Guard Strength: 30-Min Core & Hip Stabilization for BJJ

Push the lower back to the ground, push the belly button down and check. Take your hand, put it under the lower back and make sure there's no space. If there's space, that means you're not activating that lower core, so push the lower back to the ground. For the first set, your right foot just to extend it out, so it hovers barely above the ground and pull it back up.

Reset, lower back to the ground, extend the right leg out and only out as far as you can keep that lower back on the ground. We have three more. Extend the lower leg, hovers above the ground and back. Two more and back.

Last one and back. Time for the other side. So reset that lower back. I like to put my hands on it to make sure that I'm pushing the lower back to the ground.

Extend the left leg out, straight or almost straight, barely hovering above the ground. One, second one, third. And what we are building is an awareness through that connection of the lower core and how to activate it so that activate and strengthen and we'll be using that through the class. One more.

Place both feet on the ground. Take a deep breath. Left leg stays on the ground. Right leg reaches up.

You can have it bent or straight. Your call. Extend the right leg out just like we did before and sweep it out to the right. I call it a sweep.

Center, extend in the center, knee above the hip. Extend the right leg out, barely hovering above the ground. Sweep it out to the right and back. This whole time keeping that lower back to the ground.

This is also really good for hip strengthening. All the little stabilizing muscles in the hips. We tend to really take care of the bigger muscles, the quads, the glutes, but those little muscles obviously are really important too. So today we will be focusing on those.

Place the right foot down. Lift the left leg, knee above the hip. Extend the left leg, barely hovering above the ground. Sweep it out to the left.

Back to center, knee above the hip. Again, extend, sweep, knee above the hip. Being aware the whole time of that lower back. Do your best to keep it on the ground and it's okay to reset it every time I bring the knee above the hip.

Reset it. Push that lower back down. One more. Place both feet on the ground.

Take a quick little breather. And for our last one, knees above the hips, hands up as if we're in tabletop and we'll be doing this in tabletop but on our back first. Lower back to the ground, extend the right leg out, just out, hovering above the ground. Extend the left arm up.

Keep that connection. Lower back to the ground or almost to the ground. Do your best. And back.

Left leg extends, right arm extends up. Keep the connection to the core and back. Right leg extends, left arm extends, and back. Left leg extends, right arm extends, and back.

Last one. Right leg extends, left arm, and back. And here we go. Left, right, and back.

Put your feet down. Let that go. Hands behind the legs. Tuck the chin for your rock and roll.

This should feel really nice after a little bit of core there. And come all the way up to your hands and knees. All the way up to your hands and knees for tabletop. I had to put my timer down to make sure our class is perfectly timed.

Same as before, pull the stomach in as if you were putting on a pair of jeans that are way too tight but you still really want to wear them. So core tight, pull the belly button in for your tight jeans. Extend the right leg out and the left arm forward. Don't allow the back to arch.

Tighten that core and back. Left leg back, right arm forward. Keep the core tight. And maybe you'd be able to reach more if you arch the back and release the core but that's not our goal.

Our goal is to keep the core tight, keep that connection and awareness. Right leg back, left arm forward. Nice. Left leg back, right arm forward.

One more each side. Right leg back, left arm forward. Last one. Keep that connection to the core.

Left leg back, right arm forward. And there we are. Tabletop, arch the spine. Just a small cat cow and round.

Step your right foot to the outside of the right hand for what's called lizard. But this is a really great pose for the guard because if I was on my back, I would be able to hug that, almost use the right leg as a second set of hands and arms. I do that in open guard for attention and push off their shoulder, weave it in and push off their shoulder and I'm doing some heavy guard retention. You need the flexibility to do that.

Mobility, range of movement. Back foot windshield wipe the back shin in to sit on it for deep squat. Now if you have had a knee or ankle lock extravaganza, just sit on your butt. Slide back and sit on your butt.

That's fine. For everybody else, and they'll sit in on their butt. Stay here for just a moment and see how far you can put the elbows down comfortably. I want to feel an opening through that right hip, the front hip.

Good, good. Walking the hands forward, find your plank. Left foot to the outside of the left hand. Wigging those hips up.

