Hi, I'm Cathy Smith, and I'd like to take a moment to congratulate you for taking your
first step toward personal fitness.
You know, it takes a lot of courage to begin an exercise program and a lot of determination
to stick with it.
If you're new to exercise, you may be carrying around some old notions, like it doesn't feel
good and it leaves you feeling exhausted.
What I love about this workout is that it not only is going to help reshape your body,
but even more importantly, it's going to help you reshape your attitude about exercise.
The workout consists of two sections.
The first is going to help you burn fat and lose weight.
That's the aerobic section.
We start out with a gentle warmup and pick it up with four really fun tunes.
The second section is my body awareness program.
We start by looking at proper posture, something that's really been neglected.
Then we're going to tone and stretch the muscles responsible for that posture.
Now, I know a lot of you are concerned about flatter stomachs and thinner thighs, so let
me share something with you.
You're going to get much quicker results if you work the entire body instead of trying
to reshape one body part.
Believe me, that's how long-term fitness begins.
Now, here are my seven tips for success, all designed to keep you on track.
One, adjust your intensity.
Intensity refers to how hard you're working, and I can't stress enough to work at your
own level.
In this video, you can check your intensity in one of two ways.
First, to find your heart rate, count the number of pulses you feel in a 10-second period
right here on your wrist.
Check the chart to see if you're on target.
If the number of pulses you felt is below the number listed for your age, you're not
working hard enough.
But if it's above, slow down.
The second way to determine how hard you're working is to check your perceived exertion.
While you're exercising, choose the level that best describes how hard you're working.
Between 12 and 14 is appropriate for beginners.
Interesting thing about this scale, the researchers found that if you add a zero to the number
you select, for example, 12 turns into 120, your actual heart rate is very often close
to that number.
Okay, now, my second tip is to keep an exercise diary.
Experts have found this is an extremely effective way to stay with the program.
List both your short-term goals and your long-term goals.
Three, modify your program as you need to.
Some days you may not feel like doing the whole video, but you can at least do one section
of the tape.
For instance, when you need to burn a few extra calories, run the aerobic section.
Four, try your best to perform the exercises correctly.
Be aware of the muscles you are moving and what you're trying to accomplish.
Five, complement this workout with recreational activities, whether it's badminton or gardening.
Six, get in tune with your body.
Recognize the sign of any soreness and rest until it disappears.
Seven, consider working out with a buddy or make exercise a family affair if you can.
Now, we've included some features in this video to help you along.
Body check will focus on how to perform an exercise correctly.
You'll learn how to avoid injury and protect your back.
Foot looking can be really helpful.
In the beginning, everybody has a rough time getting their feet in sync.
This angle can get you right in step.
If your VCR has a memory counter, place a zero here so that you may return to this spot
in the tape.
So now, are you wearing something comfortable that will allow you to move?
Well then, let's get started.
Hey, Ross, how are you doing?
Good morning, Cathy.
Hi.
Morning.
Ready to go?
Sure.
Okay, now, the warmup is the most important part of any exercise program.
It helps you avoid injury and increase your heart rate in a safe and steady way.
So, let's start to warm up with some good deep breathing.
We're gonna start with our feet shoulder width apart and inhale up for eight.
And now, exhale out.
And again, same thing, deep inhale.
Little higher this time.
Okay, this time, make sure that you go a little bit higher.
Breathe it in and now let me introduce you to everybody.
We have Ross and David and we have Pat and in the back, we have Carlin.
Keep it going.
And exhale out.
Now, we're gonna do the same thing but take the arms forward.
And feel that air, feel the lungs and energize your body.
Here you go.
And again, inhale up.
The best way to perform deep breathing is from down here in your diaphragm.
Now, place your fingers like so.
And now, I want you to feel the diaphragm push out as you inhale and then fall back
down as you exhale.
All right.
And then you're really filling your lungs up with oxygen.
Take it forward.
Now, we're gonna start to pick it up with our feet.
Start to move the feet, same arms.
And march it out and down.
Again, march it out and down.
Now, we're gonna warm it up nice and slow.
Build up the circulation.
And again, up.
Now, shake it out to the side.
Take it to the side.
Say, shake out those hands.
Get nice and loose.
Inhale up.
Same move from the beginning.
Inhale out.
Shake it out.
Take it to the side.
Side, side.
Inhale up.
Take it.
One, two, three, four.
And exhale.
Again, take it side to side.
Inhale up.
Okay, one last time.
Take it side, side, side.
Now, hold the feet out there.
Inhale up.
Now, grab onto your wrist and reach to the ceiling.
Side to side.
Five, six, seven.
Now, to the front.
Shoulder level.
And feel it through the back.
Now, the hips are steady through this.
Now, the arms come straight out from the chest.
You hold your C shape, stretching out the back.
You have to scoop up the stomach and round out the back like a C.
And that way, you'll feel the stretch throughout the whole back area.
But make sure you keep the shoulders relaxed.
Ceiling.
Reach up.
Now, feel it through the side each time.
Go a little higher.
Now, straight out in front.
Shoulder level.
Hands drop down to the knees.
Hold it to the side.
Now, make sure the knees aren't rolling in.
Side to side again.
Stretching out the back.
Other side.
Now, make sure the knees are directly over the toes.
Another set.
Side to side.
And hold it here and really feel that stretch through the back.
