Creative Combinations

Hi I'm Mariska from Fuse Pilates and I have with me Allegra who used to work with me at Fuse. And now she moved to San Francisco without my permission. But she has come to take class today and Meredith who works with me in Washington D.C. We do a little reformer workout. It's going to be in the very non traditional way.

But we're gonna stick in some of the more classical principles of course. Let's go ahead and come to lying down on our backs. I have it set for two red springs. Mainly because I don't love doing a ton of spring changes through class. I like to keep things moving a little bit faster.

If you feel like you need more or less weight, you can always adjust. So we're gonna start on your heels with your legs in parallel. And you want about a fist distance between your knees. Same distance between your feet. And let's actually start with headrests down.

So the headrests are up but let's move them down 'cause we're gonna do some bridging pretty early on. So arms reach long by your side. Little pressure of your hands into the mat. Just to engage the backside of your body. And then feet are really flexed, toes up towards the ceiling.

Press your legs all the way out straight. Making sure that you don't lock your knees. And then bend to come back in. So we're just doing some very simple footwork to get started. And it's a reasonably light spring.

And I do like the light springs because I like to focus on the hamstrings a little bit more than the quads. And I think we get a little too quad focused. And then if you take my workshop tomorrow, I'm gonna tell you to load up the springs for an entirely different reason. So it really depends on what your goal for the exercise is. But both of them are really strong and I want to work their hamstrings a little bit more than their quads.

So we're gonna do five more like this. Two. And three making sure your legs are going all the way straight. And four. And five.

Bring your right leg into tabletop making sure that your knee is directly over your hip. And you're gonna travel your leg along with you as you press your left leg all the way out straight. And bend to come back in. Good, going out. And in.

And out. And in. So if you're wondering if your leg is staying put, what I like to look at is when I'm doing it is does the weight feel like it's heavy from my knee all the way down to my hip. And if you start to feel a pull on your low ab, sometimes you know that your leg is drifting away a little bit. And if you start to feel like your back is kind of coming in contact a little bit more into the mat, it usually means that your knee is drifting in a little bit.

So things to look for if you're doing this at home. Let's go ahead and press your leg all the way out straight. We're gonna come in towards the stopper. extend your right leg all the way over the foot bar. So we're gonna do a little single leg circle variation.

So you're gonna press your left leg straight as your right leg lifts up towards the ceiling. As you bend your left knee, your leg is gonna circle down around and over the foot bar. So you're going up is a direction. So you're going up, circle out around and down. So you can always bring your hands onto your hip bones if you're wondering if your pelvis is shifting from side to side.

Which sometimes it will want to. We'll do five each direction. So once you've done five, and try to find a little external rotation in that leg rest switch directions so you'll go over the foot bar out, around, and lift. Good. Down and over the foot bar, out, around, and lift.

Down, out, around, and lift. Two more like this. Last one like this. Bend that knee. Plant your foot down as you bring both legs in.

And we're gonna switch to the other side. So you're gonna bring your left leg into tabletop. Make sure that your shin is parallel to the floor. And again you feel the weight going straight down like really grounding that hip down. Press into your right foot going all the way out straight.

And bend to come back in. So you're gonna keep going. Making sure that your ribs feel a little bit of connection. I don't like the really smashing your ribs together or like sometimes I think it's overkill to knit your ribs together. I like to think about it as more you're engaging your upper abdominals so that you can find your lower abdominals So right now we're trying to pull your upper abs in a little bit so we're gonna get a little bit more connection into your lower abs.

We're gonna do a couple more like this. And we'll call this the last one. And then come in extend your left leg all the way over the foot bar. It's going to go straight up towards the ceiling then circle out, around, and down. Lift up, circle out, around, and down.

Up, out, around and down. Two more this direction. Last one this direction. And then we'll switch directions. So you go out, lift up, and straight down.

Out, around, lift, and straight down. Last three. And last two. And last one like this. Both feet find the foot bar.

Bend your knees to come in. Let's come in like three quarters of the way. Keep your arms reaching long by your side. Legs can be squeezed together here. So bring your knees together, heels together.

Press into your heels. Peel your back away from the mat without moving the carriage. So when you're coming up, you're basically traveling the shape up without moving the carriage. So keep the carriage still and then lay down. So you're kind of actually pressing down bone by bone and coming down and towards the mat.

You're tailbone is gonna be the last thing that comes down. Good. Again pressing to lift. So coming up peeling your back away from the mat, and coming up into this nice straight line. So she's got her ribs in nicely.

And you'll find length through your low back. And then slowly lower down bone by bone. And I will say it's about 95% harder to keep the carriage still when there's a camera on you. So everyone's doing a great job. Go ahead and lift up, coming to that straight line, and lower back down.

On this next one we're gonna stay up. So lift it up, in a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Curl your hamstrings to come in to touch the bumper and then press and pull in to touch the bumper and press out. So we're gonna say you gonna park the car but you don't crash the bumper. So you're gonna come in and we're not gonna press out all the way just press out a little bit.

