Quick Fit with Cassy

- Welcome to another Quick Fit class.

If you're new here, I'm your host, Cassy Vieth.

The movement of youth is with grace and power.

As we age, we become tight, and tightness causes weakness and a slower, more cautious gait.

Let's regain that confidence and reduce pain with today's easy stretches.

[upbeat music] For today's class, I'd like you to have a chair handy.

Take your shoes off.

And we'll begin with a nice, fairly wide base of your feet about hip-width apart.

Let's start with some easy, partial squats.

Just swing your legs, push your hips back.

Start your breathing, nice and deep, [inhales] and extra long exhales.

[exhales] Very good, just warming up, nice and easy.

You know, being loose shows in more graceful and powerful movement.

And that's what we're after today.

Now, as you come up, I'd like you to squeeze your butt.

Exhale, do a few more easy half squats.

[inhales and exhales] Up.

Squeeze the butt, squeeze all through the hips, pull in the abs.

Good, a few more.

This time, I'd like you to push the hips slightly forward as you squeeze your bum.

Exhale, [exhales] slight twist.

Kneel it back, slight squat.

Come up, squeeze the bottom again, lean it back.

And a little bit of a twist.

Very good.

Forward, reaching forward towards that left leg.

Come on up, squeeze your hind end.

Back down.

Reach it the other way.

Good, all right.

So mirror me for these next moves.

I'm gonna take this leg back, which would be your left leg.

Press that heel into the floor.

Straight knee, tall spine.

Feel the calf muscles stretch.

[inhales] And now shift your hips enough that you can get a little bend in that back knee.

That way, we get both of those calf muscles.

All right, next, we'll be bringing that knee up, nice and controlled, hold it there.

[inhales] Good.

Now let's do a few power moves, so I want you to press it back, bam!

Good, two more, reach it back, pull.

Use your stomach.

Extend, pull.

Very good, a little bit of balance there too.

Other side.

Draw that right leg back, press that heel down.

Okay, the knee is extended.

[inhales] Nice, slow breathing to help you stretch.

All right, we're going to bring that knee up, hold.

Pull in your stomach.

Using those hip flexors, pulling that knee up.

[inhales] All right, press it back, ready?

Power, lift.

Press, lift, press and lift.

Good job, let's do it one more time on each side.

Ready, press it back.

Pull it up fast.

Two, three.

Other side.

Press it back, up, two, three.

Good job.

All right, grab your chair, and once again, just, well, don't mirror me this time.

This time, lift your left leg right up on top.

Two soft knees, you can let your leg kind of relax, all right?

[inhales] I want you to tuck that tailbone, [exhales] and now pull the tailbone back, stick your chest out.

Feel the stretch all through your hamstrings.

Good, so we started warming up your quads and your hamstrings and your glutes, now we're working once again on the hamstrings.

All right, and up, extend that leg.

Now rotate your toes towards the center of your body, okay?

Towards the chair.

Extend your arms and twist.

So if it's your left leg, I want you to twist your hands towards the left, working on another hamstring muscle.

Good job, all right, come out of that.

One more time into the soft knees.

Tuck that tailbone.

[exhales] Reach down towards the foot.

Halfway up, let's arch.

So the soft knees help you to get more movement in your hips.

Good, stand up and extend that leg.

Rotate the toes towards the center of your body.

Arms up.

[inhales] Good, [exhales] rotate.

Nice.

One more time with the soft knees.

Tuck your tailbone, pull the tailbone back.

Shift the hips, good job.

All right, now we're going to do a deep hip flexor move.

So line your heel up with the center of your chair, fairly near the edge.

And this is gonna take a few times for you to do it and experiment with the right placement of your back foot.

So as you bend that back knee, tuck your tailbone under so your pelvis goes under, [inhales] deep breath, and we're going to drop this back knee straight down.

[exhales] You can even do a slight tug on the chair to make that stretch deeper.

Taking your time, if you're new at this.

We don't want the chair to fall over; make sure your chair is sturdy.

