Advanced Transition Reformer

Hello, everyone. Saul Chosa here. And my partner, Corey, today, we're going to work on an intermediate to advance Reformer workout with some transitional movements that we're gonna make it part of the workout. So Listen, in order to flow through a reformer workout, you have to be very specific with the transitions. What we're gonna work on today. We're gonna see if we can, a, define what the transition is, and b, if we can flow through it smoothly.

So are we ready to go? Let's see what ready, Corey? Make sure that you have a pad or 2 pets underneath your reformer. It's very important so you don't have to go back and forth, looking for your equipment. Also, that you do the transitions in the same space every time. Meaning, usually when I host a class, if my class starts on the left side, then all the changes happen on the left side. Or if my class is my class starts on the right side of the reformer, then all the changes are gonna be done on the right side of the reformer. Today, we're gonna shift it around just for view, but, why don't we just Rock and rope. Here we go. Cross the arms in front of you, Corey.

You wanna make sure that you align your sit bones right at the corner of your Carriage. So when you sit down, there's really only 2 movements. You sit down and you roll onto your back and feet on the bar. Now I lately, I've been exploring a wider first position because if you notice some of the archival videos, Joseph Pilates does this wide, position a lot, especially standing, and in the one that chair exercises. Front frog, frog facing front, frog facing back. So let's connect the dots. Okay. So Let's go. 12 repetitions. We're gonna push out an extra 1.

Let's flow out and think of it as a wave the wave goes out. And in with your annual out and exhale. And make sure that you use the negative, resistance and really find that lower powerhouse, which we've talked in the past. Yes. So really excel and inhale. XL.

One more time for good measure. And now let's go on to your arches. Same thing. I've made some adjustments here where the feet are about 15 to 30 degrees open. But the heels are together and the knees are together. This is gonna force you to work the lower powerhouse, outer and inner thighs, inhale, and exhale. Keep the legs together. Inhale.

And exo. Good inhale. Exo. Think of digging those heels forward and take them all the way across the room. Yes. Why? Because we want to activate that back line of the body. And that back line of the body goes all the way up to your eyebrows. So don't forget that. Feel the length of the body every time you press out and in.

3 more, last two, Keep pressing the heels down. And really. It's good. On your heels. Pull the toes back. By the way, if you have a question, how many springs, 4 springs in here push away? And if you're using a balanced body, a reformer, you can do 2 reds and 2 blues. Yeah?

And that's all. It's very minimal changing. Remember, we want to flow. We want to be efficient with our transitions in how as you go out and exhale in. Again, it's a wave out and in, out and in. Out. Good, Corey. Make sure that your shoulders are rotating out. Not from the scapulas, but from the, outward rotators of the shoulder.

Good. Last time, and release. On your toes, heels together and toes apart. This time, the position of the feet is is not as wide in her push away. And like a waltz, you go down 1, 2, 3, up, 2, 3, down, 2, 3, up, 2, 3. The whole point of the x, the footwork, is to really neutralize the pelvis. So all the muscles around the pelvic area activate.

So as Koi presses the heels down, he's trying to really stretch the back line of the body. So the front of the hips are completely deactivated. Well, not really a little bit, but mostly you feel this elongation happening in the front of the hips. The pelvis is in a neutral position. And by the way, if you have a little bit of our arch, That's fine. With time, as you practice more Pilates, that that little curvature is gonna get longer. Okay?

2 more. You're gonna finish the movement at the top, meaning on your toes and bend the knees and smooth transitions. You're gonna pick up the bar with your feet one foot on the bottom bar and the other one on the foot bar. You're gonna bring the headrest down first, and then you're gonna hold on to your handles. Straight arms and straight legs. I like to start my position this way so we can connect the whole system in one movement. X, he'll come up into a 100 position.

Here we go. Inhale. And XL. Now the hands should be above your thighs 6 to 8 inches of movement so we can activate this radius. You've heard me talked about this radius before, right? So feel the outward rotation of the shoulders, wrap the scapulas to the front of the body, and see if you can breathe into the upper back.

And as you expel the air out, see if you can come up a little bit higher, there's a slight rotation of the hips, and you're trying to reach as much as you can forward. Lengthen the back of the neck. Mhmm. One more time for good measure. Please breathe into the upper back. And with the actual expel, expel, expel, expel, expel, and release. This is the first transition.

Here we go. We're gonna grab the handles with the right hand. We're gonna swing the body to the right and be in a teaser position. It could be abdominals. My guys love this, by the way, because it's a true challenge. You're gonna use that outside arm and push yourself back onto your back length in those legs. You're gonna switch the handles to the other side Scoopy abdominals, press the arm down, lengthen those leg, reach out arm forward.

So you're in a teaser position. Scoopy abs in, find the obliques, see how we use that hand and switch again. Here we go. We're gonna do one more step. Find the obliques. The guys love this because they can, they have to use the obliques or else they can't come up. Here we go one more time.

