Lower Body Reformer

Hi, I'm Gia and today we're gonna do a reformer class. It's gonna focus on legs, but we are gonna work the whole body. It's gonna be a quick class, so it's a great one to add on to another class as either a warmup, or just if you need a little extra work. So we're gonna get started with leg work. I have my reformer set to three reds and one blue.

I'm on a balanced body, or you can do three full and one half. Whatever feels good to you. I have my head rest up and we're gonna start with the feet in a prehensile position. So I'm gonna wrap the toes around the bar, push the heels under, my pelvis is long and neutral, and my arms are reaching down toward my feet. As I inhale, I'm gonna push the heels under the bar, exhale to come back in.

So I'm thinking of wrapping my feet around the bar, kind of like a bird grabbing onto a branch, or a bird on a perch, as sometimes we call it. Good, we have four more like this. So my feet are hip distance apart, parallel. If you'd like your legs together, that's also an option. We have two more.

Just really think about working those feet and we're gonna come halfway in, little pulses are gonna push out and in. One inch out, one inch in. Inhale, inhale, exhale, exhale. (exhaling) Two more. (exhaling) Last set.

Push all the way out and then come all the way in. So, I'm gonna slide up to the heels, still hip distance apart, pulling all five toes back to the shins, inhale stretch long, exhale to come in. If you prefer a different style of breathing, feel free to do that. Inhale. Just what I like.

I like to inhale when I expand, exhale as I contract. Inhale and exhale, we have four more. And three. Two, just getting the blood flowing in the legs. Last one, come halfway in.

Instead of doing pulses, this time we're gonna do a little march. We're gonna keep those carriage still, we're gonna lift one leg up to tabletop, lower back down to the foot bar. Other leg comes up. So as I'm marching, trying not to shift too much. So if someone was looking at me, they wouldn't be able to tell which leg I'm moving next.

Stabilizing from the center. One more each side. Try to put it right back in the same position, both heels down, push all the way out and then come all the way in. Now we're gonna slide down to the toes, heels together, toes apart, knees as wide as my shoulders, really glue those heels together, stretch all the way out and then come all the way in. So think of hugging that midline and in.

So as I'm hugging, wrapping around my legs, trying not to tuck my pelvis, I want to keep the pelvis long and neutral, not trying to shorten anything. We have two more. Keeping those heels connected. Come halfway in, little pulses here again and exhale, inhale, inhale, exhale, exhale. (exhaling) We have two more sets.

(exhaling) Last set. (exhaling) Push all the way out and then come all the way in. Then want to go to a second position. So feet are wide, heels are on the bar and turning out and going a little bit wider this time with my rotation, still wrapping around those legs. So inhale to stretch long, exhale to come in, inhale reach and out.

So I'm lengthening out through the top of my head. Think of my tailbone going the other way. So find that opposition, my arms are reaching down toward my feet. We have four more and three, two, last one. Staying in halfway, little pulses again and exhale, inhale and exhale.

(exhaling) We have two more sets, last set. Push all the way out and then come all the way in. Bring your feet back to parallel. Hip distance apart, heels are nice and high. We're gonna push all the way out one time, lower the heels under the bar, lift up, bend your knees.

Come all the way in. Push out, lower lift two times this time, lower and lift, lower and lift bend to come all the way in. Up to three, push out, lower for three and two, last one, bend the knees. Come all the way in, keeping that tailbone down for four and up three, legs are long. Last one, come all the way in going up to five, pushing out, lower for five.

And four, three. Trying to get longer each time, last one and bend up to six and lower and two, three, pulling into the abdominals. Four, five and six and bend in, last time we're gonna do seven and lower, lift, two. Trying to keep that control. We're not letting the heels just drop.

You're pulling them down. One more. And then just pull them down and hold, bend one knee, push the other heel under a little bit further. Nice stretch, other side. And then both heels up.

Bend your knees. Come all the way in and we're gonna sit up, change your springs. We're gonna do a little abdominal work. So, I'm gonna do two reds, or two full springs. Feel free to do whatever works for you.

