Day 5: Whole Body Cardio

Welcome back. It is day five. You have almost completed this challenge. Stay with me one more class. You're gonna notice in today's class, we're using a chair.

You don't have to use a chair, but have something close by that can help you stabilize yourself in a standing position. And I'm also using a ball. Before we get started, make sure you've got a great playlist on because we are gonna be playing a bit with tempo, and musicality and it will help you get through the class. Okay? Let's get warmed up. We've got our box squats.

Step to the side, send it down, and lift. It is gonna be a whole body workout today, you're gonna get a bit of cardio movements as well, and of course some upper body and core. Inhale down, exhale up. Landing toe ball heel. By the end of this challenge you should definitely feel you've got some ankle mobility, and some hip flexibility improvements.

All these squats and lunges, step forward and back. Forward and back. Just a reminder to push yourself back, right? You're pushing up and off the floor. Inhale down and exhale up.

Three, two, and one. Stepping back, leaning into it and rise. (exhales) Keeping the shoulders lifted right over the hips. Easy breathing. A repetitive movement like this, I think helps to get you into the zone.

So, don't think about the grocery list. This is your time. Inhale down, exhale up. Last time. Other leg down and up.

(deeply inhales and exhales) Inhale down, exhale up. Move to the beat and rhythm of your music. Inhale down. Power. Last two and one.

Step it to the front, press back. (exhales) When you press back, you should feel the glute on that leg. That's lunging. Okay? So back of the thigh pushes you back.

4, 3, 2 and almost there. Take it back. Around 10 repetitions. Feeling warm. Inhale down, exhale up.

Four, three, two and one. Let's go into that back opening exercise, hip mobility. Reach up, look up, squeeze the shoulder blades together like you're pulling ropes from the ceiling. Sit low and up about 10 here guys, down and up. You want the arms framing the face.

Wide set bones when you go down into that low squat. (exhales) Four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two and one. The next one's real important. Warming up those ankles in preparation for the releves and standing work we'll do with the chair. Rock back, rise up.

Rock down, hips forward. I definitely noticed some days these types of exercises are easier, some days they're a bit more challenging. It's kind of cool the way your body is so dynamic, it's influenced by all kinds of stuff. How did you sleep the night before? How's your energy level?

What's the weather like outside? It all impacts how we move. Last two. (inhales and exhales) Last one. (inhales and exhales) Take it down and step it back.

Here's our twists. Take these as an opportunity to breathe back. Step. (breathing heavily) Each time you find that plank, make it count. (exhales) One more, each direction, and prone.

Lift the legs, reach the arms. Opposite arm to leg, up and up. Around 20 seconds. (breathing heavily) 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and press it back. Into that core series that you love.

You probably have it memorized by now. That's great. Once you have that familiarity with the flow, you can actually get a little bit deeper into the movement itself. Push, pull. Single leg stretch, push, pull.

Hips are stable, chest is lifted. Four and three and two and one. Double leg stretch. Low, hug. Low, hug.

Remember, there's not a actual break or a rest in this little flow, but take 'em as you need 'em. (exhales) Two more. (exhales) One more. (exhales) Hands behind the head, turn to the bent knee. Switch, switch, lift and switch.

(exhales) Wide elbows, purposeful legs. 3, 2, 1. Grab that ankle, send the leg low, pull twice. (rapidly inhale and exhale) 3, 2, 1. Hands under.

Send those legs down. Lift, down, lift. When the legs go down, keep the abdominals engaged. Four, three. We're up to standing in two and one.

Rock and roll. Up you go. Warm in the front, engaged in the back, thighs, feet and knees ready to go. Finding something stable. Stand with the feet together.

We're gonna begin today's movement in parallel. Lift the heels, bend the knees, lift and bend. Now, by all means, if you don't need a balance aid, challenge yourself to not use it. Down and up. Hips over heels, shoulders over hips, knees together.

Make sure you're coming all the way up. One more time. Hold it here. Tap and lift the heels. Every time you lift your heels, abdominals up.

Inhale, tap. Exhale, lift. Four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, (exhales) one. Keep the heels lifted. Hold that low plie.

Use your abdominals to circle your hips, four in one direction. (deeply breathing) Four in the other direction. 2, 3, 4. Rise. Find your first position, Pilates V, heels together toes apart. Lift and connect the heels.

When the heels are connected, you'll feel much more stable. Zip it up, down and up, down and up. In a plie, the accent isn't the down. It's not like our low squats. The accent is the lift.

The lift and the squeeze. The squeeze in the seat and the squeeze in the inner thighs. We've got four and three and two. Stay low. Just the arms.

We're gonna alternate one the other. Find that back body core one, the other squeeze your heels together. We've got four. Focus on posture. Three.

We've got two and one. Repeat those circles. Standing core work, 4, 3, 2, reverse, 4, 3, 2, and rise. Awesome. Go back to parallel.

Step one, leg back, drop the knee down, step it in. Back and in. Lunge and lift. If you wanna play with taking those arms up, take them up when you step back. Four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two.

Step and hold. One hand on something stable, open it up. Now you know the second position you've been here before. Take it back and bend. Open, turn.

