Hi, I'm Ashley Borden and welcome to Perfect
Form. Today, we are gonna be focusing on connecting
to your core, alright? So just to remind you,
the core is everything from the front to the
back, and your glutes. So many times people
forget that their glutes are part of their
core. So this workout, you can do as a standalone.
I like to sometimes set my timer for 5 minutes
and just go through these moves for 5 minutes.
Or you can add it in to anything that you're
already doing at your workout at the gym or
at home. Alright? So let's get started. So
let's start first with what I call Plank Shifts
on Toe, on your toes. And this one is great
because it activates your entire core, and
you're using your lats and you're in a full
extension. So it's great for people who have
to sit a lot and you really wanna feel like
you can extend through your whole torso. So
you're gonna start on your forearms, and you
wanna have your shoulders directly under your
elbows. And you're gonna actually worm your
toes back really far, so you really feel your
core before you even start. From there, you're
gonna squeeze your glutes, and then you're
gonna shift foreword and back for 20, okay?
So keeping that glute tight -- 2, 3. Keeping
those palms open -- 4, 5, 6. Good -- 7. If
this is too hard, you can just hold plank
-- 8, 9. This really fires up the whole core
-- 10. 10 more -- 10. Breathe -- 9, 8, 7,
6. Squeeze those quads, squeeze your glutes
-- 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. My gosh. Alright, that
is good. That gets you totally fired up. I'm
probably all red because I feel it through
my whole body. Alright, so then we're gonna
go to a Single Leg Glute Bridge, okay? This
is also a great way to see which side of your
body is stronger than another. So if you can't
get your hips as high on one side, that's
the side that you need to spend more time
on doing more single-leg work. And I have
a workout video, that's also on here, that
is single-leg strength. So you can use that
guy as well. So you're gonna start with your
fingertips long. So your heels are right at
the base of your fingertips. You're gonna
interlace your hands at the top of your knee
so you're pulling your knee into your chest,
and I'm pulling my lats down. I'm not holding
up here by my neck. So I'm pulling my lats
down, and my eyes are looking toward the ceiling,
kinda where the ceiling meets the wall. I'm
gonna push through my heel, and I'm gonna
drive straight up to the top, still pulling
my knee into my chest as I go up, and then
bringing it back down for 10. You wanna focus
on pushing through your heel -- 2. And down.
My visual when I'm doing this is like I have
both feet on the floor -- 4. And drive it
up -- 5. Sometimes you can lift the toe up
if you need to connect more to your glute.
3 more, drive those shoulders down -- 3. All
the way up -- 2. And up to the top -- 1. Very
good. Okay, you're gonna switch. Again, make
sure that your heels are even. You reach with
your finger tips. Interlace the hands on the
other side. Pull that knee in. Yes, you can
hold the leg this way. I just don't want you
to feel like this leg is doing any work, alright?
So I kinda like to shut that leg off. Same
thing, shoulders are down, chest is up, you're
gonna push through your heel -- 1. And pull
that knee into your chest -- 2, 3. Good. And
you should really connect to that glute and
hamstring -- 4, 5. Bracing that core. Drive
it up -- 6. Up to the top -- 7, 8. Two more
-- 9. Last one, all the way up -- 10. Good
job, you guys. Okay, so these I call Frog
Reach Throughs because your feet are kind
of in a froggy position with your heels together.
This is a great of firing up the front of
the core. Hands are like a gun. You're gonna
bring through, okay? So I'm starting with
my shoulder blades off the ground. I'm pushing
my feet together so I already feel my core
contracted. And you're gonna give me 20 -- 1,
2, 3. So I'm not using my neck -- 5, 6, 7,
8, 9. Little pause at the top -- 10, 10, 9,
8. You should really feel that -- 7, 6. Make
sure you're breathing -- 5, 4. Good reach
-- 3 and 2. One more. And 1. Good. So I'm
not going all the way down. Ooh, gosh, that's
good. Alright, so now we're gonna hit your
obliques on the side. I cannot tell you how
many times I see people's core routine and
it doesn't involve any oblique whatsoever.