Side to side.
This is our last set.
Now, we're going to release the hips forward and back.
Take it forward, back, forward, back, forward.
Support yourself right above the knees.
And tuck the pelvis under.
And then release it into a neutral position, making sure not to arch the back.
Here we go.
Round it up.
Shoulder rolls.
Roll it down.
You roll down for four.
Now, round up for four.
And circle.
Circle.
Now, the important thing is to support yourself on your knees.
Take it down.
Round it.
Warm up that back.
And again.
Round it down.
And roll up.
Last time.
Circle those shoulders back.
Big circle.
Warm up the back now.
Time for the sides.
Reach to the side all the way over.
Down.
Over.
Down.
Feel it through the side of your body.
Now, just hold it out there.
Hold for four.
Three.
Two.
Now, stretch the neck.
This is where we hold all our tension, right through this neck.
Hold it there.
And release it.
Now, shoulder shrug.
Up, other side.
Take it side.
And pull.
Side.
Pull.
Side.
Pull.
Last one.
Hold it up there.
Now, let's stretch out the neck.
And release.
Bring it around.
Now, shoulder shrug.
Move the feet side to side.
Okay, just lift the shoulders and shrug.
And lift the heels.
Each time you go up, we're just going to start up to warm up the body.
Reach out.
A little further each time.
Straight arm.
Back to shoulder shrugs.
Take it up and down.
Okay, use those legs.
Now, reach to the side.
Don't forget to breathe.
Keep it up.
Okay, new move.
Bicep curls.
Each side.
Just swinging it out.
Nice and easy.
Nothing too rough.
Nothing too jerky.
And straight arm.
Five, six.
Back to bicep curls.
Side to side.
Now, back to straight arms.
Last time, reach it out there.
Really reach for it.
Five, six.
Step side to side.
Step it in.
And let's just stretch it out.
Now, we're going to work on stretching.
What I want you to do is take the right leg back.
Now, if you need to find a wall or chair to stabilize yourself, do it right now.
Bend.
Just hold that bend.
We're working the back of the calf and the Achilles.
Now, bend and straighten.
Bend.
Press the heel to the floor.
Bend.
Straighten.
Bend.
Straighten.
Make sure the chest is up, abdominals are in.
Give me two more.
Last one.
Now, just bend the knee, lift the chest, and the abdominals are held up as you press through
the hip to feel a stretch through the front of the leg.
Again, now press it back into the floor.
Let's switch sides and do the same thing on the other side.
Take the left leg back and press.
Now, to prevent straining the knees, I want you to make sure that you keep the knee in
alignment with the toes and also keep the knee behind the toe.
To get a good stretch of the calf, keep those toes in alignment with the knee.
Good.
Now, you can twist it out there and keep it there.
Press that heel down.
Great.
Roll through the toes.
Roll through the whole foot.
Okay.
This time I want you to bend it in and again, press those hips through as you keep the abdominals
lifted and the chest up and feel that stretch through the hip flexors in the front of the
leg.
Back to stretching the calf out.
Okay.
Bring the legs in and let's warm up the front of the leg by just tapping out the feet.
You got it.
Just bring up those toes.
Now, on the right side.
In and out.
Yeah.
Lift the toes.
Now, the other side.
Just tap.
Five, six, seven.
Now, in and out and in and out.
Five, six, seven.
Just march it out.
March it out and get ready for your first aerobics tune.
For warm up, you should be around a 10.
Fairly light exercise.
Your pulse should be in the 60% range by the end of the warm up.
Okay.
Now that we've warmed up those bodies, let's do our first aerobics.
We're going to step to the right.
Here you go.
Step it right and left.
Now, shake the shoulders.
Again, right and left and shake it two, three.
Again, right, left and shake it two, three.
Last time.
Now, just swing it out side to side.
Snap it out.
Snap those fingers.
We're going to start out nice and easy.
And remember, aerobics is the best way to lose weight.
So, let's get going.
Now, take it forward.
Take it one, two, three.
Now, side to side.
Same move.
Big swing.
And take it back.
Left arm.
You got it, David.
Side to side.
And take it forward.
It's one, two, three.
Now, side to side.
And take it back.
Side to side.
Okay, we're going to do the same move again.
Moving forward.
Side to side.
A little bit bigger this time.
Make it a bigger step and a bigger move.
That will warm us up a little quicker.
Side to side.
Last time forward.
Take it up.
Two, three.
Now, side to side.
And it's reaching.
Two, three.
And take it back.
It's one, two, three, four.
Now, we're going to do same feet, same legs, different arms.
Let's fan them out.
Up, two.
Big wide hand.
And reach side to side.
Take it back.
Fan those arms.
Keep breathing, though.
Here you go.
And reach side, side, side.
Now, take it back.
Side to side.
Reach.
And each time you reach, straighten out the arm.
Reach further.
Reach it up.
A little higher each time.
Reach it out.
Now, let's take it back.
And back.
Two, three, four.
That's five, six.
Last time forward.
Last time all the way through.
Press it.
Two, three.
And reach side to side.
And press it back.
And press.
Two, three, four.
And then we're going to go back to our swing step.
Side to side.
Swing at one.
Eight swings.
We're going to move it to the right now.
Step cross.
Here you go.
And it's steps.
Slow.
Fast, fast, fast.
Again.