Scoop the abdominals. On this last transition position, you're gonna take 2 springs off. So here we go. So I'm not very familiar with the balance body, but, you know, you you use your own discretion. I in in in classic Pilates, the springs are all the same weight.

So in our situation, we just take 2 springs and we leave 2 springs on. Now for a lot of guys, you know, because they are their upper body is so tight, sometimes I like to assist them by just asking them to place the handles on the hooks, and they're gonna use the hardware. Now because there's two springs, they can't throw the movements. We're doing legs overhead. Here we go. Roll over with the inhale and inhale come up, up, up.

And I'm gonna system a little bit. And with your the exhale, he's gonna roll down one foot about a time. And bring the legs all the way down, hover over the ball. X over. Inhale.

Scoop. Scoop. Scoop. And I'm gonna give you a I'm gonna give him a little bit of assistance. So he can really find that articulation of the spine. One more time for good measure. He still has that outward rotation of the hips. He makes a v with his toes and he articulates him one for the body of time and release.

Now he's ready for coordinations. And the thing with Pilates, because you want to flow, there's really not much, sprint change. So same two springs. Here we go. In Hill Reach. Open, close, and release. Be active, not reactive. In Pilates, we don't react.

We just move through time, through space, without making it so aggressive. It's just a nice flow, and we beat a count on the next one. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. And bring it in 1. Again, see if you can reach those arms a little bit further forward scope of the abdominals and with your exhale pull pull pull. And really. It's good. Place the handles in the hoods for me. Please bring your head rest up and come off to your left side and pick up your blocks and stick, and you were ready for pulling other straps.

So the transitions are very simple. You from the top to the bottom or the bottom to the top. In this situation, he starts from the top and he goes down to the bottom. We use, yeah, just place it on an ace. And he now he's gonna take one spring off, and he's ready for pulling out the strap. Here's another transition that we like to work on.

Arms up to the ceiling for me. Please round the upper body forward and place your hands on the box. Place your feet on the bar and scoop the abdominals. Now he's gonna walk his hands about three quarters of the way onto the box. Is gonna scoop the abdominals.

Now from this position, he's gonna push the carriage forward and align his shoulders to the front of the butt. Now he push ups. And comes up. And then he falls himself up into a nice upside down fee. He's already preparing for up stretch. Scrub the abdominals, navelty, lengthen the body, crunch of the head, which is nice and long. Good point to feet, scoop the abdominals, and fold yourself from the upper abdominals.

Relax the neck Yes. No tension in the neck. And remember the upper powerhouse, rapid. Here we go. Script the abdominals, navel deep. And this time, he's going to descend all the way down to the 4 He grabs the handles and straps. I want him to make sure that he has the handles and straps very tight.

Once he has that stability, then he removes the feet and glides forward from this position. I must remind you, this is not a backbend exercise. This is a outward rotation exercise of the shoulders. So here we go. The legs are activated. And with his inhale, he's gonna rotate their shoulders back, back, back, back, back, reaching the knuckles nice and long.

Can you rotate their shoulders back a little bit more? And with your exhale, return 1. Again, with your inhale, pull, pull, pull, pull. Now he's gonna rotate the shoulders. Ah, good. An exhale. Remember, it's not about hyper extending the spine. It's about rotating the shoulders.

So sometimes I give a little bit of assistance here so you can activate that whole back line. Slide the arms down to the end of the strap. Open the arms out to the sides with your inhale. Rotate the shoulders. And again, open, open lengthen the corner of the head for me. Please and x will bring it down. Good.

You go. Here we go. Skip the abdominals. The palms are facing down continuously, and his goal is to open those arms and be this wide out. One last time? Progress, not perfection. Good.

And really. Grab the handles with the right hand for me, please, and swing the body to the right. Now he wants, you wanna make sure that you stay as close to the apparatus. You just turn to the, yes, to the left, add 1 more spring. So now you have 2 springs. You can either have 2 red springs, 2 blue springs, 1 blue spring, 1 red spring. It's your choice.

Here he goes. He'll be abdominals. He's gonna grab the handles from behind the back. Hand, foot, He's not gonna sit down. He's actually gonna come forward, and then he's gonna go back, go back, and he's gonna stay up. He's gonna go back, and he he's gonna dismount on the other side.

We're making this into an exercise. But again, the closer you are to the apparatus and you're the closer to you are to the back, the easier the transition is gonna be. Hand, foot, hand, foot, come forward a little bit, come back, and then he's gonna come up 1, 2, and together. He still needs to get that leg a little bit further back. Here we go. Hand, foot. Hand, foot. Come forward a little bit. Go back. Now take that right leg as far back as possible and stay close to the apparatus.

Good. One more time. Here we go. Hand, foot, heels together, toes apart. This time, he's actually gonna come all the way forward and 1 inch inside of the box. Is gonna go on to his back. The reason for this, you guys, sometimes, especially in a class setting, if your client is not paying attention on these swing the legs up in the air, they might just go flipping over.