Open, turn. Down in second, down in the lunge, open, turn. We've got four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, and hold that second position. You'll remember these from day one. Let's start in that curtsy position where the hips are squared, the knees are open, kick and land.

Kick and land. Remember these? Curtsy kicks. Lift, lower. Sweep it up, not directly beside you, little bit in front.

Four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, (exhales) and one. Beautiful. Let's do it again. Facing towards something stable. Step the opposite leg back. Down, up, down, up.

Lunge, shoulders back, lunge and lift. Arms up, maybe. Lift, down. Lift, low. Lift, four to go.

That's four. Press up through the heel to rise. Three. That's two and one, lunge and hold. Open up, find that second, turn.

Open, turn, open, turn. Working The height, down and up. Four to go. Four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, (exhales) Hold it open. Finding that curtsy position.

You're gonna be able to see from the back that I'm not bringing my foot across. It's right behind my standing leg. Get low, swing it up. Down, sweep, down, sweep, down, sweep. Lots of power on that kick.

(deeply breathing) Four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, (exhales) one. (exhales) Bring it in. Okay, let's take it to the mat. We're gonna need to make a couple of changes. First, grab that ball.

You'll use it. Second, I'm gonna turn my chair so that the seat is facing in towards the mat. I suggest you do the same because you're gonna be putting your feet on there. Lie down. My legs are gonna go under, my arms are gonna go back.

Anchor the legs, big breath in, exhale, roll up. Reach the ball over the seat. Roll yourself back. Trying to get the low spine to connect down into that mat. (exhales) Inhale during the down, exhale when you need that power to come up.

Inhale down and exhale up. (exhales) Two to go. Use that ball with purpose. Give it a bit of a squeeze between your hands. One more time.

(exhales) Great. Bend your knees, sit right up onto your sit bones, reach the ball forward and then come into what's called a half rollback position. In a half rollback, you are thinking of your spine like a letter C. Keep the shape as the arms lift and lower. (deeply breathing) Inhale up, exhale down.

Lift and lower. Adding a twist, tap the ball, lift. Tap, lift. And up and up. We've got 4 and 3 and 2 and 1.

Take the ball and place it behind your back. The closer it is to your waistband the more you're gonna move, the closer it is to your neck, the more support you'll get. So you can adjust the ball day to day depending on how you're feeling. Hands behind your head. Take the shape of the ball.

I want you to drop back and feel like you're surrendering. Should feel really, really good. On an exhale, lift almost completely off the ball. (exhales) And then lower back down. Lift and lower.

Lift and lower. We'll do five more and add a little some in. 4, 3, 2 and 1. Here's what we're adding, it's a twist and a reach to the outside of the knee when you come up. Make sure you're going all the way back, big lift.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Grab that ball. Let's keep going. Definitely feeling those abdominals. You'll hover the legs, make kind of that teaser shape.

Do you remember that from day three? Find that teaser shape with bent knees. We're going side to side. (rapid breathing) Go faster, go slow, but keep moving. Feet could be down if you prefer.

We've got 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, done. Placing the ball between the thighs. Coming into a bridge series, adjust yourself so that this works for you in your home with what you're using. You could be using a couch, a chair. You could even have your feet against a wall.

But I'd like your knees to be over your hips and your feet against something stable that's not gonna move. On an exhale lift the hips up. (exhales) Squeeze the ball when you do. On an inhale, tap the seat. Lift and squeeze.

Inhale down. (exhales) Exhale up. (exhales) It might not look like I'm squeezing the ball, but I am. Squeeze on that up. (exhales) Arms are straight, long and strong.

Four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, (exhales) and on the next one hold the up (exhales) and just squeeze in, in, in, in to intensify, lift the arms. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. One hip dips low, recover, opposite hip, recover. Inhale down, exhale up. (exhales) And lift.

(exhales) Dip and lift. (exhales) We've got five, (exhales) four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, even it out, and roll your spine all the way down to the mat. Woo! Grab that ball. Help yourself come up to a standing position. Let's go back into a flow that's really gonna target the seat.

This will also remind you of some exercises you've seen in our earlier classes. The big difference is now we're standing up. I'm using something stable. Leg extends off to the side, top hand behind the head, lower and lift. Trying to keep your hips stacked, and shoulders stacked and spine long.

You're gonna feel it all the way up into your side, not just in your seat. 4, 3, 2. Hold the leg up. Circle time. Up and around.

Up and around. I gave you the trick to this in an earlier class. It was focus on the up, focus on the lift. Reverse, up and around. (exhales) And lift.

Almost there. 4, 3, 2. Hold the leg, reach the arm. Internally rotate, that means turn down towards the floor. Both knees bend and then come up as if you're in that side plank that we've done before.

Inhale down, exhale up. Inhale, low. Exhale, really shining, open like a five pointed star. Reach to the head, reach to the feet, reach to the arms. Last three, (exhales) two, (exhales) and one.

The leg is gonna stay up. Let's change muscle groups. Don't drop it down. Turn. Hands could be on the lower part of the seat, higher part, whatever's best for you.

