We NEED to work on our ability to recruit those muscles to stabilize from the ground up.
Our feet and lower legs are our foundation. And we need a strong and stable foundation if we want to be stronger further up our body.
That’s why in my Booty Burner (2.0) I made sure to include a BALANCE routine, which of course you have to repeat even though you’d love to skip it.
My Booty Burner 1.0 had the Yoga Booty Burner, which people hated…And this new one has The Balance Booty Burner, which oddly stinks in a different way! YAY!
(And if you find balancing is a struggle, I coach you in the follow along workouts, providing variations you can start with to build up!)
These Booty Burner workouts are so key though because of the “ankle-butt connection.”
They help you improve your balance and mind-body connection as you build a strong foundation and activate your glutes!
Especially if you’ve ever had foot or ankle issues…even ones 10 years ago that no longer “bother” you… your current knee or hip pain may be connected!
And all of the glute activation in the world won’t fully add up IF you aren’t doing the right moves to establish that mind-body connection from the ground up!
It’s why you NEED glute activation series like this one!
So try the Balance Booty Burner from my Booty Burner 2.0 below!
Complete 1-3 rounds of the circuit below, pausing briefly to rest and switch sides after all 4 moves are complete (up to 20 seconds). You want to complete all 4 moves on one side before switching. If you find you can’t complete all 4 moves without pausing, you may want to switch sides after the first two moves or rest 40 seconds between rounds.
CIRCUIT: 20 seconds per side Warrior III 20 seconds per side Warrior III Squats 20 seconds per side Standing Clams 20 seconds per side Side Shift Skaters
The quick reference image below is taken from the 28-Day Booty Burner Book, BUT with the program you’ll also get video workouts so you can workout with me and I can coach you through the moves!
If we know what we are truly eating, we can make the adjustments we need to create change.
If we don’t know what we are ACTUALLY eating, we may be making random changes that lead…well…nowhere.
Too often we set all of these restrictions and create these extreme diets depriving ourselves of all of the foods we love, only to NOT achieve the results we want, especially not long term!
And all too often when we arbitrarily restrict things, we can’t maintain those restrictions so end up stuck back in that horrible yo-yo dieting cycle.
If you’re sick of not getting the results you want, of not knowing what is or isn’t working, you’ve got to start Counting Macros!
Here are 4 Tips To Help Make Getting Started Counting Macros Less Intimidating!
(And if you are looking for a program to help you get started, check out my Metabolic Shred. It has 3 different macros methods to help you ease in to tracking or even transition from tracking to more of a lifestyle balance!)
4 Macro Hacks:
Just a quick recap of macros…Macros or macronutrients are proteins, carbs and fat.
How much of each macro we consume can affect the results we get from our diet.
It’s why you can feel like you’re eating “healthy” and not seeing the aesthetic changes you’d like.
By simply adjusting the amount of protein, carbs and fat you consume, you can help yourself get better weight loss or fat loss results or even build muscle.
By dialing in your macro ratios, you can also fuel yourself better for your endurance races and avoid the dreaded weight gain often associated with menopause.
But all of this means making a change to your diet.
And change…well…sucks.
So here are 4 tips to make that change easier so you can get the lean, strong body you’ve always wanted!
#1: DON’T Start By Cutting Out The Foods You Love
(You don’t need to “run away” from the foods you love!)
Often the thing we love the most is also the worst for us.
That salty snack. Or sweet treat.
And knowing that thing is the worst for us, it is also often the thing we cut out FIRST.
But this restriction backfires on us all too quickly.
It makes us feels deprived and often leads to us becoming even more focused on what we CAN’T have.
So when you’re first starting to track macros, do NOT cut out the foods you love the most first.
Honestly, plan AROUND those treats to start.
Yea sure…you’d like to cut out some of the crap and eat only whole, natural foods. But small steps to get there helps us create lasting habits.
Adjust other meals so you don’t feel deprived and can strike a balance!
Start by planning in those “treats” first and build your meals around them to hit your ratios.
#2: “Practice” – Build A Solid The Foundation
The best way to get better at something?
PRACTICE!
So as you get started tracking and logging with specific ratios in mind, see it as “practice.”
It sounds weird because really practicing is just doing it, BUT sometimes having the mentality that we are just “practicing” before officially “starting” can help us jump in and make the changes easier.
It often allows us to be more “forgiving” of mistakes because…well…we expect mistakes when we are just first learning and practicing!
Even if you don’t set a specific ratio but just start by LOGGING to see where you are currently at, you’ll be practicing that habit of tracking. Which can then make other changes easier since you won’t also be mastering the act of logging itself.
Log what you’re currently doing and make small changes based off of that instead of feeling like you have to go from 0-60 all at once.
Set small daily goals so you can consistently work to move forward.
Build a foundation and tweak from there!
