Name: Playbook - Niki SugarySixpack - W6/D2 Upper mobility + stability
Uploaded: 2024-05-04T17:56:12.277Z
Duration: 28 min
Description: W6/D2 Upper mobility + stability

I’ve been on vacation and got really sick so I never finished active rest week. Still sick and not home but needed some movement. Took this super slow but it felt great to move my body!

Julianne

Niki

Tabby

Need:
Mini loop band
Mat
Kids or pilates ball
Long foam roller/pillow for chest stretch

Move continuously and with intention!
We’re not rushing here.

Drop in and work on feeling a gentle stretch/the targeted muscles working.

End of challenge form:
https://shorturl.at/puEFH

-Upper/mid back muscles and glutes are working here
-Squeeze ball as you lift 
-Should not cause pain in low back. if it does lower the range of motion and focus on recruiting the upper/mid back.
-Connect to the core before moving/lifting each rep
-this doesn’t need to be an insane range of motion. It’s better to focus on using the correct muscles than forcing a huge lift

Superman ball squeeze

-targeting the serrations anterior. A very under mentioned but important muscle! 
-think sinking through the shoulder blade and pressing back up with no motion in the arms/elbow bend
-Imagine driving through the pinky finger
-core works with breath through movement
-pay attention to alignment of hips, ribs and head- don’t want unnecessary rib flare or low back arch or tons of torso movement

Single sided serratus right

Single sided serratus left

-Set up half kneeling with hips level. Avoid hip dropping or hiking of one side.
-Hips, ribs and head stacked with length kept through the torso
-Exhale, connect to core and press the band away from your body.
-Core is working to stabilize against the pull of the band and prevent rotation.

Half kneeling Palof right

Half kneeling Palof left

-Hips, ribs and head are stacked with a light length through the body
-Press backwards raising up into a pike position
-Pull forward using the core
-Core works with breath through the movement
-Very slight anterior pelvic tilt (tucked). Imagine ribs and hips are lightly connected by a string

Dolphin plank

-Keep arm pointed to the sky throughout
-Hinge hips back to the heels as you rotate through the thoracic spine to keep arm up (think upper mid back/shoulder blade area)
-Squeeze knees together as you rotate if you find you feel it in your low back

Single thoracic windmill right

Single thoracic windmill left

-Exhale and connect to the core before leaning back slowly and with control
-Torso doesn’t round or bent here. keep length and hips, ribs and head stacked in line
-Imagine hinging at the knees
-Set ball on the floor then exhale connect to core and lift knees off the ground

Lean + lift

-Make sure rotation is coming from the thoracic spine (upper/mid back) not the low back
-Exhale and gently connect to core before rotating
-Push with forward hand and pull with back hand to emphasize rotation in thoracic spine
-Keep within range of motion so you don’t force rotate into the low back
-Engage core and squeeze inner thighs before rotation
-Stay tall through the torso
-See seated thoracic rotation in core work tutorials section

Thoracic push + pull

-Core engages starting right before lifting off floor
-Lift up should be driven by deep core engagement
-Keep light length through torso and hips and head stacked in line
-Move slowly with control
-Core stay connected to stabilize and prevent excessive wiggle in movement
-For more detail see quadruped plank lift tutorial in core work tutorials section

Quadruped walk

Mobility + stability

-can be done sitting/standing as long as you keep good alignment and length through the torso
-Arch and round along with your elbow taps
-depending on how tight you are you’ll feel a stretch in the upper/mod back and possibly the chest here
-Move with control

Big elbow taps

Kneeling thoracic cat cow

-Make sure rotation is coming from the thoracic spine (upper/mid back) not the low back
-Engage core and squeeze inner thighs before rotation
-Range of motion can be small, don’t have to reach way open
-Keep top hip from rotating open as you open the upper body
-See seated thoracic rotation in core work tutorials section

Open book right

Open book left

-Core is lightly engaged to add balance and support/keep proper alignment
-Bend or straighten arms to find optimal stretch for you
-This can also be done on something more stable like a thick rolled towel. Anything your arms will hang off of will work
-Keep breathing through the stretch

Chest stretch + breathing

Stretch

W6/D2 Upper mobility + stability

Andrea

So excited for the challenge! Thank you for the motivation!

