- Thank you for joining me for today's Quick Fit class.

I'm Cassy Vieth.

Everyday activities like driving and getting dressed will become easier after today's gentle class that will release every joint in your spine, including your ribs.

So grab a chair and we'll get started.

[upbeat music] Let's warm up with some really simple, I call 'em rainbows, just to get your body ready to do the exercise.

And as we begin today's class, I want to remind you to work out without your shoes.

Okay, even though we're not directly exercising the feet, standing for a period of time without your shoes will actually strengthen the arches and get them prepared to do what feet should do, which is support your whole body.

[inhales] Big inhale and exhale.

[exhales] Good, getting lower as your body warms up, okay.

Don't force it.

You'll naturally get lower as your muscles relax.

Inhale, exhale.

Hold it for just a little bit of time at the bottom.

Pull in that stomach, relax the head, roll it up.

And then we'll go to the other side.

Just like a really relaxed ragdoll.

You might find that one side's tighter than the other, so linger.

[inhales] Take an extra breath and exhale.

[exhales] All right, and we'll roll up.

Real relaxed and lazy-like, okay.

All right, press it towards the ceiling, but lengthen your spine.

If you don't have any current injuries going on or any delicate areas that might spasm, then use some force as you go through the moves today.

Otherwise, you'll want to move really relaxed and half-heartedly.

[inhales] Exhale.

'Cause we gotta keep moving.

That's how we get blood to the injured areas.

All right, stretch those ribs.

And now we're going to go down again, one more time, just like a ragdoll.

Even let those knees go a little soft and a little bent.

Just shift around.

[inhales and exhales] Let the upper body just follow in this delayed fashion.

A little more bend to the knees.

And then we'll roll up really slow.

Chin coming up last.

Okay, one more.

And then down, bend the knees, let the back round.

Straighten up, chin coming up last.

One more time.

Arch it and then roll it.

Relax.

Now we'll turn to the side and do some full spine moves.

And we're going to be using some force.

So there's a lot of things happening right now, so take your time.

This is one of those moves that you won't get for a few weeks, probably.

I've got one leg back, and then I'm going to bend the back knee.

See, we're even working our toes.

Squeeze your hind end.

And then you wanna round your spine.

I'm not leaning over.

I'm just rounding my spine like a ball.

Think of one of those little potato bugs.

Elbows come forward.

Squeeze those biceps.

Now let's do the opposite.

Press that back heel down.

Unwind the arms.

Arch your spine.

Stick your chest out.

You don't have to lift your chin, but stick your hind end out, and stick your chest out.

Inhale, [inhales] exhale.

[exhales] Maybe you'll get a little tighter into the ball this time.

Squeeze your hind end.

A little balance work.

Working the toes.

All right, feel the stretch in the back of your arms, pull in your belly, tuck your chin.

[exhales] One more time.

Extend those arms to the back.

[inhales] Feel your calf stretching as you press that heel down.

Pull your hips back, stick your chest out.

All right, enjoy.

Let's go to the other side.

All right, so the other leg's to the back now.

[inhales] And we're going to bend the back knee.

You can see the toes have to bend as well.

A couple bicep curls.

Pull your belly in.

[inhales and exhales] Squeeze your hind end.

Tuck your chin.

[exhales] Keep moving those elbows as far as you can.

And then we'll unwind.

Press the heel to the floor.

Stretching your calf.

[inhales and exhales] Extend those arms back.

Stick the chest out, taking care not to overarch your neck.

Okay, another, squeeze the biceps.

[exhales] Bend the knee, tuck the tailbone under.

Now remember, I'm not leaning forward at the waist.

I'm just rounding my spine, making like a ball.

[inhales and exhales] Keep pulling it in.

I think you'll find you can really find more flection in that spine.

And now stand up and completely arch.

Top to bottom.

Arms are way back, hips are back, heels on the floor.

All right, very good.

Come out of that.

Nice, wide feet as we do a nice spine twist.

[exhales] Now don't forget, you can lift up that back heel.

Let's go the other way.

If you lift up the back heel, it's less torque on your knee.

[exhales] Let's do a little higher arms.

[inhales and exhales] Don't forget your breathing.

Deep, deep inhales, deep exhales.

[inhales and exhales] Love it.

This is one of my favorite moves.

Lift those arms.

Do it again.

[inhales and exhales] All right.

Pause, inhale, [inhales] exhale.

[exhales] Maybe you get a few more centimeters out of that.

I'll do it on the other side.

Go all the way to where you think your limit is.

Inhale, [inhales] exhale.

[exhales] Yeah, that feels good.

All right, grab your chair.

And I'm gonna get, or have you put one leg up.

It doesn't matter which leg, we're going to do both of them.

But make sure you've got a nice, stable base.

And I'd like you to twist one way.

Inhale, [inhales] exhale.

[exhales] Good, now let's go the other way.

As you twist, don't let your knee collapse inwards or follow you.

Keep it wide.

[inhales] Exhale.

[exhales] That feels so good, let's do it one more time before we switch legs.

Open.

And the other way.

[exhales] Good.

It's good to have a chair without any arms on it just for this.

And definitely no wheels.

All right.

Leg up, open up.

Other way.

Inhale, [inhales] exhale.

[exhales] See how that releases, it's like magic.

Now don't let that leg follow.

Keep it open.

Just stretching the groin area.

[inhales] One more time to the other side.

[inhales and exhales] I love, love, love that stretch.

Okay.

Nice, big back bend.

[inhales and exhales] Now squeeze your hind end, let your hips go forward.

Stomach's tight.

All right.

[exhales] And just a little release.

I'll have you put your hands on your hips and turn slight diagonal.

Try to keep your hips in place and just turn with your shoulders, okay?

Go back or dip one elbow towards the floor.

Dip the other elbow towards the floor.

Good, and now dip back.

Let's do a nice, big stretch of the arms.

Good, and we'll go forward.

Nice, big stretch of the arms.

Let's do that on the other side.

Hands are on your hips.

Just turn through the shoulders.

Dip back.

[inhales] Dip forward.

[exhales] Dip back.

We'll take a nice elbow pull and then full arms.

And then dipping to the front.

[exhales] Pull the elbows, long arm.

Very nice, all right, let's get those arms up.

[inhales] Stomach's in, lengthen through the spine, hands behind the head.

Press your head back into your fingers.

And now let's just do an upper waist rotation.

Trying not to involve down here.

And the other way.

All right, finishing it off with some nice hip rotations.

So remember, it's your hips that are moving, not your shoulders at this point, okay?

So we wanna push them forward, back, and around to the sides.

Go the other way.

From my experience teaching these classes, most of you are probably pleasantly surprised how effective a simple fitness class like this can be for relieving pain and making you feel great all day.

This class is sure to become one of your favorites.

You know where to find them: right here at pbswisconsin.org/quickfit, where I promise to work your entire body each day so you can keep on moving.

Because life is movement.