So that is sort of like a, a safety, position. It could be abdominals and able to FAxtro, 33 inhale, exhale, inhale, hole 2, 3, and exhale bringing in. It's a 6 count exercise. 1, 2, 3, hold it 4, 5, and bring it in 6 one more time. Inhale, up, open, around. Screw the abdominals, really stretch those arms forward and reverse place inhale and reach hold. 2, 3, out to the sides, out to the ceiling, with control and lengthen, be active, not reactive, and reach the arms all the way over the head. You wanna make sure that the carriage comes in every time. Last time, inhale?

Out to the site over the head and release. Here's another cool transition. Ride handles on the right hand for me. Please answering and hold. Give me give me that teaser.

It's gonna be abdominals and use that left hand and return back onto the box and scoop. Link remember, we talked about your lower powerhouse. Keep your heels pressed together and swing the legs around. Sometimes you might wanna assist them we can see that his, his compromising side is the left side. We're gonna do this one more time.

He's gonna use his hand He's gonna return on to his back. He's gonna switch the handles to the other side, really working on the obliques. Now he's gonna switch the sprints. He's gonna take one spring off without pulling on that right arm. Do not pull. He'll be absent. See, this is all challenging you guys. And sometimes we, teachers make it look so easy, but it is a challenging exercise.

You're gonna sit up and place the feet on the bar. We're gonna do preparation for teaser. You know, teaser is not an easy exercise, and people assume that because it looks effortless you know, that is something that everyone, everyone should be able to do. It is not an easy exercise, especially when you have the overload on your hands. And especially if you have a grad, reformer. It's a very challenging exercise.

So we're gonna do a variation that is gonna prepare Corey to be able to come up into a teaser position. Just like your hug, just like a roll down, He's gonna scoop the abdominals, or you can scoop the abdominals yourself too. Now from the lower abs, pressing the heels together, he's gonna pick up the legs. Now with the straight as upper powerhouse, you can lift the arms up and down. Now if you're inclined to extend those legs forward as you're doing that, you also can. Now he's gonna hold that position.

Arms up. Hold. He's gonna bend the knees. He's gonna scoop the abdominals. He's still in that scoop. He's gonna place the feet on the bar and then round the upper body forward. Let's do 2 more.

Just like that. Give me a hug. Scoop the entrepreneurs roll down. Pick up your legs, press the heels together. There should be a slight rotation of the hips. Now we're gonna circle the arms up and around one from underneath the armpit.

Think of those muscles wrapping to the front of the body. He's gonna finish at the top. He's gonna stay in that scoop position. He's gonna bring the arms down first. And then he's gonna place the feet on the bar and scoop the abdominals and come up. One more time. Here we go.

Scoop the abdominals around the back. Yes. Find the low abdominal connection and reverse that circle. The arm is gonna go down. And up 1, go from underneath the armpits without using your traps. Or your deltoids.

I pointed trap. Here we go. And hold 2, 3. Now he's gonna extend those legs forward. And now we're gonna test it out and see how smoothly he comes down onto the box. He's gonna come off the box.

It's gonna be abdominals. Press those arms forward. Don't anticipate. It's okay. We got this Excel and roll down one for about a time. Sometimes you guys have to be careful and not anticipate the movement.

You gotta be within the movement. So find the connection, find that serratus anterior, connected to the obliques, to the inner thigh and come up quick. It could be anomalous reach, reach, reach, reach, reach, and keep reaching the arms forward. As you roll down, the goal is for the hands the arms and legs to be parallel to each other until you go all the way down and release. Excellent, Corey. Very nice. Grab the handles of the right hand for me, please. And come up to the right side.

He's gonna set up his handles for short spine massage. So in the middle of the handle with the strap, right, and he's gonna place it at the back end of his reformer. He's gonna bring the headrest up. So now he's gonna start from the top to the bottom. Go ahead, headrest down.

I'm sorry. Had missed him. Flip the box and grab the stick. There's a pad already set up for him. So he's gonna pick up that pad and stick. Get efficiency of movement. Right.

And he's gonna finish by adding a spring, grabbing the strap and placing the foot in the strap, and there he is. Ready to go for the next exercise. Remember, the whole idea about classical Pilates is efficiency of movement. How many exercises can we do per hour or 45 minutes depending on the class? Let's start with the hug. For Koi, I want him to connect his upper body. So we're gonna press the arms to the sides of the body. Think of your c curve, length in the back of the neck, around the thoracic, lengthen that lower back.

And this is a movement of the pelvis unstable hip He's stabilizing the hips by pulling the toes towards the knee and opening the legs out in upper middle, lower abs, and one. Good. What I noticed a lot of times in my student is when they go back, they're they're perfectly right. But as they come up, they start incorporating the hip flexors right away, the hip flexors are the last thing you want to activate. So again, think of your pelvis Let's, let's use another example, another visual. Think of your pelvis as a turning wheel, and we turn that wheel back Now as you come up, that wheel doesn't come up with you. It keeps turning back so you can go upper, middle, lower ax. Let's do 2 more, please.

