Barefoot & On the Mat 2/16-22: "In the midst of winter...."

[JustSandra]

“In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” ― Albert Camus

Greetings and welcome to the weekly Barefoot & On The Mat check-in thread! This is a long-running VF check-in. We're a cozy, friendly group who enjoy a wide variety of workouts, but we have a special fondness for those traditionally done without shoes. If you enjoy yoga, pilates, barre, qi gong, Classical Stretch/Essentrics, Ellen Barrett, etc. (or even if you simply prefer doing traditional workouts without shoes!) you'll feel right at home.

Please feel free to join in. We love hearing from new, returning and guest Mat Mavens. Our welcome mat is always out!

Back in a moment....

[Paine]

Good 'N Strong Volume 1: all the upper body work
Volume 2: calves and abs

Sandra, thank you for starting our week! Oh I wish I could find my invincible summer. I am cursing through this snowy winter.

[JustSandra]

Hello again!

This quote spoke to me this morning. As I've mentioned, I'm trying to help my niece as she gets out of a difficult domestic situation and begins rebuilding her life. I'm also concerned about a family member who appears to be struggling with depression and alcoholism. So right now it does feel like "winter," since I don't always know what I can do and a lot of it is out of my hands anyway. However, I am calling on the "invincible summer" within me for strength and guidance.

Last week was a continuation of mainly Margaret Richard Unplugged episodes. My goal this week will be to be consistent with those and with Classical Stretch episodes (I'm doing Season 9 and really enjoying these!). Will also do more outdoor walking, as the weather continues dry and mild.

Waving to all -- be back later with today's workout!

[JustSandra]

Paine: I promise you will find your "invincible summer." Interesting you mentioned Good N Strong -- I'm thinking I'd like to reacquire this one and also Good For You.

[Paine]

Sandra, Good N Strong is nice because it has 2 complete workouts on one DVD. I like Getting Better too!
I wish I could mentally find my invincible summer. I have a feeling that won't happen until next month after we move and I'll then have lots of sunshine and wonderful weather to cheer me up.

[Garrie A.]

Sandra: Thank you for starting us off! I still think about your niece and her situation.

Paine: Good 'n Strong is one of my favorite Margaret DVDs.

Here was last week for me:

Sunday:
Slim Series Shape It Up!

Monday:
No workout (unplanned rest day)

Tuesday:
TAUGHT Hiit class
Tracie Long's Leaning Out (skipped the floorwork because I was tight on time)

Wednesday:
TAUGHT Cardio class

Thursday:
KCM's Sculpting RX, Workout 1 (the heavier weight one)
TAUGHT Barre class

Friday:
Barre Above training (part 2 of my training review to follow shortly; surprisingly I wasn't that sore except for my core region)

Saturday:
Planned rest day

This week I'm playing with Cathe's Gym Style workouts, which I acquired before starting STS. Today was Chest & Triceps. Holy cow--this workout was TOUGH, even for an STS grad. I had to do most of the drop set push-ups on my knees (did the first two sets on my toes, even skipping one of the sets). My chest and triceps felt every rep of every exercise after that. I went lighter than Cathe for all exercises. My only gripe is how brief the rest periods were. After getting used to the long 60 to 75 second rest periods in Mesocycles 2 and 3 of STS, this workout felt a bit rushed (so I paused a little bit to stretch out between sets).

I'll be back in a minute to post Part 2 of my Barre Above training...

[Garrie A.]

(Barre Above Training, Part 2)

After lunch, Tori takes over and does a short lecture on exercise science--specifically focusing on planes of movement (frontal, sagittal, transverse). Then, she goes over the warm-up structure. It starts with general body movement, specific to the exercises you'll be doing in the standing barre sequence (called "Vertical Integrated Training"). So if you'll be doing plie squats in your workout, you incorporate them into your warm-up. Same for curtsey lunges, balance work, etc. Then, you do an upper body warm-up on the mat, with a few planks and push-ups. After that, we divided into groups and made our own warm-ups to practice in front of the class. Half of the class went into another studio room while the other half stayed. This also gave us an opportunity to work on our cueing.