Too often we try to jump into these massive changes when really small tweaks over time to what we are currently doing will add up enough to get results.
And smaller adjustments make change easier. Because, let’s face it, most of us don’t like change. The idea of it can even be so intimidating we never actually start!
So focus on small adjustments based on what you’re currently doing and be patient with yourself as you learn! Remember, at the start you are just “practicing!”
#3: Stop Giving Yourself The Excuse That Tracking Is “Annoying” Or “Restrictive.”
One of the biggest “hold ups” people have when it comes to counting macros is they don’t want to track.
They tell me it’s annoying. Boring. Tedious. And well…restrictive.
But there are lots of “necessary evils” we have to do daily to get results.
I mean do you really want to wake up with an alarm?
No. You don’t. But it’s the best and most effective and efficient way to GUARANTEE you wake up on time.
That’s the same reason you track.
If you want to GUARANTEE you’re eating the correct portions to match your goals, you need to track.
Because eating intuitively “works” until we “intuitively” want to eat more out of stress or because it tastes good or because the portion at a restaurant is so large eating less than the full thing is still too much!
Honestly, “intuitive eating” is learned…and it’s learned through first logging and tracking to understand what our portions really should be!
Anyway….like any change, you get used to tracking and even become BETTER at it the more you do it.
It becomes more “natural.”
It’s also really about changing our MINDSET toward the activity over even the activity itself.
I’ve had clients say to me, “It seems so restrictive to weigh and measure everything. It seems so restrictive to judge everything that goes into my mouth.”
That again is a mindset shift you have to make.
If you want a recipe to turn out the first time you make it, you measure everything you put in, right?
That is all you’re doing with your tracking.
You’re measuring the ingredients you’re adding so diet turns out the way you want it to.
AND if you create that “recipe” and save it in your food log to enter again later, it won’t be as much of a process the next time you eat that dish!
Logging and tracking isn’t judgement. It’s a way to guide yourself.
Just like we log our workouts, the weights we lift, the reps we do, the lengths or our runs and the times of our rides so we can improve upon them and even adjust them, we need to log our food to see how it impacts our training and our results.
YOU are the one judging yourself when you log – not the tracker.
So start by just even logging what you’re currently doing and adapt from there.
AND if you find it stressful logging as you go, plan out a day ahead of time.
That way you aren’t judging what you’re eating, but actually supplying yourself with a meal plan to guide yourself!
#4: Accept There Will Be Times You’re Less Dedicated
Starting out, you think you’re going to be super motivated forever because you’re motivated at the moment.
But motivation fades oh so quickly.
It’s why you want to take advantage of it when it happens. It’s why if you’re motivated you should put a plan in place now!
(Hence me putting a link here to my Metabolic Shred to help you right NOW…HINT HINT…hehe)
And once the motivation fades, all too often, because we’ve been “winging it” we fall off our plan.
Or even if we have a plan in place, we “slip up.”
But we have to stop seeing those “slip ups” as failures.
We have to remember the road to results is NOT a straight line.
You will not always be as motivated and focused on your goals.
And it’s ok to admit that sometimes, well, you just DON’T care as much and you can’t force yourself to.
I think it is key that we accept that there will be ups and downs and times we are naturally not going to be as dedicated.
When we can accept that, we can also find a balance.
Because even when we aren’t as dedicated to press forward, we don’t have to LOSE progress. We can still be CONSISTENT!
For those times you aren’t as dedicated, focus on the basics.
Go to a ratio you enjoy the most that is easiest to hit. Focus on just hitting your protein.
Or even just focus on logging to stay accountable.
I know it seems strange to mention this when you’re just starting out, but I like people to go into changes with their eyes wide open.
This even applies when we are first starting out because that initial motivation can fade quickly – especially if the change feels overwhelming.
So start small and find simple habits you can stick to even during those times you aren’t as motivated.
Accepting and recognizing that everyone goes through ups and down is key!
So if you’re considering starting to count your macros, use these 4 tips to make those changes easier and start getting results!
And if you need guidance to help you TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR DIET, check out my Metabolic Shred!
Whether you need an amazing workout to do at home or you want to stay on track while traveling, this 30/10 Cordio Workout is a must-do routine!
It’s one of the fun interval workouts in my Bodyweight Blast, included in my Macro Hacks Challenge!
The 30/10 Cordio
WORKOUT: Set a timer for 30 seconds of work and 10 seconds to rest and transition between moves. Complete 2-4 rounds through each circuit without resting extra between rounds. (You may add an extra 40 seconds between rounds if needed so that you don’t have to pause or rest during the 30 seconds of work.) Rest 1-2 minutes between circuits.