We're gonna go into the 100. So, I'm lying on the mat. My shoulders are away from the shoulder rests, grabbing onto the straps. I'm gonna bring my legs to tabletop, hugging them together. Arms are gonna come down just an inch.

So my hands are right over my shoulders. Shoulders are plugged in. Take a deep inhale here. As you exhale, push your arms down, curl your head up. Stretch your legs out to your position for the 100 and we'll pump the arms.

Inhale two, three, four, five and exhale. Inhale and exhale. Keep reaching those legs long, inhale. I'm trying to reach my hands past my feet. Exhale.

Inhale and exhale. Inhale. Keep curling the chest up. Exhale, halfway done, inhale. If you can, lower the legs an inch, exhale, inhale, exhale.

Arms are pumping strong, inhale and exhale. We have two more, inhale, exhale. Keep curling up, inhale and exhale and hold. Curl a little higher and then bend everything, come back down. Good.

Bend your arms. Elbows are gonna stay down glued to the carriage. We're gonna do coordination, so you can take a deep inhale the bottom here. Exhale, curl up back to your 100 position. You're gonna open your legs, close them one time.

Bend your knees, bend everything down, lower your head down. So inhale at the bottom. Exhale the curl up, open two times now. (exhaling) Bend everything in. Bend your arms and curl down.

Reaching out. Hold, three times. One, two, three, bend the legs, arms bent, lower down. Four times and one, two, reach them long. Four bend the knees, bend the arms, lower down, back to three.

Reach out and for three, two, one bend the knees. Arms lower down, back to two and one, two, bend in, bend and lower, last time reach it out. Open, just one time. Bend the knees, bend the arms, lower your head down. Hang up your straps.

We're gonna rock knees side to side, and then we're gonna go into some bridging. So we're gonna lower your headrest down. We're gonna stay in the same springs. If you want a little bit more support, feel free to add more springs. I'm gonna come onto the arches of my feet, about hip distance apart.

Again, you can go a little wider if you need to, and you can come onto your heels. It's always an option. So I'm trying not to be jammed up by my shoulder rest again, just so I have room, arms are reaching long, taking a deep inhale at the bottom here. So, exhale I'm gonna roll up to a bridge, trying to keep my reformers still as I can. Knees are reaching past the feet inhale at the top, exhale as you roll down.

I'm gonna adjust so I'm more on my heels, because I feel on a hamstring wanting to cramp. Inhale at the top, inhale the bottom. Exhale, roll up to your bridge. That feels better to me right now. Knees are reaching past my feet inhale at the top, exhale as you roll down.

Trying to keep the feet parallel, inhale the bottom, exhale roll up. Keeping weight even on both feet. I'm not letting the stronger leg takeover, inhale at the top. Exhale roll down. One more like this, inhale.

Exhale, roll up. Inhale the top. Exhale, roll down. So we're gonna add on to this. So I'm gonna roll back up again and hold arms are pressing down.

Try not to bend in the wrist, or the elbows. Keep everything as long as he can. I'm gonna bring one leg up to the ceiling. I'm gonna point that toe and I'm gonna lower down to meet the other leg and then bring it back up to the ceiling. Lower to meet the other leg and lift.

Again, I'm trying not to move the carriage at all. Everything is still, just that straight leg is moving. Lower and lift. Lower, lift, two more. Last one.

Bend that leg, bring it down to the foot bar. Find that same position. Bring the other leg up to the ceiling. Point that toe, nice and soft and then you're gonna lower it to meet the other leg and lift, trying to keep your hips square, lower and lift. And you'll find that one side's a little bit easier than the other.

Four more. Three, two, last one. Bring the leg down and then roll your hips down one bone at a time. Take a deep breath in. As you exhale, roll back up.

Knees are reaching over the toes again. Go back to that first leg, up to the ceiling, point that toe. We're gonna make a circle. So, you're gonna circle around and up, cross around and up. So it won't be as big of a circle as you normally do on the mat, because your hips are up, reverse and open and up.

So you're trying to keep the hips still, keep the hips lifted as well. Two more, last one. Bend your leg, bring that foot down. Other leg comes up to the ceiling, point those toes. We cross the leg around and up, again one leg will feel a little bit easier than the other.

