Friday, May 4, 2012
Booty Barre Certification Training
I'm currently in Maryland at a weekend-long training session for Tracey Mallett's Booty Barre method. So far, I can still walk, but it's a tough workout and I really prepared ahead of time to make sure I could get through this. Thankfully! If you haven't heard of all the barre methods out there that are quickly becoming mainstream in the fitness world, they stem from the old Lotte Berk method. It's described as a combination of Pilates, yoga, and dance, and it's a full-body workout, so don't let the name fool you. (No dance experience required.)
This particular method, The Booty Barre, is the one I chose after researching oodles of them. It's a lot peppier than some of them. You get to groove to a good beat for the whole class. The movements and positioning are very specific and modifications are provided for many physical issues such as plantar fasciitis, knee pain and back pain. The exercises are taught and executed with integrity. The thing I really love about The Booty Barre is the cardio intervals. Each class has at least two cardio intervals and let me tell you, you feel it! Besides the barre work, the method also includes arm, ab, back extension and flexibility sections in every class.
So watch for The Booty Barre coming soon to Evangelical Community Hospital's Fitness Center in Lewisburg, PA! Join me in some serious fun that will make you feel awesome and keep you coming back again and again!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Pilates on Huffington Post
My husband is a Huffington Post addict and every once in a while I will get sucked into the endless abyss of useful and not so useful information. There are some pretty interesting articles about Pilates on there, and this one, I thought was handy for those on the fence about whether or not to jump into Pilates. The journalists write of the benefits of a single session, and the downside of the cost of getting into a routine of apparatus classes. But the mat classes, they determine, are financially doable. So take a look, and then jump on in to a Pilates class if it strikes your fancy!
"We Tried It: Reformer Pilates"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meredith-melnick/pilates-reformer_b_1452732.html
Saturday, April 28, 2012
I am so inspired and excited this week! I am not taking the credit for this because my client did all the work, but this particular client (and you know who you are) has been taking duet and group classes with me for almost a year and a half. She reported to me that she is over an inch taller than she was a year ago! Where the cervical and thoracic spinal areas meet has straightened (which a doctor told her could never change) and she looks fabulous! She walks with better posture and has so much more body awareness than when she began this Pilates journey. Thank you Joseph Pilates! And to all my clients who would like to run with this and grow to be 6 feet tall, well, I guess everyone is allowed her own dreams. I'm off to having sweet dreams myself now. Ciao!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Ten-Minute (Plus) Workout
I know I've been MIA, and I apologize for that! Life has gotten away from me, but hopefully this super-extensive blog post will make up for lost time. If you have been following any Pilates news whatsoever, and feel as I do that Pilates news has been taken over by the state of Pippa Middleton's backside, then read on for something a bit more newsworthy! Here are the real exercises that will help get you feeling great mentally and physically, and you don't even have to be related to a royal to get the benefits!
We've now gone over the first five exercises in Joseph Pilates' system as well as the Ab Series of Five. Let's do a quick recap and add on from here so you can more easily practice these with flow. (Remember, flow is one of the foundation principles of Pilates.)