Here we go. Scoop the abdominals, press those elbows into the body so you can connect the arm to the trunk, for abdominals, middle abdominals, see how well he lengthens that hip one more time inhale, exhale. Scoop the absint, press those elbows into the body. Now let me see the upper abdominals. Middle abdominals, lower abs. And I'm gonna give him a little TLC. He's gonna just stretch the arms forward for a quick stretch.

Set up for me, please, for flat pack. Grab the stick. This is a setup that I like to use to incorporate the upper powerhouse. I asked my students to reach the arms forward from the scapulas forward forward forward. Now with the scapulas, he's gonna lift the arms up to the skin. Not from the traps, but from this radius anterior. Now he's gonna breathe deeply.

And with the inhale, he's gonna take the body back And again, it's the pelvis that goes back and forth. 5 repetitions for me, please. 4 more. So think of your pelvis as a boat. Your boat in short box can either sway front, I'm sorry, back or front or side to side. In this exercise, He's swaying his boat, front, and back lengthen a little bit more, sit up taller, taller, taller, taller, one more time, lengthen, lengthen, lengthen, and scoop the abdominals, Good.

Bring the arms down for a second. We're gonna take a break. Now, again, set yourself up. Bring you the stick. Or bar in front of your chest with the a inhale, you're gonna reach the arms forward and exhale lift the arms up to activate your obliques. With the inhale.

He's gonna rotate to the right now. He's doing twist and reach forward. Mhmm. And up 1. Let's flow. Inhale. Forward and exhale. Remember the footwork, how I glide back and forth.

So think of a wave. Yes. Out and in. One more time, scooby abdominals, twist, forward, and in. Last time, scooby abdominals, twist, forward and in. And why do I use this exercise in this order is because I'm opening up his back line. I'm I'm stretching his hamstrings. So when he goes side to side, yes, he's able to really get into that proper connection towards the, side to side, to the right and center.

Keep that link for me, please. Good. Make sure you wrap the serrated to the front of the body. It's it's like it's like a ribbon that you connect to your traps. And you sort of criss cross it in the back of the body and you bring it around and make a nice little bow in the front of the rib cage and really Good. Twist and reach back for me, please. Inhale. Left the arms up to the ceiling.

He's gonna twist the body to the right, lengthen both sides of the body and bring it in 1. So the idea is that he's only twisting from the thorac the lower back and his pelvis are going straight down. Remember the boat visual that I gave you guys earlier? Right. So the boat is now is just rocking back and forth. He's twisting from the thoracic back. It's it's like a flat back variation.

Yes. So you should be able to find the lower powerhouse the same way you activated in your previous exercise. Now twist and reach Good. Excellent. One more time, please. Now let's go fish. The stick becomes an extension of your body. So don't drop it unless you're able to bring the body all the way down.

Twists. So length in the body. Reach it. Reach it. Reach it. And up, up, up, up, and release. Good. Stretch the body forward for me. Please, TLC. Now he's gonna place the stick underneath the legs and let's go for the treat.

As teachers, we need look at the body that's in front of us and also adapt the workout and make it challenging every time. For Corey, I'm gonna give him a rep for the tree because, you know, he has tight hamstrings. That doesn't mean he can't do a lot of the intermediate to advanced. It's just certain limitations. You know, you have to adapt to it. So you're gonna grab this for me, please.

Place your arch on the extensor. Now Main thing I want is for the back to be flat as flat as possible. Crown of the head up to the ceiling. And in this position, he's gonna bend the knee into your to into his chest. You can bend the knee into your chest. Yes.

And we're gonna do that three times. Good. Now the idea is that when you bend the knee one more time, wanna keep that knee a little bit higher and feel that stretch of the hamstring. Now who's gonna stay in this position, he's gonna point and flex the foot. Points and flex, crown of the head up to the ceiling, 2, and 3. Circle the foot. 1, articulation of ankle and foot is so important in pilates. Reverse 1, 2, and 3, and really good.

We're gonna do 3, but this time, we're gonna do it a little bit different. He's gonna position himself in a single leg stretch opposite a hand to opposite knee. And you're gonna see a lot of the mat exercises in this exercise here. He's gonna lift the body up and with the exhale, you're gonna go forward. With your inhale, you're gonna go back, scope the abdominals, length in the back of the neck. The most important thing of the tree, especially when you go back, is that you connect with your sacrum.

With the axle. He's gonna come up just like the hock, upper, middle, lower abdominals. His sit bones are gonna be on the box. He's gonna try to set up even taller and pull that knee closer into the chest and round the upper thoracic. So he's in that primary curvature with the inhale. Remember the, the visual of the boat? He his boat is rocking back, and now his boat is gonna rock forward.

It's gonna be abdominals lift up, up, up, up, up, sit up nice and tall and with your exhale around the upper body forward. Inhale, we're gonna go back one more time, Corey. And this time, just like the hug, I want you to fold yourself with your upper abdominals, middle abdominals, lower abs, and keep that lift, lift, lift, lift. Sit up taller, nice and long. Good. Cross the leg over. The left foot goes over the other leg, take the arms behind you and stretch the body forward because we also wanna open that out.