Windshield wipe the back foot in to sit on it. Walk the hands out just a little bit, placing the elbows on the ground or almost on the ground. It's okay if they don't reach. Just want to feel that stretch, that opening.

Hands forward. Now move to plank and throughout this entire class, you can either go from plank all the way down or you can be on your knees. That's okay too. So all the way down, belly to the ground, and then you can go to the front.

So you can go from the front to the back. You can go from the front to the back. You can go from the front to the back. You can go from the front to the back.

So all the way down, belly to the ground, elbows under the shoulders for sphynx, using the elbows to pull your hands up and forward. Pull your, using the elbows to pull your torso up, traction of the spine. Feels really nice to start waking up that spine. Hands under the shoulders, pushing the hips to heels to turtle.

Now throughout this entire class, if you need a little breather, a quick break, just hang out here and turtle for a few minutes. Tucking the toes to lift the hips up and back for dog. Knees bent, knees bent. Use the hands to push the hips high.

Make the spine long. Walk your dog out. Bend one leg, bend the other. Now we flow.

First time we will move slowly through our sequence. Then we will bring the pace up. Stepping the right foot between the hands, come up for your warrior two, and go through your checklist. Right knee pointed out, left leg strong.

For the hips, don't allow them to shift back towards the left foot. Push them forward. Boom. So we got one, two, and three.

Reach the arms out, pushing the right arm forward. Pulling is a better word. I want you to pull it forward and the left arm back. Your shoulder blades, pull them together and down, as if you want to pull them in the back pockets, activating, activating the back.

Shift your weight to the left leg as you bend it for kung fu, kung fu fighter. And you may feel a stretch in the back of the leg. For me, I always feel it just in front of that knee. Coming back up to warrior two.

Coming back up to warrior two. Stepping the left leg all the way forward between the right. Now just for a beat, stand up, tighten that core, put your skinny jeans on. That's how I want you to tighten that core.

And come into chair. Now keeping that core tight in chair, place your hands on the right leg, lift the left leg back, working the stabilizing muscles in that right leg. For one, two, whenever I count up from one, no one ever knows how far I'm going. Could be three, could be five, could be ten.

It's only five. Stepping the right foot back into high lunge, reach the arms forward, staying low first. Use the core to start pulling yourself up. Hands together, moving only the torso best you can.

Shift the torso to the right, placing the left arm on the leg for a twist. Spine long, allowing your balance to be challenged but breathing through that. On your next inhale, come to center. Hands to the ground for plank.

Find your plank, lower the entire body down for your back bend. Hands beside the hips, lift the heels first, lift the legs first, feel the engagement. Lift the shoulders down and back, lift the hips up, lift the hips up, lift the hips down, lift the shoulders down and back. Lastly, lift the hands for three, two, and one.

Hands under the shoulders, hips to heels first to allow a release from that back bend, small forward bend, tucking the toes, hips up and back for dog. Second side, place your left foot between the hands, up for warrior two, and go through your checklist. Push the left knee out, engage that right leg, and make sure the hips aren't tilting towards the right leg. Make sure the hips are even.

Reach the arms, reach the left arm forward, right arm back, pull the shoulder blades back and down to engage. Feel the strength through the legs. Shift your weight back for kung fu fighter, allowing the left toes to face up. You can move, wiggle, get a stretch.

Shifting your weight forward to meet warrior two. Make sure those hands are reaching. Step the right foot to the front of the mat to meet the left, and just to start, stand tall, tighten that core, back down. Core is tight.

Place the left hand, both your left hands on the left leg, reach the right leg back, balance. Step the right foot back for high lunge, arms forward first, torso still not up yet, arms forward first. Being aware of the core, use that core to begin the journey in pulling yourself up. Sometimes I find I need to adjust my stance, step the right foot back just a tiny bit more for a twist.

Palms together, tightening that core, rotate only the torso to the left for your twist. On your next inhale, pull yourself to center, hands to the ground, find your plank, lower the entire body to the ground, hands beside the hips, lift the heels first, then the shoulders, then the hands for three, two, and one. Hands under the shoulders, using the arms to push the hips to heels. Quick breather, tucking the toes, hips up and back for dog, and step the right foot between the hands to find your warrior too.

