Here is your Daily Warm Up.

It is important to mobilize your joints, and warm up the muscles gently before going into either the harder workouts, or your daily activities. I recommend you start each day with this video, and if you have time, to add on one other workout from the next lecture. If you are short on time, then just do this warm up each day as it will move your spine in all of the directions it was designed to do, and well as get you focused on your breathing and posture.

As with all of the workouts, sit up to watch the exercise first until you become more familiar with the movements so that eventually you can just follow along listening to the verbal cues.

Enjoy!

Here is your first workout! It's all about the core. Make sure you set up each exercise with good postural alignment and modify if needed using props. It could be that you need a small pillow under your head when lying on your back. It could be that you need to sit on a chair for the seated exercises. It could be that you need extra padding under your knees for any kneeling work. But remember, if it doesn't feel right, then move on to the next exercise and come back to it as you begin to understand the movements and get stronger.

Now go engage those abdominals!

Get ready to work those arms!

For this workout you will need either a Theraband, or a set of very light hand weights, and sit yourself comfortably on a stable chair with all of those core muscles we worked yesterday engaged.

If you have any shoulder, elbow or wrist injuries you are working with, it might be a good idea to try the whole workout with no resistance the first time. Go through the exercises to test your range of motion and if it feels ok, then try it next time adding in the weights or band.

This is a pretty intense arm workout, so its ok if you have to pause the video and take breaks, or leave out a few reps and gradually build up to doing the full routine.

It's leg day!!!

For your set up for this workout, we are on the mat for most of it. You may need your pillow for some neck support when we are side lying. But DO NOT, use your pillow when we do the Shoulder Bridges. This is very important to remember, we don' want to push our head and neck forward when we raise our hips up into a bridge.

For the standing work, you might want to have a stable chair or counter top nearby to hold onto for support.

Off you go!

Find your balance!

This could be the most important workout to practice. It is so important to maintain our postural alignment and balance as we age, in order to help with fall prevention. And its just one of those practice, practice, practice things. If you don't use it, you lose it!

You will want to have something nearby to hold onto for support as you start out (a chair, a wall, or a counter), but try to start to let go of that prop and begin to balance on your own.

You may find starting out with your shoes on will give you more support, but try to work towards balancing barefoot. We have so many sensory nerve endings in our feet that send messages back up to the brain to give us feedback, and shoes turn off all those signals. Also you can play around and practice on different floor surfaces, compare the feeling of a hard floor, to a mat, or plush carpet. When the weather is nice, take it outside and try it on the grass, or if you can play in the sand, balance on the beach!

Cardio Day!!!

Cardio is a crucial component of our fitness training to help maintain good heart health. You may want to wear good supportive shoes, and please take caution if you are on a carpeted surface that you pick up your feet.

You don't have to follow my choreography, you can keep it moving with a simple march in place, walk around your house blasting music, or go for a walk outside. Whatever you do, try to keep moving at a good pace, and slowly bring your heart rate down near the end, instead of coming to a quick full stop.

Dance like nobody is watching! :)

Ahhhhh... Stretch Day.

Stretching is essential to keep our mobility as we age, as well it helps to release tension, and reduce stress. While holding the stretches, you want to push your muscles to a point of moderate tension and continue to hold the stretch while taking deep breaths. Avoid pulling to the point of pain, or if your muscle starts to shake or tremor then ease off a bit.

For your set up in this section, you will start standing near a wall or counter to push on, then on the floor have your mat (and pillow if you used it earlier in the program), a theraband (or a towel, strap or belt will also work). A fitness ball is optional, or a bed, or a couch could be used if you don't have a ball.

Remember, deep breaths and relax into it.

You made it!! You've completed this entire course, and that is something to be proud of. I know everyone learns at a different pace. Some of you may have wanted to go through the course first before taking action while others might have been building up as you go. Whichever path you chose, the most important things to keep in mind are:

• Be Patient - Pace yourself and listen to your body. You are creating new habits and muscles take time to adapt, but with practice it will come.

• Take action - Something is better than nothing. If there are things in this program that don't feel right, leave them for now and re-visit them as you build strength. Use this program as a guideline to kickstart your way into a more active lifestyle and be proud of the results.

• HAVE FUN!!! - You are trying something new, and that is amazing. Don't take it too seriously, make it fun and you will be more likely to continue on your wellness journey.

I would love to hear from you and get your feedback. Please feel free to comment below, or send me an email at julie@studio1pilates.ca

Wishing you so much success, thank you so much for doing this program!