CIRCUIT #2: 30 seconds Tuck Jump to Plank Tucks 10 seconds Rest 30 seconds Half Burpee (with push up) 10 seconds Rest 30 seconds Diagonal Skaters to High Knees 10 seconds Rest 30 seconds Hops To Sit Thru 10 seconds Rest 30 seconds Frog Kicks 10 seconds Rest
EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Switch Stance Burpee: To do Switch Stance Burpees, look straight ahead but rotate your body to the right so your feet are angled forward but facing slightly right. Stagger your back foot slightly forward of your front foot. Then squat down to about parallel to the ground. You won’t want to stand up at any time once you start but will just pop back up into this squat. From this squat position, place your hands down in front of you on the ground and jump your feet back into a plank so that you are now in a plank pointing straight ahead. Perform a push up with your body moving as one unit to drop your chest to the ground. Beginners can remove the push up or perform it from their knees. Push back up and as you come up to the top of the plank, jump your feet in so you can come into a staggered stance squat facing to the left. Pause just briefly to sit in the squat. Then jump back into a plank center, do a push up and jump into a staggered stance on the first side. Move quickly alternating staggered stance squats on each side.
Bear to Crab Crawl: To do the Bear to Crab Crawl, start on your hands and the balls of your feet with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Your knees should be just a few inches off the ground. Begin to crawl forward stepping one hand and the opposite foot forward. Then move the other hand and foot. Keep alternating sides, making sure the opposite arm and leg step at the same time. Crawl a few steps on each side (based on the space you have). Then lift one hand and kick the opposite knee under your body as you rotate your chest open toward the ceiling. Pivot on the foot and hand that is down so you can rotate into a tabletop bridge. You will place both feet flat on the ground with your chest pointing up toward the ceiling and hands on the ground down at about shoulder height. Begin to crab crawl, stepping one foot and the opposite hand forward. Then the other foot and hand. Your hands can be pointed out to the sides to put less stress on your shoulders. Crab crawl back to the start then flip back over, reaching your hand over your body toward the ground as you pivot on your feet to bring one knee back under and through to return to that bulldog position on your hands and the balls of your feet.
Oblique Twist High Knees: To do Oblique Twist High Knees, bend your elbows and bring your hands together at about chest height with your elbows flaring out to the sides. You want to think of your hands as a target to try and rotate toward your knee as you do a high knee run. Then begin to do a high knee run, tucking your knees up as high as you can. As you bring your knee up, rotate your torso to bring your hands across your body and toward that knee. Then as you straighten that leg out and run the other knee in, twist and bring your hands toward that knee. Keep your hands up at your chest with your elbows flared up and out. Move quickly twisting toward each side as you bring your knees up. To modify, march instead of running.
Inchworm Plank: To do the Inchworm Plank, set up in a forearm plank from your toes with your elbows under your shoulders and your body in a nice straight line down to your heels. Begin to walk your feet in toward your head, keeping your legs straight as you take very small steps forward. Your butt should go up in the air as you walk your feet in to pike up. Walk in as far as you mobility allows. Then jump both feet back out (beginners may walk back out instead). Do not let your hips sag toward the ground as you return to the forearm plank. Then repeat walking back in before jumping back out.
C-Sit Rotational Knees: To do the C-Sit Rotational Knee, sit on the ground with your feet flat and knees bent. Lean back and bring your hands together up at your chest with your elbows out. Engage your abs as you hinge back slightly. Then lift one knee and rotate toward that knee trying to bring your opposite elbow to touch your knee. Keep your elbows out and hands in together as you rotate. Place that foot back down as you lift the other knee to rotate the opposite elbow to touch it. Do not sit up at any time. Stay in that slightly hinged back position, making sure to brace your abs.
Tuck Jump to Plank Tucks: To do Tuck Jump to Plank Tucks, start standing tall before sinking to place your hands on the ground and jump your feet back into a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your feet a few inches apart. Brace your abs and don’t let your hips sag as you jump both feet in to bring your knees close to your elbows. Try to jump in so your knees are at least under your hips if not closer in. Use your abs to try to get them just a few inches from your elbows. Do not jump in so much that you sit back on your heels. Then jump back out into the high plank position. Do not let your butt go up in the air and keep your hands under your shoulders. From the high plank position, jump your feet all the way up to come back up to standing. As you come up to standing, swing your arms back and jump up, tucking your knees up toward your chest. Land with your knees soft and then sink back down to move back into that high plank position before tucking your knees in again. Beginners can do a squat jump or bodyweight squat instead of the tuck jump. They can also step back into the plank position and step one knee in at a time. And then extend one leg back out at a time to keep the move lower impact. You can also modify the plank and tuck by placing your hands up on a bench after the bodyweight squat if you can’t get down to the ground.