So forward for me, please forward forward forward forward. And with the in, he'll use it up nice and tall. Switch the other leg, please. Grabbing the back of the leg, we're gonna grab that patty that extensor again. Make sure that it's clipped and the extensor is on the arch.

Here we go. Scoop the abdominals. Oops. So much for flow. Here we go. Bend the need for me, please, and extend the leg up to the ceiling 1. Extend the leg up to this healing. 2, make sure that every time you bend that knee, you get into a deeper stretch.

He's gonna sit up even taller. He's gonna point and flex the foot 1 and 2 and 3. Now he's gonna circle the foot 1. Control 2. Control 3 and reverse. 1, make sure that your shoulders are connecting to the front of the body. See, here's the lateral rotation. Into the serratus, good, and lift up and body forward from you, please. Good.

I'm gonna take the extensor from you, single leg stretch position, yes, opposite, hand to opposite knee. He's gonna lengthen the body up and round it forward with the exo. There's a breathing pattern here. Inhale, he goes back. He holds on to the he holds on to the breath width and deeper. And then with the axle, he comes up 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Excellent. Inhale, he sit ups even taller. Exhale, round the upper body forward. Now with your inhale, you go back and then you exhale articulate back again.

Another deep breath here. And with the exhale, he comes forward up and over, over, over, over, He sits up even taller, taller, taller, and with the axle forward, 3 repetitions. This is the last one in him scoop the abdominals. Think of rolling like a ball. And with the axle upper, middle, lower abs. Set up even taller for the last time.

X will bring the body forward. From the powerhouse, bend the knee. Cross the top leg. Yes. Cross the top foot over the bottom leg and take the arms behind you and stretch. Now in one smooth transition, he's gonna extend that left left leg out, place it in the and the strap, and then he's gonna go on to his side for side vents, please.

Hands behind the neck. Lengthen the body. We're gonna do 3 repetitions with the hands behind the neck and 3 more repetitions with the arms over the head. This leg, try to make it parallel. No gripping in the hip flexors, long torso. And with the inhale, you're gonna go over and with the exhale come up, up, up, 1. Again, inhale, scoop the abdominals, and crown of the head up to the ceiling up up. She good. Again, one more time for me, please.

Now reach the arms up to the ceiling, intertwine the thumbs, and again, long fingers and exhale one with the inhale lengthens even longer Imagine you diving into the pool, and you don't wanna make a splash. So the whole body is one straight line lift up, up, up, and release. Bring the arms down for me, please, and grab on to the frame of the apparatus and another TLC here. Right. And remember, it's important to stretch the body as well as you're moving through space because the more flexible you are, the more power you have right hand on the 4 and the other arm over the head and reach towards the frame, the back frame of your reformer. Now the top hand goes on the box. You push yourself up.

And in one movement, you switch the foot and go to the other side. Now you're gonna really see the back, the back of the body and and despite lengthening the body for me, please. This connect connection of the strap is very important. You never let this loose. With your in, you'll go over and exhale up one Again, inhale, go over and exhale, up, up, up, up, 2. One more time, inhale, and up, up, up, reach the arms up to the ceiling, intertwine the thumbs, and lengthen. Remember, you're diving into the pool.

So make sure that you don't make a slash lengthen length and lengthen. Yes. Good. One more time. Link that reach, reach, reach, come back to center. Good. Open the arms out and grab the frame of the apparatus. Drop the head down for me, please. So feel that full stretch.

Left hand on the fore and the other arm over the head. If you want to go into a deeper stretch, You can bend that bottom m, the bottom arm. Yes. And place your top hand on the box. Push yourself off.

Now here's the key. Come off to this side for me. Please, we this time we start from the top of the reformer, we flip the bar up You already have 2 springs. You don't even have to deal with the 2 springs. We flip the box over, head rest up, and place the pat on the headrest. So when you take your box away, yes.

You character weights. Here, Rico. We're gonna work on another transition, how to set up for long stretch. So it's hand, foot, hand, foot, the carriage should not move. Let's work on this. He's gonna bring the other foot down. Yes, right foot down. Again, stay close to the front of your reformer.

So make sure that you do not move the carriage. Here we go, hand, foot, hand, foot. As you bring your foot down, make sure it's closer to the foot of the reformer. Here it goes. It could be abdominals closer. Right. And you stand very gracefully in Pilates stance one more time. Here we go. Hand, foot, hand, foot, and no movement of the With your in, you'll push the carriage away, and with your ex, you'll bring it in 1. And just like the footwork out and in, and out and in.

Good. Out in. Out and bring it all the way in. Same thing with down stretch, 3 repetitions, hips forward, rotate the shoulders back, and out and lift the sternum up and inhale and expel the air out. One more time inhale. And now now at TLC, you're gonna go on to the tip of your fingers for me.

Please press those hips forward. Left the arms up to the ceiling. Make sure your power house is connected. Open the arms out to the sides. Grab your ankles.

