Possible variations on the step ups in this workout include jump ups, single leg step ups with a balance at the top, plain step ups but with weight held either at the sides or overhead, and more! Whatever you choose, do three rounds!
step ups/variations | 30 |
1 leg squat | 20 |
spiderman pushup | 10 |
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squat heel lift | 30 |
flies | 20 |
lateral raise | 10 |
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deadlift to curl | 30 |
Arnold press | 20 |
brains | 10 |
The Amazing Stickie wants to have supple hamstrings and a flexible back. One way she works toward this is by doing Spine Stretch in Pilates.
Spine Stretch is the Pilates version of the forward bend we all know from stretching or yoga, but with its own special Pilates flavor. The goal of this exercise, as Stickie knows, is not to touch the nose to the knee, but to hinge forward from the hips, minimizing the rounding of the spine.
She begins sitting on the floor with her legs out in front of her, feet flexed. Of course, she has excellent posture with her ears directly over her shoulders, which are directly over her hips. She holds her arms out in front of her at shoulder level (zombie arms!). She inhales and elongates her spine even more, then exhales and hinges forward from her hips. Since she does not want to curve her back unnecessarily, Stickie often thinks of this movement as taking her breastbone toward her toes. Then she inhales and returns to her starting position.
Stickie usually does five to ten reps.
I’ll begin with a disclaimer: I am an English major who last took a physics class in high school; Newton makes some sense to me, but, not being Richard Feynman, that quantum business does not.
In normal conversation, inertia means something akin to glued-to-the-couch. The thing is, the term comes from Newton, who said, more or less, a body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body in motion tends to remain in motion unless acted on by an outside force. That’s inertia, baby. It’s not just the part where we remain at rest.
This is good news. It means that starting is the hardest part. Once we get moving, it’s easier to keep going than it is to stop.
Let’s find the energy to get started!
Recently I listened to a webinar about fascia (which was fascia-nating, natch!). One of the presenters made the comment that scars keep growing. I don’t think she meant it literally, although that’s possible. It made me think.
Injuries are troublesome. They keep us from doing the stuff we want to do. But even after they’re physically healed, they can keep affecting what we do. Some of that has to do with scars and scar tissue. We are not going to be exactly the same. But a lot of it has to do with how our brains have changed.
We’re a little more anxious after an injury. We hesitate. We overthink movements that used to be smooth and unconscious. We keep the injury alive in our heads long after it is gone from the body.
Fear is a tool that helps keep us safe. It also can hold us back unnecessarily. We need to remember that we are in charge of our tools. We can choose when to use our fear to keep us safe and when to discard it to move freely.
Go play.
The last set in this workout is all weight-bearing on the arms. If that is not appropriate, sub regular jacks or regular rows for one or both of the first two exercises. Three rounds.
kb alternate arm swing | 30 |
kb bottom up press | 20 |
kb halo | 10 |
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split squat pulldown | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
lateral raise | 10 |
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plank jacks | 30 |
renegade row | 20 |
plank | 10 |
The Amazing Stickie enjoys twists, and not just in plots! Today she is working on Pilates by doing book opening (see what I did there?).
She begins lying on her side with her arms stretched in front of her at shoulder level and her knees bent. As she inhales, she lifts the top arm and arcs it over her body until it is resting on the ground. Her lower body, however, stays still. The end position looks like her top half is lying on her back and her bottom half is lying on her side. Then she exhales and brings herself back to the starting position. She usually does four or five repetitions on each side.
A variation of this exercise is called Around the World. From the starting position, Stickie circles her upper arm up over her head along the floor, through the end position of the basic exercise and then down toward her feet before coming back to the start position. As she moves her arm, she moves her head to keep her hand in view, which entails raising it off the floor as she gets to the part where her arm moves toward her feet. The whole time, her knees stay pressed together and still. She does two to four reps on a side.
Today I’m going to keep it simple. If you can, when you read this, stand up and stretch for a minute. Take a couple of deep breaths.
Feel better? I hope so!