Keep pushing into the arms, trying to keep them long, two more in this direction and then reverse, around. Good, keep those hips up two and three. Four, one more. And then bend your legs. Roll down one bone at a time and then hug your knees into your chest.

Good. We're gonna rock up. We're gonna go into a long box. So I'm gonna change my springs first. So I'm gonna do just one red spring, or one full spring, lower the foot bar down.

We don't need that and we're gonna put the long box on. So we're gonna go into pulling straps. So, you're gonna lie on your box. You want your chest just off the box and then you're gonna grab onto the ropes, at the tape or above. So make sure you're straight on your box.

Your abs are pulled in, your legs are active. So you're not just resting here. You're lifting those thighs off the mat and then arms are nice and straight. You're gonna take a deep inhale with the arms front as you exhale, you're gonna pull the arms back, lift your chest up. Think of reaching your sternum forward.

Inhale to lower the arms down. Exhale as you pool back, hands go by your hips and then reach forward and then pull back. So try not to lift too much, especially from the neck. Think of the sternum lifting and reaching forward, so you keep that length and you're not letting it go into your lower back too much. Two more, legs are reaching long.

Try to keep them together if you can. One more. You're gonna hold this next one back. Turn your palms down to face to floor. We're gonna open out to a T and then push back.

If you need to adjust on the straps you can, you can hold a little lower and pull back and open. Think of that sternum reaching forward still. Neck is long. Legs are reaching the opposite way. Two more.

Exhale to push back, last one and then bring the arms forward, take a little breath and then we're gonna bring the arms back by your sides again. Keep that chest long, or chest open. You're gonna bend your arms, elbows stay by your side and then press back. Triceps. Bend and stretch.

Bend, stretch, two more. Stretch last one and then reach the arms forward. Hang up your straps. And we're gonna take the box off. So we're gonna go back to two springs.

So I have two full springs, or two red springs. I'm gonna bring my foot bar back up and then we're gonna lie on your side. So you can choose to keep your head rests down or up. If you want to grab a pillow, that's fine. I like my head rest up and then I like to just hold onto the little pole in front.

My top leg is gonna be on the foot bar, parallel. I wanna try to get my whole foot on. My bottom leg is gonna reach underneath the foot bar. So I have this little space underneath, a little mouse, house with a mouse and then abs are engaged. Hips are stacked.

Keeping this top leg parallel. The bottom leg lift up. We're gonna push out and then come all the way in. Pushing out and in. So we inhale and exhale.

So my focus is trying to keep my hips stacked. So not just keeping it from rolling back, but I also want to keep the top waist lock. We have four more. That bottom leg is reaching long and two, last one. We're gonna hold it here.

Keep that top leg straight, bottom leg lifts up to the bar and lower. Lift up. So I'm using the inner thigh to lift. Four. As I'm lifting that bottom leg, I'm not collapsing in my waist.

Staying nice and long. We have two more and we're gonna hold. Try to keep it touching the bar for 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one lower it down. Bend your leg and then we're gonna turn out. So, just kept swiveling onto my heel, flexing the foot, keeping the knee in line with the foot, or in line with the toes I should say and then still keeping this top hip stacked.

Bottom leg is lifting up again. We're gonna push out and in. So it's gonna get a little bit more into your hip as you externally rotate that leg. Good. Four more.

And in, three. Two, last one, this time we're gonna come halfway in little pulses for 10. Nine, eight, seven, six, five. Keep checking that waist, four. Long waist.

Good and push all the way out and then come all the way in and then we're gonna switch over to the other side. So top leg is parallel on that foot bar,. I want the whole foot on the bar. Bottom leg is reaching out long, trying to stay stacked on the hips. You're gonna push all the way out and then back in.

So the bottom leg is reaching, hips are one over the other and I have my little house for the mouse. We have four more. And inhale, exhale. Two, last one. Hold it here.

Bottom leg lifts up and lower. Two. Three, four, five, six, two more. And we're gonna hold for 10. Nine, eight, seven, six, keep it touching that bar.

Three, two, one and lower. Rest. Good, turn the top leg out. So onto that heel, from the hip. You wanna keep that knee in line with the toes again and then push all the way up.

