Hey guys, Cassey here, and welcome to Pilates Bootcamp on Livestrong Woman.
Today, we're going to kill your muffin top.
And all I want you to grab is a weight.
Here I have a 5 pounder, but you can grab like anywhere between a 2.5 to an 8 or a 10
if you wanna go super crazy.
And this is going to be a difficult routine, but I think you will really enjoy it.
Alright, I'll see you on the mat.
Okay, we're gonna start out with regular Oblique Twists.
So I want your legs in front of you, ankles crossed.
Now if you're a beginner, keep your heels on the floor.
If you're not or if you really just wanna challenge yourself, go ahead and bring those
heels up, elbows wide.
Now you don't wanna break this line.
You see this?
Don't ever do that.
Now you're gonna come down on to the mat and then exhale, lift up.
You're coming down and lift.
Lower and lift.
Very nice.
Down and up.
Inhale, down, exhale up.
Keeping beautiful form, long back, open chest, bellybutton in towards your spine.
Down and up.
You know, to make it look really good, you can actually look at your elbow as it comes
down.
Then look back at me when you're up, and then up and down just like that.
Lower and lift.
Nice.
So if you've had your heels on the mat the whole time, I want you to actually go ahead
and raise them right now, challenge yourself a little bit today, make it burn.
Because you know what?
It makes you stronger physically and mentally, okay?
Because you gotta work your whole body and your mind as one.
And that's why Pilates is such a great mind-body exercise.
When are we gonna stop?
In five.
Okay, so keep lifting, down and up.
Lower and lift.
A couple more, nice.
Down and up.
Very good, simple.
Now on to your knees.
We're gonna go into Candlestick Dippers, but we're gonna go into Candlestick Dippers with
a weight, so it's gonna be super intense.
But I will show you the beginner movement first.
So go ahead and place that down.
I want you to extend the leg just like so, making sure the toes are pointed forward and
foot is flat on the mat.
Make sure that leg is nice and long, no bend in the knee, okay?
Very important, keep it nice and straight.
You're hands are out like a jet plane, you're gonna come down onto the side where you're
leg is not out.
I have to mention that because I see a lot people going on the other side, okay?
So this is your beginner's movement.
It's really gonna stretch out your oblique right here.
You're gonna inhale down, exhale, lift.
For those of you who have seen this move before and you wanna go crazy super intense, you
bring those hands together, you lift up, and you're going down to the side and lift just
like that, okay?
Now, because I have the weight with me today, we are actually gonna hold it.
So this is optional.
If you want, go ahead and take the time to grab that weight, let's go ahead and add it
our routine.
Lift up into the air, you're going to lower yourself, exhale, reach.
Now that was intense.
Down and lift as low as you can.
Down and reach, beautiful.
Inhale, lower, exhale.
Oh my goodness, I totally feel that.
Down and reach.
Nice work.
Lower and lift.
How many more do you think you can do?
Can you give me four more?
Can you squeeze out four more?
Yeah, you can, come on.
Push through, we are both working hard here.
And you know what?
You are working that arm because you're holding that 5 pounder or whatever all the way on
top of your head making you work extremely, extremely hard.
Okay, last one, we gotta hold.
Hold it right there -- 5, 4, 3, 2 -- reach up and bring it down.
That was crazy intense.
Okay, but we gotta even it out, so we gotta do the other side.
Extend the leg, remember, keeping it nice and firm onto the mat, long leg.
If you're starting with jet plane, start with jet plane, or that intermediate move, or go
crazy with me.
Let's grab onto that weight.
Here we go.
Inhale through your nose.
And exhale as you lift.
Very nice.
Inhale down, exhale up.
Inhale, lower -- exhale, lift.
Beautiful, come on, a little bit lower before you lift up.
I want you to hold it there before you reach up.
And I actually want you to feel that oblique stretching and lifting you.
Very nice.
You should definitely be really sore tomorrow.
Not even kidding.
Maybe even the day after.
Make sure you comment and let me know: Are you kinda like the person who gets sore the
day after, or for two days, or like a delayed like soreness?