Definitely can't have arms or wheels on your chair.

And come out of it.

Extend that leg, sit that hip back, bent knee.

Go one more time into it, up on your toes.

Tuck the tailbone under.

[inhales] Bend that back knee straight down.

[exhales] It's a really strong pull.

[inhales and exhales] So take your time, do it as best you can, and it will get easier, it's quite a complicated move.

Let's move that chair to the other side.

All right, let's get your right leg up on top of the chair.

First thing I'd like you to do is have two soft knees.

They help you get more movement through the pelvis.

All right, first thing, pull the tailbone back and extend that arm over the leg.

[exhales] Partway up, inhale, [inhales] exhale.

Just feel the stretch.

Add the breathing to help your muscles relax.

And now we'll tuck, [inhales] and arch, shift.

Deep in there.

Stand up and and extend through the knee, okay?

Your right leg is up.

I'd like you to twist to the right, [exhales] taking time with balance.

And untwist.

[inhales] Let's rotate that leg and do it again.

And twist.

[exhales] Targeting those hamstrings.

We have a couple of hamstrings down the back of your leg.

Experiment with these moves and see if you can tell which muscles you're getting.

All right, next.

I'd like you to lunge over the top of the chair, exhale, shift around and come right back out of it.

Two soft knees again, [inhales] big inhale, exhale.

Let's have a nice, long spine, extend that arm.

[exhales] Please, please breathe.

Don't hold that breath, inhale, [inhales] exhale.

When it starts to pull, you just pause, add that breathing.

Very good, we'll tuck that tailbone under, [inhales] pull it back, and lunge over the top of your chair.

Hop your leg back because I don't want you too far over the top of the seat; you need to be right over the seat, not forward on the other side.

Very good, all right.

Come out of that, one more.

Tail tuck and arch, and now we're going to do the deep hip flexor stretch.

So line that heel up at the edge of the chair in the center.

Okay, up on your back toes, bend that back knee, tuck the hips, big inhale and exhale, [exhales] trying to just let the hip relax and stretch.

Coming up out of it, stick your chest out.

Exhale, soft knee on the standing leg, shift around.

Up on those back toes, bend the back knee, squeeze your hind end, exhale, [exhales] and enjoy it.

After several times of doing this, it will become easier and you can deepen the stretch by pulling on the bottom of the chair.

Very good.

All right, final stretches for the outside, your TFL.

This goes all the way from your hips all the way down to your knee.

I'd like you to mirror me, let's draw your left leg back, okay?

A slight toe out of the foot, arm up, okay?

Squeeze your hind end and rotate through the pelvis.

[exhales] That's a lot of information.

So we'll come out of it, we'll do it again, same leg.

[inhales] Extend that leg back, press the heel down, slight rotate out of the foot.

Squeeze your hind end and rotate through the pelvis.

Get some of the muscles up through there as well.

Let's do the other leg.

[inhales] Draw it back, find your balance, rotate that foot out slightly.

[inhales] Squeeze your hind end so you can feel your pelvis tip the bottom under.

Arm up.

[inhales and exhales] Rotate.

[exhales] Good.

And come out of that.

And we'll reset one more time.

Draw the leg back, heel down, arm up, squeeze that hind end and rotate.

[exhales] All right.

[inhales] Almost done.

So your right leg, I'd like you to cross it behind you, pressing that heel down.

Front leg has a slight bend, lift, arm up.

Big inhale and exhale as we're finishing up.

[exhales] Good job, the last leg.

Swing that left leg around behind you.

Press that heel down, sit your weight down into it, okay?

Front leg is slightly bent.

Lift through the chest and the arm, big inhale [inhales] and let all the stress go right out with the breath.

[exhales] You're gonna have a wonderful day.

That was such a great combination of moves for your legs that I hope you feel looser and stronger.

Maybe you even found that fun and challenging.

My goal is to encourage you that aging well is possible.

Log in again soon right here at pbswisconsin.org/quickfit for your daily dose of easy and effective exercise.

Have a great day.

>> 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.