Strength + Cardio

Hey. It's Andrea. In this workout today, we'll be flowing through focused and targeted workouts that will build strength and stamina in the body. We're also fusing in a little bit of a cardiovascular fusion to help elevate your heart rate and increase your VO2 max, your stamina, and challenge your practice. So the things you're gonna need for this workout today are your sitting box. So just make sure it's somewhere nearby. You can see the setup's a little bit different today. We've got a mat down on the floor.

This is just to have a little bit of stick and grip for when we put the box directly in the center just to get that heart rate up with a little bit of that cardio fusion. So you could put a mat down If you don't wanna put a mat down, you don't have the space or a mat nearby, you could do this as long as there's grip and your box isn't gonna fly around. You should be fine. Okay. So the props that I want you to grab are a ball I've got a set of dumbbells. I've chosen threes for myself today.

This will be more endurance based for what we're doing holding these. So choose threes. If you wanna go lighter for your neck shoulders, anything, go with ones or twos. That's fine. You could always omit if you don't wanna work with dumbbells. And if you're working toward building bone density or just wanna play with a heavier weight, go with fives, but I wouldn't go higher than a 5. Alright.

So moving on, the setup for your reformer, your foot bar is in that lowest upright position. I've got one blue spring on. That's it. Headdress is flat. Andrea want you to attach your loops.

I'm working with the long loop. So if you've got the doubles, just use those longer ones for me today. That's a lot of talking. Let's get right into it. So setting everything down there, let's grab the ball.

Have a seat on top. And we're starting by warming up your core. So take the ball in one hand, take the loops in one hand, then take your ball Andrea just set it mid to low back. Slide those loops up into your elbow creases. Andrea go behind your head, palm over palm.

Make sure you're in a good middle spot of the back there, so you don't feel too popped up. We go for a really nice extension to begin. Start to drape yourself back Let your hands really support your head and neck. Draw your chin to your chest and round yourself up. Flow through this at your own pace.

This doesn't have to look like anything necessarily could be small. It could be big. It could be slow. We're just waking up the body. Let's do about 10 more seconds at your own pace. Just taking big breaths as you start to connect your body and mind together.

Feels so good. Hold it up on the next one. Draw one leg up into a tabletop. Do a little curl up and then lower your chest down as you lower your leg and alternate legs. So we'll go for this little march up and down.

Now I want you to feel this deepening into your abdominal muscles. So even though we still have that really yummy extension, we're starting to feel that heat in the powerhouse, phew, abdominals, flowing through, maybe start to make this range bigger if that feels good in your body. Elbows saying wide, not pushed all the way back, slightly hinged in so you can see your elbows in your peripheral vision. Give me one more on each side to be even. When you're even, place both feet down.

Let's slide the loops down. Put the loops into your hands. Arms reach out in front of you. Shoulders down. Fly your arms open Andrea resist them back closed. Moving at your own pace.

The things you're focusing on here are shoulder blades hugging back and together those abdominals stay scooped in. Make a bowl with your abdominals. And, you know, working in your practice and these workouts with me, you can always choose that first variation and stick with it always. If you wanna add on to this, let's lift both legs up to a tabletop and keep going. You're curling actively up at your sternum.

You could stick with this or extend both legs as you open your arms everything closes. So we add that little teaser variation. Let's go for 10 seconds. Scooping those abs in and up. Shoulder blades hugging back and together.

5 more seconds. After your next one here, oh, bring it down. Put both loops in your Andrea. Rock up. Bring the ball with you just so it doesn't roll away. Let's put one of those loops down and slide the other loop up above your knee. Bring the ball with you.

You wanna sit about 2 inches from the shoulder blocks. Lie down on your back. Take that ball. Put it between your ankles, hand stack, palm over palm behind your head, curled up, extend your legs out to about 45 degrees, and draw them back in, lengthen out, and deep and back into your core. So we're flowing through this. Focusing on that curl up right at the sternum, gazing through your legs.

On the next one, extend your legs out. Lift your legs straight up to the ceiling. Bend them back in. So you shoot out to 45. Lift to the ceiling, bend in.

This is like the wheel of a train, up, down, and out. 10 seconds. Shoo. Challenging the endurance of the hold of the upper body. After your next one, reverse the direction, go down to 45, bend Andrea extend up to the ceiling. Down in and up.

