Optum Care Community Centers

[MUSIC PLAYS]

Welcome, everyone. My name is Gez. Welcome to our chair aerobics workout. Remember to consult with your physician first, before you start any exercise program. So for today, you would need for your equipment, a chair with or without a handle, a rubber ball, and dumbbells. If you don't have any dumbbells at home, you can always utilize any water bottles or canned soup. Yeah?

So, let's make our workout place safe. Let's put our equipment underneath the chair, including your water bottle, because hydration is very important in any workout routine. You can have your ball behind you at any time. And then, let's begin our workout. I will give you modifications, options, progressions, remember to listen to your body and do the best you can. Most importantly, breathe, which means don't hold your breath. And I'll cue you to hydrate, but you can hydrate any time you need to. And then, personal best. Are you ready? Yes, we're ready.

So all you have to do is know your right from your left. Let's begin to march. March right, left, right, left, right, left. Maybe picking up the feet a little bit higher, and stepping softly, always getting the footwork first, and then we add the upper body. Just like your normal movement. The arms are just swinging front and back. Then let's all inhale, fill up the lungs, and reach the arms up. And exhale, floating arms down. Repeat three more times. Inhale, fill up the lungs all the way to the top, and exhale, draw your navel in as you empty. And inhale, and exhale. One more time. Good job.

Let's continue to march, and let's roll the shoulders up, forward, down, and back. Let's loosen up those shoulders. And then this time, we reverse. Lift the shoulders up, back, down, and forward. And let's come to our good posture. Let's lift the shoulders to the ears, which we don't want to happen at any time throughout our workout. So drop your shoulders down. The shoulders and ears are not friends, remember that. Continue to march.

Let's come to a tow tap. Tap right, tap left. Right, and left. Then adding some upper body movement, again, start small, and then slowly going bigger with your movement. When you're ready. From your toe taps, we go side tap, right and left. Side tap, right and left. Maybe adding some arms, shoulder raises. Good. Let's change the legs to heel digs. Heel, heel, heel. And maybe some add some bicep curls, alternating arms or both.

And let's put that together. Toe tap, toe tap, side, side, heel digs, heel digs. Tap, tap, side, side, heel digs, heel digs. Again, tap, tap, side, side, heel dig, heel dig. One more time. Tap, tap, side, side, heel digs, heel digs. Then continue on with your march. And then from here, we will take our feet side to side. We'll add some more upper body movement. We will roll the right shoulder forward, then the left. Give me four more. Then we open up through the chest. Palms up, maintaining our good posture. Then we reach across. Maybe move your fingers, as if you're reaching and grabbing for something.

And then they go reach side to side, extend through your side body. We need that good stretch, after all. Then cut it in half. Roll four, open up for four. And let's reach across, move your fingers. And then reach out through the fingers, nice and high. And cut in half for two, roll. And then we open. Reach across, and side to side. One more time. Roll, and open. Reach across, side to side. And march again, and breathe. Are you feeling more alive, maybe more awake? Good.

And then from here we will march our legs wide. So out, out, and bring it in. So let's begin with a count of eight. March it wide for eight counts, march it in for eight counts. Cut in half, give me four. Four wide, and four narrow. Four and Four. Cut in half. One, two, one, two. So now this becomes your V step. Can you visualize the V? Can you step your feet forward and in, forward and back, for your V step? Then adding some arms. Coordination. Good job.

Return to your march. Then we'll switch to the left lead, left lead. So let's begin to march with the left. Left, right, left, right. Are you with me? Good job, now march it wide. Left, right, left, right. Times eight. Now march it in, times eight. Cut in half, give me four, and four. And four, and four. Now two and two. Out, out, in, in. You know where it is going, it becomes a V step. Forward and in. Add some upper body movement. Just a few more times. Good job. Then return to your right leg, march it out. And pause.