Step cross.
Step together.
Step touch.
Step cross.
Step.
Change directions.
It's step cross.
Step.
Change again.
And it's step cross.
Step together.
Step touch.
Step cross.
Two more times like this.
Step cross.
Step together.
Step touch.
Last time.
Now, we're going to add some hands.
Slow, slow.
Up, up, up.
Again.
Slow, slow.
And again.
Slow, slow.
Up, up, up.
Again.
Slow, slow.
Up, down.
Again.
It's slow, slow.
Make it bigger now.
Really move it out.
Slow, slow.
Step together again.
Take it.
Step cross.
Step together.
Step again.
Step cross.
Okay.
Last time.
Both directions.
Now, we're just going to bring it back.
Bring it back down.
And step it out.
Here you go.
Step it right.
Be sure you clear the floor.
Don't drag that foot or you might twist the knee.
Two counts on the right.
Now, we're going to add some hands.
Slow, slow.
Up, down.
And again.
One, two.
Two's again.
Now, let's do four and extend that arm a little bit more.
Travel across the floor.
Again.
Take it side.
Two.
Four's again.
Here you go.
It's one.
Big arm.
Reach it up there.
Switch directions.
Okay.
This time we're going to switch again.
We're going to add our first move and our combination.
It's the press out.
One, two, three.
Now, switch and travel across to the other side.
One, two, three.
Now, press it out.
Okay.
Let's travel back the other direction.
Travel.
One, two.
Now, we're going to do the first move, which is the press.
And now we're going to add our second move, our finger snaps.
One, two, three.
Side to side.
Okay.
Let's take it and travel back across the floor and add that second move over here.
Press for four.
Now, snap it out for eight.
Snap it.
Two, three, four.
That's five.
Six, seven.
Travel across the floor.
Go one, two, three.
Now, do the presses.
This is our first move.
Now, our second move is our snaps.
Four more.
And then we're going to do our knees up, our third move.
It's up to the left and up to the right.
Just cross the body and pull those arms in.
Travel across the floor.
Up, two, three, and four.
Press it out.
Two.
Snap for eight.
Three, four.
And four.
And five.
And six.
And seven.
And eight.
And nine.
And ten.
Snap for eight.
Now, we have to add that third move on this side.
That's our combination.
Come on.
Knees come up.
Take it up.
Pull those arms in.
Keep the back straight.
Travel across the floor.
Travel.
Two.
Now, this is the last move we're going to add.
We press for four.
Then we snap for eight.
Then what's our third move?
Do you remember?
What is it?
Knees come up.
We got it.
Press it out.
Do it.
Hold it.
What's our fourth move?
We're going to take it forward.
Take it forward.
Big arm circle.
Two arms back.
Big.
Okay, last time we're going to go across the floor.
We travel.
Two.
Then we do all four of these on this side.
First comes our press.
Now think what we do next.
It's our snaps.
Okay, we're thinking ahead.
What comes next?
You got it.
I don't have to tell you.
It's knees side to side.
Third move.
Then we have one more move after that.
Circle it forward.
Two.
Three.
Two arms back.
Okay, that's it.
That's the whole combination.
We're going to do it one more time all the way through.
This is our last time, so let's get it right this time.
Snap for eight.
You got it?
Snap it out.
Two.
Three.
Four.
That's five.
Six.
Seven.
And eight.
Circle on the arms forward.
Take it forward.
Two.
Now both arms back.
Okay, great job.
I just want you to step side to side now.
Step it out.
Swing it out.
We made it.
Now get ready for the second aerobics.
Okay, you ready for aerobics with a Latin flair?
Here you go.
Let's march it out.
And one, two.
Now step it out.
It's side to side together.
You got it.
It's march for four.
Three, two, one.
And one, two.
Step it out.
It's march for four.
Then you step it out on both sides.
It's one.
Watch my feet.
It's out.
Out together.
Last time.
It's out.
Out.
Now lunge it out.
Side to side.
Just press those hands down.
Side to side.
And press.
That's five.
Six.
Now we're going to take that same move, but take it forward.
Here you go.
Take it forward.
Now our first move.
March it out.
One, two, three.
Now step it side to side.
Now take it back.
Lunge it out.
Step it out.
Take it back.
Lunge it back.
And march it out.
One, two, three.
Step it out.
Okay.
Repeat it from the beginning.
Here you go.
March it out.
Here you go.
And one, two.
And step out.
Out.
Take it back.
March it.
And step it.
Same thing.
Take it forward.
You got it.
Here you go.
And march side to side.
Take it back.
Here you go.
March it out.
Take it forward.
Step it out.
Take it forward.
Step it out.
March it out.
Side to side.
Okay.
Last time.
All the way through.
This is the last time we march.
Four, three, two, and one.
Side to side.
Together.
Back.
Okay.
New step.
Cross in front.
Here you go.
No hands.
Step.
Back.
Step.
And hold.
Step.
Back.
Step.
Other side.
Step.
Just keep it up.
Here you go.
You got this step.
Step.
Back.
Step.
Other side.
Okay.
Last time on both sides.
Now we're going to do that same step, but add an arm.
Pressing out and in.
Here you go.
And you press and pull.
And press which side?
Press and pull.
You got it.
Again.
And press, pull, press.
Press.
Out, back, out, together.
Here you go.
Now give you one last one on each side.