Come in and press out a little bit. Come in and out a little bit. Now we're gonna do a little combo. We come in and lift your hips up an inch, down an inch, press out an inch, pull in an inch. Lift up and down out and in.

Up and down, out and in. Couple more go up and down out and in. Last one like this. Up and down and out and in. Lay your spine down slowly bone by bone.

Widen your feet the tiniest little bit. So maybe just like so your leg is coming right out of it's hip joint. Go ahead and press into your feet. Peel your back up. Extend your right leg straight up towards the ceiling.

So we're just gonna find your balance here. And I want you to try and keep your pelvis really level. As you drift your right leg towards the right. And it's only going out so far as you can keep your hips square. And you can maintain the length to the right side of your waist.

Come back in. So you reach out and come back in. Reach out and come back in. We'll do two more like this. Reach out and back in.

Last one like this. Reaching out. Pull to come back in. Lay your spine down slowly bone by bone. And then your right foot can find the foot bar.

Press yourself back up with both legs. So pressing into your feet, peeling your back away. You're gonna bring your left leg straight up towards the ceiling. Try to keep your pelvis square. So it's usually the left hip that's gonna drop here.

Take your left hip out to the side, or your left leg. And pull to come back in. Going out to the side and pull to come back in. So we drift away, and inner thighs pull you back. Drift away and inner thighs pull you back.

Last one like this. Drift away and inner thighs pull you back. Bend your knee. lower your foot down slowly. Lower your hips down slowly bone by bone.

We're gonna finish with a little wide like footwork. So go ahead and bring your feet out to the outside edge of the foot bar. And make sure that your arch of your foot is really lifted. You're gonna press your legs all the way straight first. Not moving the carriage, lift your hips up for two, lower back down for two.

Lift it up for two, lower it down for two. Take it up and up, lower down and down. Lift it up and up, lower down and down. Couple more. Take it up and down.

On this one we're gonna stay up. So lift it up and stay there. Bend your knees to come in towards the stopper. And here as you're coming in lift your hips up higher. So you're making sure you're not lifting up so high that you're crunching your neck like especially if you have any neck issues.

Press your legs all the way out straight. You're gonna drop your hips halfway down as you go out. And then when you bend to come back in, you're lifting them back up. So press out. You're dropping halfway down.

Make sure your ribs go with you. And then lift back up. Press it out. And lift to come in. Press it out.

And lift to come in. Couple more like this. Reach it out. And lift to come in. And last one like this.

Press it out. And lift to come in. From there drop your hips down an inch. Lift them up, push them out an inch. Pull them in.

Take it down an inch and up. Out an inch and in. Down, lift it up. Press it out, pull it in. Take it down and up.

Out and in. Four more. Down, lift, out, pull. Down, lift, out pull. Couple more.

Take it down and up. And out and in. Last one. Down and up. Out in.

Slowly lay your spine down bone by bone. We're gonna bring your knees into your chest at the bottom. We're on two red springs. You're welcome to change to make it a little bit lighter. Want you to reach back behind you, grab hold of the straps.

If it's too heavy at any time, you let me know. If you're at home send me an email. Probably can't help you out though. Bring your legs into tabletop. On an exhale, head and chest lift.

Reach your arms long by your side. Extend your legs out to your point of control. So we're not doing the 100 like you might be used to doing the 100. I want you to lift your arms up higher. So they're gonna go up to about shoulder height.

And press your arms down. Again lift your arms up and press your arms down. Keep your abs pulling down toward your spine. Lift your arms up exhale to pull it down. Lift up and try to keep your wrists really long here.

So you wanna make sure that you don't have any bend in your wrists. And also bias towards the pinky side of your hand. Which connects to the back side of your body. So a little bit more into your lats. Hold your arms down by your side.

Drift your right leg towards the right. And back to the center. Left leg drifts left and back to center. Right leg right, and center. Left leg goes left, and center.

Just one more each side. Right leg right, and center. Left leg left, and center. Bend your knees. Lower everything all the way down.

Arms reach up towards the ceiling. Let's start with your legs in tabletop. And I want you to have a little bit of tension in the straps. So you're gonna push the arms forward so that we're going straight down from your fingertips to your shoulder blades. Press your arms straight.

Extend your right leg straight at the same time. Reach your arms up, bend your right leg back in. Press your arms, extend your left leg. Reach your arms, bend your leg back in. Both legs this time.

Press your arms, extend your legs. And lift it back in. And now we're gonna go twice with your right side. So reach and in. Second time on the right side.

Reach and in. Switching to the left. Press down left leg reaches out and pull in. Left leg reaches out and pull in. Then we do both legs making sure that we find that external rotation as you reach.

Come back to parallel as you come in. External rotation to reach. Back to parallel to come in. Three times on the right. So if this is to heavy for you, you can always lower it down.

They're able to keep their heads down pretty easily on this. You can always lift your head up if you're feeling really fancy. But you can also keep your head down because the counterweight of the springs makes it safe for your back to be extending your legs like this. If you go lighter, you might need to lift your head up. So we go three times with your legs reaching together.

