Pilates By Luiza

This is my go to stretch routine! I’ve been feeling even more outdoorsy than I already am, so I ran 6 moderate miles in the morning and I did speed work and weights in the afternoon, so this was necessary!
Start with a hip flexor stretch. Both knees at 90 degrees. Squeeze the glute of the leg that’s back, without tucking your pelvis, trying to feel a pull in the front of that hip. Raise your arm and stretch to the side, away from the working hip, to intensify it. This is a tricky and personal stretch, it might take a few tries to understand it. But it really isolates the hip flexors and psoas. Then you can go deeper into the “worlds greatest stretch” and option to pull your foot towards your butt, to get that quad! Open up your thoracic spine both sides and then stretch your leg forward (important to keep hips aligned!) and flex your foot to get those hammies. Move into a pigeon stretch ( favorite!) , stay there as long as you want ( I stayed a long time on my left side, it neeeeeeds it) , then transition into a side lunge to sumo squat to start the other side!

It’s pretty cool how one can adapt to the new virtual fitness classes. Get the “summer arms” with Swakati ” series with bands. There is so much you can do to simulate reformer/Cadillac. Of course there is nothing like the real equipment, but it is an option for when you don’t have access to it!
Zoom with me - group or privates for endless ideas!

The Pilates Loft Of Chicago TBT! Thank you for sharing this vintage video! 😀

Some people asked why I carry heavy objects as a workout. Besides the obvious obstacle course racing training, where you carry all sorts of things, carrying heavy and unconventional weights that you won’t really find at a conventional gym has a ton of benefits. I will list a few moments in my life I remember benefiting from it. And many of those moments were as a mother.
-Twice in my life I had to run across Frankfurt airport , literally from one end to another, having 10 minutes to catch my connection flight, carrying a wobbling 20 or 35 lbs baby (depending of which time )and shoulder bags because if you know me well, I never check my bags.
- I had to carry that same toddler about 0.25 to half a mile on the trail back home, when he was fighting me hard to free himself.
-I once made the mistake of bringing my 25 lbs jogging stroller (husband carried Louie, but somehow I was the one who got all the high fives from people, even though carrying the child is harder) all the way up Mt. Sanitas in Boulder, Colorado. I didn’t realize it was a bad idea until I was almost half the way to the top. Too late.
-Speaking of stroller, I’ve lost the count of how many times I had to carry that thing up stairs too, whenever we hit a spot that was not “wheelchair” accessible. And many times with him on it!
- We moved from Illinois to North Carolina with no movers, just my husband and I, packing and loading the truck ourselves, including my Pilates equipment. So 4 moves: first from my Pilates studio to our Chicago house, then all our stuff to our temporary rental in Durham, and finally to our now home in Cary. We carried all our furniture many flights downstairs and up again. No outside help.

These are some I can remember, but you get the idea. Old is the saying that women should not carry weights. Yes and yes they must! How can one go through these sort of situations if you don’t train for it? Your arms and your back are strong as you want them to be! So do train, and train unconventionally too!
My bucket was filled with rocks. I have no idea the weight. It was challenging enough for a mile hike up and down the hill. I switched from each shoulder to front carry.

Reformer semi circle. Articulates the spine, works coordination, control, stretches the front of the legs and hips. When rolling down, you should start by softening the rib cage and starting to roll from there. The arching of the lower back and tailbone comes at the very end only, as a continuation. To roll up, the tailbone goes under first by engaging the glutes. Challenge is to avoid moving the carriage (or move the least possible) when rolling up or down. This can be done with foot bar down (as shown) or up.