Alexis

What a great mindset video! Decided to watch this a day early before I start the challenge tomorrow ☺️

W1/D1 Give your daily best: Mindset 1

Amazing way to start back my fitness journey as a mom

Nazia

Second time around with this challenge. It’s my favorite!

Hanna

Forgot how much of a burner this one is. 🔥

W1/D1 Lower Body

Always giving those workouts that will end my life but brings me back to life 🤣. Amazing as always.

chio

Pamela

W1/D2 upper body(shoulders, biceps, triceps)

Great workout! Pretty challenging for me. Haven’t done cardio in a while. Loved it though 🥵

Samah

This was so much fun! Really loved this workout 💪🏼

W1/D3 core + cardio

Love these workouts just really wish there were the number of reps on the exercise videos.

Loved the upper body emphasis during this workout! It felt great!

I’ll definitely be returning to this one. Great arm workout! I have a bum shoulder and this exercise made it feel strong.

Tatum

W1/D4 total (upper emphasis)

I came back to this workout because I saw that I said it was harder for me last time. This time went so much better! It’s been a while, but I feel much stronger this time! It was a great total body burner!

This was challenging for me today! I’ve been so busy this morning and finally got this in. It may have been challenging but I crushed it 💪🏼

W1/D5 total (lower emphasis)

Faith

Hip foundations are my weakness found this out in the workout 😂 loved the cardio it was fun.

Chelsea

W1/D6 foundations + cardio

Favorite workout on this app! Simple moves that burn so good.

Definitely took me longer than 32 minutes but absolutely worth it and looking forward to doing it again 😃 💪🏼

Lauren

Charlotte

W2/D1 Lower body

Absolutely loved this reminder as I think this is something most of us can tend to forget pretty easily! Let’s go week 2 ☺️

W2/D1 Mindset 2: Your strength

Great workout. This pop rows really threw me though. Couldn’t get my form quite right.

I’m proud to say that the pop rows were not my enemy today!! I crushed them! Had fun with this today 💪🏼

I upped my weights for a lot of these exercises. The pop rows are my enemy but I got them done 😅 this was a great one!

W2/D2 upper body(shoulder, chest, back)

Loved the curtsy step ups. Another great workout!

I really love these two lower body workouts a week! This felt so good today 👏🏼

W2/D3 Lower body

Those side plank rows were killer. Also let’s not forget about those lifted quadruped rows. Could only get a few of those in lifted had to modify the rest.

This went by so fast! I loved this for an upper body workout!

W2/D4 Upper + core

Natalie Hubbell

Cossack 😂 not even a chance. Definitely need to do mobility workouts more

I loved this once again! Felt great today!

W2/D5 Foundations + Cardio

Definitely took some inner push. But got through. Hips a bit tight. The last part helped with that a lot!

Came back to this workout for a quick total body to finish out my week! It was great!

I think this will always be one of my favorite workouts from the entire challenge. It goes by so fast! It hits so many areas and feels great!

W2/D6 Full body fives

Great reminder that I needed to hear today! ☺️

Judit

These motivation videos are always so helpful! Love the positive reminders and encouragement 👏🏼

W3/D1 Celebrating small wins, sustainability + more

Loved this workout! Drenched 😅 used 25’s for my squats and the deadlift to squat 💪🏼 feeling so strong

My glutes and hamstrings are on fire! This was so good! Especially now that I don’t have a pinched nerve interrupting my workout 😅

W3/D1 Lower body AMRAP

Great upper body workout. One day I’ll be able to do those tricep dips straight through without breaks. Lol

While this was upper/arms, I felt it in my glutes and and too. Bonus 👍🏼💪🏼🦵🏼

Michele

Now that I was able to do this workout properly with no pinched nerve- I see how fun it is! I really loved this one 💪🏼

W3/D2 Upper (triceps, biceps ,chest)

I loathe those lateral power pulls. My upper body gives out before my lower body with the weights so had to ditch them. I struggle to even make it 30 seconds. 🥵 other than that loved today’s workout and worked up a great sweat!! 😅

This was a million times better without a pinched nerve in my back! So much fun!

Katie

W3/D3 Core + cardio

This felt so great after a long day! Loved the combination of exercises 💪🏼

Good burner! If you could include the reps with the exercise it’s helpful to know how many reps when you have a long string of exercises together and prevents having to go back and forth.