Two and three. We're coming up to four. We're going to go to five. It's nice to know when it's gonna end. And we might have to skip some to catch up.

As I was talking I think we got a little off pace with each other. So reach out. You're making sure your abs are staying down. You're really reaching through your fingertips and when your arms lift up your arms are your guide to let you know if you're keeping your arms stable and they don't feel like they're smashing into the shoulder rest. Because you wanna keep that feeling like your shoulders are staying a little bit away from the shoulder rest.

Allegra, what are we on? This if five right now This is five. I'm pretty sure this has gotta be five. Two, Three, Four, and Five. And then we switch to the other side.

So we go one, and two, and three, and four, and five. Last part. Both legs together, reach them out and in. Reach out and in. Reach out and in.

Twice more. Out and in. Last one. Out, come all the way in. Bring your feet to the foot bar.

Press your legs all the way straight. You're gonna step your feet into the straps. So head rests are down. If at some point your head rest accidentally made its way back up, put your head rest down. So we're gonna extend your legs all the way out long.

Lower them down to like 45 degrees ish. Externally rotate your legs from the hips. We're just gonna start with some bullfrogs. So bend your knees in. Make sure your knees don't go wider than your shoulders.

And press your legs out. I'm fine with your knees coming in and touching your chest as long as you're sacrum stays down, tailbone stays down. So it really is gonna depend on your flexibility. Do two more like this. Last one like this.

And then lift your legs up to 90 degrees. So we're gonna come into leg circles. And we're gonna do them regular and then we're gonna do them as a rollover. So press your legs down to 45 degrees, circle out, around, and lift up. Heels come together at the top.

So keep going like this. And I would say to you, if you have an extreme level of flexibility in this exercise, take some of it out and only go the width of the machine. Because a lot of times we'll work deeper into the muscles When we don't let our bodies kind of hang in our flexibility. So we're gonna do one more this direction. And then we switch directions.

So we go out first down. Now when your legs are lifting up make sure you feel even heaviness in your tailbone. You don't want that to change as your legs are lifting. Because that's gonna indicate that you haven't held your core in it's nice position that you've tucked your pelvis a little bit and you want to keep really neutral. So do two more this direction.

Last one this direction. Now we're going back to the original direction. So you're gonna go down first. Circle out around. This time let your hips lift up.

Legs go over head, they touch at the top, and then lay your spine down bone by bone. And then you repeat. So your legs come down, circle out around, let your hips lift off, heels come together at the top, and then slowly lower down. We're just gonna do two more like this. So down circle around, lift up, and lower back down.

And last one like this we're going down, circle around, and up, heels together, and lower all the way back down. Now we're gonna do the reverse of that. So legs are gonna stay together as you go up and over. This one's a little trickier. Legs go out to the side but again not as wide as you possibly can.

And then keep pushing out as you lower down. And so your leg circle is going to end at the bottom. So we're going up and over, at the top you begin your leg circle. So it's just starting lay your spine down as your legs continue their arc around and down. We're doing two more like this.

So we're going up and then your legs begin to open but begin to push forward so that the circle or about midway when your tailbone hits and then they come all the way back together. One more like this. So up and over, circle around and lower all the way back down. We're gonna take it into a little short spine variation. So I like to go straight up from here.

So lower down first engage your glutes. So push into my hand a little bit. Lift your hips up and we're gonna take that shape. Right up and over. So different than regular short spine.

Bend your knees. So we're gonna keep this position of your back and your legs the same. Curl your heels in towards your hips. We're gonna do like a hamstring curl in the air. So not bending your knees more, but I want the carriage to move.

Good, pull. And then let your legs extend back so that your heels are over your knees. And pull in. And extend back. Good and pull in.

And extend back. And if this bothers your back, I would skip it or do a lighter weight. We're gonna do a couple more here. Curl in and back. And curl in and back.

Let your legs extend straight first. We're gonna lower down a little bit more on the right side of your body than the left side of your body. So lower down on the right slightly. And the carriage can move. And then lift back up.

And then we have a little twist to lower down on the left side of your body a little bit. And lift back up. We're just gonna do one more each side. So towards the right a little bit. Rolling down, hips kiss the mat and then lift right back up.

And then it's a little rotation, roll it down, and lift back up. Come down in the middle. So your legs are gonna come down to about a 45 degree angle or so. External rotation. And we're going for kind of an extreme external rotation if you can.

You're gonna open your legs out for openings within a variation. Exhale to squeeze them back in. So don't overdo it here because it's not going to get easier. Exhale to pull back in. One more like this.

So we're reaching out, exhale to pull back in. Now reach out but not to your max. A little more than that. You're gonna float your head and chest up and frame your right leg with your hands. Bend your left leg so that your left heel comes right into your midline.

Lift up towards your right leg. And then extend your left leg out as you lower your torso down a little bit. Without moving the carriage. So it goes back out. So you lift up, bend your knee and lift up, and then extend your leg.

Lift up, extend your leg, lift up, extend your leg, and you're goal is to keep the carriage really still. Lift up and out. One more like this. Lift up and out. Leave your leg where it is.

