Class #462

Additional Arms

15 min - Class
79 likes

Description

Monica teaches she learned directly from Romana in this short arm workout. As usual, Monica lets nothing get by. You will feel the connection throughout even though the focus is on the arms. Add this to another class to give you that little extra something for the day.
What You'll Need: Mat, Hand Weights

About This Video

Jun 13, 2011
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Transcript

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Okay. So let's stand in a circle. That arms distance is if we're, we're touching. I just always like doing that is good. There we go. Okay, so now go ahead and let your arms hang by your side. Look down at your feet. So it's really important to have a strong foundation for your tower. Okay, so you want to have weight on the balls of your toes, everyone.

A lot of times we'll, I kinda roll out, have more weight on our pinky or baby toe or more weight on the big toe. So really feel the ball of every toe and then the side of your feet and then your heel. Those are the where you want to have pressure. You don't want to have a flat in stepper, no arch, right? You want to have a nice lift and you kind of want to think about having a grape underneath your arch and you don't want to make wine, you don't want to squish it. Okay? So having that, and then we always stand with our power house lifting in and up and our weight. Just a little more on the balls of your feet.

I can maybe slip a card under your heels almost as what you're feeling. They're still there, but it's not like they're digging deep. And what happens is as our arms lift, we kind of like to do that and like instantly. So it takes a lot of powerhouse, especially in the ribs to keep those in, in the spine nice and long through there. Okay? So let's get really familiar with what muscles are holding us in this hard posture. We're going to do our work, but it's almost more bottom work and more powerhouse work. Okay? So think about that now and I like imagining barbershop poles, red and white stripes going, Nero like that.

And I want you to imagine your thighs just rolling out all the way down to your feet. And that's actually what naturally turns out your feet to that plotty stance. Instead of just sticking your foot and apply stance. So feel the wrapping of those muscles, your seats already engaged. And we're just gonna do Relevate or rising up onto the balls of our feet nicely.

Shoulders powerhouse in and up. We're going to take five counts. Not. Don't just pop up. Slowly rise up scooping in heels. Stay together. Four, five, hold it here for five. [inaudible] powerhouse in app, shoulders, relaxed, energy out the crown of your head. Slowly roll down as if you're going to be pushing something away as fragile as an egg shell with your heels. Let's do it one more time. In and up. So when I say rise up onto the balls of your feet, you're gonna [inaudible] know what I'm talking about.

And the arm series and down. It's hard to talk. All right. All right. So stay here. Everything's Nice and engage. We have our energy. Don't rock back onto your heels as you turn your palms forward and lift them forward. Keep your elbows at shoulder height and imagine you're pulling a heavy weight towards you. Really using those bicep muscles and extent.

Good for more pull and even with your power has always start with your house. Resist. Don't drop those elbows for me. Keep them up right there. Good. Like they're on a table. Yeah, and two more pulling and really tighten that bicep muscle. Nice and resist. And one more pulling in those ribs to make sure you're starting them from where you want. Good. And let your arms hang down.

Now we're going to go out just to the side, but peripheral vision, don't let them go out of here so you can see them at the corner of your eyes. Plan a heavyweight here. How are those thighs doing? We're still rapping. Push away. Really pull something in towards you. Feel the shoulder muscles too and resist. Don't let those arms go straight and you want to pull something heavy towards you. And those elbows are still not perfect. Spot. One more does it too.

And resist. Nice. Bring your arms down now as if there's two pockets right here. I want you to put your elbows a right there, arms forward, and now there's a heavyweight down from the floor and you're gonna keep those elbows there as you really tighten the front of your arms, your biceps bullet here. Keep your fingertips attached to your shoulders and lift your elbows as high as you can without lifting your shoulders. Good. Bring them back down and tighten the back of your arm as you extend.

Good. Three more. Pulling up. Elbows up to the ceiling. No. Shoulders, lifting and Dan and extent. Two more. Good. Nice powerhouses. Damn. Yeah. Extent. One more biceps lifting.

Good Dan and ex debt. Great. Alright, let your arms hang. Lift up your heels, separate them and lower down into a parallel position. We're going to get into a tabletop and we're going to do a little boxing. Okay, so we're going to bend your knees not more forward than your big toe. So bend your knees and roll down into a flat back. No arch, no round. And start with both weights right here underneath. Good. And now I want you to hit the person across from you with your right arm and extend the left arm behind you. Okay? Now with them, without altering your frame, your box, try to lift those arms up a little bit higher and longer.

And keep that in mind as we switch arms, bending the elbows high and extend and bend those elbows high and reaches far and high as you can and bend any of those paths. Reach again. Good and bending powerhouses. Good. Keep those knees bent is the last set and extent. Awesome. And arms hang down. Drop your head, pull your heels together and roll up against an imaginary wall. Good job.

Let's all bring our right arm up and your left arm is going to hang down. Go ahead and try not to your hips in the opposite direction so this let this arm pull you down as you reach, cause a lot of oblique work here. Good. And now gonna lift up to the ceiling. Use your powerhouse in and up. Good and switching. Good and really reach in both directions. Going Nice. Work and lifting up through those fingertips.

Good and switch. Don't lean back. Stay forward. Good and left through those fingertips and switch and scooping. Still wait on the balls of your toes, man. Lifting it up. One more set.

Nice and up. I'm lying by the way and up. We're getting an extra set and over. Good. And last one here because I want to add a little wrap and stretch. So we're going to lift in and up and goes bar as you can. Then let that arm hang around your head and enjoy that extra stretch, extend long, keeping that arm close to your ear.

Add up through those fingertips. And now the last one here, switching good and lifting in and up. Over, over, over. Let that arm wrap and extend and lift in and up. Nice and coming down. All right, lift up your heels. Separate parallel. Come back down to a flat back. This time we're going to do the bug where you want.