This will help cinch in the waist, and it
really helps to give the full 360-look of
your core -- and that's not just the front,
alright? So, you're oblique position: I want
you to feel like when you're on your forearm
that your elbow is directly underneath shoulder.
And you're gonna extend your legs out with
your feet flexed. You're gonna squeeze your
quads and squeeze your glutes. If this position
is too challenging, bring the feet behind
you and you're gonna stay on your knees. And
the more advanced is gonna be the legs extended
all the way out. With the oblique, you wanna
visualize when you're doing it that your body
is one solid piece. So when you rotate, when
you're rotating through, you're not breaking
at your spine, okay? So we're gonna go 5 on
one side and then 5 on the other. So you're
gonna look underneath and you're gonna reach,
hold, and then you're gonna come up to the
top, and that's 1 -- 1. Exhale -- 2. Reach
under, keep that core tight -- 3. You really
feel that through your waist. And up to the
top -- 4. One more. Reach and up -- 5. Excellent.
Let's do the other side. Alright, so, again,
you can do it the knees. I'll show you guys
the knee version on this side. You're gonna
have directly underneath your shoulder and
your elbow. You're gonna come up to the top.
Start with the arm up. Keep that glute tight,
you're gonna reach underneath you -- 1. And
then up to the top. Good -- 2. So even on
the knees, keeping those glutes tight, you'll
feel that really, really strong through your
waist and your oblique -- 3. And up to the
top, exhale, taking your time -- 4. And up,
good, one more -- 5. And all the way up to
the top. Excellent. Alright, and so now we're
gonna end with Bird Dog Touches. So Bird Dog
is such an awesome move, because it really
shows you what's tight on your body and what's
weak and what you need to work on when you're
in quadruped position and you have your legs
and your arms extended out. So I'm gonna go
through the set up for your body for the position.
You're gonna start: Hands are directly underneath
your shoulders, and you wanna also visualize
-- when your hands are on the floor (this
is a good cue) that you're trying to spin
plates outward, okay? But you don't move your
hands. That will engage your lats. So your
hands are down. Pretend like you're trying
to spin those plates so your arms externally
rotate. One leg back, knee down, the other
leg back with the knees down. So you wanna
make sure that your knee is directly underneath
your hip and the hands are directly underneath
your shoulders, alright? Spin those plates.
Your head is in line with your spine, so your
eyes are looking down, and your core is tight.
You're gonna extend one leg out with your
foot flexed and your quad really tight, and
you're gonna give me the other arm with the
thumb reaching to the ceiling. Okay, so from
here, you're gonna bring both down at the
same time, touch, and then come up to the
top -- 1. And I am pushing through that leg
and reaching through my hand. Down and all
the way up to the top -- 2. So notice, there
is no dumping in my back when I'm bringing
that arm down -- 3. Keep that lat engaged.
Up to the top -- 4. This creates a lot of
heat through your body. One more. And up to
the top and hold that -- 5, 4, 3, 2 and down.
Good. Switch it. It's a good idea to sometimes
do this in front of the mirror at first so
you can see your alignment. Or have a friend
watch you do it and give you feedback. Spin
those plates. Set your body. Keep your core
tight. Toes are curled underneath you -- I
don't want your feet flat, okay? You're gonna
give me the opposite leg with your foot flexed.
Again, don't turn the foot out. Keep that
toe pointed downward. Opposite arm out, okay?
So I'm reaching through my fingertips, and
I'm pushing through that heel. I'm touching
down, keeping that core tight -- 1. Bringing
it down, touch. Up to the top -- 2. Okay,
so when you come up to the top, you should
feel that right underneath your glute -- 3.
So that leg does not break. That knee doesn't
break -- 4. Keep that quad tight, flex the
foot. And 5. Excellent. Alright guys, so that
was your Core Connected Workout. You did great.
And remember, I want you to take your time
when you're going through this so you really
feel the muscles that you're working. You
can do this as a standalone workout. I like
to just set a timer for 5 minutes and then
just go through these moves for 5 minutes.
It is an awesome way to really blast the core.
But most importantly, like I always say, I
want you guys to connect to your body.