5 more seconds. After that next one, bend your knees in, grab the ball. Put the ball on the free knee, the knee that doesn't have the loop take the elbow from the same side, put it into the ball, hands behind your head. Say up high. Extend your leg out and in. So that leg that's got the loop.

Go straight out. Draw it back into your chest. Your elbow is pushing into that ball gently. Your knees gently pushing back into that ball. So if I was there with you, I couldn't get that ball out if I tried.

5 more seconds. On the next one, keep it in. Now take the opposite elbow across. Open the other elbow out to the side and extend your loop leg out and in. Straight out right back in. Let's do ten seconds.

5 more seconds curling up, up, up. On the next one, keep it in. Little crunch is up into the ball, up, and up. Give me 10 seconds, lift, and lift, and lift 5 more seconds. And then bring everything home. Carefully rock and roll your body up.

Come seated, and let's switch and get the other loop on. Slide that loop off. Bring the other loop up above your knee. We'll match that exactly. Bring the ball with you, lie down on your back. Let's do the other side.

So everything goes down. We start with that ball back between the ankles, hands behind your head, chest high, extend your legs out to 45, and draw back in. Lengthen out and deepen back in. So you know what's coming now. So scan through your form.

Let's try to fine tune that curling up at the sternum. Tail bone stays down. 5 more seconds, and we'll turn that into the wheel of a train. On the next one, extend out. Hold. Straight legs lift up to the ceiling, bend in, and extend out.

You go up in, and reach 10 seconds. 5 more seconds. Lift your legs up. Reverse that. Go down, bend in, extend up. Down in, and up 5 more seconds. After the next one, lower to 45, bending. Take the ball.

Let's put that on the free knee. Again, the knee that doesn't have the loop. Take your elbow into the ball, hands behind your head, extend that looped leg out and draw back in straight out. Andrea a remember, you've got that gentle hug elbow Andrea knee coming together so we keep that crunch. We challenge the endurance of this. 5 more seconds.

Keep your looped knee in. Opposite elbow goes on the ball, open your chest, twist to the side, extend your leg out, and in. 10 seconds. This is one of my favorite exercises, which I can't believe I'm saying right now, but is so effective. On your next one, keep that knee in.

Stay there little crunches up into that ball. Twisting with the upper body, your hips are totally square and even. Give me 5 more seconds. And then bring everything up. Whoo. Coming up out of that is always the hardest part.

Slide the loop off your leg. Set it down. Step off to the side. So safe to say our core is warmed up now. Let's leave the ball down out of the way. I like to stash mine in the front so I know I'm not gonna step on it at any point. Again, one blue spring start to warm up your upper body.

So bring yourself around. Set yourself up so you're facing the edge of your carriage. One hand goes on the moving carriage. One hand goes on the frame, and then you step back into a plank position. Hold this actively press your chest away Andrea with 2 straight arms, glide the carriage out a few inches, and glide it back Andrea close the carriage. Send it out, hug it back in. So we're starting to focus on the postural muscles, those lats, traps, core is still on fire here.

Still connect there. Now this might feel good focusing on the stabilization of the shoulders, or as you push out at a push up, bring your chest down lift up as you close the carriage. Bring it down Andrea. Let's knock out 10 seconds with whatever you chose today. Bring it down. Bring it up. Let's do 5 more seconds.

After the next one, step your feet in. Carefully bring yourself up and over the carriage. You're in a big sumo squat. If that's not great on your hips, I want you to just kneel on top Andrea that would be great too. Reach down. Take a hold of your loops.

Cross them. So one rope over the other. Hold on with your palms facing in. Now lean back slightly. Catch that tension.

Hold the steep squat Andrea let's a row in and extend out, row in, and out. So we go for this big lap pull. Chest is so proud and open the whole time. As you do these workouts, if you're like, that's a lot of my neck. Do this on a yellow. If you wanna keep adding weight to challenge the endurance and the bone density, do this on a red instead.

So every time you do this workout, you've got options. Now you could either stick with this or we add a fly, row in open Andrea close the carriage. In out, close. You gotta flow on this one. So make it fluid.

Keep your chest open. Keep leaning your weight slightly back. Put a wall behind you Andrea stay connected to that wall with your shoulders. 5 more seconds. 3 more seconds.

Hold it in. Flip your palms up to the ceiling. No row again in and out. In and out. This is your entire body working here. Your legs should feel some heat. Your abs are engaged.