Half Burpee (with push up): To do Half Burpees, you can modify the move by removing the push up or advance the move by adding one in. To start, set up in the high plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your feet about shoulder-width apart. Then jump both feet up and outside your hands so your in a squat position. Try to really jump all the way in to your hands. Quickly jump back into plank. Try not to let your butt go way up in the air as you jump from the squat back to plank. From here perform a push up with your body moving as one unit. You can go down to your knees as well to do the push up before moving back to a plank from your feet. Move quickly after the push up, jumping back into the squat position. Then repeat, jumping back out into plank. Do not let your hips sag or your butt go up in the air in the plank position. Again perform another push up then jump back in.
Diagonal Skaters to High Knees: To do Diagonal Skaters to High Knees, start to one side and the back of the space you have as you’ll be jumping laterally and forward. Stand and shift your weight onto your outside foot as you swing your arms across your body toward that side. You will lift that inside leg and even let it cross back behind your standing leg. Bend the knee of your standing leg slightly and load that leg and glute, even slightly popping your hip out toward that side. Then jump laterally and forward at an angle to land on your other foot. Swing your arms across your body to help propel you further. Land on that other foot and quickly sink to load so you can jump diagonally forward and across to your starting foot. Do that again to land on the other side. Think about completing 3-5 diagonal skater hops based on your space! Once you’ve completed 3-5 lateral diagonal hops forward, high knee run backward or back pedal back to the start and repeat. To modify, keep your lateral hops smaller while still moving diagonally forward and even march back instead of running back with high knees.
Hops To Sit Thru: To do Hops To Sit Thru, start in the plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your legs together. Your body should be in a nice straight line from your head to your heels. Then, with your legs together, jump your feet in toward your right elbow, rotating so that your knees come outside your elbow. Jump back into the plank position with your feet back center and your body in a nice straight line. Then jump your feet back in, but this time toward your opposite elbow. Rotate to bring your knees toward the outside of your elbow. Jump your feet back out center, but not completely extended. Then rotate open toward the right and kick your left leg under your body and through toward where your right hand is. As you bring your left leg forward and through, lift your right hand. You want to rotate all the way through with your left leg out straight so that you are almost sitting with your left hand down to support you. You want to “sit through.” Then bring the left leg back through so you are back in the starting position position on your hands and the balls of your feet. Next rotate to the left and kick your right leg through and forward as you lift your left hand. Come back into the short plank and then perform the hops toward each elbow. In between the hops, jump fully back into a plank but then don’t jump all the way out after both hops are complete before you do the sit thrus to each side.
Frog Kicks: To do Frog Kicks, lie on your back with your hands behind your head and your legs out straight on the ground in front of you. Bring your heels together while turning your toes out. You can then slightly crunch your upper body up to help press your lower back into the ground or you can fully relax your head down. Lift your legs up off the ground so your heels are about a foot off the ground. Keeping your heels together, bring your heels in toward your butt. Your knees will bend out wide as you’ll keep your hips externally rotated. Letting your knees fall open, bring your heels in, keeping your lower back against the ground. Then kick your legs back out straight and repeat. If you feel your lower back, kick out and up higher. If you feel your hip flexors really taking over, play around with how much you let your knees go out wide as you tuck in.
Lunges are an amazing leg and glute exercise; however, people often fear lunges and blame them for causing knee pain.
But lunges are NOT inherently bad for your knees and even learning how to master the lunge could help you PREVENT knee pain from returning.
It is key you always know how to work around your injuries, and select the variation of a move you need.
But as you tweak movements also take time to learn how to make sure you’re recruiting the correct muscles to get the most out of the exercise!
Depending on your injuries, you may need to reduce knee flexion, so an Anterior Reach Lunge may be right for you.
Or if you aren’t yet able to correctly load your glutes with a Front Lunge, you may find you need to start with a Reverse Lunge instead.
The key is learning how to use the lunge to meet your needs instead of just demonizing it! Because it really is a killer move if you want strong, lean legs and glutes!
How To Lunge Properly:
Quick Lunge Tips:
Make sure when you lunge forward you don’t let all of your weight shift forward onto the ball of your foot. You want to be able to push back off that front heel.
While your knee CAN travel past your toe if you want to load your quads more, it will also put more strain on your knee. So if you have knee pain, when you lunge forward, think about keeping your knee over your ankle. A more vertical shin angle can protect your knee and place less strain on the surrounding muscles.
Start by keeping your lunges smaller. As you advance, you may lunge out further and sink deeper. The further out you lunge the more challenging it is for your legs to push back.
A Reverse Lunge may also be easier starting out. This lunge can make it easier for you to load your glutes and can be more “knee friendly” if you struggle with lunging forward and properly loading your glutes. (demoed at 2:10)
With lunges, to target your glutes more, you can perform more of a hip hinge. You do not want to round over, but slightly leaning forward to push your butt back can help you load your glutes more.
The Split Squat or Static Lunge is also a great place to start if you struggle with forward or backward movement during your lunges. This lunge can help you improve your hip mobility while building killer leg strength (demoed in the video at 2:42). For this move, you can also shrink the range of motion using a pad.
