exercise

THRIVE in 15; Pilates for YOU

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I fell in love with yoga curtesy of a well worn Kathy Smith VHS in 1997.

To this day, I can quote the cheesiest yet true Baron Baptiste and Bryan Kest moments from their late-’90s Power Yoga videos.

There was a brief time around 19 when I was magnetized to belly dancing. Living in rural West Virginia made my in-person class options rather slim but the “Belly Dancing for Beginners” video my aunt gave me for my birthday quenched my thirst.

When I lived in Peru for a year and couldn’t afford a gym membership or internet, I begged visiting friends to bring me Pilates DVD’s and “spent time” with my favorite celebrity instructors on the regular during one of the loneliest and least healthy times of my life.

My introduction to kettlebells was the instructional video that came with my pink, plastic, sand filled first ‘bell.

Throughout my 20+ year history with ‘workout videos’, I’ve always gravitated towards the shorter ones.

Even though I would often complete several “10 Minute Solutions” (a great series by the way) at one time, I like the pace and the mental undertaking of shorter workouts.

Let’s be real; getting started is the hardest part and on the other end, not seeing a workout through to the end doesn’t have the same sense of completion and satisfaction.

In the Spring of 2021 I created my own short-format Pilates video series and call it THRIVE in 15.

THRIVE in 15 is a program of fifteen Mat Pilates workouts that are geared to improve mobility, strength, posture, and form all within 15-20 minutes.

Pilates is amazing cross training for life. Pilates exercises supports you and improves your physical capacity in everything from active/athletic endeavors to functional necessities in life like carrying groceries to sitting all day.

In my humble opinion, it is the “miracle cure” it sounds like. However, to derive the benefits, you have to do it. 😉

THRIVE in 15 AD

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK?

Each Monday in November participants will receive that weeks workouts delivered via email. Once you have access to the workouts, you are free to repeat as many times as you’d like during the program. The links will expire December 6th, giving you 5 weeks to complete the 15 short workouts at least once.

WHAT PROPS DO I NEED?

All you need in a little bit of time, a little bit of floor space, and a mat or large towel or blanket plus a device/internet to access the recording.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Two dollars a workout. The THRIVE in 15 program is $30 per household, I encourage you to get other members of your household to join with you because a workout buddy is fun and encourages us to achieve our goals!

WHAT LEVEL ARE THE WORKOUTS?

This program is appropriate for anyone free of chronic or acute major illness or injury. Not every single exercise or every single repetition will be right for every participant but it is designed with a range of humans in mind.

Please feel free to ask if you have any specific questions about whether it is appropriate for you.

-Katrine Sophie, busy working mom, Vienna Austria

I am intentionally choosing to offer this program for the second time during the month of November, where things are majorly shifting in the Northern Hemisphere. As our days are getting shorter and colder & the holidays are rapidly approaching, it can be challenging to focus on our physical well being and carve out the time/energy for exercise. I want you to THRIVE during this next month, as we approach the end of another weird year for the record books.

THRIVE1-1

THRIVE in 15

15 workouts delivered via email during the month of November

$30.00

SIGN UP TODAY TO GET STARTED THIS MONDAY AND THRIVE THIS FALL!

Warm It To Cool It

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Yesterday I wrote a friendly reminder about the importance of including a warm up and cool down any time you exercise.  Today I am going to go into more detail about what to include in these crucial pre and post workout times.

Warm It Up

Specificity

In general the best way to warm up is to do workout specific movements.  For running this means starting by walking and then progressing to a slow jog.  For biking this means starting more slowly on your bike.  Elliptical/stair-stepper warm ups should start on a low incline and resistance.

You get the picture, to warm up for cardio you do the activity for which you are warming up but at a slower, easier, gentler pace.

But what about strength training or a full body tabata  or interval style workout?  You can actually do the same thing here; do similar exercises to what will be included in your workout but at a much lower intensity.   Do not include jumping or held stretches in the first five minutes of your warm up.  Do include often neglected areas of the body like the shoulders and spine.  I love to include a few big arm circles and some chest opening movements to wake up my shoulders and upper torso.  A great full body warm up exercise is to shift between Downward Dog and Plank position for several repetitions.  These movements open up the shoulders, upper back, and back of the legs, starts building heat in the core, legs, and arms, and gives you a moment to really tune into correct form and alignment through the whole body.

Progression

Just as you don’t want to jump right into your workout you also don’t want to jump into your warm up.  Instead, wade into your warm up.  Start with less intense movements that require a smaller range of motion and progressive become more full bodied and active until you can seamlessly transition into your workout.

Note: Stretch is not a warm up!  Stretching can be an element of your warm up but stretching alone, whether it’s dynamic or static, does not warm up the muscles or increase the heart rate adequately to prepare you for exercise.

Just Cool It

Specificity

Sound familiar?  Yep, the first step in cooling down is to keep your body moving in a similar way to the exercise you just completed.  I usually walk a block or two at the end of my runs then keep moving around the house for a few minutes (putting away my iPod, taking off my shoes, getting water) until my heart rate has dropped down to near normal.

Progression

Your cool down starts as soon as you finish your workout and thus you need to bring your body from an active state back down to a rest state.  It’s important to make this transition gradually to avoid a sudden change in blood pressure and blood pooling.

Stretch

Now’s the time to stretch out all those worked muscles.  While exercise generally warms up and loosens up muscles it can also cause muscular tightness that, if not regularly stretched out, can lead to poor posture, pain, and/or injury.

Stretch each muscle group and pay special attention to areas of tightness or injury.  Stretching takes time, it’s best to stay in cool down stretches for at least 30 seconds.  Do you get bored stretching?  Sometimes I like to use my post-run stretch as a time to flip through a magazine or listen to some music.

Post exercise stretching has been on my mind recently because this weekend I am going to be leading sessions on exactly that; post running race and post biking race stretching.   The events are part of a weekend music festival taking place outside of Cville, The Festy Experience.   I will be camping Saturday night and spending two days listening to music, attending workshops, leading stretching sessions, and being outdoors-so excited!

My stretch sessions are going to focus on Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF).  Usually this type of stretching is done with a trainer or health care provider but there are a few great stretches that you can do on your own.   Have you ever done PNF stretches?

Have a great weekend!