And now we're going to add a new move.
We're going to step forward and add some big arms.
Take it up and back.
Now we're using the same leg.
Don't alternate yet.
Give me four more on this side.
One and back.
Two.
Now let's just hold it in the center.
Other side.
Up, back.
Okay.
Last four.
Now let's just go back to our marches.
Let's just walk it out.
And walk it for eight.
Five, six.
Now if the knees come up, press it right, left.
Press those hands up.
Now when you're bringing your knees up, don't start to lean it back.
And don't lean it too far forward.
Keep it erect.
Same knees up, but let's add a bigger arm.
All right.
If you find you're getting winded, continue with the feet, but just drop the arms.
Or else just try stepping in place.
Four, three.
Now let's just lunge it side to side.
Take it right and left.
And look at that arm and make the movement a little bigger now.
Really stretch it out there.
Give me eight more.
It's eight, seven.
Touch the heel.
Now back to the lunge is right from the beginning.
Do you remember this?
Here you go.
Four, three, two.
Now take it forward.
Remember what we did in the beginning?
Forward.
Then what's next?
We march for four.
It's one, two.
And side to side.
Together.
Take it back.
March it out.
One, two.
Side to side.
Reach, reach together.
Now if you're getting tired at all, just drop the hands.
Do it without the hands.
Just mark it out.
Mark it with the legs.
Take it forward.
Forward, two, three, four.
And march it.
Now last time back.
Last time back.
And march it.
Now we're just going to shake it out side to side.
Shake it out side to side.
Nice and loose.
Okay, let's step, touch forward.
It's a new step.
Step, touch forward.
And back.
Circle those arms back.
Shake it out.
Shake it.
Nice and loose.
Let the head go.
Five, six, seven, and eight.
Take it forward.
Two, three, four.
Take it back.
Six.
How you guys doing?
Four, three, looking good.
Take it forward.
Take it one, two, three.
Circle it back.
Circle back.
Two, three, four.
And shake it.
Two.
Okay, one last time.
This is it all the way through.
Here you go.
Take it.
Step and touch.
Circle it back.
And now shake it out.
You did it.
Good job.
Looking good, Rod.
So let's take your heart rate.
Start.
Stop.
Now if you're above your target zone,
you have to slow down.
But if you're below your target zone,
you gotta work a little harder.
Now for a little interval training.
We're gonna pick the pace up
and then bring it back down.
So the first move is jumping up
and then four marches.
Six, seven, eight.
And up.
You got it.
And jump.
And up.
Off the floor.
Up.
Keep it going.
And up.
Last time.
March it out.
And march it.
Pump it out.
And pump it.
Side to side.
Here you go.
And side.
And march.
Two, three, four.
Side.
Now if this is too hard for you,
just use your legs, no arms.
And leg, leg, leg.
And march.
Leg.
Keep it going.
Go, Kathy.
And side to side.
Side to side.
Now slow it down.
Catch your breath.
Back and forward, back and forward.
Catching your breath.
Let me get back with the troops here.
Forward and back.
And forward.
Back.
Forward.
Back.
Forward.
Back.
Back again.
Side to side.
Forward and back.
Make it heel.
Toe.
Okay, now let's hear from Pat.
See what she has to say.
And still keep going.
And let's have a go.
Two, three, four.
And up.
Now if you're a little out of breath,
slow down.
And up.
Two, three, four.
And up.
Looking good.
Now we're just going to march it out.
March.
And two.
And three.
And four.
Four more.
Come on now.
And let's use your hands.
And pump.
Now this is high energy,
so if you want to slow down,
keep arms down.
New change.
We're going to march it out forward.
Yes, one, two, three, four.
And pull it in.
And back.
It's up.
Two, three, four.
And up.
Come on now.
Woo.
Oh yeah.
And up.
Now if your heart rate's a little too high,
keep arms down.
And up.
And back.
It's one, two, three, four.
And pull.
Pull.
Woo.
That's it now.
Are you ready?
Let's slow it down.
Cool down.
And up.
Woo.
Five, six, seven, and eight.
Now take a heel.
And jump.
Keep arms in.
Shoulders back.
Nice deep breathing.
Seven and eight.
Now take it forward.
And back.
And forward.
And back.
Five, six, seven, and eight.
Take a heel.
So, woo.
Are you ready, Ron?
Let's go.
Come on, Ron.
You can do it.
Seven and eight.
Let's go.
Let me hear those claps.
Woo.
Let me hear those claps.
I guess.
Looking good, Ron.
All right.
Now you can keep a low.
Just pump the arms softly.
Ow.
Good.
And pick it up on the march.
Good.
Up and up.
Breathing.
Now let's take it down.
Take it down.
Nice and easy.
Good.
Now we're gonna skip right and left.
Here it is.
And march in place.
You can keep it down.
Woo.
Nice and easy.
Good.
Now we're gonna skip right and left.
Here it is.
And march in place.
You can keep it down.
Woo.
And march in place.
You can keep it down.
Woo.
Oh my gosh.
All right.
It's awesome.
Oh.
All right.
You can really get it up there.
Come on.
That's here for the crown.
Let's go.
Yes.
Last time.
Now let's slow it down.
Take it side to side.
Slow it back down.
Come on, Ron.
Good luck.
Here she comes.
Good luck.
Woo.
