- Welcome back, everyone, to another great, pain-relieving Quick Fit class.

I'm Cassy Vieth.

I hope you're ready to feel stronger and more powerful.

We'll be bracing with our deep core muscles throughout today's workout.

Practicing this technique will help you reach and lift loads easier, so join me now to become one workout closer to a stronger you.

[upbeat music] As we begin warming up, I'd like you to stand with your feet about shoulder width apart.

Let's start by rolling your shoulders, lift it up, and squeeze them to the back.

Lift, [inhales] breathe it in, and then exhale.

[exhales] Start adding those elbows, pulling them behind you.

A little bit larger, widening your feet, [inhales] preparing to start adding the legs, breathe it in, [inhales] exhale, and bend and lower.

Nice and big, [inhales] breathe it in and exhale.

Make sure you're bending your knees and bending at the hips.

Lift, [inhales] stomach's in, and exhale.

Lift, [inhale] and blow.

[exhales] Good job, end it here with your arms up by your ears.

You can bring your feet a little closer together and stretch it by sticking your chest out, and go over to the left, pull that stomach in, start your bracing, pull the chest and the belly in, and over to your right.

Good, now let's continue in a circle, thinking about rotating on your spine right up about here, okay?

And now reverse.

Good job, keeping those arms as close to your ears as possible, and now hold it, brace through your core as if somebody was gonna poke you, okay?

It just causes you to contract, hold it there, and then exhale, lean it over.

[exhales] Pause when it starts to get tight, come a little bit out of it with a big inhale, and then over, exhale.

Can you go a little further?

Stretch, [inhales] and over, exhale.

[exhales] Good job, bring it up, breathe it in, and prepare to go to the other side.

Brace and lean.

[exhales] Good, and don't forget to squeeze through your glutes as well; it just helps stabilize that whole lumbar region.

And over, and stretch, and back up.

Good job.

Go ahead and bring those arms down by your sides and I'd like you to take your left leg and just put your toes behind you, keep your toes on the floor.

[inhales] So if this is your left leg, you're mirroring me, extend your right arm.

Good, now brace through your core to help you stabilize, and I'd like you to squeeze through your glute and your back, just to squeeze those muscles down your posterior chain.

Those are those muscles down the back of your body.

In this case, we're doing the muscles that extend from your fingertips to your heel.

Good, a little bit of balance work as well.

Right leg to the back, doesn't have to go far, just until you can get your toes on the floor, extend that arm.

Now squeeze your glute as well as the back of your arm.

Good, squeeze, and don't throw your arm and your leg to the back; go nice and slow and controlled.

Squeeze, because we're also working the balance.

[inhales] Last one.

[exhales] Squeeze, good job.

Now let's stand in more of an athletic position.

So your feet are shoulder width apart again, soft knees, brace, we're gonna take this imaginary ball and we're gonna pass it across our body with power, okay?

And the power's gonna come from here.

So engage and twist a little bit through your core first, and then the arm, okay?

Ready, and [exhales] press.

And again, brace, press.

Press, two more, press, [inhales] and press.

Good, it's a transfer of power from the core to the extremities, and that's how you are more efficient and stronger, you're not just expecting the strength all from your arm.

[inhales] And press, one more, and press.

Good, now this time, we'll do wood chops.

So imagine you're holding something above your head and you're gonna chop it down to the side, okay?

Lift, brace, throw it down.

Good, lift, brace, throw.

Let's do about three more.

[exhales] And make sure you're exhaling, you ready?

[exhales] One more, and [exhales] down.

Other side, so reset, squeeze your bottom, brace, and throw.

[exhales] Let's do five more.

Down, [inhales] throw with power that comes from your core, down and up.

Last one, up, and throw it down.

Good job.

All right, a little bit more balance work.

Balance on your right leg.

We're going to do some standing crunches.

Extend your right arm, left knee's going to come up.

You ready?

Twist and a big extension, twist.

It's a slow, controlled crunch.

I know the tendency is to go really fast 'cause you're losing your balance, but try not to go fast.

Slow and controlled.

Stretch is important, twist.

[inhales and exhales] Let's do one more, okay, and down.

Whoops, I lost it that time.

That's why I went so fast.

Other arm up, [inhales and exhales] balance on your left foot.

Left arm's up, bring up your knee, and crunch.

[inhales and exhales] And again, [exhales] slow and controlled.

One side's probably easier than the other.

That's normal.

[inhales] And down, let's do one more, all right, and down.

Good job.

Now nice, wide legs.

We're going to do this warrior pose.

Let's have your left toes facing straight out and your right toes forward.

Do your best to keep your chest facing me the whole time, and let's get these arms nice and big.

If your knees are past your toes like this, you have two options: you can either get that foot out or you can extend the other leg back, okay?

So do your best to have the knees over the ankle.

Chest forward, brace, and reach this way, the legs aren't going anywhere.

Imagine there's a wall here and so you can't go anywhere with your leg; you have to stretch through your thigh and through your sides.

[inhales and exhales] Exhale, brace through the core.

If you've dropped this arm, pick it up, keep that hand at shoulder height.

Push through the foot to come up, [inhales] exhale.

[exhales] Good, let's sweep this arm.

[inhales] Good, again, sweep it down and up.

And the other arm, lift, make sure you're not twisting through your torso.

[inhales] Exhale and up, exhale.

[exhales] Reach, adjust, and bring it up.

Let's go the other way.

So turn these toes forward; if you're mirroring me, this would be your left foot.

And then your right toes are gonna go directly out to the side.

Arms up at shoulder height, check that knee, make sure it's over your ankle, not over your toes.

[inhales] All right, now we're stretching through the torso.

Your inner thigh is stretching as we're reaching.

Chest is facing me, try not to let the head and neck hang over like that; nice, pretty lines.

Are your hands as high as your shoulders?

Come up a little.

[inhales] Brace again, push that foot into the floor, whoops.

And over, [exhales] hold it here.

Let's sweep this arm, [inhales] up, and again, keep pushing that foot into the floor, bracing.

Lift, over, inhale, [inhales] exhale.

[exhales] And up.

That's terrific.

All right, bring your legs a little closer together now.

Let's finish off with some cat and cows just to relieve the stress in your low back.

Have your knees fairly soft.

You can get a little more movement in the pelvis that way.

Tuck that tailbone under like a dog tucking its tail between its legs.

[inhales] And I'd like you to let your chin tuck, and move those elbows forward.

Keep squeezing your bottom, and then let's arch.

So I say make like a duck, elbows back, pull your tailbone back and exaggerate, sticking out your chest.

One more, rounding.

[inhales] Exhale, [exhales] like a big letter C, tucking your chin, rounding every vertebra, elbows forward.

And now exaggerate the arch in the other direction.

Good job, guys.

Hands on the tops of your thighs, do a little shifting, and that's it.

In about a day or two, you'll probably feel oddly sore under your ribs or down your sides.

Keep in mind, with all that bracing, you were activating typically weak muscles.

You'll probably forget about today's workout and wonder what you did, but don't worry.

Just come back here for the soreness cure: gentle movement.

Log back in at pbswisconsin.org/quickfit.

Follow along with me, and by the time class is over, your soreness will be gone.

Until then, keep on moving.

- 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.