Werk It Out with Erica Nix

Is it worth it, let me werk it. Put ya’ thang down flip it and reverse it! Ti esrever dna ti pilf, nwod gniht ym tup. Or at least that’s what Missy Elliott told us to do in 2002. And in 2020, our Kind crew wants you to do the exact same thing. We know a lot of folks in Austin are missing their beloved gyms or want to take advantage of social distancing and have an itch to start werking it, so say less folks, we got you!

Kind has partnered with our local fun, free, and fabulous personal trainer, Erica Nix, to bring you a few bi-weekly workouts that are easy and can be done in your own home! For over a decade, Erica has been a bright and raucous force in the community, with her well documented performance art, beloved photography, and work as a queer and trans-inclusive body positive activist and personal trainer.  

So for those that may be just starting or even the folks who have been in the journey of fitness and health for a while, here is a quick and easy work out for you to do. Erica’s gonna start with a warmup and end with a cool down. In between, you’ll have two sequences you can choose to repeat, or not repeat. Don’t forget to stay hydrated, listen to your body, and have fun! You can even make it social and call your friends and do it at the same time, virtually.

P.S. – If anything hurts, please stop doing what hurts immediately. Take breaks whenever you want. Skip any exercise you want. Anytime you just feel done, skip to the end and stretch. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY and DON’T JUDGE IT! Your body is smart and knows what he/she/they need. Below are the exercises listed in the order they appear in the video, along with important points to check in on while werkin’ it!

The WarmUp

1. Cat Cow: On all fours, curve your back in the shape of a “C.” Let your head follow the rest of your spine. You should breath in as you curve your back up towards the sky and breathe out when you tilt your head and tail bone towards the sky.
2. Downward Dog to Lunge: Starting from all 4’s on the floor, engage your abs and stabilize your shoulders by activating them down and back. Push through your hands to raise your butt to the sky with your knees slightly bent. You should be receiving a nice stretch on the back of your thighs.
3. Windshield Wipers to Side Stretch: While sitting back on your butt and hands and keeping your feet basically in the same place, turn your body side to side swishing your legs back and forth. When that feels comfortable, add a side stretch while coming up on one knee.

Sequence 1

1. Donkey Kick: On all 4’s, kick your flexed foot up to the ceiling, keeping your leg in a right angle. Do this on both legs for up to 1 minute. If you need to stop at 30 seconds, that’s okay too. Feel free to go on your elbows and knees to relieve any wrist pressure. We are doing a lot on our hands, so choose elbows when you can if you have sensitive wrists.
2. Ballet Kick: Kick your leg straight, making small bounces from your glutes. Feel free to alternate from pointing your foot to flexing between bounces. Do this on both legs for up to 1 minute.
3. Pee Like a Dog: On your hands and knees, raise your bent leg up and down to where your hip naturally stops your leg while keeping your back straight. You can also do this laying on your side and doing “Jane Fonda’s” by opening your legs like a clam shell.

Sequence 2

1. Monkey Squat (30 seconds): Squat all the way to the ground, using your arms to help support your body. Engage your abs to center your body weight between both your hands and feet. With a flat back, move side to side for one full shuffle and stop to squat putting your body weight into your heels and away from your knees.
2. Tabletop (30 seconds): With your feet, butt, and hands on the ground, you essentially make a tabletop with your body. Use your arms (while straight) and glutes to raise into a nice flat tabletop. If you feel any pressure on your knees move your heels further away from your butt.
3. 10 Negative Pushups: Go into your downward dog (just like in your warmup), then instead of lunging, bring yourself into a nice plank position and then slowly lower yourself down (like a backwards pushup). Remember to keep your abs engaged.
4. Fly Like a Bird (30 seconds): In a flat back bent over position, straighten your arms and fly your arms shallowly. To make this easier, make your lever smaller and bend at your elbows. Don’t forget to engage your abs and keep that back flat.
5. Plank (1 minute): You can plank a million different ways. In this workout, I will show you three ways. The most common planks are on either your hands and toes or your elbows and toes. In both of these planks, you want to create a straight line with your entire body. Focus on pulling your stabilizing muscles by activating your shoulders and pulling them down and back while engaging your abs. If you need a break, come down to your knees or push yourself into a downward dog position.  

The Cool Down and Stretch

1. Calf and Hammie Stretch: You can use a yoga strap, fancy belt, or dog leash to loop around your foot and pull your straight leg towards your body for a good calf stretch. Laying down on your back feels great. Put a bend in the leg and pull a bit closer to your body to stretch those hamstrings. Stretch out both legs for about 30 seconds each.
2. Figure 4: Lay on your back with bent legs. Cross one foot over the other leg’s knee. Then use your arms to reach through the hole your legs created and pull the stretch closer to your body. Hold here for about 30 seconds and then switch sides.
3. Arm and Hand Stretch: On your hands and knees, place your hands on the floor with your fingers facing your body as much as you can. Breathe in moving forward and out coming back towards your hands and letting your palms come up slightly as you need. Rock back and forth 6-10 times. Finish by flicking your fingers to release some pressure from your wrist.
4. Pec Stretch on the Floor: On your hands and knees, extend one arm out to the side and try to place your head on the floor. With your other arm in a bent right-angle position near your head, push your hand into the floor while imagining stacking your shoulders on top of each other. You might have to kinda wiggle around to find where you feel the stretch into your pec.
5. Thread the Needle: Now basically doing an opposite stretch, extend one arm through the opposite arm and try placing your head and shoulder on the ground. Use the bent arm to push against the floor, trying to stack your shoulders on top of each other. Your body weight gives your back a bit of a pressure massage in this position.

GOOD JOB! YOU DID IT! YOU ARE INCREDIBLE!

I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!