Upper body is working at a 100% here. Give me 5 more seconds like this. Keep your arms out parallel to the floor. Here we go. Bicep curl in and out. This is heavy. We are loading this up for endurance.

Watch the elbows don't start to creep down. I say that because I saw mine doing it. Lean back slightly. Give me 5 more seconds. 3 more seconds.

Arms go straight. Palms in. Give it a little bounce, and let's pull one arm in as you twist that direction. Bring it back. Other side twist and bring it back. Shoulders hugging back, elbows pointing straight back behind you.

Every time you're about to pull, make sure you've got that tension so there's no whipping of that rope. 10 seconds like this, rotating from the trunk, from your torso, your abs, shoulder blades hugging together Give me one more each side to be even Andrea then bring it back. Uncross your loops, carriage closes. Let's hook them back. Carefully step yourself off to the side.

Let's set up. We're bringing that heart rate up for the first official time today, even though I'm already winded. So let's take the box from where you've got it stored. I want you to set it up just like mine. So we're going right in the center of the mat, if you've got it, So you've got room on both sides to land with your feet. Just for some extra fun, grab your dumbbells.

If you don't wanna work with dumbbells today, totally fine. Alright. So I'm gonna show you what this looks like. We're doing a Tabada set 4 sets, 20 seconds on 10:10 seconds break between each one. So you'll step one foot up on top of the box. I'm just gonna bring my Duke stuff to show you this to you. You step up 2 feet, step down. Step up, step down, then we're gonna start to speed it up. Yeah?

Alright. So our first set, get your foot step up. Face me. Duke's up. Here we go. In 3 2, 1. Jump over. Jump over. So I'm starting slow with this. You could start slower.

You could start to speed it up if you're ready. Okay. Let's go a little faster. Over. 10 seconds. 5 seconds. Come all the way down. Rest.

10 seconds off. Take a break. Catch your breath. Whoo. Seconds said we're reaching up at the top, pulling down. Yeah? Here we go. In 3, 2, 1, reach, pull, pull, pull. If you've got it in you, start to speed up.

Hoo. 5 seconds. Bring it down. Catch your breath. Okay. We got 2 more to go. We're halfway there.

Catching your breath. We're boxing on this next set. Jump punch across. Same leg that's going out is the arm that's punching. Yeah. Okay. Here we go. 3, 2, 1. Jump, punch.

Punch. So you get this in your body. Okay. Let's start to speed it up. 10 seconds. 5 seconds Andrea take a break.

Got your breath. Okay. We've got one more round. This is user's choice. Whichever one you wanna do, that's what you're doing today. Okay? So playing with those arms.

Here we go. 321. Give me your best pace on this. Go for it. 10 seconds. Last 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, I know you're there. Take a break. Catch your breath.

Grab some water if you need it, and let's move on. So setting up your reformer for the next part will focus on a bit of strength training here. Let's keep going with our box. So grab the box, set it up the short direction in front of your shoulder blocks. Bring your dumbbells with you, set them on top.

Now, just as a reminder, I've got my bar, my foot bar in the lowest upright position One blue spring is still on. Okay. To come into this, hands on the box, carefully come up to stand facing your box. Step one foot back onto the frame. I'm about hip distance apart. If you wanna challenge your body with balance, Step that back foot up onto the foot bar instead. Dive down into a deep lunge.

You could keep your fingers like this, or hold on to one dumbbell with the same side of that straight leg I'm going for it today. I'm gonna do 2 dumbbells. Okay. Once you're there, start to bend your back leg in and extend it back straight. Bend that back leg in. Extend it back straight.

Keeping your fingertips down is great for balance. It's also getting you down into this deep lunge, so your glutes are super engaged. So it's doing all the things. Keep those fingers down if that feels right for you today. On the next one, as you bend the back leg, bend your arm in, extend back down. If you got the dumbbells, you're rowing those dumbbells in, extending back down.

In End out 10 seconds. Everything is working here. Glutes, legs, arms. 5 more seconds. Shoot. Give me one more. Extend it out hold.

Now kick your leg out straight as you open your arm out to the side, bring it back. Kick it out Andrea. I'm gonna bring my free hand behind my back. 10 seconds out in. As you start to feel comfortable with balance, try to get that arm up parallel to the floor. Shoot. 5 more seconds.