W3/D4 Total upper + core

This was such a great workout! That last circuit really got me 🥵

I have been so busy today and on my feet a ton. This made my legs and glutes burn even more than they already were! What a great workout 💪🏼👏🏼

W3/D5 Total body lower focus

Tough workout. Those 45 second moves get me every time. 45 sec plank jacks are no joke 🥵🔥🔥🔥 glad I pushed through because I feel amazing now.

A super fun workout to celebrate the end of week 3! 💪🏼

Foundations felt so good!! Looking forward to week 4!

W3/D6 Foundations + cardio

Ladder was something different, I liked the change 😊 and of course, any burnout is often a good thing (both mental and physical). Thank you ☺️

Amazing workout. Loved that second circuit with the band.

ABSOLUTELY 🥰 this workout. Actually finished it in the time frame.

W4/D1 Lower body ladder

I really upped my weights today so I was a bit slower than usual 😅 my poor arms are dead 😂 this was great!

Got this one done after a rough day. It made me feel a little better. 😊

W4/D2 Upper body (shoulder, triceps + chest)

One of my favourite workouts as it really worked by inner thighs which have some room for improvement 😉.

After not working out all weekend, this one got me good. 😵

W4/D3 Lower body

My upper body was already sore from Tuesdays upper body workout so it was tough to get through this! I’m so sore 😅 it was a great workout though and I’m so proud of myself!

My arms and shoulders are on fire after this one. Feeling good!

W4/D4 Upper body + core

The cardio was challenging since I am so sore from all the workouts this week. 😅 The foundations felt great! Cardio was fun and it honestly flew by!

Amber

W4/D5 Foundations + cardio

Came back to this workout for a challenge! It was great!

W4/D6 Full body ladder

Whew that band circuit burned! Loved this one.

My legs and glutes are going to be so sore after this one! The burn is intense 🔥

My legs are burning. I’ll be feeling this one tomorrow.

W5/D1 Lower body

Perfect week 5 and Monday motivation! So excited to finish this week strong 💪🏼

W5/D1 Mindset 5: Today!

Talia

This was phenomenal once again! Upped my weights and oh boy was I feeling it 💪🏼 great workout!

W5/D2 Upper body (shoulder, chest + back)

This cardio really got me today! I am so sore from the workouts this week 😅 I’ve been upping weights all week and I’m feeling it! This cardio was a bit of a challenge overcoming the soreness but I did it! Loved this today 👏🏼

This week has been flying by with every workout! The cardio was challenging today but I loved it!

W5/D3 core + cardio

EMOM workouts are always my fav! This one felt great today 💪🏼

I looove EMOMs and this one did not disappoint either! ☺️ Thank you!

W5/D4 Total upper body EMOM

Holy Smokes!! 🥵👍💪
Loved this, such a great challenge!

Courtney

This was pretty challenging for me once again but a great challenge! I crushed it 💪🏼 proud of myself!

W5/D5 total body lower

Would love cardio with no weights in the near future.

A perfect foundations and cardio workout to end the challenge!

Foundations combined with cardio is still my favourite! 🙂 It was so good to finish this week with it! ☺️

W5/D6 Foundations + cardio

Thank you for another awesome challenge, Niki! This one has been so much fun ☺️

So excited! Love all of your plans in the app. Great variety and I never get bored. Thank you for what you do!

W6/D1 End of challenge

This was much needed and felt great on the legs!

Feels good to have an active rest week. Let’s do this everyone! We got this. ☺️

This felt soo nice! 😊 I haven’t had an active recovery week in months so I’m about to enjoy it!

W6/D1 Lower body mobility/stability

I got this done way later than I meant to but I’m glad I did it! I’m feeling a little better but still sick. My sick body needed this gentle movement 😊

W6/D3 Full body mobility/stability

This was a phenomenal way to officially end the challenge! So proud of myself that I completed the challenge for the second time 😌💪🏼

Feeling so accomplished! Thank you for this awesome challenge and the amazing community. Way to go everyone! I can’t believe it’s over already. 😁

I can’t believe I just finished the very last workout in the spring challenge! It feels so surreal. This challenge has been so much fun! I learned how strong I really am and what I’m capable of. Thank you so much Niki for making these last 6 weeks so much fun!

W6/D2 Upper mobility + stability

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