But after a long summer break, it might be tough to get back in the game. Tami Conway, Owner, The Dailey Method Bucktown (www.thedaileymethod.com/)), and Katie Schott, a swimmer from Lake Forest, came into our ABC7 studio to show a few safe exercises.
1. Plank:
Variation 1:
Pull right knee into right shoulder, and come back to plank.
Pull left knee into left shoulder, and come back to plank.
Repeat.
By keeping stable this will target the obliques.
Variation 2:
Bend the knees, and stretch them long.
Start slow, and then speed it up.
2. Seat Work on All Fours:
Sit up with your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips; shift your weight back slightly to create an angle with your wrists.
Slightly tilt the pelvis up towards your rib cage to keep core engaged, and extend your right leg straight behind you.
Lift it up without moving your hips until you feel your seat engage.
This is your contraction.
Variation 1:
Create small tiny movements, down an inch and up an inch to intensify contraction
20 times
Variation 2:
Bend your knee in half to work the hamstring as well as your seat
Squeeze your heel into your seat, and press up into ceiling
30 times
Variation 3:
Open your hip to a 45-degree angle
Reengage your abdominals and lift up into the ceiling
30 times
3. Mat Stretch:
Start in lunge
Keep front knee aligned perfectly over the front foot, with the back foot reaching behind
Open the hip
Bring arms up, inhale (2, 3, 4), exhale and look up towards hands/ lean back slightly, inhale (2, 3, 4), exhale
Sink deeper
Arms back to center, shift weight back to half split in N/ S, inhale, 2, 3, 4, and exhale 2, 3, 4.
Hands down to floor slowly to elongation stretch
4. Thighs and weights:
Step your feet out as wide as you can
Align your knees directly over the center of your feet
10 bicep curls while going down and up with legs
10 chest presses going all the way up and all the way down with arms
Arms should move in opposition to legs (arms up as knees come down, elbows to ribs as you stand all the way up, engaging inner thighs and seat)
