by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 1, 2014 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises
Remember when you used to swing and hang upside from the Monkey Bars? It used to be so easy right!?!
But now it may be more of a workout than you realize…Although possible still as much fun!
If you are looking to make your workouts more fun, you may want to add in some Monkey Bar Exercises. Monkey Bar moves are a great way to strengthen your upper body and core.
And the best part is you can do these moves at any playground even if you don’t have Monkey Bars at your gym!
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by Cori Lefkowith | Nov 24, 2014 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises
Whether you want to lift more, look better or simply lessen your aches and pains, you need to work your core. And one of the best moves to build core stability so that you can look, feel and move better is the Basic Plank.
The Basic Plank is one of the best ways to improve your mind-body connection while building core stability so that you can workout harder without injury to reach your health and fitness goals.
However, while the Basic Plank seems like an easy move to do, it is actually very complicated and, when done right, works everything from your shoulders to your knees – not just your abs.
Often when people do Planks, they end up feeling them in their low backs. And rarely do they focus on feeling muscles up and down their core activate and work together to help them hold a nice straight line.
Because if you do a Plank correctly, you shouldn’t feel your low back working, but instead you should feel your shoulders, abs, glutes, quads and adductors all working to hold your body in a nice tight line.
Below are some tips to help you achieve perfect Plank form as well as some fun Plank Variations to use in your warm ups or workouts!
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by Cori Lefkowith | Nov 3, 2014 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises
Burpees are a great full-body cardio workout you can do anywhere. With one movement you can work your entire body and get your blood pumping.
And with these 10 Burpee Variations, you can mix things up and work your body from different angles. Some of these 10 burpee variations are more core intensive while others focus more on your chest, back or legs.
Try these 10 Burpee Variations and our Burpee Challenge below!
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by Cori Lefkowith | Oct 1, 2014 | Blog, Bodyweight, Pull Ups
Pull ups are one of the best bodyweight exercises to build back and core strength because they are a compound movement.
However, they are also one of the most challenging bodyweight exercises for most people to do.
If you are struggling to achieve that first full pull up or would simply like to be able to do more, check out our How To Do A Pull Up Guide below.
In this guide we will help you get the big muscles of your back working properly and show you pull up variations and supplemental exercises to improve your strength and get your chin up over that bar!
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by Cori Lefkowith | Aug 25, 2014 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Handstands
There is just something so cool and fun about handstands.
However, they are far from easy and many of us can’t even hold one against a wall let alone hold a freestanding one for a second.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t include handstand work in our exercise routines.
Handstands are a great way to build upper body and core stability and strength. Beginner variations even improve your upper body mobility so that as your strength increases, you can do more and more challenging variations.
No matter your level, there is a handstand variation right for you that can help you work toward that freestanding handstand and give you a great upper body and core workout.
Check out our How to do a Handstand Progression (and our How to do a One-Handed Handstand Progression) to help you achieve that handstand or at least get in some great upper body and core work!
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by Cori Lefkowith | Aug 22, 2014 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Pain Relief
Especially since most of us sit all day hunched over a computer screen we need to stretch and open up before we workout. We need to do Dynamic Stretches.
Dynamic Stretches are stretches in which you work through a range of motion. They aren’t stretches that you hold. You are moving and allowing everything to warm up as you improve your joint mobility.
These stretches help open up our posture and return our body to proper alignment after sitting all day, which helps us prevent injury when we workout.
However, all too often, people skip their warm up and go straight into their workout, especially when they are going for a run. They figure they will “warm up as they go.”
But it doesn’t work that way.
Without correcting some of the dysfunction we create from sitting all day and warming up our joints through a proper range of motion, we can’t run as fast and we risk getting injured.
Below are 10 Dynamic Stretches for Runners that will help you prevent injury and get your body ready to run so that you can run faster with better form! (more…)