Square off those hips, bend the standing knee, tap and lift. Like the four point knee series we've done, down and up. Every time you kick that leg up, exhale. (deeply inhale and exhale) Try to lean back over your standing heel so you could let go if you wanted to. Two more and hold the leg up.

Draw the knee in, round the spine, press it back. Scoop and press. You're gonna feel your standing leg, not just the working leg. Totally correct to feel that standing leg. It is working hard.

Four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, (exhales) and one. There's one last variation. Sweep to the side, tap, so your foot's in line with your standing leg. Sweep back. Tap and sweep.

Tap and sweep. Four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, (exhales) one. (exhales) Bring it in and down. Woo! Feeling it. You'll use the ball.

Take a seat. Squeeze the ball between your inner thighs. You could also do this on the floor. Probably would feel a bit more intense if you did. Hands come to the side, hips come forward.

We're doing tricep dips with a ball squeeze. Because this is a body weight exercise I want my weight to be back, not up. Down, lift, squeeze. Down, lift, squeeze. Down and up.

Reduce the range of motion, if you've got any shoulder discomfort, you don't have to go low. It's like the plie. The accent on this exercise is the up and the squeeze. (exhales) Let's take it for five, (exhales) and four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, (exhales) one. (exhales) Halfway down, just to squeeze.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, hold. Just the pulse 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, done. Sit down, shake it off. Put the ball back. Let's do that side glute series facing the other direction.

You'll notice my standing foot is turned out and not parallel. That helps me to keep my hips square pointing forward. Lower and lift. (deeply breathing) Energy out. Even though it is the leg that's moving, the power's coming from the back, glute, core.

(exhales) No tension in the neck. Three, two. Hold it for your circles up and around. Focus on the lift. The lift, the up, the up, reverse.

If you're counting repetitions I think somewhere between 8, 10 is great. Push it if you have a lot of energy. Take it down a notch if you need the break. All righty. Hold the leg, reach the arm.

Come into that twist. Turn your chest towards the floor. Get your knees to touch, shine, open. (inhales) Inhale down, exhale up. (exhales) Down and up.

(exhales) Turn scoop, shine and look. Four, (exhales) three, (exhales) two, (exhales) one. Hold the leg. Take your twist. Turn your toes forward.

Lean into that standing heel. This is the side you're gonna be working. Lower and lift. Ribs up. (exhales) Ribs close.

(exhales) You could let go, right? Working the standing glute. 4, 3, 2, 1. Scoop, kick. I do wanna change the shape of my spine.

Finding that C scoop, finding that length. (deep breathing) Think of it as standing abdominal work. Three, (exhales) two, (exhales) one. Tap it to the side. Bring it back behind.

8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and done. Eeu! Second set of triceps. Why not? Squeeze the ball, take a seat. Bring the hips forward.

Find the hips right under the shoulders versus curled and tucked. Down, up, squeeze. Down, up, squeeze. (deeply inhale and exhales) Four, (exhales) three. Pushing all the way up to straight arms.

Two, one, stay down. 1, 2, 3, 4. Squeezing the ball. Hold the squeeze, pulsing the body. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Take a seat, shake it out. You are done with this. You are done with the chair. Feel free to move it out of your way if it is in your way, and meet me in a seated position. More glutes.

Find your mermaid sit. We've done this in a couple classes now, you know it. Rotate away from your bent legs, place your hands on the ground. Lift the leg up as the chest goes down, bring the hands in the chest up, down, up. This is a mermaid press up.

Down, up. It isn't about upper body strength, hip mobility, hip strength on the other hand, yes. Beautiful stretch for the spine while you're holding this twist. But wait it gets harder. Extend the leg, bring it in.

8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Stretch. Swing those legs to the other side. Sit as tall as you can. Rotate away from the bent knees.

Take it down, the light comes up. Lift, down, lift. (exhales) Up. There's that moment at the top where I'm kind of hovering, right? There's some momentum, but I'm holding it, and I'm holding that lift using my back and my abdominals.

Add that straight leg when you go down, it's straight. (exhales) Seven, (exhales) six, (exhales) five, (exhales) four, (exhales) three, two and one. Take that counter stretch. Woo! Time to cool down. Lie on your back.

We'll begin without TikTok side to side. I hope you feel so good. That was a tough one. Lots of booty. Lots of core.

Inhale twist, exhale up. Keep the legs together. Remember, you're using your abdominals in your spine to recover coming back up. One more each direction. And figure four, you have earned just a stretch.

But you know the option to add the lift is there. Five, (exhales) four, (exhales) three, two and one. Find that other figure four, can feel it. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Rock up.

Putting it all together. Standing tall, reaching up, dive down. Walk it out, plank. Walk it in. Ooh, rebuild.

(deeply inhale and exhale) Walk it out, plank. Walk it in, rebuild. (deeply inhale and exhale) Walk it back. We did so great. Five days.

Was there a single muscle that was left unchallenged? I don't think so. (chuckles) Speaking of challenges, you did it. You completed it. Five days.

Keep coming back. You're gonna feel stronger if you do. I can't wait to see you again. Thank you so much for joining me. Bye.