The sequence is as follows:
1. Hundred
2. Roll Up
3. Roll Over
4. Single Leg Circles
5. Rolling Like a Ball
6. Single Leg Stretch
7. Double Leg Stretch
8. Single Straight Leg Stretch
9. Double Straight Leg Stretch
10. Criss Cross
11. Spine Stretch Forward
12. Open Leg Rocker
13. Corkscrew
14. Dart
I will explain in further detail the exercises which I have not gone over yet. (The others are explained in a previous post labeled Your Daily Five from April 22, 2011 and in Your Daily Vitamin: The Hundred from May 17, 2011.):
Roll Up: Lie on your back with legs straight and "glued" together. (The traditional exercise calls for gently pointed feet, but if this gives you cramps, start with flexed feet.) Arms are overhead with ribs knit together in the front. On an inhale, bring arms above shoulders, then exhale to drop chin toward the chest and peel your spine off the mat as your feet flex. The fingertips reach above the feet as the waistline pulls back. Do what I like to call a "tug of war" with your fingertips and your back beltloop, so you can feel the oppositional stretch through your back as your abs pull into your spine. The ears are in line with your biceps. Start the rolldown by inhaling the abs further into your spine and squeezing the legs and glutes together. When the lower back reaches the mat, exhale as you articulate through to the top of the spine and bring the arms back to the starting position. Modification: Bend your knees to start, with the feet on the ground, and use your hands to walk yourself up, at which point you can stretch through the legs and do as described above. Reverse this motion, walking your hands on the backs of the legs to work your way down to the mat. Advanced: Follow lovely ballet dancer Allison in the following video. Note how she doesn't raise the arms above the shoulders to begin, but starts by keeping the arms by the ears as she peels her spine off the mat. That really adds a good deal more work to the already challenging exercise, so only do this once you have perfected the Roll Up!
Roll Over: Start by lying supine on the mat (facing up) and legs slightly below 90 degrees to the mat and arms imprinted down by your sides. If you need to bend the knees a bit due to hamstring tightness, you may do so to complete the exercise. Otherwise, keep the legs straight and inhale to lift the legs to 90 degrees and imagine you are lifting the hips up and over a barrel, reaching the toes towards the back of the room, legs parallel to the floor, or if you are particularly flexible, toes to the floor. At this point, make sure you are only rolling onto the shoulder blades, not the neck. Open the legs hip-width apart, flex the feet, and on the exhale, begin to roll down, articulating through the spine while pressing through the heels. Once you have come down to the hips, lower the legs to the starting angle and bring the legs together. Now you are in position to repeat the exercise two more times. After the third rep, the exercise is reversed, meaning you begin with the roll over with the legs separated, connecting them for the roll down section of the exercise.
Single Leg Circles: Lie with your back on the mat, legs stretched on the mat, and arms along your sides, palms down and fingers reaching down towards the feet. Bring the right knee toward the chest, and extend the toes up toward the ceiling, straightening the leg as much as you are able. Firmly plant both hips into the mat throughout the exercise. Inhale the right leg left across the body while pressing the arms into the mat. Exhale, while bringing the leg down to about 45 degrees and around, back to the starting position with the right foot pointed up to the ceiling. Really let the exhale help you return the leg by contracting the lower abs fully into the spine. Repeat four more times in this direction. Then do five reps in the reverse direction, inhaling the leg straight down about 45 degrees, and exhaling it across the body and back up to the top. Be careful not to let the hips rock during the exercise. This is accomplished by solidifying the transversus abdominis, otherwise known as the deepest lower abs, into the lower back. Repeat with other leg in both directions. Modification: Keep the bottom leg bent and the foot on the floor during the entire exercise and keep the upper leg bent throughout. Advanced: Elevate the bottom leg off the floor a couple inches, raise the chin to the chest, and either put the hands behind the head supporting the head with interlaced fingers, or reach the arms straight overhead.
Rolling Like a Ball: This is one of the more fun exercises, once you get the hang of it, as well as one of the most "feel-good", massaging exercises. I'm going to recommend a softer surface for this exercise, either with your mat on a carpeted surface, or using my favorite mat of all time, the Aeromat Elite. Sitting on the mat, pull your abs back into the spine until your spine is in a C-curve, with chin lowered toward the chest. Bend the knees in, keeping them either together or slightly open, and hold onto either the ankles or the shins. Lift the toes off the mat to start by balancing on the sit bones. Pull the abs so deeply back into the spine on the inhale that you begin to roll back, allowing yourself to go only as far as the shoulder blades. At this point, make sure you do not flatten out the back, or else your hope of rolling back up will dwindle quicly. Keep the C-curve by continuing to pull the abs into the spine with the shoulders rounded, pulling the knees towards them. Exhale as you rock back up to the sit bones, ideally balancing there without touching the toes to the mat. Modification: Instead of holding onto the shins, hold behind the hamstrings so the lower legs can be used as leverage to return to the top.