All right, now it's time to hydrate. Make it a good habit to hydrate. It's beneficial for your skin, for a general overall health, and I would like for you to scoot forward, OK? Scoot forward to the edge of the chair, and we'll bring the ball in between the inner thighs. Then from here, we will activate the inner thighs or quads, as we squeeze the ball. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. As we do that, I would like for you to maintain good posture, lift though the pelvic floor as if you're zipping up your skinny jeans, lift through the navel and lift the chest. And as we said earlier, the shoulders are away from the ears, because they're not friends. Continue to squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, until you feel your adductors, your inner thighs. Good job.

Now from here, I would like for you to hold on to your chair. We do this every time, we sit and we stand. So this chair aerobics is for your functional movement as well. So secure yourselves on the chair, dig in to your heels, and begin to lift your buttocks off the floor as if you want to get up. And then you slowly lower. OK? So, we exhale and lift up, and then we lower. And we repeat twice more, excellent. And this is your squat. And then lower. One more time. Good job.

And then from here, maybe cross your arms. So this is your progression across the chest, to avoid the chest from falling forward. So exhale and lift from the chair, that's your squat, and lower. So use a lot of your leg muscles and your core as you lift up from the chair. Your next progression is to go into longer levers. You will extend your arms in front, as if you would like to pick up your grandbaby. That gave you a smile on your face, yeah? Just the thought of your grandbaby, right, made you smile. Good. And then we lower to rest.

Then from here, continue to squeeze the ball in between your inner thighs, you will elevate the heels. Lift the heels. Let's say hello to the ankles, the Achilles, the calves. And give me four more, please. Lift, and lower. Life, and lower. Last two. Let's say hello to the toes. Lift the toes, and lower. Lift, and lower. Just four more, please. Then we'll put it together. Heel, toes. Heel, toes. As if when you're walking, we shift our body weight from the heels to the balls of the toes. If you're going backwards, from balls of the feet to the heels, right?

All right, then we will put this together with our squat. So holding onto the chair, or crossing the arms across the chest, or reaching the arms forward, so rise back into your squat. Pick up your heels. Lower the heels, and lower. Now we're going to rise to come into standing. From squat, you lengthen the legs. Lift the heels, lower the heels, and sit down. Now we're going to go a little bit longer. Life the heels, lengthen, and as if you're reaching for something way up there, and then lower the heels. Look forward at your grand baby, and lower your buttocks.

And we repeat. Let's make it more fluid. We rise, we pick up the heels, reach for something up there, lower the heels, and lower your seat. A couple more times. Exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale. One more time, please. Go ahead, strengthen the legs some more, and reach for the something something up there. And then lower the heels, and then we lower. How do your legs feel now?

All right so from there, we're going to bring the ball in between our hands. Let's give the legs a rest. And let's bring the ball in between the heels of the hands, just like what we did with the ball earlier with the legs, we're going to squeeze the ball in front of our heart, and we will activate our chest, front of the shoulders, our biceps, our triceps, upper body. So exhale, exhale, exhale, as you press on the ball. We will extend the arms and we'll do the same. And observe where you're feeling this.

We're going to change the angle again. You're going to elevate the arms diagonally, only as far as your body would allow you to, and continue to squeeze the ball. Good. Then we return to front of the chest, in front of the heart. Good job. And rest. Did you feel that? Let's do some more.

Let's bring it back in front of the chest. This time you will elevate the elbows, and squeeze the ball, as if you want to let all the air out from the ball. Activate your chest, your front of the shoulders, even more. Relax your shoulders down, continue to breathe. You're doing great. How about eight more counts? Good. And then rest. Then from here, we will extend the arms in front. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze the ball, and we will bend the elbows 90 degrees. OK, you see a number 11 where the wrist and the elbows are in one line, and the elbows are in line with the shoulders. Begin to feel your triceps here.

And then once again, we will extend and squeeze. And we bend, and squeeze. Repeat. Extend, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. And bend at the elbows at 90 degrees, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Then we single that out. Extend, and bend. Extend, and bend. Continue to squeeze, and squeeze. Good. Now you are going to leave your arms here at 90 degrees, and we're going to lift and lower to shoulder level. Lift and lower to shoulder level. Give me eight, seven, exhale, inhale. Four more times. In two, in one. Good job. Extend the arms, and then release. Roll the shoulders. I hope you felt that. Now, let's bring the ball back into the inner thighs, just like what we've been doing earlier. Squeeze the ball between the inner thighs. This time we will pulse for three. Three, two, one, release. Three, two, one, release. And remember your good posture. Maintain that.

