Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hey guys, I'm Ashley Borden and welcome to Perfect Form. Today's workout, you are using
something that everybody has access to -- a wall. Okay? So that's why I named this workout
your Wall WOD, your Wall Workout of the Day. I'm gonna take you through three stretches
that you're gonna do using the wall. And then we're gonna go through two exercises that
you're gonna rotate and repeat, and that's gonna be the workout. Alright, so first thing
we're gonna do is we're gonna start with a Quad Stretch. So you're gonna come down, you're
gonna take a knee and you're gonna take that back foot and bring it right into the wall.
Now, the closer your knee is to the wall the more stretch you'll feel through your quad.
And you will feel a lot of stretch through your quad. Another thing is, if it feels too
painful on your kneecap you can go ahead and fold a towel underneath there and that will
take off some of the pressure. You wanna feel like your energy is lifting up. Not grinding
down through your knee. And your weight in the front is in your heel, alright? So you
wanna make sure that you have a wide enough space so you're not too narrow in this position.
Alright, so we're gonna come forward into kinda like a hurdler stretch. Ooh, I feel
that. And you're gonna try to squeeze your back glute on this side in this position.
And you're just gonna kinda go back and forth, trying to find where those sticking points
are where it feels really tight. You can kinda hold there. You can come forward into your
heel, front heel, and back. Forward and back. Kinda side to side. This is an excellent stretch
for people who sit a lot, people who feel very, very tight in their quads. People who's
***, if you can't get your glutes to fire -- this is an excellent stretch. Good. And
let's switch to the other side. Now a lot of people say, "Well, how long should I do
this for?" I mean, you could set a timer for 2 minutes or 3 minutes and do it on each leg.
Or you can just do it 30 seconds. The longer you do it, obviously, the deeper you get into
the muscle. Same position -- my back toe is up behind me. I wanna make sure my weight's
in my front heel. Drape that arm over, and then we're gonna go back and forth. Wow, and
you will really feel that through your quad. Now, if your feeling too much pull in your
knee, you need to go back and you need to roll out your quads. My Full Body Rolling
Out PDF is available on my website, Ashleyborden.com, for free. And that's using the foam roller,
and you're gonna roll out your whole body beforehand, if you can. Alright? But if this
feels too tight, you need to rollout your quads. Very good. This feels good. Alright,
good. So now we're gonna go into your hamstrings. So the wall is a great way of having something
to give you the signal of what you need to push back into so you can activate your hamstrings.
I want you to bring your feet about 4 inches away from the wall, and have your heels directly
underneath your hip bones with your feet straight. Hands are gonna be on the belly, so that way
when you go forward your hands remind you not to dump into your tummy, okay? You're
gonna bend the knees slightly and you're gonna sit back. So I'm pushing my tailbone back
into the wall. I'm driving my knees out and I'm reaching my chest forward all at the same
time. So I'm gonna hold that position for a 2 count -- 1, 2. I feel deep hamstring stretch,
and come away from the wall and squeeze your glutes. Good. And, again, sit back, push that
tailbone into the wall, drive your knees out, belly in, and up to the top. Excellent. And,
again, 3. So I find that -- it's like your sit bones, those two bones in your glutes
-- that's what you wanna feel pushing against the wall. Drive the knees out and up. Let's
go one more time. So why do you drive your knees out? That way you activate your hamstrings
more. If you're knee is -- just go ahead and try and put your knees inward, you won't feel
any hamstring stretch whatsoever. And then come up to the top. Excellent job. Alright,
so now we're gonna do a stretch that also will open up your forearms, your triceps and
interior lats, and also a little bit of hamstring as well. So you're gonna turn around. When
you place your hands on the wall, you wanna make sure that your fingers are very, very
wide apart. That way you can really get in between your thumb and first finger. You'll
be able to get more tricep. You're gonna place your hands -- the hand position is important.
So when you're going back you feel like your hands are a teeny bit above your shoulders
so you can drop your chest through. That way you can get more stretch through your lats,
okay? So we're gonna go 5 times through this guy. Feet are a little bit wider than hip-width
apart. You're gonna push back, drop that chest through. You'll really feel that stretch through
your triceps and your lats, all through here. Good. Then you're gonna come up -- 1. Big
inhale and exhale. Push away from that wall, drop the chest through, bellybutton in -- 2.