Spine Stretch Forward: Sit on the mat wit legs stretched forward and as straight as you are able. Flex the feet and sit high up on the sit bones. If you need to sit on a cushion to make this possible, do so, by all means. Reach the hands forward, arms parallel to the floor, and imagining you are growing up from the top of your head by an inch or so. Shoulders are stabilized by drawing the shoulder blades together and down the spine, without letting the rib cage splay open. Inhale at the top, then exhale into a deep C-curve, with the abs drawing into the spine, fingertips and waistline playing "tug of war" with the ears almost level with the biceps. Inhale as you articulate through the spine, stacking the vertebra, one on top of the next, until you are in your tallest position at the top. Modification: Hands start on the mat and walk forward and back keeping contact with it at all times for support.
Open Leg Rocker: Now we're getting into some real fun! Sit on the mat, rolling so you're balancing on the sit bones as in Rolling Like a Ball with hands holding the ankles or shins. From here, extend the legs as straight as possible and open about mat-width apart. As you inhale, pull the abs back into the spine to keep the C-curve as you roll back onto your shoulder blades. Exhale to roll back up to balance on the sit bones. Here you have the option to keep the C-curve as you balance at the top, or to come up to a flat-back position. The second option is more advanced as it is easy to snap the lower back forward to balance, and letting the pelvis push forward.
Corkscrew: Lie with your back on the mat and heels connected in a Pilates-V position with legs pointing up to the ceiling at 90 degrees. Arms are reaching down by your sides, imprinting your shoulders into the mat. Head stays down on the mat and abs drawn down into the spine. Circle the legs to the right on the inhale, keeping the left hip imprinted into the mat. Exhale to complete the circle going down and around to the left, returning up to the starting position. Repeat with the circle starting to the left. Work up to 5 sets of this. Modification: I am demonstrating the modification for Corkscrew in the following video. Instead of reaching the arms down by your sides, slide your hands under your hips. This will help protect your lower back by making it easier to imprint that region of the spine. Always imprint your lower back into the mat when you have two legs elevated.
Dart: Lie on your front with abs pulled up into the spine and legs "glued" together. The arms are on the mat with palms down and the forehead resting on the mat. Inhale to lengthen through the top of the head, causing your spine to go into a slight extension as the forehead floats off the mat and the fingers walk down towards the feet. Exhale to return back to your starting position. Work up to 8 repetitions.
Add them all together, and this is what you get:
So there you have it, and if you go from one exercise to the next while following me in the video, it's just about 9 minutes long. Feel free to skip an exercise if it feels too advanced right now, perform it at a slower speed, or do the modification. (Joseph Pilates states in Return to Life Through Contrology that one should "not sacrifice knowledge to speed in building your solid exercise regime on the foundation of Contrology", otherwise known as Pilates.) Stop immediately if you are feeling pain beyond sweet discomfort! Please make sure you have your doctor's permission before starting this program. If all your ducks are in a row, try to get through this short workout at least three times a week. It will get easier as you become more familiar with the exercises. And most importantly, have fun, laugh, whatever your heart desires! I know we've had a lot of laughs doing the Open Leg Rocker for the first time in classes, and it really helps to get people to go for it and not be shy. Good times!
~Jess
We've now gone over the first five exercises in Joseph Pilates' system as well as the Ab Series of Five. Let's do a quick recap and add on from here so you can more easily practice these with flow. (Remember, flow is one of the foundation principles of Pilates.)