How about we increase that to eight? So pulse, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. More time, please. Squeeze eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Continue to squeeze the ball. Right leg get ready, you're going to come into a knee lift. You will extend that leg, push through the ball of the foot. Bend the knee, and lower. So we go up, up, extend, extend, bend, bend, and lower, lower.

Now what I would like for you to do as you extend the leg, squeeze through your thighs, your quads. We lift, we extend, we bend, and lower. Let's go a little bit faster. So lift, extend, bend, touch the floor, or lift, extend, bend, and hover. A couple more times. And last one. Good job. And feel the difference between your right leg and your left leg. This is a little bit warmer, a little bit stronger. So let's repeat that on the other side, maintaining good posture. Left leg will lift, so knee lift, extend, push the ball of the foot. Bend the knee, and lower. And lift, extend, bend, and lower. A couple more times.

I think you're ready to go for a single count. Lift, extend, and touch the floor. Lift, extend, bend, or hover the foot. Just two more, you can do it. Last one. Good. You feeling your thighs yet? All right if you have it, we have one more exercise. We'll go for leg lift. So continue to squeeze the ball, maintain your good posture. Ground through your left leg. Get ready to lift your right leg, and extend. We'll hold it here. Push through the ball of the foot, and we're just going to lift and hover. Lift and hover. Lift and hover. Wrap your thigh muscles around the bones. Just four more. Get stronger, shape your quads. Good. And bend the knee, and lower. Repeating on the other side, squeeze the ball. Extend the left leg, flex your foot, and we lift and hover. There's just eight of them, you can do that. Remember to breathe. Exhale. Inhale. Always exhaling on the point of exertion. Good job. And release.

All right, now we're going to hold on to the ball once again. All right, we will play with our grip. OK? You will open, and then we will switch grip. Inhale, open the chest. Exhale, switch grip. Inhale, and exhale. Have you dropped something lately? OK, work on your grip. And then from here, we're going to go overhead. We're going to meet the arms overhead and switch. Up overhead and switch. Good. Just four more of that. Nice job.

Now from here, pretend when you were young and you were playing basketball, you had that fancy trick that you're able to pass the ball behind you and grab with the other hand. Can you still do that? How is the range of motion in your shoulders? OK, so pass it behind you, if you're scooting back into your chair, can you pass it behind the chair? And come into your chest expansion. Can you do two more going this direction? Good. How about we switch? Do you have a better side? Are you breathing? Just two more, my friends. Good job.

Oh, it's time for hydration. Don't wait until you're thirsty to hydrate, OK? Once again, make it a good habit. All right, now I'd like for you to scoot forward. Remember the V step that we did a while ago in the warm up? We will repeat it here. Just in case you've forgotten, we will repeat just for muscle memory. So let's hold on the ball first, OK? Let's just give it a squeeze. Give your hands something to do, extra credit. Extra calories burned. So just give that ball a squeeze. Now, right leg, march it out wide. Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two. March it in for eight counts, and march it out for four counts. And in for four counts. How about two and two? Out, out, in, in. That's your V step. Just step it forward and in. Yes.

Now, let's work on our coordination. You might want to scoot forward a little bit, because we would like to bounce that ball when we step out. Are you ready? V step with a bounce. V step with a bounce. How's your coordination? Are you ready to play? A couple more. Good job. Now rest the legs. How about we throw and catch? Throw and catch. Throw and catch. So hopefully you're throwing the ball a little bit higher, that you're able to clap. This is just extra credit. Good job. Can you do it together? Let's try. How about let's begin with the legs, V step, get the feet working. Then we add the bounce. We got four, three, and two. How about we throw and catch? Throw and catch, or throw, clap, and catch. Two more.