And, again, push away from the wall. If this is too crowding in your neck, you can bring
your hands a little bit wider. And up -- 3. Two more. Good. Really push away from that
wall. Fingers really wide. Drop that chest through. And up. Last one. Good. Drop the
chest through. Still pull your belly in. Drive those knees out. Alright, very good. So now
we're gonna get into the movements that we're gonna do for your workout. What we're doing
-- the focus of this workout is really your core, alright? So it's your core when you're
against the wall, and it's your core when you're in plank position. The workout will
activate a lot of your posterior chain, your backside, and it will also work the front
through your chest, your arms and your core and quads, alright? It's challenging, but
it's very, very effective for you to connect to your core and for your whole body. First
one I wanna do is a wall sit, and you're gonna give me arm extension and pulling down at
the same time. So you're gonna bring your feet out about hipbone width apart. I want
you to drop those hips down. So try to get to a 90 degree angle. If you can't, you can
go up a little higher. Wiggle the toes a little bit so you can feel your weight in your heels.
And you wanna feel your belly pulled into the wall, alright? So you're gonna bring the
palms back. You wanna have your pinkies and thumbs on the wall. You're gonna extend all
the way up, dragging those arms and hands on the wall, and then pulling those lats all
the way down and in -- 1. And up and down -- 2. Good. All the way up. You'll feel this
through the back of your arms. You'll feel it through your lats, your glutes -- 4. Good.
Now this wall is a little rough so my hands are not completely flat against it. But if
you're on a wall that you can, I really want your arms and your pinkies and your thumbs
on the wall. Three more -- 3. Ooh, yeah. Pull that belly, pull that core into the wall -- 2.
One more. You should feel on fire with that whole body -- 1. Very good, you guys. Very
good. And, again, if you can't go all the way down, that is totally fine. Start where
you can. But most importantly is that you feel your weight's in those heels. Alright,
so next one I wanna do is a plank using the wall. Why do we use the wall? Because this
way you can push your heels into the wall to activate more your quads and your glutes
in a plank position, which most people don't. And P.S.: Your glutes are part of your core.
Alright, so, let me get you in the position. You're gonna have your toes a little bit away
from the wall. And I want you to push your heels into the wall in that position. So my
toes are a little further away, my heels are in the wall. I'm gonna come down to my knees,
on your forearms. So I'm gonna show you beginner, intermediate, advanced, alright? So, palms
are up, you're gonna push those heels into the wall. And I want you to squeeze your quads
and squeeze your glutes, alright? So you wanna hold this here for about 10 seconds -- 5,
4, 3. Push those heels in the wall -- 2 and 1. Good. And come down. Alright, so now we're
gonna go into your next level, which is alternating arms, okay? So if being in plank is enough
for you, totally fine, you can start there. If you want a next challenge up for your next
round, let's do it with alternating arms. The wider your feet position the easier it
is for your core, alright? So I'm gonna have you start wider than your yoga mat position
apart. You're gonna, again -- arms, squeeze those glutes and push those toes into the
ground. From here, you wanna squeeze those quads, squeeze those glutes, have those elbows
directly underneath your shoulder. And little alternating -- 3, 4, 5. Try not to let your
hips move -- 8, 9, 10. Very good, alright. So, you're body will get very warm from that.
You wanna try to not let any hip movement happen at all. Just push your heels in the
wall. So that's the next level up. Next one you guys can do is on your palms, where you're
just at the top of your pushup. Crank those arms in, squeeze your glutes, push your heels
in the wall. This is also a great way to train yourself how to do pushups correctly without
letting your lower half dump. So you would just hold here 10 seconds. And then come down,
okay? Last one you would do if you're even more advanced is an alternating arm reach
at the top of your pushup, okay? And that looks like this: So you're gonna go wide feet
-- she's a challenging one -- wide feet, glutes tight, bring those hands a little bit underneath
you. Really squeeze those quads and glutes. Push your heels in the wall. And you're gonna
give me alternating reach -- 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Squeeze -- 7, 8, 9 and 10. Alright guys, that
was great. And, again, you're gonna do this for 10 minutes. If you cannot complete 10
minutes that is totally fine. You can start with 5 minutes or 2 minutes. This is also
really good work to add to the workouts you're already doing or as a standalone workout on
its own. Don't skip the stretching part because that's super important to feeling like you
can really engage your core. But most importantly, that I always say: I want you to connect to
your body.