So now it’s time to start feeling some heat and find your inner Thigh Warrior. When you feel those muscles start to shake and quiver, just keep thinking: MIND OVER THIGHS!
B
EFORE
Y
OU
B
EGIN…
The majority of the moves in this chapter require a waist-high chair or sturdy piece of furniture for support. Before you begin, please check to be sure that your furniture is stable. If necessary, place the heavy set of weights from your warm-up on your chair for additional stability.
SMALL V
A hip take on classical ballet’s first position, our Small V series offers a whole new way of trimming your thighs. Variations such as pulses and hip shakes get you right into your calorie-burning zone and start slimming away those extra inches.
MUSCLES TARGETED:
Quadriceps
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
A waist-high, sturdy piece of furniture; a playground ball
The Setup
Stand facing your furniture about a forearm’s distance away and hold on to it with your hands apart, slightly wider than your shoulders.
Make a small V with your feet by bringing your heels together. Your big toes should be 2 or 3 inches apart.
Keeping your heels together, raise them up a couple of inches off the floor. Keep your spine straight and feel all ten toes pressing evenly into the floor.
Now bend your knees and lower your body to a challenging level—the place where you feel your thigh muscles engaged—about 5 or 6 inches down. This is your starting position.
VARIATIONS
A. Pulses
Bend your knees deeper and begin to perform small pulses, up and down. Remember, this is a small, controlled movement—only about 2 or 3 inches. Look straight ahead and keep your abdominal muscles pulled in so that your tailbone is pointing toward your heels. You should feel a lot of heat throughout your thighs and be able to easily maintain your balance. Remember: Don’t come up past your starting position.
B. Hip Tucks
Keeping your upper body straight, roll your hips forward and then release them back. Again, these Hip Tucks are small, controlled movements: Your legs remain steady, your heels off the floor. And keep those knees bent—you didn’t come up, did you?
C.
Seat to Heels and Up
This is a larger range of movement. Bend your knees and glide straight down until your tailbone hovers above your heels, and then come right back up to your starting position. Remember to keep your heels together the entire time, and make sure your knees are tracking over your toes and not opening out to the sides. When you lower, you want to feel like your spine is gliding along a wall behind you, so that your heels, hips, and shoulders are all aligned. Here you should be building a lot of heat and really feeling your heart muscle working!