How about we get fancier? V step with a bounce, four of them. Keep your V step as you throw and catch, as you throw and catch. Optional clap. Last one. How do you do? No problem, because you get a second chance on the other side. Are you ready? Left leg. March it wide, you got eight counts. March it in, eight counts. Let's cut it in half, how about four and four? Four, three, two, and in. Four, three, two. Yes, we got it. How about two and two? One, two, one, two. Now just angle your legs forward and back to come in to your V step. You've got it. Let's add the bounce. V step bounce. Are you having fun yet with the ball? Four more.

Quiet your legs, just throw the ball and catch. Option number one. Option number two, add your clap, as if you're calling your pet, right? Come on, Bogie. Come on, Bogie. That's my daughter's dog. Good. All right, let's do it again. V step, left right. Left right. Is it more challenging to do this on the left side? Let's add the bounce. Bounce and catch. You've got four of them.

This time, you keep your V step as you throw the ball and catch. Throw the ball and catch. Two more. Last one. Good. How did you do? Did you have fun? If you didn't, I have more for you. Can you begin to march again? March. How about you put some rhythm? One, two, three, knee. One, two, three, knee. Then tap the ball to the thigh. One, two, three, tap. One, two, three, tap. OK, how about knee bounce? Knee bounce. Knee bounce. Did you play soccer when you were younger? Did you do this? Four more. Good. Did you have fun?

How about some challenge? Instead of one, two, three, tap, you just go march, march. You ready? Start with the right. March right, left, right, left, right, left, right, left. So this is option one. You can stay here, or add your knee bounce. Knee bounce, knee bounce, knee bounce. Whoa! And that's what I call extra credit, because when you drop the ball, you can go after it, you add that to your steps, more calories burned. Yes, good job. All right, how about we give the ball a rest, and let's grab our dumbbells. Before we do that, hydrate.

All right, so let's go grab our dumbbells from underneath our chair. Remember to always bend your knees when you pick up something, all right. And then you can always use the ball behind you to help with your posture. OK, so roll the shoulders up, down, and back. Lift through the belly once again. And then from here, I will take you into a row. So you will extend both arms forward, turn your palms in, and we draw the elbows straight back, squeezing the shoulder blades. So we inhale and exhale pull. You only have eight. If doing both arms is too difficult for you, you can always go for alternating arms. Remember that throughout our workout today. OK, give me four more, please. Squeeze your shoulder blades. Squeeze the upper mid back. Good job, and rest.

Now from here, you will bring your right hand over your left hip. We're still working on our upper back. So you're going to draw your elbow back, squeeze the right shoulder blade behind the heart, and return to the opposite hip. So exhale and pull, inhale and lower. Exhale, pull. And lower. You've got four more. Best two. Good. Switching sides. Left hand from opposite hip. Let's draw the left elbow back. Squeeze your left shoulder blade behind the heart. Exhale, pull. We got four more. Good job. And then rest.

We will add a little something something. This time, after you pull, you will extend your arm out, then re-bend the elbow and lower. So as if you're reaching for your seat belt, OK? And then you will fasten your seat belt. Exhale pull, open, bend, and lower. You got four more. If you can't reach high, that's OK. If at any time you don't want to utilize your dumbbells, that's fine, too. You can just use the ball. Remember, personal best. All right. Last one. Good.

Switching sides. Left hand from the opposite hip. Exhale pull, inhale extend, exhale, and lower. Pull, extend, bend, lower. You got four more just like that. Are you breathing? Which means don't hold your breath. Good job, and rest. Now from here, you will just extend your right arm out. Let's recruit through the lats, your lats. OK? And pretend you're just pounding towards the back wall. Press, press, press. And four, three, two. Good job. Re-bend, and lower. Switching sides. Extend and press, press, press, press, last four, three, two, good job. OK.

Then from here, I would ask you to scoot forward. So you'll have more freedom of movement in your arms for your bicep curls. So sit nice and tall. Feet are grounded, knees are over your ankles, shoulders are over the hips. Elbows in by your waist, and we exhale and come into our bicep curl. And lower. Exhale, lift. Inhale, lower. Exhale, life. And remember to show control as you lower the arms, especially. So what we don't want to see is this. OK? You got to engage your muscles on the way up, and on the way down. Good.