Lift your torso up a little bit more. Try to clear your shoulder blades. Little twist towards the right and back to center. So little twist and center. Little twist and center.

Couple more like this. Twist and center. And twist and center. Lower all the way down. Find the horizon lines squeeze your heels along it moving the carriage.

Let your legs open back up to that start position. Lift up frame your left leg with your hands. Bend your right knee. And then extend your leg and lift up. A little bit higher.

And bend. And lift and bend. Lift and bend. Three more. And two.

And three. Hold it there. A little rotation of your torso. Back to center. Little twist and center.

Little twist and center. Two more twists. And center little twist and center. Go ahead and lie down. Squeeze your legs together along that imaginary horizon line.

Bend your knees to come in. So if you have someone who can take a spring off for you, have them take a spring off for you. If it's you, take a spring off. So we take one spring off, come in a little bit closer for me. And we're gonna come to a single leg.

So strap just on your right leg. Left leg into tabletop. Right leg straight up towards the ceiling. External rotation of your right leg. Your goal is that your pelvis is gonna stay square.

Length through your waist stays the same on both sides. Press your right leg down to about 45 degrees. Circle your leg out, around, and up. Press it down, circle out, around, and up. Three more this direction.

Down, out, around, and up. Two more. Down, out, around, and lift. Last one like this. We go down, out, around.

Stop at the top switch directions. Out, down, lift up. Out, down, and lift. Out, down. Keep your legs straight in line with your hip as you're pressing it down.

Last one like this. Leave your right leg up. Open it out to the side slightly. Extend your left leg out at an angle. Like a low angle.

Externally rotate. Pull your legs together so at 45 degrees your heels touch. Reach your right leg up, left leg out long. Pull together, heels touch. Reach out.

Pull together, heels touch. Reach out. So bring your hands on to your hipbones and see if you can maintain that length through your waist. Pull together and do three more this side. Reach it out, exhale to pull in.

Reach out long, exhale to pull in. Last one like this. Reach everything out and exhale to pull heels come together. Go ahead and extend your right leg straight up towards the ceiling. Bring your left foot to the foot bar.

Which is right there. And then take the strap off. We're gonna hang that strap up behind you. We'll switch sides. So right strap is up.

Left strap goes on your foot. Right leg comes into tabletop. Left leg up towards the ceiling in external rotation. And then you're gonna start with single leg circles. So you're gonna press your leg down first, circle it out, around , and lift.

So it's usually when you have the strap on one leg. It's gonna want to pull you a little bit to the side. So you have to think about finding length through your waist. A lot of stability in your core to keep yourself really square here. Go down, out, and around.

And we switch directions. Out first, down, and lift. Out, around, down, and lift. Three more this direction. Two more this direction.

And then one more time. So we're going out, around, and lift up. Let your left leg go out to the left slightly. Right leg is gonna come down at an angle but externally rotated. And then 8 times we squeeze together, heels touch.

And then reach out. Exhale, squeeze. Inhale, extend. Exhale and inhale. Exhale, halfway there.

And inhale. Four more times. Exhale pull in. Inhale extend out. Exhale pull in.

Inhale extend out. This too will end. Pull it in. Reach it out. And last one.

Pull it in. And reach it out. Bring your right leg to the foot bar. And then take the left strap off. Hang it up.

And then we're gonna grab the box. We're gonna put it on long box way. And I think we're totally fine with the foot bars where they are. So we're gonna leave the foot bars where they are which is sort of middle position. So long box on.

And we're gonna actually lay down facing this direction. So we're gonna do a little swan variation. So I tend to say girls over the edge or right at your ribcage. So hands are gonna come on to the foot bar. And you wanna make sure here that your elbows are lifted out to the side without lifting your shoulder blades up.

So this is like a little tight, a little tighter than the reformers that I have at my studio. So we're gonna start by pressing out a little bit, a little bit away. So make sure that your lifting your abs up. So you wanna be ... that sensation of pulling your ribs off the box a little bit. And finding nice length through your low back.

Press yourself all the way out straight. And bend to come in. So Allegra has her heels together. Which is a little bit more advanced, but a little bit tougher on your back. And Meredith has her legs separated.

So it kind of just depends on what feels better for you. If it doesn't bother your back, heels together. But if you feel a little pinch or something, just keep your legs separated. Do two more like this. Reaching it out and pulling it in.

They're doing a very nice job of keeping their shoulders down as their arms reach overhead. Which is harder than it looks. Bend to come in. Now I want you to press your arms all the way out straight. Pull your abs in, press down with your arms.

We're gonna do a little swan. So I want you to push down and lift yourself up pulling the carriage in. And you can actually lift up so high that you come on to the tops of your legs. So your legs can even drop down a little bit. And you can lift up a little bit more.

And then press yourself all the way back out. So it's gonna take a lot of engagement of those lats and pulling down really firing right between your shoulder blades. So again pressing down to lift up. So you're taking your ribs up with you as you come in. And then lower back down.