Lift the hips up, up, up, long torso. Stay connected with your powerhouse. Open the arms out to the sides and round the upper body forward. And now we're ready for up stretch. Good. Now remember, we did this on pulling straps earlier. Connect your serratus to the front of the body, lengthen the back of the neck, and with the a inhale lengthen the body forward.

And this is not an arm exercise. This is a powerhouse exercise. So lift up with your abs. When you push the carriage away, the upper body does not move. You come forward forward forward and with your powerhouse, you lift up one more time inhale.

Come forward Let's do second, second, variation for me, please, inhale, push away. Rotate their shoulders back with your inhale. Keep that lift, inhale. Push away. And fold yourself from the upper powerhouse. Close the armpits. Again, inhale. An exhale. Open the chest.

And with your inhale, press back, lift from the base of, yes, the rib cage and bringing the forehead to your knees one more time. Inhale. Give me that outward rotation. Good push away. Now from the base of the rib cage, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, y, and the character all the way in, and drop the heels down for elephant. 1 count out, 3 count sit inhale, and exhale 1. Now notice I haven't really changed their springs. The springs are still the same. Yes.

The whole series in, long strike series, you don't mess around with the springs. It's, again, you want to be able to flow from one exercise to the other. And mister here is really connecting with his powerhouse. Take the heels into the surface and then drag it in. 1 count out. Good.

One more time. And just for fun, we're gonna do Arabas. First, he's gonna push the carriage away. Hold it. Pick up the leg up second. Do not move the carriage.

Good point. That foots. Now with your ex, you'll bring the carriage in 1. Now hold it here. Hold. This is this is what everyone needs to remember about bring the carriage in for me, please. The carriage only moves when this leg goes up.

If this leg doesn't go up, you gotta keep, you gotta stay square. If this leg doesn't go up and keep the pelvis square, then that's as far as you're gonna go. But the idea is that you want to improve the flexibility by lifting and then bring it in. Lift and hold all the way in, hold in, in, In, in, bring it in, and bring the leg down for me. Please do the middle.

Scoop the abdominals. Make sure that your hips are over your ankles. Yes. And there's your ankles are soft. Yes. There we go. Now he's gonna push the character away.

Now the leg is gonna go between the shoulder rest and, yes, and lengthen up. Keeping the pelvis square. Drag the couch in with your exhale. And lift that leg up higher. Drag the carriage in with your exhale and bring that leg up higher.

Bring that leg. Yes. Hold it in. Hold it in. In. And now he's gonna dismount by bringing this leg close to the foot of the reformer, and there he is. Good. I like the switch, especially for guys, I like second gear. So the switches always make sure they're safe.

Right? So he's gonna bend one knee forward. He's gonna pick up the bar, and he's gonna place an extensor. Place your hand. There it goes. It could be abdominals and use your abs. Your back. Notice his back is nice and long.

You don't wanna round the back, especially when you have to push something away. He adds both springs, scrip the abdominals. Now he comes back to the side, brings the pad forward And guess what? Another transition. Here we go. Hey. Which, by the way, you guys saw this transition earlier. Yes. In the backstroke, now screw the abdominals and step up to the other side, and heels together.

Same thing. You want to be efficient. So What is the moving part and what is the stabilizing part? When you make a transition, you wanna make sure that the weight is over your stable part. In this situation, he's his arms. So come a little bit closer to your there you go. Now place your hand on shoulder rest. Foot. Yes. Now when you dismount, stay closed there. Step back again one more time.

And together, use your powerhouse. Again, step back. Scoop the abdominals. 1, 2, and bring the but forward. Yes. I really barely teach the stomach massage and first gear, because I want the c curve to happen in the thoracic. So I'm always cueing that lower back to lengthen as much as possible, as well as the neck.

Open the arms out to the sides and with your inhale. Now remember, footwork, here's the way it began. Out and axle in. Inhale. Good.

7 more. Did I come up with a number? I don't know. I guess I'm counting somewhere in the back of my head. Good. Now use the breath.

Same thing. Inhale and expel the air out one more time and release. Let's remove one spring. So so far, we've had 4 springs, yes, which Corey added earlier. Now he's gonna remove 1, and it's usually from the center. Yes. Arms up to the ceiling.

Lift the arms up. Take the arms behind you and open the chest for me, please. There's different positions of the hands back here. For Koi's body, yes, the hands are gonna be on the platform. Sometimes I teach it up here. Or sometimes I put a kunya depending on the body, but always look at the body that's in front of you with the a inhale push away and heels down, heels up. And one inhale, heels down, heels up.

2, find a connection of your back, crown of the head up to the ceiling. This is a flat back. So really try to keep the back as long as possible. Right. And the chin back a little bit more. Right. So the back of the neck is nice and long.

Mhmm. And, again, moving from the center, work the negative resistance. Last time, and remove another spring by bringing both hands in front of you. Good. And now reach the arms forward. Sometimes I like to introduce this exercise with the palms facing inward.

