Quick Fit with Cassy

- Hello everyone, I'm Cassy.

Thank you for making Quick Fit a part of your day, where just a 10 to 15 minute investment of time pays out in multiple dividends.

We're focusing on the hips today, since it affects so many body parts up and down.

Have blocks and a pillow handy as we head on down to the floor.

[upbeat music] Have a pillow for your knees if they're tender, and we're going to begin on our hands and knees.

We'll start with the cat and cow.

All right, have your hands just right under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.

Press into the floor and round the spine up.

Let's switch to the cow, pressing those hands into the floor, lengthening the neck, lifting the tailbone.

Do it again.

Big inhale, [inhales] press the hands into the floor, round the spine.

[inhales and exhales] Deepen the stretch.

Keep lifting, tuck that chin.

And then a big inhale as you switch places.

[inhales] Switch positions, press those ribs towards the floor, shoulders down.

All right, nice.

Shift those hips back towards your heels.

Shifting towards the right, reaching the right arm across.

And let's go the other way, big inhale.

[inhales] Exhale, shift the hips, lengthen the stretch by reaching with the arm.

That feels so good.

Don't rush it.

Go as slow as you need to.

Up on your hands and knees, and we'll just walk it forward a little bit.

And back, a few more times, forward and back, warming up, getting ready for all the stretching we'll be doing.

Nice, and hip circles.

Think of your knees as the base and you're circling your hips around the base.

Real good.

[inhales] Keep your breathing going.

Three beats in, three beats out.

Really getting rid of all that stale air out of your lungs.

[inhales and exhales] See if you can go for longer exhales.

Last one.

All right, go ahead and sit, and this is where we're going to be making use of the blocks.

The blocks are just really good tools, and I know many of you are just not comfortable on the floor.

So lifting your hips up off the floor a little bit with a block, say like this, will get you in a better position so you can get into a little bit deeper stretches.

So the first stretch we're doing is the groin stretch.

Bring your soles of your feet together towards you and press the knees down.

Now, this is a really great way to get some leverage.

Just use your blocks on each side of your hips.

Press the blocks down into the floor and press the knees open.

Very good, inhale.

[inhales] Exhale, press it down.

[exhales] Very good.

Now if you don't need the block under your hips, then go without it.

But admit it, if you're very rounded, you'll want the blocks.

If you can get nice and long without the block under your bottom, then you can get rid of it.

Press those elbows into the knees, stretch.

Now try to lift the knees into your elbows.

Lift, lift, use your stomach muscles, lift and release.

Press the knees down.

Really good.

[inhales] And now try to press the knees up.

Lift, lift, lift, lift.

All right, last stretch, press the knees down.

You might find you're getting a little bit more movement from doing these lifts.

All right, knees together, isometrics.

Press your hands onto the outside of your legs and then try to open the knees, you ready?

And open.

Open, use your chest muscles, use your stomach muscles.

Try to open.

[inhales and exhales] Open and release.

Widen those legs.

Press the elbows into the knees, ready?

And squeeze the legs together.

Squeeze.

Squeeze, use your stomach muscles, feel your chest working.

Release, do it again.

Press the hands against the knees.

Try to open, go.

Open, open, open.

[short exhales] And release.

Other way, you ready?

And press.

Press, press as you're trying to close the knees with the elbows and the arms are preventing, feel your stomach muscles get activated, your chest muscles, and release.

We'll do it one more time, ready?

Trying, once again, to open the knees and go, open.

Open.

Four, five, six, release.

Last one, you ready?

[inhales] Press it together.

Press, press, press, press.

And release.

Very good.

Okay, let's just set these aside.

Never feel bad if you need to use a block to get up off of the floor a little bit.

They're tools to help you get the most out of these classes.

All right, let's cross that ankle in front of your shin.

Press down.

I can reach the floor easily, so I have this leverage to help me press my knee open.

But once again, you use the blocks if you're too far from the floor with your arms.

Everyone's got different length arms and there's no reason to be uncomfortable.

Okay, and a little higher.

If you can go above your knee, do that.

Ready, press the knee down.

Press, press.

And get that foot on the floor.

Lift the spine.

Once again, it really helps to have something to push against to help you lift that spine.

[inhales and exhales] Lift the spine, pull the knee across the center of your body.

[inhales and exhales] Big exhale, and I'd like you to turn.

Make sure you're trying to sit down with this hip into the floor.

And release.

Very good, let's switch legs.

Trying to open the thigh, open the knee.

And press it down.

Press, press.

Maybe a little higher.

[inhales] I'm gonna switch this over to this side, and press it down.

[inhales] Exhale.

[exhales] And let's do that twist.

I'd like you to grab your knee with your opposite elbow.

Lift those ribs towards the thigh.

Inhale.

[inhales] [exhales] Exhale.

A little further, turning with the neck.

Even looking around further with your eyes.

Enjoy, don't forget to try to get that hip onto the ground.

And release, very good.

All right, next, we'll lay back.

Okay, big inhale, [inhales] and exhale as you lay all the way back onto the floor.

Let's get that right leg straight up in the air.

Just do a few hip rotations, lubricating the hip joint, and a few circles.

[exhales] Take your time.

Make sure you're flexing the foot, [inhales] stretching through the calf.

[exhales] Good, and every time you do that circle, try to come more over your face, but try not to jam it, okay, don't throw the leg around.

It's a purposeful stretch.

Let's reverse.

And I'm going to get this bent leg out of the way and allow this leg to go across my body, [inhales] and a big exhale.

[exhales] Enjoying that stretch down the outside of your hip.

Very good, and we'll switch legs.

Okay, left leg up in the air.

Take a moment to flex the foot, and if it's very tight, point and flex.

Rotate.

No need to rush, and don't forget your breathing.

[inhales] And some circles.

Slow and controlled and purposeful.

No throwing it around; that doesn't help your flexibility.

[inhales] Inhale, exhale, and go the other way.

I know it's a tight pull up the back of your hamstring.

And get that leg out of the way, and we'll let that leg fall across your body [exhales] and look the other way.

[inhales and exhales] Nice, big breaths to help with the stretching.

And good.

Two knees bent.

Let's cross your right ankle over your left knee.

Very good, now press that knee away from you.

Just use your own leg muscles at this point, you don't need to use your hand yet.

Inhale, [inhales] exhale, press away.

[exhales] All right, now pull.

Very good.

That feels so good, clear down into, probably even your groin, as well as your glutes.

And release.

Let's cross the other way.

Pull.

[inhales and exhales] Enjoy.

And then set that foot down and press the knee away, just with the leg muscles.

Almost done.

Very good, let's bring that leg up and try to drop that knee towards the floor.

[exhales] And across.

[inhales] Big inhale, long, long, long exhale.

[exhales] Very nice.

Let's switch legs.

Bring the knee towards you.

See if you can grab that ankle and then press that knee down into the floor.

And across.

[inhales] One more time.

Down towards the floor by your armpit and up.

It feels so good.

All right, taking your time, you don't have to finish just because I'm finishing.

You know, sometimes the simplest things are the most effective, but they're ignored.

Also, some of these simple techniques have really long, complicated names, but I don't even bother using them really because all that matters to you is that they work, right?

So come back here daily to pbswisconsin.org/quickfit for the very widest range of moves and stretches to begin each day.

Prioritize your health so you can live better, longer.

See you next time.

– 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.