When I talk to people about the Long & Lean method, the first thing I emphasize is that it is not your typical workout plan. Yes, you’ll get sweaty, and – if you give it a few weeks – your booty may start to look perky like the peach emoji… but Long & Lean is so much more than that.
I created the Long & Lean method with three goals in mind:
- Inclusivity – Long & Lean is accessible to everyone; it’s designed around low-impact but highly effective movements that can benefit anyone regardless of age, weight, body type, injury, or athletic ability. Every sequence is offered with modifications, allowing the exercise to be as gentle or challenging as you want it to be.
- Representation – I created Long & Lean-to share the best parts of yoga, barre, and pilates with women of color, who don’t typically see themselves represented in these modalities.
- Positivity – Long & Lean aims to create a space where women can enjoy fitness as part of a holistic self-care routine. Our relationships with our bodies are so complex and – more often than not – defined by shame, pain, and trauma; the last thing we, as women of color, need to subject ourselves to is more punishment. Instead, I encourage my clients to feel a sense of accomplishment and joy in doing something beneficial for themselves.
I’ve chosen to share 5 of my favorite exercises below – they’re quarantine-friendly (no equipment required), and they exemplify how the Long & Lean method builds strength and flexibility by burning out the muscle and then immediately stretching it. These five exercises target the core -the epicenter of strength in the body. As a new mom of twins, I used these exercises (with my Doctor’s approval) at the beginning of my pregnancy, and they have been essential in my ongoing quest to regain my strength after childbirth.
GODDESS POSE PULSE
MODIFIED PLANK TO HIGH PLANK POSE
SUPERWOMAN VARIATION WITH CRISS CROSS ARMS
BRIDGE TO SINGLE LEG VARIATION
INVERTED TABLETOP CORE TO DEADBUG