By adjusting the range of motion of your lunge, you can not only make a lunge easier, but you can also make it more challenging. See some of the great deficit lunge variations below or even try a Balance Lunge (shown at 3:23 in the video).
You can use lunges to move in every plane of motion! You can even combine lunges in different ways to challenge your legs and even your core without necessarily even having to add weight (like I’ll show you below!)
Working Around Knee Pain:
Reduce knee flexion if needed!
Try even more of a hip hinge just touching a foot back instead of including a ton of knee flexion.
The Anterior Reach Lunge is a great front lunge if you do have knee pain as well (described in the video at 4:18 and shown below)
Try adding a slider and using more of a hip hinge (shown in the video at :41)
Why You Should Include Lunges:
Lunges are a great compound exercise to build functional leg and glute strength.
They are also unilateral exercises that allow you to isolate each leg and work each side independently to correct any imbalances you may have.
Lunges can also help you improve your hip mobility and build stability through a full range of motion because you can include movements in every plane of motion.
And because there are so many different options, you can even target the muscles of your lower body to different extents based on the version of the lunge you choose to include in your workout routine!
12 Amazing Lunge Variations To Work Your Legs And Glutes:
Using these 12 lunge variations you can build strong legs and glutes that not only look amazing but help you avoid injury!
By lunging in every direction you can build hip mobility and stability, which is key to helping you lift more, cycle further and run faster!
Side to Curtsy Lunge:
This lunge is a great way to really target and strengthen your glutes as well as your adductors.
Especially if you’re a runner, this lunge variation is important to include because it can help you avoid hip and groin injuries!
To do the Side to Curtsy Lunge, start with one side, say your left side. Lunging with your left foot, step the left foot out toward “9″ on the clock.
As you lunge out to the side, bend your left knee as you keep your right leg straight and sit your butt back. Don’t be afraid to hinge forward slightly, hinging at the hips. Really push your butt back and bend that left knee as you keep both toes pointing straight ahead. Keep your left heel down as you sink into the lunge. Keep your chest up even if you slightly lean forward to push your butt back.
Then drive back up to standing, pushing off your left foot to come back center. Do not bend your right leg to come back center. Really push off that outside leg and drive off your heel.
If you need to, touch your foot down center as you stand tall to help you balance before moving into the Curtsy Lunge. If you don’t need to tap your foot down, move right into the Curtsy Lunge.
Lunge back into a Curtsy Lunge with your left foot, stepping your left foot back behind your right leg. You will reach your left foot back to about “5″ on the clock as you bend your front and back knee as if you are almost going to half kneel on the ground. Make sure you step far enough back (do not keep your left foot too close to your right) so that you can bend both knees and sink down into a deep lunge. Keep your right heel down on the ground and your chest up. Make sure you feel the outside of the front glute really loading as you sink down.
Then drive through your front heel to come back up to standing center. Squeeze your glutes at the top and move right back into a Side Lunge on the left side.
Complete all reps on one side before switching. Add weight to make the move more challenging. Beginners may not go as low and may use only bodyweight.
Curtsy Lunge to Leg Lift:
This is another great lunge movement to really target your glutes and even isolate your glute medius a bit more to improve your hip stability!
While the lunge is a compound movement, adding in that leg lift allows for a little glute isolation work. And working the glute medius is so key to helping you prevent and avoid lower back, hip and even knee pain!
To do the Curtsy Lunge to Leg Lift, start standing tall with your feet together.
Then lunge back, stepping your foot across and behind your front leg so you sit back into your front glute. You aren’t lunging straight back, but are instead crossing behind as you keep your chest facing forward. Keep your front foot pointing straight ahead too.
If you rotate open as you cross behind, you won’t get the benefit of the curtsy lunge.
Sink down into the lunge, sitting back in your front heel as you feel your front glute load. Then drive through your front heel to come back up to standing.
Lightly tap the toe down to balance if needed and then raise your leg out to the side for a lateral raise. Feel your glute on the side lifting your leg laterally then touch the toe down and repeat the lunge.
You will shift your weight toward your standing leg, but don’t lean way to the side just to lift your leg up higher.
Airborne Lunge:
If you don’t have weights and really want to challenge your legs using just your own bodyweight, you should try the Airborne Lunge! This is a killer glute, and even core, exercise.
This fully unilateral move will help you correct any imbalances between your right and left sides while also helping you build up toward the pistol squat.
And unlike the pistol squat, this single leg move uses more of a hip hinge to target your glutes even more!
To do the Airborne Lunge, stand on one foot and bend your other knee, bringing your heel back up toward your butt.
Then push your butt back as you bend the knee of your standing leg to sink down into a lunge. Drop the knee of your raised leg back toward the ground near the heel of your standing leg. Make sure to hinge at your hips leaning your chest slightly forward as you sit back and sink down.