Why? Because I want them to feel that upper powerhouse connection in him? And once they have that upper power connection, then I can ask them to just turn the pumps down from the elbows and wrists, right? Inhale and extra. Let's do 2 more for good measure. And last time, now with the inhale, he's gonna twist the body to the right, leading with your heart, if not the arm, inhale lead with your hearts. And XO better again. One last time for good measure, Ian Hill, and another TLC, grab the bar straighten the legs and drop the head down. Good. Pointer sit bones back.

Good. Very nice. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am. Off to the left side for me, please. Chest Expansions. This is one of my favorite exercises for men. Bring the bar down for me, please. So stand on this side again.

You're gonna push the carriage away. Take this topper away. Good. And with both hands, you're gonna pull the bar towards first gear. I'm not familiar with the balance body if there's 1st gear or second gear, but, in the garage, reformer, Obviously, it's like if if someone needs space, you just bring, the bar to second or third gear. Ready, bring the bar down, and chest expansions. Good. Grab the straps. Yes.

On your knees for me, please. You're gonna grab the handles and straps. Hook your feet at the edge of the platform. From this position, crown of the head up to the ceiling with the outward rotation, We did this already, by the way. The main variation of is is the key in Pilates.

Yes. We did pulling of this traps. This is like pulling of this trap. But now you don't have the support of your trunk. With the AA in here, he's gonna rotate back. He's gonna look to the right left.

Center and x01. Again, inhale. Make sure feet are hooked at the edge. Look to the left. Look to the right. Center, and release. Let's play a little bit.

Sometimes I like to play. Hold on to the handle with the index finger, middle finger, and thumbs. Like all this stuff. This is a great technique. This.

This is a great technique for somebody that can't get into into that outward rotation with the inhale, pull the arms back. So just index finger, middle finger, and thumb. And looked to the right, looked to the left, center, and 1. See how he he connected better with the outward rotators. And look and look center. Again, and this is what teaching should be. You should adapt to the student and make sure you get the most out of the body that's in front of you. Good.

Grab the handles with the right hand for me, please. Scoot forward a little bit more. Sit back on your heels and add another spring. The other way for me, please. Right hand. There we go.

And twist. Good. Up on your knees for me, please. Now we're ready for thigh stretch. Grab the chats and the handles. Yes.

We like to do that because, a, I haven't really spoken about grip, but gripping in Pilates is so important because eventually you want to take that out into your everyday life. If we keep holding on strap or straps in this, in this manner, we're not strengthening the grip. We're not strengthening the risk. So gripping is essential in Pilates. Here we go. Angel, go back one piece, chin to the chest, navel deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, Excellent. And with your ex, you'll up up 1. Now he's really connected with his shoulders, and here we go, Daniel.

So he has that stability of the upper body. Again, if you need assistance, you can always lift the arms up. He's gonna do this one more time, and he's gonna go into a back end, rotating the shoulders back, lift the hips up, scoop the abdominals, navel deep, close the armpits, navel deep, deep, deep, and release. He's gonna grab the handles of the right hand. Everybody grab the handle of the right hand and come off to the right side. He's just gonna turn towards, the re the bar and take 2 outside springs. So now you have one middle spring, please. He's gonna place the handles behind his back and on your knees for arm circles.

We're gonna start with lifting the arms up and down. 3 repetition. By the way, you guys, this is a great exercise you know, for guys. And actually for everybody, because somehow we've lost the flexibility of the toast. So this is a good way not to only stretch you know, the feet, but also knees and hips. From this position, he's gonna come up into, up onto your, his knees with arms up and then He goes down. Everybody come up, inhale, and x will bring it down too with the inhale.

He goes up, up, up, and Tian. Now he's gonna circle the arms up and around, circle and around, and one with the inhale lift up, and XL 2. One more time, inhale, and reverse please. Out to the sides, inhale. Find the length, especially when you lift the arms up, think of your serratus. Think of the scapula.

Yep. Sort of like wings opening up and then closing. Lift the arms up to the ceiling for me, please. And let's go into shaving. Bent and lengthen one piece. Make sure the front of the hips that lower back lengthens as you go up onto your knees every time. Good.

2 more. Inhale. Excel. And last time, inhale? Finish at the top, open the arms out to the sides, and bring it down. Good. Place the handles in the hooks for me, please.

And off to the left side, and the moment of truth. Let's go into knee stretches. Here we go. Two springs, hand, foot, hand, foot, Remember, Pilates is very simple. The name of this exercise is called knee stretch. So if you're up up on in this, in this fashion, you're really not getting much of an knee stretch. But if you're sitting back, yes, and connecting your heels to the buttocks, you're definitely getting that knee stretch. Now from this position, I need you to lengthen the back of the neck.

Yes. I need you to round the thoracic. Right. You're gonna lengthen that lower back. It could be abdominals. Find the obliques. And with the a in here, you're gonna push away and quickly in 1.

The movement of the carriage is the length of your leg. From me to ankle. And just like earlier, accent in. In. Relax the neck in. In and hold.

2nd variation. Rotate the shoulders back. Yeah. Arch or flat back in he'll push away. Quick one. Quick 2.