Imagine that there's this gigantic weight or magnet, I should say, holding tight those weights and they can't separate. Okay. You're going to keep your shoulders where they are and keep this beautiful relationship right here as you pull those magnets. So part and crack a walnut and your shoulder blade. So here we go. We're gonna pull them apart. Feel the back of your arms, shoulders and Trapezius. And then don't let them come together. Really resist and pull them apart.

Andrew, resist basically leading with your elbows to pull them apart and resist and pull apart. Don't let go of your chest bone and resist. Let's do that one more time. So think about your chest bone. You don't want to just let it push out too much and coming back. Now let your arms hang head hing and the heels come together as you roll on a weight forward onto the balls of your feet. Okay, so weights are here.

We're going to do the zip up and we're going to pull up scraping our chest, leading again with the elbows, not lifting the shoulders stuff. Try to keep your shoulders down and now push a heavyweight down. Like you're blowing up something and you're pushing down a big thing of dynamite am Poe and beautiful. Zipping up your sweater and Dan. Now drop your shoulders for me as low as you can and now really keep your focus there as you lift your elbows. Oh, that's nice.

And try to lift more with the elbows. Beautiful. And push down. Good. Keep your bottom squeezing forward. One more [inaudible] and then we're going to do a transition and watch them the shoulders and pushing down. And we're going to transition into shaving. So we're going to pull right on up keeping. It's like everything's in and up. Beautiful posture. Arms continue up. Wait, stay forward and their elbows. Now think about your ears.

I want you to bend your elbows behind your ears, not your ears. Moving forward. [inaudible] and push up one more like this. And we're going to add some snazzy Relevate here. Okay. And pushing it, Eh, we're going to do three more bending. So this time is the arms go up. We're going to slowly rise up and slowly come down. Two more elbows really open and Paul on it.

Pull that powerhouse in more ladies in the last time. All the way up. And this time bring the arms in front of you as you come down. Nice job. Okay. Yeah, we're going to lift up your heels separate. Lower down, back into a flat. We're going to do kickbacks or some tricep process.

So you're going to roll down into a flat back. Weights hanging down, then bend the elbows so that your weights are right underneath palms facing down. Good. I'm sorry. Pumps facing each other. Elbows locked by your side and that Nice flat back supported by your powerhouse. Long neck. And really use the back of your arms to go back as high as you can and come back in. Always thinking that your arms don't want to straighten and you have to really, really work them to do that. And then they don't want to bet.

So you are always resisting in both directions. Three more and extend. Amazing how hard you can work. Exactly. These are two pound weights. I think we have one more. When you're super advanced, you want to be able to do them without any weights. Let your arms hang and it's just all mine and body heals. Come together and roll on up through your spine.

Nice job. Alright, so now we're gonna have our where to hold the end of the weights and they're going to be almost touching again, having just a slight bend in your elbow. Okay. We're gonna do eight counts are called sparklers or little circles. We're going to do eight counts up and eight counts down, all let you do one regular. And then the last three, let's really challenge ourselves and try to Relevate with them. If it throws you off that then stay flat-footed. But the biggest thing is as they go up, once they pass shoulder height, we start going back. So that's going to be your biggest challenge. Okay?

All right, here we go. So nice posture in and up. Looking up. We're holding the end of the way it's facing forward. Good. And um, one last thing. Imagine you have Bengals around your upper arm. That's what you want to circle. You don't want to be like a blender circling the from the elbow down. Okay, here we go. And Circle. One, two, three, four, sting down five, six, seven and eight and down two, three, four, five, six, seven. And here we go. Slowly rising. Three, four, five, six, seven, 8:00 AM reversing. Two, three, four, five, six, seven again, and up powerhouse.

Seven, eight. Damn cool. No, you're [inaudible]. And one last one. Here we go. Put it all in there. Lift the elbows more. Lead up with the elbows and down to three. Keep squeezing your bottom forward. You got it. And eight, we're all done with your arm with Nice job. Very good. You're welcome.

Comments

Loved using the weights as a prop. Great class!
Classic Pilates weightwork....great 10 min challenge! Thanks.
Did the STANDING ARM SERIES come from Joe Pilates himself? Is there any video footage or documentary proof that he used the hand weights as we know them to-day with his students?
Thank you.
Monica Wilson
That's a great question. I'm going to find an answer for you.
Thanks!
Monica
Wonderful class as always, Monica. A little bit extra for the arms. Vacation ready! Thank you!
Monica Wilson
Woohoo! Hope you had a great vacation!
Great class! It's a gem.
I really appreciated this great arm workout!!
It's not clear to novices what weights should be used and how to modify various movements. It's also not clear what should be engaged or focused on when she talks about "powerhouse"..because various instructors mean diff parts of the body, she should specify what she means.. I've heard various instructors say powerhouse is the entire body, others said the core muscles, others said chest and shoulders....so it would be helpful if this particular instructor would specify what exactly she wants her viewers to do and where in the body they should fee it..
Monica Wilson
Hello Pilates Tot:) Thank you for your feedback. Without getting too anatomically technical, the Powerhouse is about a 4-5 inch band of muscles around your waist similar to the area where a weight lifting belt would go. The PH muscles should initiate every movement you make. If you are doing an exercise focussing more on your legs, you will also incorporate the hips and bottom muscles. If you are doing exercises concentrating more on arms, as in this short video, you will extend the PH to incorporate the shoulder girdle muscles which are right below your chest and at the base of your shoulder blades. Therefore, sometimes the PH can refer to the area right below your chest all the way down to right below your bottom. An example of this is when you are called to balance with your heels lifted while performing arm exercises in this video. Hope that helps! And again, thank you for your feedback:)
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