The sequence is as follows:
1. Hundred
2. Roll Up
3. Roll Over
4. Single Leg Circles
5. Rolling Like a Ball
6. Single Leg Stretch
7. Double Leg Stretch
8. Single Straight Leg Stretch
9. Double Straight Leg Stretch
10. Criss Cross
11. Spine Stretch Forward
12. Open Leg Rocker
13. Corkscrew
14. Dart
I will explain in further detail the exercises which I have not gone over yet. (The others are explained in a previous post labeled Your Daily Five from April 22, 2011 and in Your Daily Vitamin: The Hundred from May 17, 2011.):
Roll Up: Lie on your back with legs straight and "glued" together. (The traditional exercise calls for gently pointed feet, but if this gives you cramps, start with flexed feet.) Arms are overhead with ribs knit together in the front. On an inhale, bring arms above shoulders, then exhale to drop chin toward the chest and peel your spine off the mat as your feet flex. The fingertips reach above the feet as the waistline pulls back. Do what I like to call a "tug of war" with your fingertips and your back beltloop, so you can feel the oppositional stretch through your back as your abs pull into your spine. The ears are in line with your biceps. Start the rolldown by inhaling the abs further into your spine and squeezing the legs and glutes together. When the lower back reaches the mat, exhale as you articulate through to the top of the spine and bring the arms back to the starting position. Modification: Bend your knees to start, with the feet on the ground, and use your hands to walk yourself up, at which point you can stretch through the legs and do as described above. Reverse this motion, walking your hands on the backs of the legs to work your way down to the mat. Advanced: Follow lovely ballet dancer Allison in the following video. Note how she doesn't raise the arms above the shoulders to begin, but starts by keeping the arms by the ears as she peels her spine off the mat. That really adds a good deal more work to the already challenging exercise, so only do this once you have perfected the Roll Up!
Roll Over: Start by lying supine on the mat (facing up) and legs slightly below 90 degrees to the mat and arms imprinted down by your sides. If you need to bend the knees a bit due to hamstring tightness, you may do so to complete the exercise. Otherwise, keep the legs straight and inhale to lift the legs to 90 degrees and imagine you are lifting the hips up and over a barrel, reaching the toes towards the back of the room, legs parallel to the floor, or if you are particularly flexible, toes to the floor. At this point, make sure you are only rolling onto the shoulder blades, not the neck. Open the legs hip-width apart, flex the feet, and on the exhale, begin to roll down, articulating through the spine while pressing through the heels. Once you have come down to the hips, lower the legs to the starting angle and bring the legs together. Now you are in position to repeat the exercise two more times. After the third rep, the exercise is reversed, meaning you begin with the roll over with the legs separated, connecting them for the roll down section of the exercise.
Single Leg Circles: Lie with your back on the mat, legs stretched on the mat, and arms along your sides, palms down and fingers reaching down towards the feet. Bring the right knee toward the chest, and extend the toes up toward the ceiling, straightening the leg as much as you are able. Firmly plant both hips into the mat throughout the exercise. Inhale the right leg left across the body while pressing the arms into the mat. Exhale, while bringing the leg down to about 45 degrees and around, back to the starting position with the right foot pointed up to the ceiling. Really let the exhale help you return the leg by contracting the lower abs fully into the spine. Repeat four more times in this direction. Then do five reps in the reverse direction, inhaling the leg straight down about 45 degrees, and exhaling it across the body and back up to the top. Be careful not to let the hips rock during the exercise. This is accomplished by solidifying the transversus abdominis, otherwise known as the deepest lower abs, into the lower back. Repeat with other leg in both directions. Modification: Keep the bottom leg bent and the foot on the floor during the entire exercise and keep the upper leg bent throughout. Advanced: Elevate the bottom leg off the floor a couple inches, raise the chin to the chest, and either put the hands behind the head supporting the head with interlaced fingers, or reach the arms straight overhead.