So what we're trying to do is minimize having a 90 degree bend at her low back. We're trying to spread the stretch out through her entire spine. And then press yourself back. We're gonna do two more like this. So shoulders are down.

If you can't come in all the way without it feeling uncomfortable on your back. Then don't. Just come in whatever level you feel like you can really fire the right muscles. Let's come in not to your max. Let's come in halfway on this one.

Keeping your ribs up, shoulders down nice and broad. We're gonna do a little single leg kick. So bring your legs so that they're parallel. And then you're gonna kick towards your seat with your right foot kick. Kick and reach.

Left leg kick, kick, and reach. Right leg kick, kick and reach. Left leg double kick and reach. Right leg kick and reach. Left leg kick and reach.

They're doing a nice job of keeping their neck equally long on the front and the back. So a lot of times I think people over lift their chin. Let's do one more each side. Last one like this. And then press yourself all the way out.

Bend to come in. And then slowly make your way off the box. We're gonna face the other direction. So let's just come to seated. So that your feet are on the headrest.

Let's do feet on the headrest first. And you wanna be at an angle where your knees are going straight down to your feet. So you can scoot back a smidgen. You're gonna grab the straps. We're gonna start with a little roll down.

We're just gonna do a couple roll down variations. So arms are gonna be forward. Out about shoulder height. Make sure your wrists are long. Thumbs are facing up towards the ceiling.

On and exhale tilt your pelvis under you. You're using your abs to slide the carriage out. So the carriage is gonna go away from me. Lower down til your low back touches. And then pull your abs in as you're rounding up.

So coming all the way up. So I always say don't celebrate the fact that you're getting up by extending your back too soon. You wanna make sure that you're keeping the work in your abs. So you're gonna tilt under, so your low back is aiming down, you're really finding that length through your low back. And then you pull yourself back up.

So keep the roundness here. Until the very last moment. And then you can extend your spine. We're gonna do a couple more like that. So tilting under, rounding back.

And then roll yourself back up. And then we're gonna get a little fancy on this next one. So roll back, So tilting under, rounding it back. So you're gonna have your low back touching. So Meredith lower down a smidge lower than you are.

Extend your right leg straight. Extend your left leg straight. But a little bit lower. So the position that you want to be in; both legs at the same level, sorry. The position is sort of like when your doing teaser on the chair and your legs are straight out and it's miserable.

Find that miserable position on the box. Same thing. We're gonna do a bicycle. So roll your arms in and extend. So Meredith can you roll back a smidge.

Pull it in, and reach. Pull it in, and reach. Pull it in, and reach. Four more like this. Pull in and reach.

Pull in and reach. Pull in, reach your arm. Keep your legs where they are. Roll yourself up to seated. So pull your abs in.

Try not to let your legs lift up any higher than they are. So they're staying down at that level. You've got a little bit more, little bit more, little bit more. And then keep your legs where they are roll back down again. So you're sliding the carriage out.

And then roll yourself up. So pull your ribs back. Lift up, lift up, lift up. Bend your knees plant your feet down. Sit up all the way tall.

Reach your hands so your fingertips are reaching back. And press your hands back so that they're right in line with your hips. We're gonna do a little rotation. And I want your arms to basically stay in the position that they are. And then the rotation is actually gonna come from your waist.

So arms are still rotate your right hand towards the carriage by moving from your waist. And then pull back to center. And rotate left hand comes towards the box. And back to center. Watch what your knees are doing.

You wanna make sure that your knees aren't going kind of counter to where your arms are going. So rotate and reaches from knee. Needless to say one strap is gonna have all the weight and the other straps got nothing. So make you sure you're maintaining good grip on it. Last one.

Come back to center. So I think you're both in a pretty good position. Let your arms be forward. Allegra you might scoot forward a smidge from where you are. Have your arms reaching forward.

Tilt your pelvis under you round back the tiniest little bit. Tiny, tiny, tiny. Bring your right leg into tabletop. Bring your left leg up to meet it. Flip your hands back.

Press your hands back. Like you're doing chest expansion. And then your arms come forward. Press it back, and arms come forward. Couple more like this.

Push back, reach your arms forward. Push back. Get your torso up a little bit taller. Abs back. Now as you push your arms back can you extend your legs.

And bend. Press back, extend your legs, and bend. Couple more. Press back, extend. And last one like this.

Press back, extend. And come all the way back in. Lower your feet down. Sit yourself all the way up. Hang the straps up.

I'm changing their spring weight to a single blue. If you have a yellow you can do it on a yellow. Or you could also do it on a red. In this case this is one of those exercises where heavier is going to be more difficult. Come propped up on your right forearm.

And then grabbing the strap that is further towards the front of the carriage. And your actually gonna hook it over not your foot, but over your ankle. So you're legs are almost in a clam position. Now press your leg back so that you feel some movement in the carriage. Pull your heel in towards your seat a little bit more.

So from here make sure that you're lifting your ribs away. I sometimes like to just grab onto my ribs and pull them away because I know I'm going to sag. And that everything is stacked. Press your right leg back a little bit moving the carriage. Or your left leg.

