Quick Fit with Cassy

- Hello, I'm Cassy Vieth, and I hope you're doing well.

Today's Quick Fit class will focus on the muscles all around your torso: front, sides, and back.

This is your core, and your core is only as strong as your weakest muscle.

So let's make sure all of them are strong and flexible.

[upbeat music] Now for most of today's class, we will be seated, but take your shoes off anyway.

This allows your feet freedom of movement, and the other thing we'll be doing a little different is we will be sitting all the way back in our chair, which is something we don't normally do, but because we're working the core, I want to start out with a move called the vacuum.

All right, this is a hold.

It's not actually a move with repetitions.

It's just a hold.

So what I'd like you to do is sit back in your seat and squeeze your hind end.

This will allow your low back to be pressed against the chair back.

You can also use your feet on the floor to give you a little extra leverage.

Now I've already started.

I'm pulling in my abdominals.

I hope you are too.

Just contracting them, trying to make everything as squished as possible.

Inhale [inhales] and then exhale, and as you exhale, get it all out, more and more and more.

Keep pulling in and pulling in.

The deep abdominal muscles around your spine are getting a workout, even though it doesn't seem like it.

Exhale.

[exhales] And if you're not sure if anything is happening, just push against your muscles.

It will help reconnect the brain and the muscles, and you'll feel that you actually do have some contracting going on.

All right, so we're still pulling in.

Doesn't look like anything's happening, but it is.

This is one of those moves that when you're riding along in the car, you can easily do.

Press your back into the seat, press your feet into the floorboards, and just start feeling those muscles engage.

Pulling in, pulling in.

Inhale, exhale, [exhales] little sips of air in and keep blowing out, blow, blow.

All right, now we're going to do something else, but I want you to continue pulling in those abs.

We'll be doing these single leg presses, so you can hang on to the bottom of your chair, and I want you to lift this leg and then press down.

You should immediately feel more engagement throughout your torso, lift and press.

Now press as if there's a beach ball under that foot.

All right, lift and press.

It takes some force.

It takes this leg working hard.

You can also push the other foot into the floor and you'll feel even more things going on.

So press and press.

A couple more, press, [exhales] lift, now straight out, press.

Bring it in, straight out.

You might have to slide slightly down in your chair so you can really lift the leg up higher.

Press [inhales] and press, [exhales] press and press.

Good, let's do the other leg.

So lift and down to the ground, lift.

Down.

Don't forget to engage your hind end as you do this, pull in the belly, squeeze your butt, press your foot into the floor, lift.

[exhales] And don't forget, breathe as deeply as you need to.

[inhales and exhales] Those muscles need oxygen.

Press, lift, press, a few more.

Now I know it seems like we're working your leg, but there are muscles that connect your leg to your torso.

Press, and you can also feel, okay, that you can press your back into the floor.

Press, press.

Well, press your back into the seat, 'cause we're sitting, right?

I do these vacuums also laying on the floor.

And press, and press.

Very, very good.

All right, next, we'll do some deep side reaches.

All right, we'll move your body towards the front of your chair, okay?

Nice, wide legs.

Let's open up those arms, and the reason you need your feet wide is because we are going to lean, lean, lean, lean, all right?

Pull in your stomach, make it pretty.

Lift your chin.

Did your arm drop?

Get it up, shoulder height.

[inhales and exhales] Lean a little further and then come up.

Let's go the other way.

All right, widen that leg so you can really lean well out over that foot.

[inhales] Exhale.

[exhales] Stomach's in.

Long neck, arms are shoulder height.

Other way.

[inhales] All right, palms up now.

[exhales] Arms are at your sides.

They're not in front of you.

Lean out, stomach in, and reach, reach, reach, reach, and back.

Inhale, exhale, [exhales] and back.

Let's go the other side.

[inhales] Get that foot under you so you can really lean out, and over.

Inhale, exhale, over, [exhales and inhales] and again, [exhales] don't be embarrassed that you have to breathe heavy.

That's part of exercising.

All right, now we'll go one more to the other side, one arm over the ear, one arm towards the floor.

Okay, hold it here.

Reach it longer, longer, longer, bring the other arm up.

[inhales] Exhale.

[exhales] All right, that's heavy.

The more arms you involve, the heavier it gets.

All right, get that arm out.

We'll finish the other side and over, over, over, we can drop one, bring the other over the ear.

All right, over.

[exhales] Get ready.

Stomach's in, push the foot into the floor, lift, and stretch a little further.

Oh, very, very, very good.

All right.

Let's just round that back a moment.

Relieve the tension on the low back.

And now with your knees in front of you, your legs in front of you, scoot to the front edge of your chair and let's just pull and arch that back.

That feels good.

All right.

If you're mirroring me, this will be your left arm here, and I want you to extend the right.

You can lean on that leg.

Use it for leverage, and I want you to lift that arm.

All right, lift, lift.

Now hopefully you're not all rounded with the head down, okay, stick that chest out.

Lift the arm.

Working that upper back, lift, lift.

Now this is truly something that you can do anywhere, anywhere you have a chair.

All right, let's do the other side.

Okay, push on this leg for leverage to get a nice, long spine.

[inhales] Lift, lift.

Stomach's in.

Lift, [exhales] lift.

All right, and relax the back.

Okay, let's just go down to the floor.

[exhales] Roll it up, chin coming up last.

All right, and for the final move, we'll be standing up, but we still will be using the chair.

So let's just...

So you'll stand about a foot away from the chair, and let's put your right hand on the seat.

Actually both hands on the seat, but the right hand will stay in place.

Lift your right leg up, up, up, and now left arm is up in the air, [inhales and exhales] stomach's in.

All right, let's take an inventory.

I'd like your ankle under your hip.

Your two hips squared to the floor.

Where's that ankle?

Lift it up as high as your hips.

Your wrist, hopefully you can get it a little higher than your shoulder.

Stomach in, long neck, don't sag your head down to the seat.

Lift.

Use that back.

Use that glute muscle to lift your leg.

Stomach's in, extend, both directions.

[exhales] All right, everything gets shaky.

Let's pull that knee to you.

[inhales and exhales] Take a little relaxing relief, release stretch.

A release stretch for some relief.

All right, stretch, and then we'll do the other side.

All right.

[exhales] Two hands back on the seat.

This time, you'll lift your left leg in the air.

Extend the right.

[inhales and exhales] Okay, let's take that inventory.

We want the arm and the leg up high.

Stomach's in.

Long neck.

Now we're not arching the neck, but we're not sagging it either.

Have it in line with your spine.

[inhales] Stretch through the shoulder more.

Reach further through the leg.

Square the hips.

Don't have one hip up towards the ceiling, have them squared equally towards the floor, stomach's in.

Lift.

It's easy to let things droop.

[inhales and exhales] Your wrist should be right under your shoulder, ankle below your hip.

[inhales and exhales] All right, and pull it in.

[exhales] We just worked your back, your sides, your front, your entire core.

I really love showing you all these simple and effective exercises.

A strong core makes all of your daily activities easier to accomplish.

In fact, these few moves can be repeated each day, anytime you can squeeze some in.

Find more great exercises to keep you strong at pbswisconsin.org/quickfit because you have a life to lead, and you don't want to give up any part of it.

Remember, life is movement.

See you soon.