That bottom leg is lifted up. Partly so you're not resting it and also so it doesn't drag on the reformer. We have four more. Inhale, exhale. Inhale.

Think of using that hip. Last one. Halfway in little pulses for 10. Nine, eight, keep rotating out. Trying to get that knee up to the ceiling.

Two, one, push all the way out and then come all the way in. Lie on your back. We're gonna stretch your hips before we go on. So whichever leg you did first, you're gonna cross that foot over the opposite knee and then pull that opposite leg into your chest for a figure four stretch. Just breathe into it and then we'll switch sides.

So, knee over the, or sorry foot over the knee and then pull the opposite knee into your chest and then just hug your knees into your chest one last time and then we're gonna rock up. So we're gonna stay on this spring. We're gonna go into knee stretches. So we're gonna have your hands on the foot bar, knees against the shoulder rest. We're gonna start with our round back first.

So you're gonna sit back towards your heels. You're not sitting on your heels. You're lifted up a bit, maybe a few inches, and then you're gonna round into your C shape. You want to try and keep your upper body still and we're just gonna move the legs. Just gonna push your legs behind you and then pull it in.

Back and in. So don't go so far back that you lose the C curve. You wanna stay in the shape. We have four more. Three, two.

Last one, come all the way in, change your spine, so you're gonna flat back or almost even arched position. Still sitting toward your heels. Upper body stays still. You push the legs back and in. Back, in.

Four more. Again, everything is still. Last two. Good, coming back to your round back. This time, bring your weight a little bit more into your arms.

Make sure your toes are tucked under. Find that nice strong position. We'll have your knees just an inch off the mat and then go into our knees off. So when you're ready, hover those knees up and then we push up and in. Two.

Three. Try and keep that round back. Four more, tailbone is under. Three. Two.

Knees are just an inch off, hold it in and then control it down. And I'm gonna go into long stretch. So head rest is already up. So we're gonna go into our long stretch, so we're gonna have the hands on the foot bar all ready. Feet are gonna go onto the headdress.

Find a nice long position in that plank and then from here, we push back from the arms and then come forward. Inhale, exhale, come back, inhale. So I'm trying to keep my heels reaching toward the headrest. Not letting them lift up and down, 'cause movement's coming from my arms and my abdominals are supporting me. It's not coming from my legs.

You have two more. The legs are still active though. Last one, come on down to your knees. Almost like we were in that knee stretch position. Toes are tucked under, feet are against the shoulder rest.

Push the hips forward for down stretch. So engage the glutes pull up on your abdominals, open your chest, and then push back from your arms. Lift the chest up to return. And push back. Think of sternum up to the ceiling.

Two more, last one, and then come on up into our up stretch. So we're on the balls of the feet. Heels are about halfway up the shoulder rest, move the hair out of the way and then from here back is round. Your weight is back towards your legs. I'm gonna push back into our plank, keeping the upper back grounded.

You're gonna come forward over the foot bar. Once you're all the way in, you're gonna dive your head between your arms, push your weight back toward your legs. So you push your legs back into our plank. Keep the chin in as you pull the carriage in. Once you're all the way in, weight goes back to your legs.

Two more and pull the carriage in and then back into your upstretched position. Last one, push the legs back. Think of engaging those glutes, as you come all the way in and then bring the weight back to your legs. Bring your feet flat. Toes are gonna come up.

If you need to keep your toes down, cause your hamstrings are tight, that's also an option. Pull the quads up, so you protect your knees and then you're gonna push back for your elephant and come all the way in. So try to round your back. You don't want to go into an arch bath or flat back, especially if you're flexible. Think of a rounding, pulling the abs in as you bring the feet forward.

Four more. Three, two. Last one. Good, now keep the carriage still. We're gonna bring one leg out to the side and then we're gonna bring it up to an arabesque, so you can let that hip turn out.

Try to keep the shoulders square though. Reach that leg up to ceiling as you push back and in with the bottom leg. So you're trying not to let that top leg move. I'm just reaching it up toward the ceiling, or as high as I can go. Go where you, your body will take you.

