Quick Fit with Cassy

- Hello, I'm Cassy.

Welcome to Quick Fit .

Today, we're working on part two of my series to help you get down to the floor and back up.

Strengthening those muscles that are keeping you from enjoying activities on the floor.

Let's get started.

[upbeat music] In part one of this series, we spent a lot of time on a few focused stretches.

Your calves and quads get very tight, making full range of motion in the knees, ankles, and hips nearly impossible, but what's even worse is those tight muscles are also greatly reduced in strength due to their shortened length.

So it's really necessary to perform both stretching and strengthening in your fitness strategy.

Let's begin with some half lunges.

Reach one leg back and we'll lower yourself and just hold it here for about eight seconds.

I'd like you to hold at the point where you can't control the descent any longer.

All right, this works your individual leg strength and stretches your calves and toes at the same time.

And pop it up, reach it back, exhale, lower to where you can still control it.

Hold, hold, pop it up, and back.

All right, now extend that heel.

So we're stretching the calves, flexing those toes.

Good job.

Now let's reach back with the other leg, reach it back, and you can have a wide enough base.

You don't have to have your feet lined up.

And lower and pop it up.

Reach it back.

Find that spot where you have to fight to hold it, and up.

Now this class is meant for you to get stronger in stages.

So if this exercise is difficult, stop here and repeat it four or five times a week for about two weeks or until you can get your hip down nearly in line with your knee, and hold it there.

Once you've gained that strength, you're ready to move on.

All right, let's get into the lunge position with your hip nearly in line again with your knee, if you've gotten that strength, right?

Now we're going to carefully and with control place our knee on the floor; you might need a pillow.

Okay, so let's get down and control it.

Very good.

So what I'd like you to work on is swinging this leg, that's the front leg, down and forward.

You can have your hand on a chair for stability if you need it, or you can have your hands on the floor.

Bring it forward and back.

The goal is to be able to do this without using your hands to assist.

All right, I'd like you to work on this for a couple weeks until it's easy, all right?

Let's do the other leg; bring it forward and back.

Forward and back; couple more times.

And then eventually, I'd like you to try doing it without your hands on the floor.

Be a little bit of balance work.

All right, now that you've become more mobile, let's practice the necessary strength that you need to get up from here.

Let's be in this lunge position.

I'd like you to get those toes under.

Spend time working them if you need to.

It's amazing how having a tight big toe can hinder your life.

We're gonna press through those back toes and through the front foot, a whole foot, the heel as well as the toes.

All right, you're ready, press.

And you can feel everything activate.

Maybe you're slightly above the floor.

Maybe you're not off the floor at all, but you're contracting and holding for five seconds.

Release, again, contract as if you could pop up.

And release.

Again, up, two, three, four, five, release.

And contract, press, three, two, one.

Good, let's do the other leg.

So bring it down, swing the other one forward.

Got those back toes.

You've got your knee over your ankle, and press, two, three, four, five, release.

Again, press, five, four, three, two, release.

Again, see if you can come up maybe an inch or two, three, two, one, and last one, press.

Now some of you will have to work on this strength at the bottom for a few weeks, and that's okay.

Once you've woken up those muscles, you're ready to get up all the way from this position.

All right, so let's get set up.

No hands now, and explode.

Push, push.

You did it.

Let's do it again.

Come back down.

Controlled, good, ready, and explode and down.

One more, explode.

Excellent, other leg.

Bring it down.

Let's get the other leg out.

You ready?

And explode.

Good job, good job.

Don't stop yet.

Two more times, up and down.

One more, up.

[inhales] Excellent, and we'll lower ourselves and we'll do the other option that I've shown you before for getting up.

So if you want two legs to get up, all you have to do is put your hands on the floor.

Still get your toes under you.

We're gonna push really hard with our hands and push our knees off the floor.

So push with your hands, knees come up, and roll it up slowly.

[inhales] Excellent, good job.

I hope you didn't jump ahead before you were ready.

You'll progress easier, with less frustration and more strength if you follow along systematically, spending a couple weeks on each exercise in this class.

So come back each day to pbswisconsin.org/quickfit to repeat parts one and two for the necessary flexibility and strength you need to live better, longer, with less vulnerability.

In fact, invite a friend and get stronger together.

Until tomorrow, keep on moving.

– Announcer: Funding for Quick Fit with Cassy is provided by Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.