Quick Fit with Cassy

- You know, we all want to age well, but few people realize just how easy it can be or how much they can actively contribute to the process.

Hello, I'm Cassy, and this is Quick Fit .

Like a daily multivitamin to keep you strong, loose, and pain-free.

Pat yourself on the back for making the time because that truly is the hardest part.

Now that the hard part's over, join me for the easy part.

[gentle music] Today, we'll be using a block.

You can use a pillow or a small ball, and we'll also be using a resistance band, but even a belt will work if you don't have a resistance band.

Let's start by laying on our back and activating our deep core muscles.

So roll on to your back with your knees bent, and I'd like you to extend your left arm and just pick up your foot a little bit off the floor and press it as if you want to pop a balloon.

Now, when you do this, focus on trying to get your low back onto the floor, and if you squeeze your bottom, you can feel your pelvis tip and your low back getting closer to the floor.

So pull in the abs and actively squeeze your butt and press the foot towards the floor.

Now, your arm is not on the floor.

It's hovering just a few inches above the floor.

And what we're doing is we're activating this chain of muscles that goes from your arm, across your body, into your opposite leg.

All right, and last one.

Now, let's switch arm and legs.

Extend the arm, lift and press.

It doesn't have to be a big move, but you do need to use some force.

So pull in the abs, squeeze the bottom, press the low back onto the floor.

Pop that balloon.

And press.

Now make sure you're not holding your breath, but exhale, every press.

Last one, and good job.

Let's roll onto your side, with your knees stacked.

And now, if you can easily grab your ankle, then do that, or grab your pant leg.

You can also use a band.

We'll be stretching the quadriceps, so hang on to the ankle, keep it pulled close to your bottom, and press the knee back.

Okay, release part of the tension, breathe it in, and press.

Nice; it feels good.

If your quads are tight, it can put some strain on your knees.

And press.

So we need to keep them nice and stretched.

We'll swing around to the other side.

Start stacked, have your elbow under your shoulder.

Nice, long lines.

Slide the hand down to the ankle, press the knee down, and stretch.

Breathe in, [inhales] exhale.

[exhales] To deepen the stretch, squeeze your glute.

Breathe in and blow.

One more, [inhale] and exhale.

Next, we'll roll over, face down, and we'll activate those muscles on the back of our body.

So it'll be the opposite arm to leg, extend.

Good.

And you're just squeezing the back to lift the arm, squeezing the glute to lift the leg.

And so that muscle chain goes from your arm down your back, and it crosses at your low back.

Goes down your glute into your leg.

All right, lift and release.

You can keep one hand under your chin and now lift, and try not to throw the leg or the arm.

It's just a squeeze.

Lift, trying to keep your chest off the floor.

And last one.

Good, all right.

Rest your chin on your hands and bend your knees, and keep your feet flat.

They're not pointed.

Imagine that they're flat as if there's a tray.

And we'll just let the feet fall open.

Opposite directions.

Let's bring them together and let them fall open.

So we're working the hip socket.

Together and open, but you can relax your upper body.

Let gravity pull the legs.

And hopefully, I know you can't see what's going on, hopefully your legs aren't straightening out.

Hopefully you've got a nice 90-degree bend in your knees.

Okay.

Now let's extend your left leg, just let it rest on the floor.

And now your right leg, let it move like a windshield wiper.

So now it's going to the inside and away from you.

In and out.

And extend that leg, bend the other, and let that leg move out and across.

Few more times.

[inhales and exhales] No need to rush; this one kind of feels good.

Well, don't they all feel good?

But just resting here on the floor.

And we'll push ourselves up onto our hands and knees.

And now is a good time to grab the block and the band.

We'll roll onto our backs.

We'll start with the block first.

Roll slowly back.

Put the block between your knees and have your feet pretty close to under your knees and we'll do a bridge.

So you'll lift the hips and at the same time, press the knees into the block.

All right, now let's lower and lift.

And every time you lift, squeeze your bottom, squeeze the knees.

And down.

[inhales and exhales] Let's do about 15 of these.

That's probably about five.

And at the top, do an extra squeeze each time.

That's about nine and ten.

Let's go for five more.

Lift and lift.

And then the last one, we'll just hold it in the air and just do little squeezes of the knees into the block for five, four, three, two, and lower.

Very good; that's a good one.

Now grab the band and bring your knees towards you and loop the band around your knees for some resistance.

And keep your feet together and open the knees into the band.

And open.

Now, if it's too easy, you gotta cinch it up.

Make it a little more difficult.

And press the back into the floor, press the back.

So pull your belly button in.

Keep going.

Let's do about five, four, three, two, last one.

I want you to hold it there.

Pull your belly in, press the back into the floor, and do those little pulses again.

Five, four, three, two, and let it go.

Good.

Let's give it a little stretch.

Cross your ankle over your knee and bring that knee towards you.

[inhales] That one feels good.

So you can pull it and push the knee away.

Let's do the other side.

Cross your ankle over your knee.

Bring it in till it starts to get a little tight and pause.

And release.

Now this time, you can pull the one leg towards you and press the other knee away.

That one feels so good.

All right, now let's extend your leg in the air and you can either use your band if you need to, if you can't quite reach your leg, or you can just use your hands and stretch that hamstring.

Take the tension off, flex the foot, [inhales] and pull that leg towards you.

Feels good.

Okay, and the other side.

Extend the leg.

The first pull's gonna be tight; if so, you just ease off of it.

Breathe in big, flex the foot.

[inhales] Exhale.

[exhales] See if you can get a little more movement that time.

Very good.

Let's kick it up into a seated position and a nice, tall stretch.

Pull on your legs so you can lengthen the spine and keep hinging forward, right from the hips.

Try not to collapse the chest in and round the back.

Try to have a nice, long spine, pull it forward, [inhales] pull it forward.

[exhales] Very good.

Now I know many of you hate being on the floor and you had to push yourself to not skip this class, but if we only do what we enjoy, we may miss out on improving areas of weakness that are causing us pain and soreness.

For the very broadest range of exercises, come back here daily to pbswisconsin.org/quickfit, so you can stay strong and keep doing all the things you love.

Now for the rest of your day, keep on moving.

– Announcer: Funding for Quick Fit with Cassy is provided by Greg and Carol Griffin, founders of ElderSpan Management, Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programming, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.