Two more. Last one. Now from here, keep the carriage still all the way in. You're gonna reach it out to the, reach that top leg out to the side, to bring it back down, and then we're gonna bring the other leg up. So we reach out to the side and then back up to our arabesque.

You can turn that hip out again. Shoulders are square. Pull up on that bottom quad as you push the leg out and then that top leg is reaching up toward the ceiling or as high as you can take it. We have four more. Try not to hyper extend that bottom knee, if you're hyper extended like me.

Two, last one. Keep that carriage all the way in. Bring that light out to the side and then bring that foot down. Good. We're gonna step off.

We're gonna change the foot bar. We're gonna bring it to the lowest setting, or if you're, if you have a different reformer, you can just move the foot bar out of the way. I'm gonna do just one red spring, or one full spring. We're gonna do some standing work. So I'm gonna stand onto the platform first, then come onto the carriage.

You're gonna have your hands on your hips or out to a T, wherever it feels good to you. I like my hands on my hips. So you wanna keep your waist long. Tailbone is reaching down, so you don't want to go into an arched back position at all. You want to keep everything as long as you can, shoulders are down, with the feet narrow and parallel, we're just gonna push out, as wide as you can go and then come all the way in.

So I'm keeping my weight even on both feet. So I'm letting my torso come with me. I'm not just pushing out the one the leg. Both legs are working and in. So I'm constantly thinking I'm growing taller through my spine.

Four more. And in. Three. In. Good, two.

Pulling up those quads still. So I'm not going into the backs of my knees. Good. Keep that carriage all the way in. I'm gonna heel toe my foot out.

I'm on the shorter side, so I like mine about in the middle of the carriage. If you're tall or if you're super open in your hips, feel free to go all the way to the shoulder rest. My body doesn't like that personally. So I'm gonna bring my arms out to the T for this one. From here, I'm gonna push all the way out, as wide as I can go and then I'm gonna use my inner thighs to pull it all the way in.

Try to come all the way to that stopper, 'cause that's that part we always wanna miss. Push out and then pull all the way into that stopper. Good. And as you keep doing it, you'll feel where that stopper is. Good.

Two more like this. Trying to make sure that tailwind doesn't go back. You wanna keep it under you. Last one. Good.

Now you're gonna push out and hold. Try to keep the reformer still. You're gonna keep your back flat as you lean forward into a little hinge with a flat back and then come all the way up, keeping that reformer still, hips are under you. Pull the carriage all the way in, same thing here. Keep the carriage still, pull it in.

Keep those inner thighs as you hinge forward with that flat back and then come all the way up. Hips come back under you, swivel that toe back in and then come on down. We're gonna switch to the other side. So, standing on the platform first, 'cause it's stable, then coming on to the carriage, make sure your feet are even, and then, foot on the carriage just toward the edge, so that way your feet can be narrow and parallel. Tailbone is under you.

You're gonna push out and then come all the way in. So I'm relaxing those shoulders down, lifting up in my spine, pulling up on my abdominals, making sure my ribs aren't thrusting forward. Just making sure my alignment and posture is good as I'm moving my legs. Again, I'm keeping my weight in between both legs. So I'm not just moving one, I'm moving both legs.

Two more. Last one. Good. Keep the carriage still. We're gonna swivel that leg on the carriage out, to a position that is comfortable for you.

Again, feel free to go all the way to the shoulder rest if you can. I gonna bring the arms back out to a T and then push all the way out, as wide as I can and then pull it all the way into that stopper. So make sure again that your legs are parallel, or feet or your legs are parallel, not just your legs. And then you wanna keep weight on all parts of the feet. So a lot of times people like to roll in on this episode into their collapsed arch.

You wanna make sure the outer edge of your foot stays down. Good. We have four more and three. Two more. We're gonna hold this last one.

Keep the carriage still. I'm gonna lean forward with a flat back. Try to keep the reformer as still as you can, and then come all the way up. Hips come under you before you pull it all the way in and then keep that carriage all the way at the stopper as you hinge forward with a flat back. I find this to be the more challenging of the two versions.