Rolling Like a Ball: This is one of the more fun exercises, once you get the hang of it, as well as one of the most "feel-good", massaging exercises. I'm going to recommend a softer surface for this exercise, either with your mat on a carpeted surface, or using my favorite mat of all time, the Aeromat Elite. Sitting on the mat, pull your abs back into the spine until your spine is in a C-curve, with chin lowered toward the chest. Bend the knees in, keeping them either together or slightly open, and hold onto either the ankles or the shins. Lift the toes off the mat to start by balancing on the sit bones. Pull the abs so deeply back into the spine on the inhale that you begin to roll back, allowing yourself to go only as far as the shoulder blades. At this point, make sure you do not flatten out the back, or else your hope of rolling back up will dwindle quicly. Keep the C-curve by continuing to pull the abs into the spine with the shoulders rounded, pulling the knees towards them. Exhale as you rock back up to the sit bones, ideally balancing there without touching the toes to the mat. Modification: Instead of holding onto the shins, hold behind the hamstrings so the lower legs can be used as leverage to return to the top.
Spine Stretch Forward: Sit on the mat wit legs stretched forward and as straight as you are able. Flex the feet and sit high up on the sit bones. If you need to sit on a cushion to make this possible, do so, by all means. Reach the hands forward, arms parallel to the floor, and imagining you are growing up from the top of your head by an inch or so. Shoulders are stabilized by drawing the shoulder blades together and down the spine, without letting the rib cage splay open. Inhale at the top, then exhale into a deep C-curve, with the abs drawing into the spine, fingertips and waistline playing "tug of war" with the ears almost level with the biceps. Inhale as you articulate through the spine, stacking the vertebra, one on top of the next, until you are in your tallest position at the top. Modification: Hands start on the mat and walk forward and back keeping contact with it at all times for support.
Open Leg Rocker: Now we're getting into some real fun! Sit on the mat, rolling so you're balancing on the sit bones as in Rolling Like a Ball with hands holding the ankles or shins. From here, extend the legs as straight as possible and open about mat-width apart. As you inhale, pull the abs back into the spine to keep the C-curve as you roll back onto your shoulder blades. Exhale to roll back up to balance on the sit bones. Here you have the option to keep the C-curve as you balance at the top, or to come up to a flat-back position. The second option is more advanced as it is easy to snap the lower back forward to balance, and letting the pelvis push forward.
Corkscrew: Lie with your back on the mat and heels connected in a Pilates-V position with legs pointing up to the ceiling at 90 degrees. Arms are reaching down by your sides, imprinting your shoulders into the mat. Head stays down on the mat and abs drawn down into the spine. Circle the legs to the right on the inhale, keeping the left hip imprinted into the mat. Exhale to complete the circle going down and around to the left, returning up to the starting position. Repeat with the circle starting to the left. Work up to 5 sets of this. Modification: I am demonstrating the modification for Corkscrew in the following video. Instead of reaching the arms down by your sides, slide your hands under your hips. This will help protect your lower back by making it easier to imprint that region of the spine. Always imprint your lower back into the mat when you have two legs elevated.
Dart: Lie on your front with abs pulled up into the spine and legs "glued" together. The arms are on the mat with palms down and the forehead resting on the mat. Inhale to lengthen through the top of the head, causing your spine to go into a slight extension as the forehead floats off the mat and the fingers walk down towards the feet. Exhale to return back to your starting position. Work up to 8 repetitions.
Add them all together, and this is what you get:
So there you have it, and if you go from one exercise to the next while following me in the video, it's just about 9 minutes long. Feel free to skip an exercise if it feels too advanced right now, perform it at a slower speed, or do the modification. (Joseph Pilates states in Return to Life Through Contrology that one should "not sacrifice knowledge to speed in building your solid exercise regime on the foundation of Contrology", otherwise known as Pilates.) Stop immediately if you are feeling pain beyond sweet discomfort! Please make sure you have your doctor's permission before starting this program. If all your ducks are in a row, try to get through this short workout at least three times a week. It will get easier as you become more familiar with the exercises. And most importantly, have fun, laugh, whatever your heart desires! I know we've had a lot of laughs doing the Open Leg Rocker for the first time in classes, and it really helps to get people to go for it and not be shy. Good times!