After warm-up practice, we discussed how to structure the standing sequence. Beth, there was a lot of work packed into the masterclass, but that was only to show multiple variations to use in our classes. We were instructed to start by picking three exercises--one from each plane of movement. Then add variation (range of motion, shifting, etc.). While our students will notice the variations, as instructors we know we're still doing the same exercise at the end of the day. For exercises adding weight, you don't do a cardio burst (these are called Lower Body Compound). Exercise sequences without weights, ending with a cardio burst are called Lower Body Burst. We then practiced our own sequences. After your three main exercises (depending on time you could do more), you do a transitional series focusing on the glutes (foldover, all fours tabletop, side work with forearm resting on barre, etc.). This is considered the "cool down" before going to core work.

By this point it's about 3 o'clock, and time for another masterclass. This one was short, and focused on using music not on a 32-count (song mapping, similar to Zumba). It was also taught by Tori instead of Riley. We also did an arms only song, using weights. One of my fellow trainees commented on my arms (thank you STS!).

Then, we had a break before going over the core segment. Again, in the first master class, there were a lot of variations--only to show what we could do in our classes. I forgot to mention that Barre Above uses neutral spine (no tucking) and is also rooted in Pilates. Finally, we got a brief taste of Balletone when Riley taught two songs to us.

It was an action packed day, and I can't wait to teach my first class (this Thursday) using what I've learned. And I learned a lot. Thankfully it wasn't as overwhelming as my Zumba Basic 1 training was.

[Paine]

Garrie, Good 'N Strong was my favorite Margaret DVD until I bought Sculpture! I miss doing Sculpture and wish I had it here but it is in CA.
Thank you for your Barre Above review. Your students are in for a treat Thursday night when you teach the Barre Above class!

[toaster]

Sandra, thanks for the quote! Our weather hasn't been super-bad but SO up and down; it keeps triggering my migraines. Sorry to hear that you are worried about another family member too. I do hope your niece is closer to moving through her situation.

Paine I hope this is your last super-snowy winter!!!

Garrie, that is interesting about the same move/different planes. Sounds like you got a lot out of the training--congrats on the nice compliment!

My yin/sound bath workshop was nice today; I'll write more about that later. In the meantime, here was my week:

Monday
recumbent bike, 13m
Hip Hop Abs - Total Body Burn (skipped floorwork)

Tuesday
30MTF LIFT - Olympic Lifting
Jenni Rawlings Yoga (online) - Hip Control & Mobility practice

Wednesday
in office: Free the Neck (the Feldenkrais practice from YouTube)
Melissa West (YT) - 50m Restorative Yoga Rejuvenating

Thursday
TAUGHT yoga at noon; yoga at studio
7 Minutes of Magic - PM Extended

Friday
Essentrics Stretch in Motion - Shoulders, Upper Back, & Hamstrings

Saturday
Mind-Body-Brew yoga class w/Sarah

Sunday
30MTF Body Design - Cardio Bootcamp & Upper Body Strength premix
Jenni Rawlings Yoga (online) - Unconventional Upper Body routine (about 25 of 35m)
Yin Yoga & Sound Bath workshop

[JustSandra]

Hi yet again!

Today's Workout: I did Margaret Richard Unplugged 1921, followed by Classical Stretch 907. Earlier today I went on ultra-long (for me) walk, about 1.5 hours total. I find such walks help me get in touch with my inner "invincible summer" LOL!

Paine: I have just treated myself to another copy of Margaret's Good For You off of Amazon. Am laughing in that I checked the VF reviews to remind me about the workout -- and saw a nice detailed review that I wrote myself! Good N Strong is still on my shopping list. I reacquired Getting Better last year and like that one too.

Garrie: I am really proud of my niece and how far she has come in just the few short months since her breakup. We are hoping that the court proceedings scheduled for next month will help stabilize her situation. Thanks for telling us more about your barre workshop. I was interested in your comments yesterday about how there was little work done on the toes. That position now makes my knees shudder, too. I still have a couple of barre DVDs and am wondering about modifying them by staying on my heels.

Beth: I'm looking forward to hearing about the sound bath yoga workshop. My niece and a couple of her yoga instructor friends are leading a similar workshop later this month.

Waving to all!