And come back in. Press back, one of these years I'm gonna learn right from left. Press back and come back in. Press back and come back in. Press back.

I know, I should just be a pillow. I'm just gonna hold your head here. So we're doing a little movement of the carriage. And come back in. Little movement of the carriage.

And if you wanna be really mean you can do like hundreds and hundreds of these. But we're not gonna be that mean today. We're just gonna do two more like this. And then we're gonna be mean. Make sure that you're knee, your top leg is lifted up about hip height.

Now without moving the carriage at all, lift your leg up another inch. And lower it back down. Another inch up and lower it back down. So make sure that there's tension on the strap. So pull your leg back a little bit more.

Lift it up and down. Lift it up and down. Four more. Two Three. And four.

Then we do a little combo of the two. So push it back and in lift it up and down. Push it back and in lift it up and down. I'm sort of obsessed with the glute meat and any exercise that works the glute meat and this is a really good one. Lift it up and down.

Press it back and in. Up and down, back and in. Just two more. Up and down, back and in. Last one.

Up and down, and back and in. And come all the way up. If you wanna take a quickie little figure four stretch facing that way you can just sit and cross an ankle over a knee. Lean forward flattish back. And then we'll make our way onto the other side.

So go ahead and take your foot into the strap. Make sure it goes around your ankle. That's really more about maintaining the length. Or else you'll have to change the length of the strap. So it's not super annoying.

So go ahead and press your leg back so you wanna feel some tension and you wanna make sure that your ribs and everythings in line. You're gonna bring your shoulder back a smidge. And then push your leg back moving the carriage. And forward. Back and forward.

So fire like right where your glute and hamstring come together. So this is a little bit more glute max. Or your glute max and hamstrings. I'm sure you're like , Um yes we know that. We do realize that Mariska you don't need to tell us.

But in case you're not doing it Press it back and in A couple more. Push back and in. Push back and in. We're gonna do two more like this. Last one like this.

Make sure your knee is in line with your hip. Then we're gonna take it from there. And then lift your leg up an inch and down. Up an inch and down. Up, down.

Up, down. Up, down. Lift up, and down. Couple more. Up and down.

Up into combo. Back and forward, doesn't move on the up and down. Moves on the back, moves on the forward. Still on the up and the down. Back and front.

Up and down. Couple more. Go back and front. Up and down. Last two.

And last one. And then you can slowly make your way out of that. Make sure that you don't fall off the box. And then you can take a quick stretch. Go ahead and take the box off.

We're just gonna place the box to the side. So a little bit of what I wanna focus on for the last part of the class. Is some kind of balance challenging exercises. So we're gonna do a couple of little variations of things to challenge your balance. Add a red spring to your blue spring.

So we're on two springs. If you just have heavy springs, two heavy springs. So we're gonna do a little elephant variation first. So I want you to stand with your feet flat and Allegra's tiny. For me it's totally fine with me if she walks a little bit more forward.

If her heels aren't touching all the way back with the position being kind of what I want it to be. So tuck your tailbone under you and lift your ribs up in towards you. Make sure your shoulders are staying down away from your ears. And we're just gonna push the carriage back with your glutes. Low abs pull you back in.

So we don't even need to go back that far. So just really a couple of inches back. So you're maintaining this lift of your abs and this tuck under of your tailbone. So you're going back a little bit and pull in. Go back a little bit and pull in.

And if you can try to keep your toes lifted. Really pressing back and pulling in. Two more like this. Pressing back and pull it in. Press it back and pull it in.

All the way to the stop bar. Extend your right arm forward. From there press it back. And pull it in. Try to keep your length through this arm.

But shoulder down. And try not to lose this position. So ribs up a little bit. Out and in. Three more like this.

Out and in. Out and in. Last one. Out and in. Switch arms.

And five out and in. Tuck your tailbone under more as you're coming in. Go out and pull to come back in. Three more times. Out and in.

Out and in. We'll call this the last one. Out and in. Bring your hands down. And then go ahead and just slowly just step off to the side.

So let's step off so our right foot is down on the right side of the machine. So you're gonna be pretty close into the foot bar. Loose one spring. So we're gonna come to a single red. I think is probably gonna be the best.

You're gonna have your hands kind of close to each other on the right side of the foot bar. Left foot goes up against the shoulder rest. And then come into a lunge. So you're gonna extend your left leg straight though, so that your left knee comes off. And you wanna make sure here that you're not arching your back and that your pelvis is square.

So press your right leg straight as you lift up higher. So come in. And then you sink back into a lunge as you press it out. So you go back and lift it up. And back.

Meredith you can bring your hands a little bit more towards this side. And lift it up. Good press it back and lift it up. Now on this next one we're gonna do sort of; It feels like doing a pike on a chair. So you go out and then when you come in round your spine lift your hips up and lift your right leg up.

But it can stay down and round your spine a lot. So you're really pulling that leg in to the hip socket. And then come back down into the lunge. And then we lift up, press down with your arms. Spread the muscles of your upper back.

And lower it back down. Good lift it up and lower it back down. Two more like this. Lift it up and lower it down. Last one like this.