Do not touch the foot of the raised leg down when you drop the knee to the ground. Touch your knee down gentle or just hover above the ground.
Then drive through the heel of your standing leg to stand back up. Squeeze your glute at the top and stand tall then repeat the lunge.
Beginners can do a version holding suspension trainer straps to help them balance.
Pulse Side Lunge:
The Side Lunge is a great way to work your glutes and your adductors while even improving your groin flexibility.
When you add in the Pulse, you’ll spend more time under tension to challenge your legs more without adding weight!
To do the Pulse Side Lunge, start standing with your feet together. Then step out to the side with one foot and sink into a side lunge, bending that leg you stepped out with as you sit your butt back. Keep your other leg straight as you hinge a bit at the hips to sink down and load your glutes.
Then drive through that foot to straighten your leg a bit before sinking back down. You do not want to fully straighten your leg, but instead stay within that working range, coming up a few inches.
After you sink back down, push up and back to standing in one motion. Then repeat, sinking into the side lunge, pulsing up then stepping back and together. Make sure your heels stay down and that you do hinge a bit at the hips to load your glutes. Do not round over!
Reverse Lunge to Knee Tuck:
Work your legs, glutes and even your hip flexors, obliques and abs with this hybrid lunge exercise.
It’s a great way to build strength and even get your blood pumping for a little bit of cardio!
To do the Reverse Lunge to Knee Tuck, start standing tall with your hands on your shoulders or by your head to help with the twist. Then lunge back with your right foot, dropping your back knee down toward the ground as you keep your chest up.
Keep your front heel down as you lunge back and bend your front knee to about 90 degrees as you load your glute. Keep your front knee about over your ankle to help you think about loading your glute.
Drive back up to standing, pushing through your left (front) heel. As you drive up, bring your back knee up and forward as you come to standing. Tuck your right knee up and rotate your upper body toward that right knee. You can slight crunch toward the knee but don’t just round over.
Twist toward that knee then lunge back again and repeat on the same side. Make sure to engage the glute of your standing leg and feel your abs work to twist toward your knee.
You can tap your toe down to balance if needed between the lunge and knee drive. The less though that you tap down between the harder the move will be.
Walking Lunges:
Talk about a move that will build strength and really get you out of breath!
The walking lunge is more of a cardio exercise than you realize and a really great way to target your glutes! And if you don’t touch your other foot down between lunges, it is a great way to advance the basic forward lunge without even adding weights.
To do the Walking Lunge, start standing up nice and tall with your feet together. Then step one foot forward and then bend both knees, dropping the back knee down toward the ground. Even though you’ve lunged forward, your weight shouldn’t be going forward. Drop your knee straight down and keep your chest up. Make sure your front foot stays flat on the ground as you lower down.
Drive back up to standing, pushing off the front heel. As you drive back up to standing and bring your back foot forward, try not to touch it down but swing it forward and out to go right into another lunge. Beginners may need to tap their foot down center to balance, but if you can step right into the next lunge.
Again sink down, keeping your weight centered and chest up. Drive back up to standing and bring that leg forward right into the next lunge.
Add weights to make the move more challenging.
Deficit Curtsy Lunge:
By increasing the range of motion, you can make the curtsy lunge more challenging. You can also improve your mobility by working through a bigger range of motion.
Just make sure that you actually lunge deeper or you won’t get the benefit of the increased range of motion!
To do the Deficit Curtsy Lunge, set up a low box or plate weight and step up on top of the weight. A slightly higher platform will be more challenging. Beginners may want to start with something very small or no box at all.
Stand on top of the weight, holding weights as desired to make the move harder. Then lunge back and off the weight, crossing your foot behind your leg on top of the weight. As you cross the foot behind, sink into that lunge, lowering the knee to touch the ground or hover right above.
Then drive through your front heel to drive back up to standing and repeat the lunge. You can slightly hinge forward at the hips to sit your butt back but do not round over. If you can’t touch that back knee to the ground, lower the step so you can work through a full range of motion.
Do not let your knee cave in or your body rotate. Keep your chest straight ahead as you lunge back and load that front glute, pushing it slightly out to the side as you cross behind.
If you have knee pain, you may reduce knee flexion and lunge back with a straight leg from the ground still crossing behind while adding in more of a hip hinge.
Alternating Dumbbell Reverse Lunges:
Little tweaks can help you tailor moves to fit your needs.
Sometimes you’ll want to complete all reps on one side to really isolate each leg and burn out each side independently and sometimes you’ll want the added metabolic bonus of alternating sides.
If you want the added cardio bonuses of alternating sides, try the Alternating Dumbbell Reverse Lunge. Holding dumbbells down by your sides is a great way to progress the basic bodyweight lunge.