~Jess
Monday, June 13, 2011
We Make Great Lemonade
I went to teach at the Magee Center in Bloomsburg tonight, and the whole building was locked up tight. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day, and we made the best of what could have been a frustrating situation. We had class on the lovely lawn under the grand old trees! We had a first-time experience of creating a makeshift dressing room out of Pilates mats for one devoted student coming fresh from work, and had a blast working-out in the fresh air. I think a few ants relocated from Bloom to Lewisburg on my person, but other than that, it was an unforgettable class which included a few giggles at the fact that we were in some interesting Pilates poses not far from the highway!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
"Get up and go... Just do it."
Have you ever been concerned that you are too old to try a new form of exercise? I'm often so proud of the people that come in to my class as they are no longer, well, teenagers. Most teenagers, unless they are dancers, probably don't see the need for Pilates just yet. They often have naturally firm and strong cores, not having yet had metabolism changes, pregnancies, injuries, or just plain gravity fighting against them. So, in walks a "middle aged" man or woman, having never taken a Pilates class, let alone knowing what one entails, to experience his or her first Hundred or Saw. To have that kind of courage inspires me.
If you have two minutes, watch this short video by Ari Cohen of a 99-year-old woman, Ruth Kobin, who is studying Pilates. She started practicing it at age 91, so if you feel you're too old to start something new, ditch that thought! Ruth has a lot of great advice in this short interview such as "I use what's good for me [regarding exercise]. In fact I've learned what's good for my body. If you listen to your body, it'll tell you." "...and if I stretch and exercise, I feel a lot better. So it boils down to keeping active." "So often I have to push myself. Just say 'Ruth, get up and go... Just do it.'"
Ari has more of Ruth's life and style advice written out at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-cohen/life-and-style-advice-fro_b_870690.html. Besides nixing the blue jeans, I think these are some quality points to ponder! Try something new soon (like Pilates *wink*wink*) and don't waste your energy feeling self-conscious because everyone's focusing too much on themselves to care what you're doing. Hey, ballet-girl here got herself into a Zumba class and had a great time.
I hope you've found this extraordinary woman as encouraging as I have regarding her views on exercise! I haven't yet had someone her age take one of my classes, but to see people walk in to class in January and plug through class, maybe with a bit of frustration, and finish up the session in June feeling like a pro, is truly a thrill. You can do it, too! Get up and go... Just do it!
If you have two minutes, watch this short video by Ari Cohen of a 99-year-old woman, Ruth Kobin, who is studying Pilates. She started practicing it at age 91, so if you feel you're too old to start something new, ditch that thought! Ruth has a lot of great advice in this short interview such as "I use what's good for me [regarding exercise]. In fact I've learned what's good for my body. If you listen to your body, it'll tell you." "...and if I stretch and exercise, I feel a lot better. So it boils down to keeping active." "So often I have to push myself. Just say 'Ruth, get up and go... Just do it.'"
Ari has more of Ruth's life and style advice written out at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-cohen/life-and-style-advice-fro_b_870690.html. Besides nixing the blue jeans, I think these are some quality points to ponder! Try something new soon (like Pilates *wink*wink*) and don't waste your energy feeling self-conscious because everyone's focusing too much on themselves to care what you're doing. Hey, ballet-girl here got herself into a Zumba class and had a great time.
I hope you've found this extraordinary woman as encouraging as I have regarding her views on exercise! I haven't yet had someone her age take one of my classes, but to see people walk in to class in January and plug through class, maybe with a bit of frustration, and finish up the session in June feeling like a pro, is truly a thrill. You can do it, too! Get up and go... Just do it!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Your Daily Vitamin: The Hundred
This may be a tough pill to swallow for some, but The Hundred is an excellent exercise to get the circulation revved up, fire up the abs, and get you ready for what's to come in the rest of your workout. I personally like to do it to warm up the finger tips and toes in the dead of winter. It really works! On top of it all, it really gets some fresh oxygen into the lungs. I'm including a video clip of myself doing two sets of the ten you want to work up to.