Quick 3. Quick 4. Quick 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Sit back on your heels again. Remember, the idea is that you don't want to bring the body over the bar. You wanna go, you wanna position yourself in that knee stretch position. Find the upper powerhouse, arthritis.

Now in one movement, you're gonna push away. The knees are gonna come up in quickly in 1, quickly in 2, all the way out, 3 all the way out. 4. 5. Use your power. Have 6. 7. Relax the neck.

8. 9 and right foot forward. And 1, push away. 2, push away. 3, 4, 5, and 6 switch and 1. Careful with the hips. 2, 3, 4, 5, Push both legs out, both knees come forward low to the ground, and that is a workout. Off to the left side for me, please. Add 2 more springs, and we're ready for running in place.

Cross the arms in front of you, sit at the corner in one movement, you're ready to go. Now this is a very important exercise, especially when you have a body that's very tight This is gonna tell me if my workout worked for this body with a inhale push away. Now make sure that when you run-in place, you're lengthening the front of the legs. You're feeling the connection of the back of the leg into the carriage. Right? And just like Romana used to say, which means quickly move.

This is more than just, you know, working the legs. If he's using his powerhouse, his reformer should not be moving. Right? Scoop and quick and quick and quick and quick and quick and quick both heels up. And really, it's good. 2nd position for me, please. On his arches. Now lift the pelvis off the ground, and he'll like to wave out and in.

And out and in. He's gonna use his powerhouse to draw the carriage in. Mhmm. And in. Good. Excellent. The very cool thing about Pilates is that There are certain exercises where they're they're designed to bring your heart rate down. Yes.

It's very important to design a workout where, yes, you're gonna bring the heart rate up, but eventually, you wanna bring it down. And the way I see Pilates a lot of times or the way it was designed, it it it was with that intention, it's almost like intervals, if you will. So if you're truly moving through space, yeah, you are gonna bring your heart rate up, but there's gonna be another exercise that's gonna bring your heart rate down. It's genius, and that's why I love Pilates so much. One more time for me, please, and bring it down with control.

Last but not least, let's go into front splits, please. So off we go, 2 springs. And again, the mount of the mounting of the exercise is just as important as every other exercise. We're gonna use just use 1. Yes. So we're gonna start with your right leg. Hand, foot, closer to the foot of, yeah, closer to the space.

Here we go. Hand, foot. That's it. You guys, this is very important because if you start with the feet out there, the carriage is gonna move too much. You have no control over the carriage And that could be dangerous. Scoop the abdominals. With the right foot, you always wanna place the secure foot first on the secure part of the equipment, and then the other foot glides back. Scoop the abs in.

Good. Make sure that the inside of the heels are in alignment with your center lines, with your mid lines. So here we go. Square the hips for me, please. Find that c curve in the thoracic script the abdominals, I should be able to place my hand between your trunk and your thighs could be abdominals.

Here we go. With the inhale push away and with your exhale come forward all the way in and in. Again, inhale, keeping the connection of the heel into the headrest. Right. No movement of your pelvis. You wanna keep the pelvis as quick as possible. Reach the arms forward for me, please, up to the ceiling, lengthen arms next to the ear. Palms are facing inward and with the a inhale press out.

And exhale 1. Good. Again, inhale outs and exhale 2. Inhale outs, and reach the body forward, stretch, and bring that back knee down and press the hip forward. Now from this position, drop the head down. With your inhale, you're gonna push the character away.

And with your exhale, you're gonna rotate the shoulders lift the sternum up to the ceiling up 1. Again, scoop the abdominals push away. Make sure your pelvis is square. You pull that femur into the socket. And with your exhale, lift up, up, up 2. One more time. And in her push away and scoop the abdominals and reach the arms forward, lift the arms up, up, up, up, up, good lengthen.

Good. Bring it back to center. Excellent. How do we transition? You place that foot close to the, the springs and then stand up on both feet and pilates stance. From this position, you're gonna place the secure foot on the bar, scoop the abdominals, and you're gonna slide the other foot back Making sure that the heel is on the base of the headrest. The instead of the heels are in alignment with the midline. Of the body.

Script the abdominals with the inhale push away. And with your exhale come forward, keep your hips square from you. Please. 1. Again, inhale. And keep the hips squared. 2. Excellent. One more time. Inhale.

Now find the lower power house in from the lower power house, reach the arms forward into a nice elongated position. You reach those arms from underneath the armpits and with the inhale, you push away. And exhale what in, heel out. Keep lengthening those arms not from your traps, but from underneath the armpits. From that position, reach the body forward, Good. Bring the back knee down. And with the inhale, you continue the movement and exhale lift chest up rotate their shoulders back 1. Good. And inhale scoop the abdominals and exhale, find that connection, lift, lift, lift, lift, 2. One more time.

Scoop the abdominals. Good. And reach the arms forward, lift up, up, up, up, up. Very nice. Good.

Grab the bar, place your left foot, down. Yes. Place the other foot forward. Step down to the left for me. Please skip the abdominals. And that is the end