Come on.
Woo.
And back.
Good.
Last time.
Slow it down now.
Breathing.
Good.
Swing the arms side to side.
Last time.
Forward back.
So Ross, who's next?
Oh, it's David.
Let's go.
Jump it up.
March it up.
Up.
Go in your own pace.
Again.
Up.
Three more.
And march in place.
Woo.
Two more.
Come on.
And march it out.
Point those toes off the floor.
Go in your own pace.
Six.
Seven.
That's it.
Press down.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Four more.
Four.
Three.
Now slide it to the right.
Here we go.
And down.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Up.
Down.
Up.
And left.
Down.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Up.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Up.
You got it.
And right.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Up.
Take it left.
And one more time to the right.
Down.
Up.
All right.
And left.
And up.
And slow it down.
And take it down.
Woo.
Back down again.
Back down.
And step into the front.
And heel.
Toe.
Heel.
Catch your breath.
Stretch out that lower leg like this if you feel any cramping.
Now for a deeper stretch, bend the back knee, keeping the heel down.
Join in again when the cramp is gone.
We're gonna hear it from Karlin.
Woo.
I know it.
Woo.
Here we go.
We're getting tired.
Slow it down.
Nice, slow.
Still got two left.
Up those arms.
Good.
Keep it going.
How you doing?
All right.
A little bit more.
Now take it down.
Thrust those arms down.
Don't get tired.
Just take it down.
That's it.
Easy.
New step.
Monkey.
Arms up and down.
Good.
A little more.
Good.
Now to the right.
Toes and heels.
Back to center again.
Arms up and down.
Good.
And now to the left.
And to the right.
And to the left.
And to the right.
And to the left.
Arms up and down.
Good.
A little more.
Woo.
Now to the left side.
Heel and toes.
All right.
There it is.
Good.
Back to center.
Where's Kathy?
I knew you'd come.
Woo.
OK.
Side to side.
Woo.
All right.
Here's a good time to check the fork scale and see if you're in your target zone.
And now let's move on to the next aerobic.
Good job.
Woo.
Now's a good time to see how you're doing on the exertion scale.
Slow down if you feel that you're over 16.
Never deny yourself a drink of water if you feel thirsty.
Keep a pitcher of cool water close by and drink freely.
That's your body's way of keeping its aerobic engine cool.
OK.
Let's swing it out.
Side to side.
Just swing it out.
OK.
Let's bring it back down with a little swing too.
Taking the arms right up to the ceiling.
Take them up.
Now onto the side.
Bring it down.
Now sweep the arms.
First one, then the other.
Take it up.
And out.
Take it down.
Sweep it one.
Then again.
Take it up.
Out to the side.
Bring it straight down.
And now sweep one arm.
And then the other.
Last time.
Take it straight up.
Take it out.
Take it down.
Sweep one.
And out.
Now sweep it down.
Sweep one.
Then the other.
Now to the right.
One.
Two.
Three.
And four.
OK.
Side to side.
Circle forward.
Swing those arms.
Big.
Now double arms back.
Two arms to the side.
One, two, three.
Two arms to the other side.
Side to side.
Ow!
Take it back.
Big arms back.
OK, side again.
One, two, three, four.
Circle forward.
Now double arms back.
One more time.
Trombone arms.
Down, up, down, down.
OK, now the trombone move.
You step it forward, touch the heel.
Forward, touch the heel.
Let's get the feet first of all.
Now take it forward, the knees.
Knees come up.
Side to side.
Step it back, side to side.
Knees come up.
OK, trombone on the other side.
We take it back first.
You pull it back and down.
Now if you can't get the arms,
just do the leg.
Heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe.
Take it forward.
Take it side to side.
Side to side.
Bring the knees up.
Side to side, back.
Knees come up again.
OK, let's trombone back to the other side.
Now at the arms this time if you can.
Forward, pull it back.
Down.
Now really pull that arm back.
Down, back.
Step it forward.
Four counts.
One, two, three.
The knees come up.
Cross your body.
Here you go.
Take it back.
Two, three.
The knees come up again.
Right across the body.
OK, trombone other side.
Pull it back.
Down.
Take it back.
Down.
OK, last time forward.
Take it side to side.
The knees come up.
If you can, get them a little higher.
Take it back.
OK, we're going to just step it out again.
Side to side.
Step it side.
OK, new move.
Moving to the right.
Step, touch.
Five, six, seven.
And here you go.
Take it step, touch.
Step together and swing it out.
And again.
Take it step, touch.
Step together.
Step, touch.
Swing it.
OK, same leg.
We're going to add a new arm.
It's big arm.
Down, up, down again.
Take it side to side.
It's big.
Down, up, down again.
Take it side to side.
Other way.
Here you go.
Take it up, down, up, down again.
And up, down.
OK, last one.
I really want you to start to think about pulling it down.
Take it up.
A little gentler.
Up, down again.
Just swing it out.
And up, down.
Up, down, up.
And just swing it out.
And just hold it here.
Now, we brought it up with the shot and brought it back down again.
So your heart rate should be below 100.
Let's check it.
So let's take your heart rate.
Start.
Stop.
Now, if your heart rate's still above 100, continue walking around the room.
Let's take a minute to look at your posture.
Now, I want you first to think about your body as if it were in different sections,
all stacked on top of each other.
