Description

Learn how to improve the strength of your thigh with playground ball

Transcript

Using a 7" playground ball, we have devised a thigh strengthening series that focuses on the inner and outer thigh. Look for me to show the basic variations for strengthening and Fred to show the more basic variation for the stretches. You will need a sturdy chair or counter top, your hip height. Standing about arm's length away from your chair on counter, place your hands about shoulder width apart on the chair. Legs or hips width apart, parallel as you place the ball between your hip and your knee on the inner thigh area. Again, reviewing the alignment setup queues, ears over shoulders, shoulders over hips, hips over knees feet. Bend your knees, press the inner thighs against the playground ball and just start to press in. Feel the inner thighs work against the playground ball. The feet are flat, feeling all four corners of the feet very equal on the floor. Engaging the inner thighs and the outer thighs as you press in against the ball. Raise your heels up as high as you can get them and bend your knees a little deeper. Try to really feel the depth of those quadriceps and now press in again, same thing, inner thighs, outer thighs working together and think about your alignment again, keep your abdominals pulled up and in, lower back neutral, shoulders drop down, breathe, ears over the shoulders. Pressing it on the inner thighs. Again breathe, awareness of breath, lower down a few inches and come up. Inhale down, exhale as you come up. Any knee issues, stay a little higher and up. Lower, keep the heels lifted high as you lower and up. Breathe, inhale down, exhale up. Feel the energy in the thighs. Breathe again, hold, raise the heels back up. Make sure they are lifted as high as they possibly can be, as you are still pressing it on the inner thighs and release and now we will reset once again standing arm's length away from your chair. Roll the shoulders down and back, raise the heels up high, bend your knees over your feet, keeping the shoulders over your hips, abdomen in, down and lift, lower hips to knee-level and up. Inhale down, exhale up, inhale down, exhale up. Press the knee inner thighs against the playground ball, keep going and up, lower, exhale up. Keep the heels lifted as you lower and up, down, inner thighs strong, lower, exhale, hold, raise the heels back up, a little more challenge go lower as Fred is doing. I am staying a little higher, less intense and release. Now remove the playground ball and now we are going to come down on to the floor for a Quadriceps stretch, separate the knees little wider than your hips. Hands go behind, you raise the hips up, pressing through the Hip flex or some quadricep. More advanced variation on the stretch, you can come down to your form and elbows as I am. Now take the playground ball, we are going to lye flat on our back, place the ball once more anywhere between the hips and the knees on the inner thighs where you are comfortable, palm stays to the floor. Raise the hips high, feel the back of the leg, engage a hamstring, feel the gluteus engage, inner thighs engage. The back muscles are very long, the weight is shifted back toward the shoulder area and will roll into the spine, roll down waist first, ways up of the tailbone, lower down. Lift, rolling through the spine, very orthopedic exercise for the back, statically for the butt and inner thighs, roll down and up. Keep the back of your neck long as you roll the hips down and up. Feel the entire spine engage, holding here now. Walk the feet closer to your hip, raise your heels higher. Pressing on the inner thighs again, roll down and up, down, roll up, touch the back of the waist, then roll it through leading with the tailbone. Down, roll up, inner thighs engage in pressing on the playground ball. Rolling through the spine, inner thighs engaged and up, hold the up, shift your weight back to the shoulder blades, back of neck is very long, inner thighs, lower down one vertebra at a time. Remove the playground ball, hold on behind your knees, hug the knees into your chest and reap the reward of your newly found inner and outer thighs.