The best! Using your breath really helps. I feel the muscles deep in my lower abs, a little under my ribs and even in my inner thighs. Would love more like this that include the obliques too.
Great workout and explanations, Melanie! For the knee stretches, did you really mean two reds or one red one blue? It just seemed too heavy with two reds. Thanks!
Thank you, Clara! Yes, I have two red Balanced Body springs on for the knee stretch sequence. This spring load feels closest to how this exercise is loaded on a classical Gratz reformer, in my experience, which I like to emulate for this sequence. If you have a reformer by another maker, this may differ (I.e. Merrithew reds are reportedly a bit heavier). My recommendation is to reduce the resistance down to where it feels comfortably challenging (a challenge, but doable). Thanks!
Melanie would it be possible to do a 30 day mobility program so we can see how much we improve over 30 days? As we age, I’m 68, I think mobility is the key factor in staying young and flexible.
It depends on a couple of factors - if the lower abs have a hard time firing/isolating, there’s a possibility that the hip flexors may take over to compensate. That said, in some folks (though this may not apply to you specifically), tightness in the hip flexors can be a symptom of weakness of those muscles, and exercises that stabilize the area, combined with reasonable stretching, can help relieve the tightness in the long term. Barring any medical issues, for the average person struggling with tight hip flexors, I would recommend starting slowly on this, maybe doing only some of the exercises and adding more with repetition of the video, and combining this with stretching, e.g. the scooter stretch series, but as with all things, your mileage may vary dependent upon your specific situation.
As a middle aged man with a lot of back issues (surgeries etc), I find your pilates videos very helpful. Thank you for posting these!
Thank you, Greg! I'm so happy to know that they've been helpful 💜🙏
Perfect, I feel like I lost my lower abs while on vacation, you read my mind!! Thank you as always!
ESP! 🔮💜
The best! Using your breath really helps. I feel the muscles deep in my lower abs, a little under my ribs and even in my inner thighs. Would love more like this that include the obliques too.
Yay! Will definitely do an obliques one in the future xo
I actually have lower abs! Thanks
Success! 🙌🥳
Great workout and explanations, Melanie! For the knee stretches, did you really mean two reds or one red one blue? It just seemed too heavy with two reds. Thanks!
Thank you, Clara! Yes, I have two red Balanced Body springs on for the knee stretch sequence. This spring load feels closest to how this exercise is loaded on a classical Gratz reformer, in my experience, which I like to emulate for this sequence. If you have a reformer by another maker, this may differ (I.e. Merrithew reds are reportedly a bit heavier). My recommendation is to reduce the resistance down to where it feels comfortably challenging (a challenge, but doable). Thanks!
Can never have too many options to work on lower abs thanks
Agreed!!
Melanie would it be possible to do a 30 day mobility program so we can see how much we improve over 30 days? As we age, I’m 68, I think mobility is the key factor in staying young and flexible.
Interesting idea, Vicki! Thanks for the suggestion- I’ll definitely consider that one ❤️
@@MelanieLopezPilates ❤️
Yessss low abs 🎉🙏😆
🙌🥳❤️
Will this make tight hip flexors worse?
It depends on a couple of factors - if the lower abs have a hard time firing/isolating, there’s a possibility that the hip flexors may take over to compensate. That said, in some folks (though this may not apply to you specifically), tightness in the hip flexors can be a symptom of weakness of those muscles, and exercises that stabilize the area, combined with reasonable stretching, can help relieve the tightness in the long term. Barring any medical issues, for the average person struggling with tight hip flexors, I would recommend starting slowly on this, maybe doing only some of the exercises and adding more with repetition of the video, and combining this with stretching, e.g. the scooter stretch series, but as with all things, your mileage may vary dependent upon your specific situation.
@@MelanieLopezPilates thank you
Anytime!