OK, let's start with the feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
And now let's start at the base, the pelvis.
First of all, I want you to tilt the pelvis forward and then retract it back.
Tilt it to both extremes.
And now find that midway point and just hold it there.
Let's do the same thing for the shoulders.
Take those shoulders and try to touch the shoulder blades together.
And now release them just about an inch.
Same thing with the head.
Jut the head forward and now retract it back.
And find the midway point.
And now last but not least, let's shift the weight all the way on the balls
and now back on the heels.
And let's find the midway point right at the midfoot and just balance there.
So the shoulders, torso, hips, knees, and ankles should be in one straight line.
And if you took a plumb line, you dropped it down here.
It should be in one straight line.
Have you got that?
Remember how this feels because we're going to stretch and strengthen
all those muscles that are responsible for this posture.
This way we can maintain it throughout the day.
Now let's do the same thing in a seated position.
Again, think about the same posture alignment while you're seated.
Now most people have a tendency to slouch over and slump forward.
And this actually requires more energy and takes a greater toll on the muscles
and joints than sitting upright.
So you want to remember that the hips, the shoulders, and the head,
again, are in alignment and you're not leaning too far forward
or again, too far back.
Now to do that, you need to keep your abdominals tight
and you have to work on the back muscles to keep them strong.
Okay, with that in mind, if you need to get a sweatshirt or some sweatpants
to keep your muscles warm, you might want to get it right now
and let's get going on body awareness.
Now we're going to apply what we've learned about posture
and take it down to the floor.
And we're going to start out with some good deep breathing.
So let's take another deep inhale, inhale up, and as you exhale,
I want you to tighten the stomach down and up to support the lower back.
And now with that in mind, let's squeeze the buttocks and continue squeezing.
Now I want you to concentrate on the muscle group that we're working,
which is the buttocks right now,
and relax everything else in your body, including your shoulders.
Keep squeezing.
And this time, lift the buttocks off the floor as you squeeze.
So you squeeze, tighten, and lift, squeeze, tighten, and lift,
thinking about keeping the mid-back down on the floor
and keeping your hips parallel to the floor.
And each time, I want you to squeeze a little bit tighter.
And squeeze, and squeeze.
Now think about your breath and think about those abdominals.
Now lower back down.
And now lift the buttocks up and open and close your legs.
We've pulled in another muscle group.
We've pulled in the inner thighs now.
So we're keeping the control in the abdominals and the butt,
the whole pelvic girdle area, but now we've pulled in the inner thigh.
And as we work it, we tighten the inner thigh in and out and in.
Relax your shoulders, Carlin. Good.
Stay nice and relaxed.
Now lower back down.
And I want you to take one leg up to the ceiling.
But if you feel uncomfortable doing this,
I want you to maintain as David's doing over here
with both legs still on the ground.
Otherwise, I want you to keep one leg up
and think about pointing the toe to the ceiling
while you keep the hips parallel to the floor
and keep the abdominals working also.
The abdominals have to work in conjunction with that back
to keep that girdle of strength in this one area here.
Good.
Drop it back down.
And now let's lift the other one up.
Here we go.
Keep lifting and up and up and up.
Okay, what we're trying to do right now is build a strong foundation
to support that posture that we were talking about before
throughout the whole day.
So I want you to concentrate again on the muscle groups
that we're working and think about these muscle groups
as you go throughout the day.
Let's stretch the whole thing out now.
Put your knees in.
And I want you to drop one leg down and then the other
to protect the lower back.
Let's take one leg at a time.
And let's feel the stretch throughout the whole back,
hips, and thigh area.
Bring it back to center.
And now let's do the same stretch on the other side,
taking one leg down at a time to protect that lower back.
Again, Roz, make sure you keep the shoulder on the floor
and feel the stretch throughout this whole area here.
It should feel great.
Pull the legs back in again.
Now I want you to lower one leg down and straighten the other leg.
From there, hold the stretch, feel it in the hamstring,
and now flex the foot and point.
And again, flex.
And as you point, you'll feel the stretch in the front of the leg.
As you flex, you'll feel it in the back of the leg.
This is what muscle balancing is all about.
Now bend the leg.
And let's do some ankle circles.
Circle around with that foot,
bringing the circulation down to that part of the body.
And now lift the leg again.
And let's do a deep hamstring stretch,
pulling that leg back as far as you can.
But remember, with stretching, go only as far as you can.
And if it starts to shake, bend the knee slightly.
And exhale.
And as you exhale, drop the leg down.
And now let's stretch out,
grab onto that leg and pull it in.
Now for beginners, this is about as far as you want to go.
As you get more advanced,
you might want to pull it a little bit closer to your body.
Drop that stretch down.
And now let's repeat the whole thing on the other side.
Let's lift that leg up and flex and point,
thinking about our muscle balancing.
And as we flex again, we feel the stretch in the back.
As we point, we feel it on the front.
And we're going to do that one more time on each side.
And now bend the leg.
And circle the ankle around.
Get the range of motion in that joint,
full range of motion all the way around
through all the tiny muscles working.
Straighten back out,
and let's get a deep stretch in the hamstring on this side.
Now, Ros is very flexible,
but don't get competitive with stretching.
And remember, always exhale as you stretch.
Let's get that leg down.
And let's pull up that leg.
And good.