And with the Reverse Lunge, you’ll really be able to target those glutes while still working your quads and even your hamstrings.
Below I show the Reverse Lunge with more of a hip hinge IF you struggle to load your glutes or want to target them more!
To do Alternating Dumbbell Reverse Lunges, hold a weight in each hand and stand tall with your feet together. Beginners can use no weights.
Lunge back with one leg, sitting your butt back as you hinge slightly forward and drop your back knee down to just touch the ground or hover over it. Really sit back in that front heel.
If you struggle to load your glutes or want to make it more glute intensive, keep that shin more vertical and that knee about over your ankle. Also use the hip hinge instead of staying more upright.
Then drive through your front heel to push back up to standing in one movement. Then lunge back on the other side. Try to get as deep in the lunge as you can to strengthen through that full range of motion. Beginners should start with just bodyweight and limit range of motion as needed.
If you need to reduce knee flexion, use more of a skater squat and hinge at your hips as you step back in a straight leg lunge.
Anterior Reach Lunge:
If you have knee pain and want to work around the pain while strengthening your leg, this is a must do move. It reduces the amount of knee flexion you perform and uses a bit more of a hip hinge movement than the standard lunge.
While this lunge variation will include more of a hip hinge to target your glutes, it will also still work your quads. Strengthening your quads can also help improve your knee stability!
To do the Anterior Reach Lunge, start standing tall with your feet together. Then take a big step forward with one foot and, as you place your foot on the ground, bend that front knee a little bit and push your butt back. Keep your back leg straight as you lunge forward and make sure that, when you step forward, your front heel down stays down and you feel your glute load.
As you’ve stepped forward, you want to hinge over and reach your hands overhead. So you should lunge and hinge at the same time to make sure that, even though you are stepping forward, you are loading your glute.
Do not let your weight go forward and your front knee go over your front toe. If your weight all goes forward and your foot isn’t firmly planted, you may load your knee which could perpetuate your knee pain.
Then, pushing back off the front leg, come back up to standing. Stand nice and tall and then repeat, stepping forward and hinging over to load that front glute.
Make sure that you don’t step out so far that you can’t push back up to standing in one smooth move. Also, you aren’t not trying to bend your knee as much as possible when you lunge forward. You are combining the slight knee bend and lunge with a hinge to load your glute.
You can also either alternate sides or stay on one side until all reps are complete. Add weight to make the move more challenging, but makes sure you have good form and can maintain your balance and feel your glutes working before you do.
Rock Lunges:
This is a great lunge variation to target your quads while improving your hip mobility and stability. If you want to become more mobile, include this lunge as part of your routine.
It can even often be used by those with knee pain if you make sure to set up so you only rock forward to the point that your knee is over your ankle.
Because it isn’t really active knee flexion it can often be ok so is worth testing out if you are looking to work around your knee issues.
To do Rock Lunges, start standing tall then step one foot back as if you were going to do a reverse lunge. However, you will want to set up in a wider stance than you normally would. Sink down then in this extra wide stance where your back leg will be straight and your front knee will actually be BEHIND your front toe.
Stay in a low extended lunge with your chest up nice and tall and then drive off the ball of your back foot so that you rock forward in the lunge and your knee moves over your ankle or the ball of your foot. The rock back.
You don’t want to bend or extend your back knee or stand up at any time. You are pretending like you have to stay under a ceiling right above your head and you are simply rocking or sliding forward and backward.
Slider Side Lunge:
There are so many different ways to progress or vary movements to fit our needs. And one great way to make the side lunge target your adductors even more is by adding in a slider.
By sliding your leg out straight to the side instead of stepping out to sink down, you will make your adductors have to work even more while still working your glutes! (Just be careful the first time that you don’t slide out too far or you’ll get stuck!)
To do the Slider Side Lunge, place a towel or slider under one foot. Start standing tall with your feet together.
Then bend your standing leg and sit your butt back as you slide the foot on the towel/slider out to the side. You may hinge a bit at the hips as you sit your butt back and bend your standing leg to sink down, but don’t round forward. Make sure to keep your standing heel firmly planted on the ground. Also, make sure to slide your leg out straight to the side. Do not bend that leg on the slider.
Drive through your standing heel and pull your foot on the towel/slider back in to come back up to standing. Do not allow yourself to go forward as you come back up to standing. You do not want to load your knee. Make sure to really sit back and then drive back up through your standing heel. Keep your back flat as you lunge even if you lean forward a bit because you hinge slightly at the hips. Also make sure to pull your foot on the slider back in using your inner thigh.
Make sure you feel this in your standing glute and the adductor (inner thigh) of the leg on the slider. Complete all reps on one side before switching.
Go lower in the lunge, slow down the tempo, or add weight to make the move harder.
Balance Lunge:
This is a great way to progress the basic static lunge or split squat by adding instability but also by increasing the range of motion.