We're gonna lift it up and stay there. And just hold but not your breath. For eight. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, plant your right foot down. Bend your left knee and stand upright with your hands on your hips.

So you can keep your leg like it is where it's in parallel. Or you can turn your left leg into external rotation. It really depends on what feels good for your hip. I'm an external rotation fan, so that's probably where I shouldn't go. So maybe go where you don't wanna go.

So you're gonna press your left leg out and in. And out and in. And I actually don't want you to lean forward at all. I want you all the way upright. You're gonna tuck your tail under you a little bit.

And lengthen through your spine. So it's like I'm pulling the top of your head up towards the ceiling. So we're out and in. Wanna make this a little bit more challenging. Bring your hands behind your head.

Out and in. Four more. Two. Three. And four.

Hold it there. Hop on to the tiptoes of your right foot. Heel goes back down. Tiptoes up and down. Lift it up and down.

Three more. Up and down. Two more. Up and down. Last one like this.

Up and down. One more to stay up. Last little press is with your leg little eight pulses. Eight, two , three, four, five, six, seven and eight. Now so you'll come all the way in.

Over towards the other side. So we'll do the lunge, pike, scooter thing on the other side. So you're gonna bring your right foot up to the shoulder rest. And then hands are kind of crowded towards the side. You're gonna push first.

Extend your right leg all the way straight. Lunge down deeper. Stand up a little bit taller. So we're lowering it down, and lifting it up. Lowering it down, and lift it up.

Couple more. Lower it down, and lift it up. Lower it down. Now we're gonna add the leg pulling up in towards you. Connecting in towards your abs.

It can hang down towards the floor. And then lower it back down into the lunge. Press to lift. You're pulling your leg up and lowering it back down. Three more times.

Lifting up. Pulling your leg up and lowering it back down. Pulling your leg up and lowering it back down. On the next one we're gonna lift and hold. Lift and hold for eight, two, three, four, five, six, seven, And slowly lower it all the way back down.

Bring your right knee down. Bring your torso up right. Hands on your hips. Choose your foot position. Extend your right leg out.

Bend to come in. Extend it out and in. Out and in. Out and in. Out and in.

Four more. One and two and three keep it in on the four. Lift up to your tiptoes and back down. Lift it up. Try not to move the carriage.

And back down. Lift it up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down.

So serious. Up and hold little presses for eight. Two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight. Coming all the way down and then coming out of that. We're gonna do a little plank variation.

And then we're gonna finish with some standing platform work. So you're hands are going to actually be not on the shoulder rest. They could be on the shoulder rest but because of where we're going with this, I think they're better to be on the mat. So the way that I like to come into this, is I actually like to come to a quadraped position. And then step one foot back to the foot bar.

Press that leg straight. And then bring the other leg up. So you kind of have to carry everything up. So we're first gonna start by bending your knees in. So you're pulling yourself in and then pressing your legs out.

Bend to come in. And press it out. Bend to come in and press it out. Bend it in and out. Couple more like this.

Bend in and out. Bend in and out. So you're staying in your plank. Take a break if you need one. Bend your elbows.

Now push with your hands until your arms go straight. So you're moving the carriage forward. Pull with muscles underneath your arms to move your hands back underneath you. Bend your elbows don't move the carriage here. Push out move the carriage.

Pull with your lats to pull the carriage back underneath you. But keep your hips square. Bend push and pull to come back. Bend, try to keep your shoulder blades separated. Pull to come back.

One more like this. These are super hard. Out and pull to come back in. Slowly make your way out of this. We're gonna do a 180 to face the other direction.

Bring your feet so that they're flat up against the shoulder rests. We're still on one red spring. You might wanna come to a blue spring. We're gonna do some kneeling arm circles. But we're gonna be doing both hands and I think you'll be good.

So turn around and feet are flat against the thing. So you'll reach back for the straps. Make sure your feet are against the shoulder rests. So they both opted for blue. So you can opt for blue as well.

So bring your pinkies along your side. So your hands do not get to go behind you. So pinkies are gonna stay by your sides. Reach your arms forward. Once they reach shoulder height, flip them.

Reach them up towards the ceiling. And then reach your pinkies out towards the sides. So that they find your hips again. We're coming forward at shoulder height flip, reach up and out. Couple more like this.

We go forward, flip, and out to the side. Last one like this. Reach it up, reach it up, reach it up. Flip and out to the side. Now the hard way.

We're going out to the side first. Turn your hands so that your palms are facing up. Bring your pinkies back towards your side. Reach your arms up, flip, and back towards your side. Two more like this.

Up, flip, and back towards you. Last one like this. Up and flip and back towards you. Reach your arms straight forward. Flip your hands, bend your elbows out wide to the side.

Push your arms forward so your thumbs are in line with your shoulders. Reach your elbows out wide to the side. Push forward and reach out. Push forward and reach out. Couple more like this.

Push forward and reach out. And last one like this. Push forward and reach out. Lower your arms down by your side. Have a seat on your heels.