Now, again, we're feeling the stretch throughout the hip,
a little deeper into the hip and gluteal area right now.
Now that we've worked,
we've strengthened and stretched those muscles,
let's relax them back down again,
and let's move on to our abdominals.
Okay, let's find the abdominal muscles
by taking a couple of good deep breaths.
And another one, inhale up.
And as you exhale,
I want you to contract the abdominals down and then up,
and feel them contracted.
Okay, now, with the hands on both sides of the abdominals,
I want you to lift one leg and then the other.
And lift one leg, and then the other.
Now, what I want you to think about is holding your hands
on the outside of your abdominals right below the rib cage.
And I want you to feel the abdominals working
each time you bring up the leg.
The first step in tightening the stomach is to be aware
of how the abdominals contract and release.
We're tightening through concentration, first of all,
not through a lot of repetitions, but through concentration,
because this is something that you can do throughout the day.
Okay, again, up and down.
And up, up, down, and down.
It's a little bit more advanced now.
What I want you to do is bring the right leg up
and then the left leg,
and then lower the right leg, and lower the left leg.
Now, this takes a bit more control,
because as you bring up those legs,
you have to stabilize the body using the abdominals,
contracting them, and pressing that lower back into the floor.
And again, we're going to take the other leg up.
So we're just going to reverse the process,
bringing the left leg up first, and then lowering both legs.
And again, it's left, right, left, right.
We're doing this in a slow, controlled fashion,
so first of all, that you don't hurt your lower back,
but secondly, that you can really concentrate on the abdominals working
and forcing that lower back into the floor.
Okay, let's do the last repetition, one leg, and then the other,
and now lower both legs down.
Now let's move on and bring the legs up
and cross the arms on the chest.
And I want you to lift the hips slightly off the floor,
and lift it.
Now, I don't want you to swing the legs forward and back.
Keep it nice and controlled, and lift up.
And each time you contract that lower abdominal area,
work the muscle and think about the muscle you're working.
And again, as Carlin's doing, breathe every single time.
Never hold your breath.
Good work.
Lower that down, and now let's move up to the upper abdominals.
Hands behind the head, keeping the neck area relaxed,
lift the shoulders off the floor, contracting the abdominals,
and pulling them in and up each time that you do a repetition.
Now, Carlin's advanced, but if you're just beginning,
you might start to fatigue, and if so, drop out
and rest a few repetitions, and then come back in again,
because eventually you'll build up to the right number.
Okay, lower back down.
Now I want you to do the obliques.
What I want you to do is to work the area
that is going to give you a nice, slim waistline.
Keeping one shoulder on the floor,
I want you to lift the other elbow up and over.
Imagine lifting over a barrel,
meaning that you're going to come up and over, not just over.
Again, it's a big movement, up and over.
Other side.
And try, if you can, to visualize that elbow coming right to the knee,
working the external obliques, and again, giving you that slim waistline.
Now make sure that you're concentrating on the muscle that's working,
and don't just use momentum.
I want you to concentrate and work the muscles slow and controlled.
Okay, let's stretch it out now.
Bring the knee into the chest,
and I want you to stretch the hip flexor,
which means you want to keep this leg down.
You'll feel a stretch through the front of the leg.
And now let's continue on and drop that leg across your body
and feel a great stretch through the whole side and hip area.
Again, making sure the shoulder stays firmly on the floor.
Okay, same stretch, but other side.
And now watch as you bring that knee up.
You might notice that the leg pops off the floor.
Again, that's because of a tight hip flexor.
You want to concentrate on keeping that leg down.
What's happening here, Carlin?
A little bit further down, relax it down. Good.
And now drop it across,
and notice how Carlin tries to keep the shoulder on the floor.
You might even want to look in that direction.
That would give you a little bit of added weight on that side
and feel the stretch throughout the back.
Okay, last good stretch.
Let's stretch up the whole body, entire body.
I want you to stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch,
and release it.
And one more time, stretch up, up, every single muscle in your body,
including your ankles and your face and your neck and everything.
Now relax it.
Okay, let's roll over on our other side.
Let's roll over to the stomach and work the back side.
Now lying on your stomach, hands in front,
lift up one leg and the opposite arm.
And now the other.
Repeat it on both sides.
It's slow and controlled.
You're lifting one leg and the opposite arm.
And if you notice what we're working is a combination of muscle groups.
We start, we're working the buttocks, the back, the shoulders,
everything together at one time.
And this, in this video, we not only protect the back,
but we also strengthen the back, especially that lower back,
which is so important for good posture.
Now let's circle those arms around and lower back down and circle back.
Now we're lifting just the upper body, working the bottom of the back,
the lower back, and again, lift up and circle the arms all the way around.
It's almost like a swimming motion.
Lower back down and last time up and circle the arms back again.
Now let's push it back up for our cat stretch.
And what I want you to do is press the hips down to the heels
and stretch the fingers as far forward as you can.
And you should feel it all the way through the back and shoulders.
Hold it there, take a deep breath,
and as you exhale, come up to all fours.
Now what I want you to do is think about the abdominals again
and contract and now just release them down.
And again, contract, and as you release down this time,
come to a flat back position, lifting one leg and the opposite arm.
Now this could be a little difficult at first,
and if that's so, just use one limb at a time.
We're developing balance now and we're using the entire body.
Let's try the other side.
