Exercise 5. The plank, one of the most functional, total body exercises. One of the best exercises yet one of the most incorrectly performed exercises. I hear it all the time at work from clients, "I can't plank on my hands because it hurts my wrists." Yes, some people do have wrists issues; arthritis, carpal tunnel, to name a few but most of us who say we feel pain in our wrists when planking are planking incorrectly. The wrists should not bear much weight when performing this exercise. The core should be holding us up from our center, our shoulders should have a strong connection to our back and our legs are actively pressing back and lifting weight off the floor. In the picture below you can see there is good distance between my ears and my shoulders and the upper portion of my shoulders are not elevated. The hands serve as a contact point to the ground but my weight is being held through my center. The goal of the exercise is to find the body in one long line! If you feel strain or stress in your low back or upper shoulders come down and reassess your position. If you are having issues with your wrists, come down onto your forearms and you can always modify by coming onto your knees.
Perfect Form. How to perfect the Double Leg Lower. Exercise 4.
Exercise 4. The Double Leg Lower, part of the Pilates matwork abdominal series. The double leg lower is a super challenging low belly exercise. But like every exercise it is only beneficial and effective when performed correctly.
Important elements: Move slowly with control and precision. If you have tight hamstrings or a tight low back and cannot achieve 90 degrees with your legs straight, work the exercise from tabletop (90/90).
Perfect Form. How to perfect the lunge. Exercise 3.
Exercise 3 in the series of 6. The lunge. Lunges are a fantastic exercise, they challenge your balance, coordination, improve flexibility and strength. Lunges target all of the major muscle groups in the lower half of your body; quadriceps (top of the thigh), glutes, hamstrings (back of the thigh), calves, and they engage the core (when done properly). They are a very functional exercise, meaning they that they directly improve the performance of natural, everyday movements. Remember, an exercise is only as good as the form it is performed with!
60 minute Tabata Workout.
This workout was a big hit last week, my clients just loved it! I usually use Tabata intervals throughout class to add cardio and to keep the classes heart rates up. I decided to mix things up and teach an entire Tabata class. If you haven't heard of Tabata training, you can read more here. The class consisted of 12 rounds of Tabata (4 min each) with 1 minute active rest intervals between rounds. Active rest can be step-touching in place, just make sure to keep your body upright and attempt to bring your heart rate down slowly.
The rounds alternate between strength, strength, cardio, and core. What's great about this workout is all you need is a set of free weights and your smart phone (for your Tabata timer app).
Remember to properly warm-up, cool-down and stretch. If an exercise does not feel right for your body or fitness level modify or continue to do move with an active rest through the round until you feel ready to join in again. With any of the high intensity exercises you can always choose an alternative, for example plyo lunges can be swapped out for stationary lunges. LISTENT TO YOUR BODY!
Plank + Rotation: Start in a plank at center preferably on your hands, rotate your body to the right stacking your feet and raising your right arm up to the ceiling, pause. Rotate back to center squaring off your body to the ground, pause, then rotate to the other side.
Double Leg Lower: Lying supine (on your back), place hands behind head with your elbows reaching wide. Curl up to an upper contraction, using your abdominal muscles (not your neck). Lift your legs to 90 degrees, slowly lower both legs but only lowering as much as you can without going into your low back. Slowly bring the legs back up. Avoid using momentum as you bring the legs back to 90 degrees. Attempt to be as precise as possible as you lift the legs, stopping at 90 not past!
REMEMBER: exercise is only as good as the form you perform it with.
If you aren't sure of an exercise above, please leave a comment and I will get back to you with some notes:-)