You can make it more quad intensive by staying more upright with your posture or you can target your glutes more by including more of a hip hinge as you sink down.
You can also advance it further by adding a weight. By front loading the movement, you can make it more core intensive. (You could also create even more instability by putting your back foot in a suspension trainer strap instead of up on a box!
To do Balance Lunges, place one foot back up on a box. You can place the top of your foot on the box by pointing your toe or you can flex your foot and rest the ball of your foot on the box. Hop your front foot out so you are in a nice wide stance with your back foot up on the box.
Then sink down into a lunge, dropping your back knee toward the ground as you bend your front knee to 90 degrees. Really sit back into the lunge. Make sure you aren’t going forward onto your front toe and that your front knee is not going past your toe. You want to sit back to make your glute work. You should also feel a nice stretch in the front of the leg that is back when doing this move.
Keep your chest up nice and tall as you sit down and back. If you are struggling to sit back, you can hinge very slightly forward at the hips.
After sinking down as low as you can, drive back up to standing, driving through your front heel and the back foot. Don’t go forward as you drive up. Then repeat, sinking back down.
Beginners may want to use a super low box or do the move from the ground as a Split Squat. More advanced exercisers, or if you don’t have weights, you may want to do it with your back foot in a suspension trainer. You can also add weight to make the move more challenging.
If you want some killer workouts using these lunges…
When we perform bent over rows or flyes, we want to create a neutral spine, a flat back, a long spine, an extended spine. I’ve heard it cued all of those ways (and they can all be great cues!).
But often because we lack thoracic extension and even our pecs and lats are tight, we end up arching our lower back in our attempt to extend and create a “flat back.”
We end up compensating to try and replicate a movement. We seek out mobility from other areas, which ends up creating overload.
So if you feel your lower back during those bent over rows and flyes, even though your form “looks” pretty good overall, it may be time to try some tweaks as you also work on your thoracic mobility!
If you find this happens, it may be helpful to start with a single arm row, where you can have a hand and knee on a bench. This can take some of the load off of your core.
Or you can even place your other hand on your leg to help brace while in a staggered stance. This can help you elongate without arching. The staggered stance alone can also sometimes help.
Of course you do want to be working to learn how to extend your thoracic spine without hyperextending or overloading your lower back, but as you work on that mobility and core bracing, you can tweak your positioning during rows and flyes to avoid pain!
You can also modify the bent over dumbbell fly, or even the bent over row, by doing them while prone.
Lie face down on a bench or incline bench so your chest and torso is supported. This can help you brace against the bench and use that to help you extend without arching.
To make the most out of these tweaks, you need to be conscious of what muscles you truly feel working!
You can’t just rush through moves or go through the motions!
Love these tips and tweaks? Want some killer upper body and arm workouts?!
In my Arm Burner program, I share tweaks and modifications for moves so you can avoid injury and build the lean, strong back and arms you’ve always wanted!
Yea yea yea…we’ve all heard we can’t spot reduce an area.
And while this is true to some extent, doing workouts focused on the areas we would like to “improve” while dialing in our diet is ESSENTIAL if we want results.
We build the lean muscle that looks amazing with our workouts and then REVEAL that muscle with our diet.
By working specific areas with more focused movements, we can mobilize the fatty acids in the surrounding tissues.
So if you do moves focused on your triceps, you can mobilize more fatty acids in the tissues around your triceps.
But you can’t just then do a bazillion tricep extensions and expect results. You’ve got to put those mobilized fatty acids to work to burn them off!
That’s why you want to include moves to target your trouble zones while also burning off those mobilized fatty acids with compound moves and cardio!
You can do all of these things in a single workout even. Even if you only have your own bodyweight and 10 minutes!
So if you need a killer, quick workout to target some of those common “trouble zones,” like your abs, glutes, inner thighs and triceps, you’ll love this Burner workout from my 28-Day Core Burner program! (And if you need help with the diet side of this things, this program does have that option!)
The 10-Minute Trouble Zones Burner
Set a timer for 20 second intervals of work and move quickly from one move to the next. Try not to rest during the 20 seconds of work, but modify as needed. Complete 3 rounds then perform the active rest for about 20 seconds and move on to 3 rounds of the second circuit. Beginners may rest fully instead of doing the Wacky Jacks.
CIRCUIT #1: 20 seconds Mountain Climber Burpee 20 seconds per side Curtsy Lunge to Leg Lift 20 seconds Alternating Leg V-Ups
20 seconds Wacky Jacks
CIRCUIT #2: 20 seconds Alternating side Lunges with Hops 20 seconds per side Tricep Push Ups 20 seconds Spiderman Mountain Climbers
If you love this workout, check out the entire 28-Day Core Burner program…there are even follow along workouts if you enjoy doing a video workout with me!
