Football Pilates: Go Hawks!

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Football Pilates (1)It’s Saturday and if you live in Iowa (or ever have) you’re probably making plans to watch our beloved Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Championship game this evening as they try to uphold their 12-0 record. Since most of you won’t be at the office today we decided to devote today’s Office Pilates blog to a Hawkeye Football Game Time Workout! Prolonged sitting doesn’t just happen at work. Being camped on your couch or favorite chair for hours at a time can add to the effects of your weekly sitting.

We hope you’ll have some fun with this one and include the family and friends.  Heck you could even throw in some motivational drinks or make up your own exercises!! Snap a picture of you and your friends and family getting active during the game and tag Rivercity Pilates on social media to be put in our drawing for a 5 credit class card!

When you see this……………. Do this………………….
Hawkeyes Swarm & Enter The Stadium Stand up and cheer (stomping your feet and clapping will really energize your body!)

You hear the
Iowa Fight Song

 Stand up, March, Clap and Sing!
First Hawkeye Touchdown Stand up and cheer and then roll down through your spine and do a Pilates push up!
First Michigan St Touchdown Do your Pilates Hundreds
Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to do them?
Any Iowa Hawkeye Touchdown Show us your best Hawkeye Teaser
Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram to win a prize!!  We want to see A LOT of Teasers!
Any Michigan St Touchdown Stomach Series 5 (You’re miserable anyway you might as well strengthen your abs with this challenging series of 5!)
Any Iowa Hawkeye field goal  Stand up and Run in place (or just stomp your feet!).  Clap and Be Happy!
Any Michigan St field goal 10 Squats– Work off your anger and strengthen your legs and butt!
Timeout Hold a plank for 30 seconds (or you could overachieve and hold it until the timeout is over!)
You get mad at the announcers because they clearly think Michigan St will win. Just Breathe!  Use your Pilates breathe to calm your nerves!
Fumble by Spartans Use your favorite chair or the coffee table to do 10 Tricep Dips (You’ll need strong arms to give high fives for the next Hawkeye touchdown!)
TV shows Coach Ferentz chewing bubble gum Spine Twist (This one feels great and you can do it sitting in a chair!)
CJ Beathard Touchdown Pass  5 Shoulder Bridges (This exercise feels wonderful on your back- a great celebration exercise!)
Hawkeyes Intercept a Spartan Pass! 5 Pilates Roll ups (Good to have your spine limber and stretched for when you need to jump up and celebrate a Hawkeye score!)
Official Review of a on the field call!  Rolling Like a Ball (only recommended on a soft cushiony surface….if you don’t have a good surface go refill your drink and grab a snack!)
 Hawkeyes Win!  Do a little Dance! This is one of our studio favorites but any dance will do!

[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#officepilates #footballpilates #pilates”]Keep active during the football game! [/tweetthis]

Office Pilates Day 4: If you are sitting at work you need this stretch!!

When we sit for long periods of time the muscles of our back and hips get tight and achy and can cause our whole body to hurt!  Today’s stretch will mobilize the hip joint and stretch the hip muscles, like the glutes and piriformis.    It’s easy to do anytime you are sitting and will make a big difference if you do it on a regular basis (try 6 times today!!)

 

For more ways that you can use the Pilates principles during your work day, visit any of the links below:

[catlist name=”office-pilates” numberposts=30 pagination=yes instance=1]

[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#officepilates,#pilates,”]Sitting too long makes your hips stiff and may cause #pain! Take Action! [/tweetthis]

Office Pilates Day 3: Desk Push ups!!

This is the third blog in our “Office Pilates” series.   Need a movement break?  Try a few of these desk push ups to help you strengthen your body and give your sitting body a much needed break!!

For more ways that you can use the Pilates principles during your work day, visit any of the links below:

[catlist name=”office-pilates” numberposts=30 pagination=yes instance=1]

[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#officepilates,#pilates,”]Feeling Tense? Do some #Pushups at your #desk! [/tweetthis]

Office Pilates Day 2: A flexible spine is a happy spine!

Joseph Pilates said,”  If at the age of 30 your spine is stiff and out of shape, you are old.  If at 60, you are supple and strong, you are young!”

Move your spine today with these simple movements designed to keep your spine flexible and happy at the office or anywhere!

For more ways that you can use the Pilates principles during your work day, visit any of the links below:

[catlist name=”office-pilates” numberposts=30 pagination=yes instance=1]

[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#officepilates #Pilates”]Stretch your #Spine at your desk with these simple exercises! [/tweetthis]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Office Pilates Day #1: Do you sit all day at work?

Do you sit all day long? In today’s Office Pilates video Carey goes over how to set yourself up in the best position possible and gives you some tips to use throughout your days!!

Two quick tips to get started:

  1. Find your sitting bones! Quit slouching and sit tall so you can feel yourself upright.  Imagine you are sitting up against a wall to create a long lengthened posture!!
  2. Set a reminder every hour to check in with your posture!  It’s easy to fall back into that slouchy posture.  Often times we just need a quick reminder to remember where we should be!

For more ways that you can use the Pilates principles during your work day, visit any of the links below:

[catlist name=”office-pilates” numberposts=30 pagination=yes instance=1]

[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@careysadler, @rcpilates”]Find your sitting bones, alignment for sitting! #Pilates #OfficePilates #Day1[/tweetthis]

Why sitting is bad and how Pilates can help!

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officepilates2You’ve probably heard the saying,”Sitting is the new smoking” as it’s all over in the news and social media. If you are someone who sits a lot on a regular basis you probably have felt some of the common aches and pains from all your sitting like an achy low back or tight tense shoulder and neck muscles.  But is sitting really as bad as smoking?

The answer may be YES!  Sitting for long periods on a regular basis can cause muscle aches and pains, it can cause undue stress on your spinal discs, it can compress blood vessels and nerves, and the lack of oxygen from your compressed sitting position means you are not getting the oxygen your body and brain need to function most efficiently.  Some studies have linked prolonged sitting with certain cancers, heart disease, and diabetes.  Short of quitting your job where you sit for 6-8 hours a day…what can you do?

The good news is the answer is pretty easy- movement!  At Rivercity Pilates we find that when our clients can start taking some of the Pilates concepts and movements and start incorporating them into their day to day life and their life at the office- they start feeling big changes in how their body feels!!

The first key in making some changes in your sitting time is awareness of what you need to change.  When you are introduced to Pilates we start off by teaching you what it means to find your alignment and what it feels like to find that alignment in different positions.  Often time I see and hear from clients after just one or two Pilates sessions that they are starting to notice when they are tense and have their shoulders up by there ears or when they are slouched over at work.  This is a BIG thing!  You can’t change what you are not aware of so congratulate yourself when you start noticing!!!!

Once you start finding yourself aware of what your body is doing there are lots of movements you can do to continue to remind yourself of where you want to be and strengthen the muscles and muscle memory your body needs to create new habits.  We’ve created a whole library of mini Office Pilates videos and blogs designed to give you some ideas!!

[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#OfficePilates”]Sitting is the new smoking. Incorporate #Pilates into your day! [/tweetthis]