After your next one, bring it down. Bring your hands to hold on to the dumbbell or dumbbells. Bend both legs in halfway. Start with your chest up nice and high. The carriage is not all the way in here.

Dip down, touch the front of the box, come up to stand, do that again hinge down, and bring it back up. The challenge on this is not moving that carriage. Bring it all the way back up. 10 seconds down Andrea right back up. 5 more seconds when we add on.

Bring it up hold if your balance feels good. Lift the arms. Lower the arms, hinge your body forward. Tap the box. Bring it in. Up, down.

Tap the box. If you feel better not lifting your arms, rebalance, shoulders, anything, just stick with that first half of this. Let's do one more full set. Down in, up, and down. Bring the dumbbells or your hands down. Close the carriage Andrea then rotate toward that back leg, come all the way up to stand.

Shoulders are back and down. Start to glide the carriage out as you lift your arms up parallel to the floor. Lower your arms hugging the carriage back in. Gliding out reach up and draw everything back in. So we go from focusing on the hamstring, the quad, the glute to doing a little bit of that abduction adduction here, hugging in with the inner thighs, lifting from the pelvic floor, On the next one, meet me out there.

Hold it out there. Just the carriage goes out and in. Little press out and in. Make sure you can see your hands in your peripheral vision here. Right? So they're not too far behind your body. If you wanna add a pulse up as you push away, go for it up, down, rebuilding that shoulder strength, up Andrea down 5 more seconds.

On your next one, hold it out there. Say there, flip your palms up, flip them down, flip them up, and downs go a little faster, flip, flip, flip. Give me 10 seconds. Let's go for 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and close the carriage. Take your feet slightly turn them out.

External rotation. Press out a few inches drop down into a second position or a Sumo squat, hands up in front of you, starting low, bring the carriage in straight in your arms, press your arms back, and everything comes down. Straight legs, straight arms, bring it in. Dive everything down. Everything in.

Everything down. Just flow. Think equal a hug with both inner thighs. Glutes are involved. Abs are scooping in 10 seconds of this. 5 seconds.

On your next one, meet me down in that Sumo squat. Everything's down. Hold. Shoulders are back. One arm punches across. Other arm.

Box. Box. Keep the carriage as still as you can. Speed that up. Punch. Punch. Punch. We're working a little bit of heart rate here. Cardiovascular fusion in legs are holding that carriage.

Give me 10 seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Oh, bring it home. See the other side. With the dumbbells down, hold on carefully as you switch legs. The other foot steps back, dive down, hold, maybe bring both of those dumbbells to one Andrea, fingertips are down either way, bend that back leg in, and extend it out, bending in, and extend out.

So we flow. We're not adding any additional choreography on here. Again, that's all bonus. This is really the foundation of the work, hamstring in the back, glute, abs are connected. Now as you're flowing through here, if you do wanna add on that row, as you bend, you row in, as you straighten, you reach down. Everything's in, everything's down, row it in, end out. This is what we prepped for earlier with those standing lat rows with the loops, getting those shoulders hugging together, 5 more seconds.

Hold it out on the next one. Now your leg kicks out as your arms lift to the side, bring it in. Start small. I want you to find your balance. Maybe bring your hand behind your back. And go a little bigger if you feel like you can.

What matters more than the size of this is sticking with it and getting that endurance, that consistency of movement, Take a break if you need it. Otherwise, stick with it. 10 more seconds. 5 more seconds. Shoot. Bring everything in halfway. If you've got dumbbells, hold them in front of your chest, start up right, hinge down. Tap the dumbbells to the box. Stand back up.

Do that again. Hinge down Andrea stand back up. So my carriage is a couple inches away from the stopper. Both knees are bent. Chest is open. Oh, everything is working. Now if you wanna add on, here's the chance here.

Go down, up, add the combo, arms up, down. Hinge forward tap the box, bring it up, lift up, down, 10 strong seconds here. 5 seconds. Andrea then when you're ready, put your dumbbells down and bring the carriage home. Turn toward that back leg.

Face the opposite side, your hip distance Andrea bit wider with your feet. Arms are down. Press the carriage out as you reach up to the sides. Close the carriage, close your arms. Reach everything out.

Hug everything back in. So there's a slight lengthening under of the tailbone as you do this. So there's no arch in the back More than anything, the way to find that connection is to zipper up from the low abs, draw the shoulder blades back in together, and find that great postural connection. On the next one, hold it out there for me. Little press out an inch in an inch with your legs.