And then hang the straps up behind you. So we're going to do some standing work and you can do this without a standing platform. I prefer a standing platform just because I like the stability of it. So if you have a standing platform now would be a good time to grab it. We're going to put ours on and then we're taking a magical commercial break that you won't even see.

So we're back from our imaginary break with the standing platforms attached. I feel like we should also have a casserole or something. That magically got made in the commercial break. But we're gonna step with just go ahead and step onto the standing platform with both legs. We're gonna end up with your right leg forward and your left leg back.

So it depends like Allegra how tall are you 5 feet? 5 feet yeah. Is exactly 5 feet tall. So she might not be going all the way back to the shoulder rests because that's really far for her. So she's just gonna plant her foot down where she feels like it's kind of secure.

And bring your hands onto your hips. And we're gonna start by doing a lunge down So we're lunging down. Ribs are in a little bit. And then stand back up. And I don't care if that front leg goes all the way straight or not.

And lunging down and coming back up. Lunging down and coming back up. But try not to go to the point where you feel like one hip is dropped lower than the other. So we're trying to keep everything nice and square. Now on this next one we're gonna stay down.

Just bend and extend your left knee underneath you. So bend it in and push. Bend it in and push. Bend it in and push. Three more times.

Two more times. Last time. Leg is straight stand yourself more upright. Bring your hands behind your head or to a Tee. Tee is gonna be a little bit more stable.

So from there you're gonna lower down. So we're coming back into that lunge. But I want you to rotate over your right leg at the same time. And then come back to center as you lift back up. Rotate it around and lift it back up.

Rotate it around and lift it back up. Two more. Rotate it around and lift it up. Last one like this. Rotate it around and lift it up.

Bring your carriage all the way in. Go ahead and just bring your hands down. And you can step forward so that your opposite foot comes forward. And if you do not have a standing platform. Be safe in whatever way is safe to get on.

Go ahead and bring your opposite leg back. We're gonna start with your hands on your hips. Pelvis is square. Body is upright. Trying to have shoulders stacked over your hips.

And length in your low back. So we'll lower it down. And lift back up. And lower it down and lift up. Again lowering down and lift up.

Lower it down and up twice more. Lower it down and up. Now on this next one we'll lower down and stay there. Take your bottom knee underneath you and push it out. Underneath you and push it out.

Four more times. Pull it in extend it out. Pull it in extend it out. Twice more. Pull it in extend it out.

Pull it in extend it out. Hands behind your head or arms out to a tee. Lengthen your back. And then stand up a little bit taller. And we're gonna lunge and rotate at the same time.

And lift it back up. So we're rotate and lift it back up. And three more. Rotate and back up. Twice more.

Rotate and lift. And rotate and lift. Come all the way forward. However is safe for your machine and what you're doing. We're gonna take a turn so that your right hip is facing out.

And then you're gonna step your left foot on. But we're gonna come into a little bit more external rotation in your legs than maybe you would have normally. We're gonna reach your arms out and we're gonna plie down at the same time. And then pull to come back in. So we're reaching out lowering it down pulling your ribs back a little bit.

And then come back in. Reaching it out and come back in. And reach it out and come back in. On this next one reach it out and hold it there. Allegra you might not wanna be so low.

We're gonna pop up onto your tiptoes. And drop your heels. Pop up onto your tiptoes. And drop your heels. Three more times.

Pop it up drop it down. I feel like this is a song. Pop it up drop it down. And last one. Pop it up and drop it down.

Like is this an Izzy Azalia song I think so. Go ahead and come all the way. And I don't even think I got that name right. Go ahead and come all the way in and we're gonna do a rotation to face the other direction. I know it's a new pitbull song.

Go ahead and have your legs turned out. We're gonna open your arms out and start with a plie down. And stand it back up. Plie down and back up Plie down and back up. Couple more like this.

Plie down , these look gorgeous. And back up. And down and up. Maybe not quite so far down because we're gonna go out and stay there. Pop up on your tiptoes drop your heels.

Pop it up drop it down. Pop it up drop it down. Two more times. Pop it up and down. And last one.

Pop it up and down. We'll come all the way in. Slowly step onto the part that doesn't move and then we're gonna make your way onto the floor. So you're just coming on to the floor. So let's just take a turn so that we're all facing the same direction.

And we're just gonna do a little bit of a hamstring stretch first. So reach your arms up towards the ceiling. So basically we are done. We're just going to stretch it out. So round over.

So you're reaching your hands towards the floor. And you're just gonna fold forward. And again trying not to have to much roundness in your back when your wanting to stretch your hamstrings. And you can actually if you have the flexibility for it lean your weight forward a little bit. So you're more in our toes and bring your hands to the floor.

And that's gonna stretch a little bit more in to the backside of your legs. If your hips are going straight down towards your heels. Standing platforms being on are gonna make it a little hard to do some lunges. Which is what I would normally do at the end of class. Just some like eaves lunge.

But at home if you wanna do that knock yourself out. Ladies roll up one bone at a time. Coming all the way up to standing. Take any last stretches that feel like they would be good for you. And we are done Nice Job!