[gentle music]
- This is Quick Fit.
I'm Cassy, and I'd like you to know aging well is possible.
Everyday movements can seem difficult when you're tight,
so today's class will loosen up your hip flexors.
Have a chair and be prepared to go onto the floor,
maybe having a cushion for your knees.
Let's just begin with some nice, easy leg swings.
Forward and back.
Allow that knee to bend.
Get a little bit more movement.
Then a diagonal across and out, across and out,
standing nice and tall.
[inhales]
Starting your breathing, nice and deep.
And then straight across and out.
Warming up the side hips.
Keep it going.
All right, one more time across and back.
And then go ahead and grab that ankle
and a nice gentle tug on the foot.
Now, take a nice, big inhale. [inhales]
And I'd like you to squeeze your bottom.
[exhales] Press that knee down.
This is a pretty big stretch, all the way down to your knee.
Do that again.
We'll release first, inhale, squeeze the bottom.
Then push the knee down [exhales] and stir.
You should really be feeling this
from here down to your knee.
All right.
So, before you put that leg or the foot onto the floor,
let's lift the hip up and down.
Now, my standing leg is getting a little warm.
It's been holding us up.
The joints have been having to stabilize,
and that's a good thing.
Single leg strength is very important for mobility.
All right, now let's just turn towards your chair
and have one leg straight back.
Now this top hip, open it up towards the front.
[inhales and exhales]
Then turn the hip and your torso towards the floor.
Two more.
Big inhale, [inhales] exhale. [exhales]
One more time on the other side. [inhales and exhales]
Good.
That one can take quite a few to loosen up
the very first time you ever try that,
but don't forget to be patient with yourself
and add lots of breathing.
And just a reminder, we never work into any knife pain.
This is about healing and pain relief.
And as always, double-check with your doctor
that it's okay for you to start a gentle movement
and stretching routine.
Forward and back, forward and back, forward and back.
Now directly across and out.
I just love that you can do these classes anywhere,
right from the convenience of your home,
getting them done right away in the morning,
so you can have a great rest of your day.
Lastly, forward and back.
Don't forget to bend the knee.
Lift, and then on the back swing,
go ahead and grab that ankle.
Big inhale, [inhales]
exhale, [exhales] and a gentle tug.
Prepare for the next one.
Inhale. [inhales]
Squeeze your bottom under, [exhales]
and blow as you push that knee down.
Big pull.
So pause, inhale, [inhales]
squeeze the bottom, press the knee.
[exhales]
Maybe a little stir.
I really like this part.
Great, gently release.
Don't let the foot flop to the floor.
Lift and lower, really sinking in to the standing hip.
It's doing a lot of work.
Lift and lower. [exhales]
Remember, we're not resting the foot on the floor,
but we are standing up tall.
Now let's extend the same leg to the back,
opening up the hip, [inhales]
then turning it towards the floor.
Blow. [exhales]
This one for me was very intense when I first started it.
It would take me like 10 repetitions
before I could get all the way turned around
with this hip turned down.
Much quicker now. [inhales and exhales]
Very good.
All right, next, we'll go down to the floor.
So grab that knee pad if you need one.
And we're just going down into a nice 90/90,
so you've got your knee over your ankle
and your hip over your other knee.
All right, so for many of us,
this one is a stretch, just like this.
Big inhale, exhale.
Now let's scoot this foot forward a little
and see if you can get a little more movement
by pushing the hips forward.
All right.
Lift that arm, inhale. [inhales]
Maybe you're loosening up
and you need to get the foot a little further forward.
[exhales] Push the hips.
You really want to take care that your foot's not back here.
Have it far enough forward
so you can get some nice movement.
All right.
Now we're going to make it a little deeper,
as you squeeze your butt, [exhales]
then push the hips forward.
Even more intense, isn't it?
Maybe you're not quite ready for that last one.
That's okay.
You'll get better with consistency.
[exhales]
Okay, inhale. [inhales]
So my left knee is up.
My left arm is up.
Reach over the head [exhales]
towards your right side.
Okay, let's switch sides.
I like having the chair really accessible.
So now I got my right knee up, right arm up.
[inhales] Big inhale.
And just a slight push forward with the hips,
[exhales]
matching your breathing to every repetition,
scooting my foot forward.
[inhales and exhales]
It also helps if your back foot is flat.
Okay, flat to the floor. [inhales]
Inhale, exhale. [exhales]
Squeeze the bottom.
Push the hips forward.
Good, and then the last one, [inhales and exhales]
just enjoy a nice, deep side stretch
from your elbow to the outside of that hip.
Very nice.
All right, let's move the chair out of your way here.
And we'll stay on our knees.
Okay, hands on your hips.
All right, let's do a twist without moving the hips,
just the shoulders and the torso.
And now I'd like you to dip your back elbow
towards your foot.
Just a little.
The front elbow towards the floor.
[inhales] Let's do two more reps.
[exhales]
Dip towards your back elbow, towards your front.
One more.
Hip flexors and the psoas
can make you feel so tight and old,
so let's keep them nice and loose.
Let's twist the other way. [inhales and exhales]
Dip your one elbow towards your back foot.
It's not a very big movement.
Other elbow towards the front.
You can do this standing as well.
[inhales and exhales]
All right, one more. [inhales]
Inhale, exhale. [exhales]
All right, hands just behind your ribs.
Squeeze your bottom.
Push the hips forward.
Lift the chest.
Oh, yeah.
Gently, gently.
Down on your hands and knees for a couple cat and cows.
These are so important to low spine flexibility
that I include them in almost every workout.
Most of us are very tight in one way or the other,
so don't skip these.
You might even want to do more of them on your own.
Slow, slowly, and enjoy them.
All right, now we'll rock forward and back,
as far as your flexibility allows.
[inhales and exhales]
Forward and back.
You can do this with your knees close together or wider.
I really like doing it with my toes together
and my knees a little wider.
[inhales and exhales] All right.
So wherever you land,
you might not be able to get your hips back
by your heels very far, but that's okay.
Shift your hips right and left as much as you can.
Okay, I'll show you from the front.
I have my knees a little closer together,
and I'm shifting my hips right and left.
The more you can get your hips towards your heels,
by all means, do that.
Then let's pause at one side, reach one hand over the other.
That's really enjoyable,
especially when you've been doing these classes a while,
you'll find your own good stretches.
All right, let's go ahead and roll over onto our back
for the final couple moves.
Have your feet about a foot apart,
and let's just rock your knees one way and then the other.
Do that one more time.
And then we'll just do one leg at a time.
Wide knees. [exhales]
Try not to let the hips follow the knee.
Do your best to keep your hips on the floor,
even if you're not getting much movement from the knee.
Doesn't that feel great?
So you should know a little daily effort really,
really goes a long way,
so please be encouraged and come back
to pbswisconsin.org/quickfit,
where gentle movement heals and gives you hope
for a strong and independent future.
See you next time.