1. Start by lying on your back with your toes pointed up to the ceiling. You can always bend the legs for a modification. Remember to imprint the lower back into the mat, which means you have to fully engage the lower abs. I also like to rotate the legs slightly from the hip joint and squeeze through the inner thighs throughout this exercise, just to add a little somethin' somethin'. Reach the fingertips long along side your body, reaching past your hips. Think of the shoulder blades sliding down the spine and creating the greatest distance you can between earlobes and shoulders. This will aid in the next step of bringing your chin toward your chest, like you're cradling an egg between neck and chin, which is where your head will stay for the entire exercise. This will also help you to have a great view of the lower abs, making sure they scoop!
2. Now, pump the arms up and down like you're slapping water. Inhale for five pumps of the arms and exhale for five. That's one set. Gradually work your way up to ten sets, continuing the breath, equaling one hundred pumps of the arms. (This is a good place to work on lateral thoracic breathing a.k.a. sideways ribcage breathing. Don't let the front of the ribs splay open; keep the ribs knit together.) If you're feeling really strong in the lower back, lower the legs to a point that you can maintain your lower back imprinting into the mat. You can work your way down to about a 45-degree angle with the legs. If you do feel your lower back peeling off the mat, raise your legs a bit or bend them into a tabletop position with the knees bent at a 90-degree angle and shins parallel to the floor.
3. Finish up by relaxing your head and shoulders onto the mat and hugging your knees into your chest, giving yourself a nice little back stretch. If the front of your neck is feeling a bit tense, just drop your nose from side to side, which will release the tension in the neck flexor muscles.
I hope this explanation and mini-demo help with your execution of The Hundred! Try to do The Hundred daily before you go on to the other Pilates exercises. Please feel free to ask any questions that you have regarding the exercise if you need further help.
This post is dedicated to Stephanie. I kow The Hundred is your fave!!!
1. Start by lying on your back with your toes pointed up to the ceiling. You can always bend the legs for a modification. Remember to imprint the lower back into the mat, which means you have to fully engage the lower abs. I also like to rotate the legs slightly from the hip joint and squeeze through the inner thighs throughout this exercise, just to add a little somethin' somethin'. Reach the fingertips long along side your body, reaching past your hips. Think of the shoulder blades sliding down the spine and creating the greatest distance you can between earlobes and shoulders. This will aid in the next step of bringing your chin toward your chest, like you're cradling an egg between neck and chin, which is where your head will stay for the entire exercise. This will also help you to have a great view of the lower abs, making sure they scoop!
2. Now, pump the arms up and down like you're slapping water. Inhale for five pumps of the arms and exhale for five. That's one set. Gradually work your way up to ten sets, continuing the breath, equaling one hundred pumps of the arms. (This is a good place to work on lateral thoracic breathing a.k.a. sideways ribcage breathing. Don't let the front of the ribs splay open; keep the ribs knit together.) If you're feeling really strong in the lower back, lower the legs to a point that you can maintain your lower back imprinting into the mat. You can work your way down to about a 45-degree angle with the legs. If you do feel your lower back peeling off the mat, raise your legs a bit or bend them into a tabletop position with the knees bent at a 90-degree angle and shins parallel to the floor.
3. Finish up by relaxing your head and shoulders onto the mat and hugging your knees into your chest, giving yourself a nice little back stretch. If the front of your neck is feeling a bit tense, just drop your nose from side to side, which will release the tension in the neck flexor muscles.
I hope this explanation and mini-demo help with your execution of The Hundred! Try to do The Hundred daily before you go on to the other Pilates exercises. Please feel free to ask any questions that you have regarding the exercise if you need further help.
This post is dedicated to Stephanie. I kow The Hundred is your fave!!!
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