One leg comes up, but notice how Pat's hips turn out.
I want you to keep the hips parallel
and I want you to keep the neck relaxed and the arm out straight
because we're using all the muscle groups throughout the whole back of the body.
Again, the opposite side, one leg and the opposite arm.
Find your balance, and as I say in the beginning, it might be a little tricky.
You need to develop strength in this pelvic girdle area
to hold you and to develop the control it's going to take.
Other side, one leg all the way out, working the buttocks, back, shoulders,
and hold it out there.
Hold it, don't forget to breathe, and now relax it down.
Now one last time, let's think about those abdominals.
Contract up and release them down, and again contract up,
and last time release, and now let's find the wall and work the upper body.
Okay, now as we start to walk to the wall, I want you to think about push-ups.
This is still the best exercise to work the upper body.
This is the easiest way for a beginner to do a push-up, and that's against the wall.
But before you start, I want you to think about the abdominals and the back.
And now let's just take it down and up, and down and up.
Couple things here, that pelvic girdle of strength,
you want to make sure that the abdominals are tight and the buttocks is tucked under.
So when you're doing your push-up, you don't want the buttocks to pooch out
or the back to arch.
Keep that girdle of strength, that control throughout the whole push-up.
Okay, give me two more repetitions, and last one, and now let's stretch it out.
Whenever you work a muscle, you want to make sure that you stretch it out afterwards
so you can have a nice, long, lean muscle.
And again, let's do another set, up and down.
Now you notice that David and Carlin are back here at the beginning push-up.
If you're a little bit more advanced, you might want to do something like pat,
which is on a table, chair, or your couch.
If you're a little bit more advanced, go all the way to the floor like Roz.
Okay, and last one, and now let's stretch it out again.
And stretch.
What you want to do is like David, round the back, or like Pat.
You want to stretch it into a nice, flat back.
Last set, and don't forget to breathe.
Remember, exhale on the exertion.
Exhale as you come up, inhale down, and exhale, and stay relaxed,
and remember to focus the energy in the muscle groups you're working.
Okay, we want two more.
Last two, come on, you can do it, you can do it.
And last one, you got it, Roz, you got it, come on, and now stretch it out.
Last stretch.
Stretch all the muscles out that we've just worked.
Now come to center.
Now we want to work the upper back.
Up and pull it down.
Now we're working the upper back muscles, which is very important for posture.
Without a strong upper back, your shoulders tend to like slump forward through the day.
So remember, keep the abdominals tight as you pull up and down,
and watch David's back.
You see the shoulder blades pull together, and that's the action we're looking for.
Pulling those shoulder blades together as you bring the arms down.
And again.
Now give me two more repetitions.
Last two, and last one.
Okay, good.
Now just shake it out.
Shake the shoulders out, a few shoulder shrugs here.
And now let's come to center, come away from the wall,
and we want to stretch everything back out again.
Because as I said, when you strengthen, you want it afterwards, you want to stretch.
So let's take a deep inhale, and inhale up.
And exhale out.
Knees are slightly bent, and again, inhale up.
Big inhale.
And exhale.
And let's stretch the sides.
Push the right hand down and the left hand to the ceiling,
and stretch, and stretch, and stretch.
And now to the other side.
Stretch one arm down and one arm up, and stretch as far as you can.
Come back to center.
Separate the legs, and now the back stretch.
Take it forward.
And I want you to think about that C shape we're talking about.
Take it to the right side.
And now to the left side.
And slowly come back to center.
Now lift up.
And drop one hand, grab onto that elbow, and let's stretch out the tricep,
pulling behind your head, keeping the knees slightly bent and the buttocks tucked under.
And now let's drop that arm right in front of the body,
and stretch out the shoulder muscle.
Take it across the body, keeping the shoulder pressed down and the arm straight.
And now let's stretch out the front of the shoulder by circling that arm all the way around
and grabbing behind you and pulling the arm back and down.
And you should feel the stretch through the front of the shoulder.
There you go. Let it go.
And now release the arms all the way back,
pulling them as far up as possible,
keeping the shoulders back and not rounding forward.
And now release, and let's do the same thing on the other side.
So we stretch the tricep, which we worked with our push-ups.
And now we release that and take it in front of our bodies, and we stretch the deltoid.
And we make sure we press the shoulder down as we're stretching.
And again, we release that, we take it across the bodies,
grab behind you, and pull that arm down and back.
And feel that shoulder pressing down and back in that tall posture.
And now release and take those shoulders back as you bring the arms up.
Good.
And remember to exhale when you get into the furthest part of the stretch.
Okay, now let's circle the ankles around,
and getting a range of motion in all our joints,
getting that mobility and flexibility back, other side.
Circle and circle all the way around and all the way around.
Let's do the same thing with our wrists.
And circle and circle a range of motion throughout the whole 360 degrees.
There you go.
Now tighten and release, and tighten and release all that energy.
And tighten and release, and last time tighten those fists and release it.
And now the shoulders, shrug them up.
And now let everything go and feel that next stretch.
And again, and release it and feel energized.
And again, and release it, and last time take it up there.
Now how do you feel?
We've accomplished a lot today.
So I want you to think about your posture
and how it relates to your everyday activities,
and carry that body awareness with you throughout the day.
So with that in mind, you did a great job, and keep up the good work.
Ooh, wow!
Music playing.