Come all the way up, hips under you, swivel that toe back and then come on down. So we're gonna change our springs again. I'm gonna do two reds, or two full springs. Head rest is up. We're gonna do feet in the straps.

So you're gonna lie down on your back. These are always my favorite exercises. You can push out on the foot bar, one foot in the strap, hold that strap there and then bring the other foot in. We're gonna start with frocks. So your heels are together, toes are apart.

Just let your knees come into your chest as far as you can, without letting your tailbone lift up. You wanna be able to keep that tailbone down. So if you're only here, that's okay. Just go as far as you can and then push the legs out. So your knees are in line with your shoulders, which are in line with your toes, inhale and exhale.

And the goal is trying to keep the heels together. So you're not letting that little, rubbing together that sometimes can happen if you're not connected. Four more. So, even though we're working the legs, still focus on your abdominals. So they're pulling your knees into your chest every time.

One more. Now we're gonna turn this frog into a little bit of a circle. So you're gonna bend into your frog, push the legs up to the ceiling and then keep the leg straight as he lower them down to the 45 degree angle. Bend in, stretch up and straight legs to lower down, bend in, stretch, lower. Think of using the backs of the legs.

Bend, stretch, back so the legs push, so it's not just your feet. Two more in this direction and lower, last one. And lower, reverse. So we lift the legs up, bend in and then push out to the foot bar. So it's kind of like a modified short spine.

Bend and stretch and lift up, bend and stretch, two more in this direction. I'm still trying to keep that tailbone down. So nothing's moving, last one. Good. Keep the legs straight.

I'm gonna point the toes. You can keep the legs turned out. We're gonna go into circles. So you gonna lift the legs up, open, together and up and around. So make sure both legs are making the same size circle.

One leg is usually a little bit more open than the other, so you wanna try to match them, so, you're not going too wide with that open leg and you wanna keep the hips stable. Again, keeping the tailbone on the mat. So you're not letting your pelvis rock front and back. One more in this direction and then we'll reverse. Feel free to go as wide as you can.

I personally like to keep mine a little bit more on the smaller side, just to keep that control. Feels better on my hips that way too. We have two more. Last one. Good.

We're gonna hold on to your straps. Open your legs out, into a little stretch, should feel good. If you wanna flex your feet for a little bit more you can. Just go where it feels comfortable for you and then you can let go with the straps if you like. I personally like to hold on, just so my legs don't feel like they're hanging and I can control the stretch that I get a little bit more that way.

Take a deep breath in and deep breath out and then you use your arms to help bring your legs back in and then we'll take your feet out of the straps. Bring your feet back onto the foot bar to pull yourself in, hang up your straps. I wanna finish with some relevé standing. So, we're gonna stand with our heels together, toes apart, in our little V. Again, not as turned out as you can go.

You want them kind of in line with your shoulders. Hands just on your hips, standing up nice and tall. Try to keep your heels together. So it's not like a normal ballet relevé. We're just gonna keep the heels together as we lift the heels up, I lost my balance and then lower back down and lift it up and lower.

So think of you using your glutes, wrapping around, backs of the legs, especially so you can keep those heels together. Four more and lower and three, good. It's always a challenge for me to keep my heels together 'cause I want to go the ballet route and turn out as much as I can. Now we're gonna make it a little sequence. So you're gonna bend your knees.

Heels stay together as you lift the heels, keep the heels up as you straighten the legs, lower the heels down. So you bend, heels come up. Straighten the legs, lower the heels down. Two more, again I'm focusing on keeping those heels together. My heels might not come as high as I'd like, and they're not as turned out as I'd like.

Lift. Reverse. So you lift the heels up, bend the knees, lower the heels down, straighten the legs. Heels come up, bend lower the heels, straighten. Two more bend, lower, straight and last one.

Good. Lift the heels up one more time. Hold. Keep them glued together. Shoulders are down.

You're gonna try and turn your head to the right and center. Turn your head to the left, center. Look down, center. Look up. Center.

Keep lifting the spine as you lower the heels down. So you're growing taller, shake out the legs, shake out the arms and you're all finished. I hope you feel your legs and you're ready to start the rest of your day. I'll see you next time.