[uplifting music]
- Welcome to today's Quick Fit class.
I'm Cassy.
It takes power to move the weight of our own bodies.
Today's class is designed to get you moving
with power and strength.
Have a chair handy and join us.
I also highly recommend you take your shoes off.
We'll be doing quite a bit of foot work
because the feet are important for power,
but they have a hard time moving when they're in shoes.
So let's push the ball of your foot to get the heel up.
Down and up, other side.
Having your feet a little wider than you normally do
when you stand, with a nice wide base.
And don't lift the leg up and the foot up,
push the ball of the foot to lift the heel.
The ball of the foot is just that pad
right under your big toe.
Next, we're gonna use the strength
and the muscles in the feet to push,
and then a controlled land.
Push, toes, heel.
Once again, not just moving the body and lifting the leg,
but using the foot to move the body.
Other side.
It may take a good year for you to regain the strength
in your feet.
I think it's just so easy to forget about the muscles
in our feet, but they're really important
and you'll feel much more energized
when they have their full range of motion,
flexibility, and strength.
Next, we'll be doing some exercises
for the fast twitch muscles of the hip flexors.
So you can have a chair handy.
Use your stomach and aggressively lift.
Okay, touch the floor, lift.
Okay, lift, lift.
All of these muscles are gonna work together
to do the everyday activities
such as getting up out of a deep couch,
up off of a regular bench, off the toilet, out of your car.
Lift.
And lift.
Very good, alternate, nice and slow now.
Feet are a little closer together.
Lifting the heels, stretching the toes,
and controlling the down.
We're not falling, falling.
Okay, lift and down, lift and down.
Two heels, nice and slow, up and down.
Don't forget to breathe.
Pull in the stomach.
You can do this with or without hanging on.
And you can do it from anywhere.
Lift and lower.
Lift and lower, all right.
Feet are side by side, turned a little sideways
so you can see that I'm bending the knees.
I'm just sitting straight down.
Have your chair, lift two heels.
Straighten up.
Heels down.
All right, sit.
Heels up, extend.
And down.
Knees, heels, and up.
And down, very good.
Now fast, this is where those fast twitch muscles come in.
The power.
You'll feel a lot lighter on your feet
as you go up and down the stairs or as you run.
You'll get better strides when you're out walking.
All right, single heel.
And if this is one of the first times
you've ever taken your shoes off,
I recommend you don't do all the moves.
Definitely don't, because you will be sore tomorrow
or even later today.
And just like any other part of your body,
your feet need to work into exercise gradually.
All right, and up.
Next, we'll be doing some squats.
We'll just do a few partial warm-up squats.
Bending the knees.
Notice my feet are a little wider than shoulder width.
And as you do a squat, you want to move your butt backwards.
Okay, not knees forward.
Be kind of critical with yourself about this
because we want to be using the muscles in the back.
Now let's do some a little quicker, okay?
And up.
These stabilizing muscles
are really never thought about a whole lot.
But if you go to fall,
you want to be able to catch yourself quickly.
And let's hold.
You know, people of all ages fall.
It's just younger people tend to have quicker reflexes
because they're younger.
And as we age, we kind of forget about the need
for quick reflexes.
So let's just keep practicing, keep everything fresh.
All right, hold, good.
The next one will be a little different.
So we'll go down and hold as deep as you like.
One, two, three, explode, back down.
This class is meant to work on those explosive moves
that we need.
All right, and up.
Now a little wider, go into a plié if you can.
If your hips and your knees allow you to have
a nice, wide position where your knees and your toes
are going in the same direction,
keeping those knees as wide as the feet.
Some of us physically cannot do that,
so you will need to aim your knees and toes
more forward and together.
All right, so let's just hold it here.
One, two, three, four, five.
Come up. [inhales]
Exhale. [exhales]
And don't be too close with the feet, all right.
Many of us are afraid to open our legs wider,
but our legs are more powerful than you think.
All right.
Now we're going to explode up.
You ready, up, and back down.
Already my legs are burning.
Up and back down.
All right, now let's come up and we'll drop it fast,
stopping yourselves.
You ready, down.
All right, up.
And go.
Couple more.
Down.
One more and down, really good.
So while we're here, let's do a couple heel lifts.
We'll start with singles.
One foot and then the other.
I want you to try some things throughout your day.
I would like you to try not falling into a chair
for those last few inches.
I'd like you to own every inch, every centimeter,
and then try not to use your hands
to get you up out of a chair.
Look at all these muscles we have from our waist down
and our puny little arms,
let's use your legs for what they were meant.
Okay, moving the rest of your body.
All right, and up.
Let's do a few foot stretches to finish.
[inhales and exhales]
That was really, really a good job.
Let's circle the other way.
Yeah, a very good job.
I want you to be encouraged
because it was not an easy class,
but it's something for you to work into.
If it was easy, you know,
you wouldn't have anything to look forward to.
Down and up.
And I think it's very important also
to become aware of where your weaknesses are
so you can work on them.
And in the same time, it'll help you become
more and more pain-free as you balance those weak muscles,
you get them as strong as the other muscles.
Our muscles and our bodies are meant to remain strong,
even as we age.
So keep up the great work because consistency is the key
to lifelong independence.
Find more great classes at pbswisconsin.org/quickfit,
where aging well is possible with a little daily effort.