Tiny endurance pulses. If you wanna add the arms, here we go, pulse them up an inch, down an inch, up, down ten seconds. 5 more seconds. Hold it out halfway. Palms are up. Let's flip down and up with those palms.

Flip flip. Flip. The entire arm is rotating here. Think rolling pin versus the wrist down up 10 seconds. 5 seconds. Shoo. Bring everything home.

Turn your legs out just slightly. Press out a few inches drop down into your Sumo squat. Arms up in front of your face. Straighten your legs rise up as you press your arms back. Everything comes back home in front of you.

Press reach. Everything comes back down. So you're flowing at your own pace. This does not have to be fast, to be effective. I want you to find the form, find a connection. 10 seconds.

5 more seconds, and we are doing that boxing again. So get down low. Hold it down there. Shoulders back. Let's start slow again.

Punch and punch. As you start slow here, get that carriage totally still. Find maybe a deeper squat than that first side. If you're ready, start to speed it up. Punch. Punch. Punch. Give me 10 strong seconds here. Reach, reach, reach, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and bring it all the way in.

Bring yourself down to hold on to the box, carefully step off to the side, and roll it out. Let's get rid of these dumbbells, set them down out of the way. While you're down here, let's switch it up, put on 2 red springs. The blue comes off, Your box is done. So the box comes back behind your reformer. We got a little bit of adductors in her thighs.

Let's sneak in one more moment. Lift your head dressed up. Grab that ball, bring the ball with you, lie down carefully on your back. Take the ball. Put it between your upper inner thighs. Reach back. Let's get those loops.

Give them a little pull and put them over both feet. The ball then travels down between your ankles. Legs extend out to 45 degrees. Shoulders are back. Flex your feet.

Bend in, lengthen out, Andrea. Reach out. Andrea. So we go into this version of a frog, hugging in actively on that ball so we feel the pelvic floor engage, lower abs scoop in, shoulders draw down, 5 more seconds. Reach Andrea.

These always feel so good. Send your legs out. Point your toes and flex. Point flex. After doing a lot of stabilizing with our feet, which is so good for the function of our bodies and our daily lives.

Here, we just get a little circulation flush that should feel really nice. On your next one, hold a point. Quick little pulses in, in, in, in, pulse, pulse, pulse, lengthen your tailbone down. The pace of these pulses is up to you. Find something that feels natural that you could maintain, lower down a few inches faster in in in in in in. 10 seconds.

Pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse, give me 54 3, 2, 1, hold it there. Internal rotation in external rotation out, rotate in, rotate out. So back to that idea of rolling pins, this is your upper inner thighs rolling in and out. Take the feet out of it. Engle's knees. It's all upper inner thigh.

You've got 10 more seconds. 5 more seconds. On your next one, keep it turned out. Lift your legs up Just shy of the ceiling, lengthen down as far as you can without your back even trying to arch. Reach back down.

So we get this big pump of circulation. Double check your knees are locking out. So it's still muscularly connected here. 5 more seconds. Shoot. On your next one, go back to 45.

Hold it there. Parallel your legs. Flex Bend in. Let's take that ball out. Set the ball down to the side. Heels together knees apart.

Give yourself that nice big stretch. Holding onto the loops. Everybody's favorite here Now gently open both legs out toward the sides. Hold it there. I want a soft bend of the knees then start to rock side to side. So this is like a happy baby, stretching out your lower back, your SI joint, inner thighs, bring yourself back center, bend your knees all the way back in.

We're gonna sneak in one more bonus stretch, extend your legs up to the ceiling, flex your feet, draw your toes to your eyes, then try to get your tailbone down, reach it forward, and just hold that big back body stretch. Shooze together toes apart. Bend in. Carefully unhook your feet. Let's bring the carriage all the way closed. Take the loops, hook them back behind you.

With control, rock Andrea roll your body all the way up. Bring yourself off. Turn and face me if you can. Step your feet out nice and wide. We did a lot of lat work here.

So just reach your arms up overhead, interlace your fingers, go for a big stretch, open your chest, lengthen out rock side to side, Oh, stand tall, stand proud. Press your arms open all the way down to your sides, and my friend, we are all done with that one today. We went for it. I hope you feel great. I'll see you for the next one.