fee equally turned out. Do not pull on these people for some reason. Tend to do that. Okay, soften. I'm going to soften my knees. It's because like I've told you my lower backs, a little stiff, but we're still going to be moving them. We're not going to be feeling everything here, okay?

So I'm going to soften my knees so I can pull my lower belly into my lower back and slide up that pole and I'm going to reach out. We're going to do arm circles here, three each way. Pulling into that pole. I'm going to grow taller and two, pulling my shoulders away from my ears. One more and reverse. But everything starts from the powerhouse pool and into that pole, squeezing my inner thighs together at last one. All right? But we're not stopping here.

We're gonna do our feet up onto demi point, okay, and we're going to keep our feet equally turned out. Keep your heels against the pole. This is going to work on your balance, but definitely the back of your thighs and seats. This is the last exercise we're going to do today. Okay? Short and sweet, but effective mind where your hands are and pull them a little lower than your shoulders, so we're engaging all those muscles. Let me see every muscle in your arms, okay, let's get those arms working. Pulling in, keep your arms just below your shoulders and we're going to go into a piety or into, let's lie down the pole. Here we go.

Pulling them down, hold, pull into the pole and pull those arms down. Pull that power house in. Squeeze and grow tall. Release the arms to more every muscle in your arm. Powerhouse. Pull into the ball. You can go as low as you want. Pull in up and release those arms.

One more going down, but your powerhouse is going up. Arms pull and squeeze and that we're going to do the reverse. Here we go. Pull those arms first. How are my arms looking? Are they getting toner? I hope so, man. Releasing, staying below the shoulder and squeeze up to more powerhouse to get those arms. We're going to be doing a lot of advanced work in these 30 sessions and we need to get our arms and powerhouse connected again. Last one.

Feel that pole hopefully where you're going even, and now we are all finished and I can't wait to see you for session number three.

Comments

1 person likes this.
Thank you Monica, love your teaching and classical Pilates! So glad to have you working with us. Anything I should adjust for scoliosis along the way? I try to do most exercises, twist is quite a challenge for me.
2 people like this.
Enjoyed this class. Any suggestions for substitute for climb a tree?
1 person likes this.
Great day 2. . . I love the fast pace!
Hi Rosemary! So glad your taking the 30-Day Challenge! This is where I wish I could reach through the computer and watch your movement and work directly with you to give you better advice. Would you mind sharing a little more about your scoliosis? What movements aggravate your spine? What feels delicious? I think you know your body best and wisely, you already know twisting is not the best exercise for you. I would stay clear of rolling exercises as well. Do you ever repeat the exercises on the Reformer on one leg and less springs for the weaker lower back? Or one arm for the weaker upper back? With a little more specific information, I will try my best to give you some tips:)
Hi Lori! Thank you for joining me in this Revival! Are you enjoying this Reformer workout? Does the Tree pose any specific problems that I could address as a modification or substitute? Thank you for your feedback:)
1 person likes this.
Monica, I love reformer work. I’d say it’s my favorite thing to do in Pilates. I don’t have the flexibility in my hamstrings or hip flexors for climb a tree. I can’t get my leg straight enough to be able to do it. For now, I just skipped, but if you have a suggestion for something to substitute, I’d give that a try.

Loving this series. Thank you.
1 person likes this.
Thanks Monica, although I have a slight bolster on my right lumbar side, the scoliosis doesn't bother me too much. In fact, twisting actually feels the most delicious but I feel weekest in exercises like Up stretch. I lighten the spring slightly and that helps. I've been working on mat side bend to help my lateral flexion.
I will try your suggestions for unilateral work.
Thank you again for this great opportunity to work with you!
Hi Lori, there are many variations to Tree that can help you get closer to your ultimate goal. A lot of times we can modify an exercise so much it isn't really worth it in the end. This is not the case with the Tree. It offers so much in stretching your back and hamstrings while strengthening your PH and hips that I would highly recommend not omitting it. Have you ever done Open Leg Rocker on the mat using extension straps? The concept is the same where the strap allows you to extend your leg straight so you really feel the PH initiate rocking back before beginning to walk down the leg. If you have not tried this before, play around with holding onto a foot strap or Gratz leg strap while sitting up tall and straightening and bending your leg the best you can. Repeat 3xs.
Tree Modification Cont'd: Lengthen your leg away from you reaching your thigh bone long out of your square hips, press even the foot away from you into the strap, and stretch over your leg. Drawing the PH in and up, rock your weight back until your safety strap on the opposite foot is taught. Walk down only as far as you have control and reach back up to grab the extension/foot strap of your Tree. Rock forward and stretch in between each repetition. Repeat 3xs. If the strap does not help, you don't have to straighten your leg or have it up so high. Think of the exercise more like a one legged Teaser, the Roll Back or any Rolling exercise. Sure hope that helps! Monica:)
Thanks very much. I am trying this.
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