And then from here, we're going to go for singles. Right side. Here's eight. So exhale, inhale. Keep your elbows glued in by your side body. Dumbbells will not touch the shoulders. It just goes to the top or front of the shoulders. Last two. And one. Switch arms, and here's eight. Maintaining good posture, breathing, enjoying the workout. You're doing great. You're almost done. Nice job, and rest.

OK, now I would like for you to scoot towards the right side of your chair. Roll the shoulders up, down, and back, and just allow your right arm to hang. So the focus here will be to bring your right ribs towards the right hip, OK? So right ribs to right hip. Keep your shoulder stacked as if you're just sliding your torso against an imaginary wall. So ribs to hip is the movement. OK, keep your neck muscles working, holding the head up, and not trying to do this. All right, that's for Halloween. Good job. Return to center.

Now we're going to go for singles. So, scoop your belly in, maintain your tall spine, inhale, and exhale. Here we go. Pretend you're carrying a heavy suitcase, you're kind of stuck there. Yeah, right ribs to hips. You got eight more counts Eight, and four. Good job. And then observe the difference between your right and left side body, is there? OK. Now let's work the other side. Scoot yourself towards the left side of your chair, just allow your left arm to hang and we begin. Left ribs to left hip. Shoulders are stacked, neck is long.

Good job, return to center. Big inhale and exhale. We're stuck right here, heavy suitcase. Too much shopping, you can't even lift it. We got eight more counts right here, my friends. Good job, return to center. And then from here, you will support yourself on your leg, as you bring your dumbbell underneath your chair again for safety. Hydrate before I take you for your stretch. Good job, everyone.

OK, so from sitting tall, extend your right leg, and lower your heel. Support your left hand on your left thigh. Inhale, reach your right arm up, and exhale, hinge from the hips. Look at your thumb. Continue to reach, reach, reach through your heart. Reach out the fingertips nice and long. Feel the stretch from your calf to your hamstring, to your lower back, your right side body. And inhale, rise. And exhale, return. Switching sides. Left leg extends, set your heel down, inhale lift the left arm, lifting the left ribs off the hip. Support, belly in, and hinge. Gaze at your left thumb. Continue to reach out, get longer. Breathing. And inhale, rise. And exhale, return.

Now I would like for you to stand, so we can stretch through our thighs, because you worked your thighs quite a bit when we did our squats and our leg lifts. So come towards the right side of your chair so you can utilize the chair for balance. Your left leg will be standing, bend at the right knee. So option number one is here. If you can't reach for your foot, just rotate your ankle, and I'm just going to turn sideways so you could see. So knees together. Option one is rotate the ankle both directions, and just hold that. Or option two, grab your outer ankle, bring your heel to buttock. Draw your tailbone down. Keep your shoulders over the hips. Good. And we lower the leg, and maybe just pedal the feet. OK, we will switch sides for the other leg.

Supported by the chair, right leg standing, left knee bends. I'll just turn myself sideways. Rotating at the ankle, both directions. You can stay there, or grab your foot. Maintaining your good posture. Stretching through the left hip flexor and the left thigh. Good job. And then release down. Now go behind your chair and turn your fingertips to you, and the heels of your hands on a chair, so we can stretch through the wrists, forearms, and the biceps at the same time. Nice. And then from here, give yourselves a pat on the back, push your tricep back. Pat on the back for a job well done for trying this workout. And as you release the arm, roll through the shoulder. And reverse.

And just switching arms. And then you give yourself a pat on the back, say good job, state your name. And release the arm, and let's roll the shoulders back, and then forward. Nice. Now return to your seat, and observe how you're sitting. Are you sitting taller? Did you remember to scoop in through the belly, and shoulders are down away from the ears? Let's conclude our workout with our breath. Let's all inhale, fill, fill, fill. And exhale, release down. And one more time, inhale, and exhale. And roll the shoulders up, down, and back, and you're ready for your day. Have a beautiful day. Thank you so much for joining me.

Hello again, all our lovely viewers. If you have enjoyed the class, feel free to visit me and all our other fabulous instructors in any of our Optum Care community centers. Hope to see you soon. Thank you.