workout

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!

Take the Steps

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Warm up.  Workout.  Cool down.

Most of us could recite this in our sleep, right?

Well maybe we should listen more closely to our sleep talking because I have a hunch that many exercisers are skipping two out of three of these steps.  I used to be one of those people.  I felt like cardio minutes were the best use of time, I wanted to burn as many calories in the little allotted time I had to workout.  Now I feel like I am doing myself a disservice if I skip a step, as occasionally happens if I run a little slower than expected and don’t have time to cool down.  Maybe I’m getting wiser with my years.

As we age (which is happening to all of us at this very second) the first and third step become more and more important to the health of our joints, muscles, brains, and hearts but no matter what your age or level of physical fitness please take this as a reminder not to skip any steps!

Why Warm Up?

The warm up is the time to tune into your body.  As I warm up I naturally do a little body scan; how’s my energy level? Does my knee hurt?  Am I up for running sprints today?  Doing this little check in before you get into the meat of your workout can allow you to listen to your body better throughout the duration and provide you with a better workout and decreased risk of injury.

Physically, taking some time to warm up the body gives the circulatory system a chance to catch up with your muscle activity, resulting in more oxygenated muscles then if you jump right into a full fledged workout.  Slowly increasing the heart rate is crucial for anyone with high blood pressure or at risk of heart disease.

Muscles are like taffy, pliable and stretchy when warm but brittle and tough when cold.  If you jump right into a workout then you are asking cold taffy-like muscles to accommodate for a range of motion that they are not prepared for.  Warming the muscles naturally increases their range of motion and prepares them to move big, full, and fast.

Mentally, a warm up is like a rehearsal for the muscles; it gently tells the body to prepare for the upcoming activity.  By rehearsing your body for the workout you are less likely to become injured because your body knows what’s expected of it.

A warm up needs to last at least 5 minutes and can last up to 15, depending on your age, the time of day, your level of fitness, and the activity for which you are warming up.

Note: Stretching doesn’t necessarily need to be included in a warm up and in fact has been shown to make you run slower.  I save my stretching for the cool down when running.

The Workout.

Decreased risk of heart disease, increased metabolism, increased strength, decreased weight, natural energy boost and mood elevator, better sleep, better sex, recreation, increased range of motion, maintaining bone density and muscle mass, and stress reduction are just a few of the reasons why you may be working out.

The important things are consistency and variety.  Consistency because exercise is a lifelong practice, you can’t store up the benefits to cash in later.  Variety reduces the risk of injury and increases the likelihood of adequately working the entire body through cardio and strength building exercises.

Maybe the most important aspect of your workout is that you enjoy it. 🙂

Just Cool It.

Would a yoga class feel complete without Savasana?  Neither should a workout feel compete without a cool down.

Like Savasana, a cool down provides time for your body and mind to synthesize the workout.  Similarly to during the warm up, I do a quick body scan and note what areas were worked, how they feel, and what needs stretched.   I also take a moment to applaud myself for working out, express gratitude for my healthy, strong body, and etch in my mind how great it feels to move.  Synthesizing my mind and body this way creates greater incentive for me the next time I consider skipping a workout.

Cooling the body down gradually returns the heart rate to normal, allows the blood to gradually slow it’s movement and prevents blood pooling in the muscles, and allows time for stretching the muscles.

Our flexibility naturally decreases as we age.  Scar tissue builds on muscles after injuries, we move around less than when we were kids, and our muscle fibers decrease and shrink.  We can combat this by regularly stretching warm muscles through their full range of motion and muscles are warmest right after a workout.

Cool downs should take at least 5 minutes and as much as 20 minutes.

The best part?  A great cool down that includes stretching all of the muscles worked during exercise will make you feel soooo much more ready for your next workout!

Tomorrow I’ll write in more detail about what should be included in a warm up and cool down but in the meantime, tell me about your favorite way to warm up/cool down!