It's very weird, sometimes I don't feel something until like three days after.
It's like really weird.
Down and lift.
One more guys, and I want you to hold.
Hold, hold, hold -- 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 -- and up, and down.
Oh, that was intense.
Now go ahead and bring this down right here, we're gonna go into some Ballerina Twists
or digs.
So, onto your side, I want you to come onto your elbow here, we're gonna save the wrist,
and you extend your leg.
Now, your choice, you can either extend it all the way, lift up for your intermediate/advanced
move, or if you're a beginner, stay on the knees, okay?
Your choice, you can start out hard and then go ahead and try the knees if you're really
just dying.
So I want you to hold that weight all the way up in the sky just like that punching
the ceiling, and then you're gonna round out, round out, dig underneath you, okay, look
at the weight, and exhale, lift it open.
That's it.
You're gonna come down and exhale, lift.
Very nice.
Squeeze and reach.
As you can see, you are also working your arm here, your bottom one and your top one,
because you're holding your weight with that bottom arm and then you're holding a 5 pounder
with the top one.
Very nice.
Now make this graceful.
Dig underneath your oblique, reach up.
Couple more.
Down, exhale, lift.
One more guys, push through it, you got this.
And down and lift.
And now, we're going all the way down.
Put that weight down.
Again, lifting into that side plank, I want you to lower and lift, that's right.
Down and up.
Shoulder burning a little bit?
I bet it is.
I designed it so that it'd be that way.
But you're really working your upper body and those muffin tops are dying at the same
time.
Down and lift.
Give me 5 and 4, come on.
And 3 and 2 -- last one.
And 1 -- hold it and bring it down.
Very good, stretch it out.
Stretch it out because we gotta repeat on the other side.
Very nice, give those shoulders a nice little roll.
Okay, let's do this.
Onto those Ballerina Digs.
So, extending those legs if you did that on the other side just to even it out, and onto
your elbow.
Making sure your hips are square to that screen right in front of you, suck that bellybutton
in, I want you to hold onto that weight, and lift up.
Very nice.
Find your balance.
Remember, you can be on the knees if you need to.
Now follow that weight underneath your chest.
Follow, follow and exhale, lift.
Beautiful.
Inhaling down and exhaling up, good.
Inhale, lower.
And really control this.
Also, do you find that one side of your body is a lot stronger than the other?
For me, because I'm right-handed, I find that everything on my right is a lot stronger,
including my legs, my arms, everything.
Because our bodies aren't built symmetrically.
They try to, but, you know, we gotta work everyday to find our core, find our balance,
and strengthen our powerhouse.
Lift up.
A couple more.
Down and reach.
And one more.
Down and reach.
Hold it right there.
Okay, and lower yourself with control.
Very nice.
Place that down, lift all the way up into that side plank into Side Plank Dippers.
Let's go.
Lower and lift.
Remember, you can do these on your knees as well.
Come on, let's kill that muffin top.
Make it go away.
Down and up.
Remember, you gotta really pair this with clean eating and some cardio, and for sure,
you'll see results so quickly you won't even believe it.
Down and up.
Keep lifting.
Very nice.
Give me 5 and 4, come on.
And 3, nice -- 2, one more, and lift up, up, up.
Hold it.
And come onto plank.
That's right, I'm not even gonna let you rest.
Come onto plank.
Hold it, hold it, real quick, let's twist it out.
Tap, tap, tap, come on, you got this.
Tap that hip to the floor -- 10, 9, 8 -- faster, good, good, reach, reach, give me -- 5, 4,
3, 2, 1.
Hold it and bring those knees in.
Reach it out into Child's Pose.
Inhale through your nose and exhale, melting down that chest into your quads and lift up.
Yay guys, great job!
And that is how you kill your muffin top.
Let me know in the comments below which one of moves kills you the most.
I know which one was my favorite or worst.
And I will see you next week on Pilates Bootcamp.
Be sure to subscribe to Livestrong Woman, and I can't wait to make your muscles so sore.
Alright, bye guys!