Round two, go through your checklist, right leg out, strengthening the adductors, middle of the leg, entire left leg strong, hips, don't allow them tilt back, there we go, reach the arms. Pulling the shoulder blades down and back, pulling the shoulder blades down and back, moving to your kung fu fighter, shifting your weight forward for warrior two, make sure the legs are engaged and strong, step your left foot to meet your right and tighten that core. So if you find that you need to stand up to tighten the core, go ahead and do that, or just stay in your chair, tighten that core, place both your hands on the right leg, reach the left leg back, really, and feel that right foot, it'll shift left and right as it continues to correct the balance, so you don't fall, and it's also working the stabilizing muscles on the outside of the hip, which is what we want because that will make our our knee shield stronger. Step the right foot back, sorry, step the left foot back, reach the arms up and forward, use the core to pull yourself up, hands together, rotate to the right for your luck, for your twist, next inhale, come to center, place the hands down for plank, lower the entire body to the ground, hands beside the hips, palms down, lift the heels first, lift the shoulders second, and the hands third for three, two, and one, hands under the shoulders, pushing the hips to heels, I call it extended turtle with the toes tucked, and with your tucked toes, use them to push the hips up and back for dog, use them to push the hips up and back for dog, other side, step the left foot between the hands for warrior two, go through your checklist, front knees out, back leg strong, don't shift your hips, keep the hips centered, reach through the arms, shoulder blades together and down, and shift the weight back for kung fu warrior, find your warrior two, step both feet to the front of the mat for your chair, hands on the left leg, reach the right leg back, hold it for three, two, fill the correction, the left leg continuing to correct so you don't fall over, right leg back, reach the, so don't reach the arms, right leg back, reach the arms forward, reach the arms forward, and with your core, the engagement through the core, use that to lift your torso up, palms together, rotate to the left for your spinal twist, and your inhale, come to center, place both hands on the ground, lower the entire body down, lifting the heels first, then the shoulders, then the hands for three, two, and one, hands under the shoulders, hips to heels, so one more, and this will be just our fun one, and we will flow, so here we go, hips up and back, find your warrior two, hold it for just a second, kung fu, kung fu fighter, kung fu fighter, warrior two, step the left foot to meet the right, core tight, hands on the right leg, allow the left to hover back, three, two, one, step the left foot back for your lunge, arms forward, using the core to pull yourself up, palms together, rotate to the right for your twist and high lunge, on your inhale, come to center, palms down, find your plank position, lower the entire way to the ground, hands beside the hips, lift the heels first, shoulders second, and third, for three, two, one, hands under the shoulders, pushing the hips to heels, tucking the toes to lift the hips for your dog, and for our last one, last side, step the left foot between the hands, come up for warrior two, make sure it's strong, kung fu fighter, warrior two, step the right foot up to meet the left chair, this time with your core tight, staying tight through that belly button, your tight jeans belly button, place the hands on the left leg, reach the right leg back, allow it to hover, core tight, three, two, and one, step the right foot back, reach the arms up and forward, again, staying connected through that core, using the core to pull your torso up, hands together, rotate to the left and find your twist, on your inhale, come to center, plant the hands, find your knee, on your an on your inhale come to center, plant the hands, find your plank, lower the entire body to the ground, hands beside the hips, lift the heels first, shoulders second, your hands third, for three, two, and one, hands under the shoulders pushing your hips to heels and allow your toes to go out.

I want you to rest on the top of your feet. Come to tabletop on your hands and knees and find your way to a sit. Find your way to a sit. Again, onto your back.

Knees above the hips, just like we started, but this time allow the knees to drop to the left and the right arm behind you. Just a nice twist after all that work we did. This is a nice stretch to the outside of the right hip and a twist because, again in the guard, we are constantly twisting, especially to attack and rotating. On your inhale, bring the knees to center.

Knees above the hips, drop them to the right side and allow the left shoulder to drop behind you. On your next inhale, knees to center. Allow the feet to drop on the ground. Hands behind the legs, tuck your chin, rock and roll to find your way all the way to a sit.

Thank you so much for joining me everyone. We fit a lot of really great stuff into 30 minutes. I will see you next time.