Projects Archive Page 21 of 35 | Redefining Strength

The Upper Body Ladder Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Jan 29, 2015

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Wrists/Forearms
Chest
Shoulders
Traps
Upper Back
Lats
Hips

ACTIVATION

Complete 2 rounds of the circuit below.

CIRCUIT:
30 seconds Scapular Wall Hold
30 seconds Handstand
30 seconds Dead Hang
30 seconds each side Side Planks

WORKOUT

Complete 3 rounds of the ladder for each superset. Rest 1 minute between rounds. Then rest up to 2 minutes between supersets. For instructions on how to do the Ladder see the Notes.

SUPERSET #1:
1-5 reps Pull Up
1-5 reps Push Up

SUPERSET #2:
1-5 reps Inverted Row
1-5 reps Dips

SUPERSET #3:
1-5 reps per side Sandbag Plank Pulls
1-5 reps per side Turkish Hinge

NOTES:

To do this workout, you will do one rep of each exercise in the superset. Then two reps of each, then three…up to 5 reps of each. Then rest before completing another round. Try to go quickly back and forth between the two exercises, using a weight that challenges you but allows you to keep building.

Adjust weight as necessary.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

Pull Up – For variations and modifications, check out our post on How to do a Pull Up. Basic Pull Up shown below.

Push Up – Check out this post on push up form if you need assistance. You can also change up the type of push up you do. Try close grip, wide grip, staggered stance, decline…even handstand. Mix it up! Basic Push Up shown below.

Inverted Row – For variations and modifications, check out our post on Inverted Rows. Basic Inverted Row shown below.

Dip – For variations and modifications, check out our post on Dips. The full dip is show below.

Sandbag Plank Pulls – Set up in a plank position from your hands and toes or hands and knees and place the sandbag on the ground to one side of your body just outside and below your shoulder. Make sure your hands are under your shoulders and then place your feet or knees wider apart to give you more stability. The closer together your feet are, the harder the move will be because you won’t have as wide or stable a base. If you feel your hips rocking side to side, widen your feet out. If the move is too easy, bring your feet closer together. Then reach your hand under your body and across to grab the sandbag. Squeeze your glutes and, without rotating your hips, pull the sandbag through and across to the other side of your body. Make sure your body stays in a nice straight line with your abs engaged as you reach through and pull. Do not let your hips go up in the air or sag toward the ground. You want to pull the sandbag all the way across and outside the other shoulder. If you can’t pull the sandbag all the way across or need to rotate your hips a lot to do so, it may be too heavy. Then reach through with the other hand to pull it back. To fight your body’s desire to rotate, you will need to engage your core and really squeeze your glutes. You do not want to feel this move in your low back. Keep alternating reaches until all reps are complete. Your goal is to keep a nice straight line from your head to your heels the entire time.

Turkish Hinge – Start by kneeling on your left leg with your left hand out to the side and a little in back of your left knee. Your right knee is bent with your right foot flat on the ground. Your right arm should be pointing straight up toward the ceiling. Advanced exercisers will hold a weight in their right hand. Then from this supported kneeling position, you are going to hinge up to kneeling. You will lift your left hand up and move from the leaning position to kneeling straight up. As you hinge to the side, make sure your chest doesn’t collapse forward or round. You want to stay up nice and tall and really feel your right oblique engage to pull you up. Then lower back down and place your left hand back on the ground and repeat.

The Get Rid Of Knee Pain Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Jan 23, 2015

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Feet
Shins
Calves
IT Bands
Hips/Glutes
Groin
Quads
Hamstrings

ACTIVATION
Complete 2 rounds of the circuit below. Hold each pose for 30-45 seconds.

CIRCUIT:
Warrior III
Bull Dog
Side Planks
Glute Bridge with Squeeze Hold

WORKOUT
Complete 4-6 rounds of the circuit below. Rest as needed between exercises, but try to move quickly. Rest up to 1 minute between rounds.

CIRCUIT:
10-15 reps per side Anterior Reach Lunge
10-15 reps per side Step Downs
15-20 reps Bent-Knee Reverse Hypers

FINISHER
Perform 4-6 rounds of a Wall Sit. Hold the Wall Sit for 30 seconds – 1 minute.

EXERCISE:
30 seconds – 1 minute Wall Sit
30 seconds – 1 minute Rest

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Feet
Shins
Calves
IT Bands
Hips/Glutes
Groin
Quads
Hamstrings

NOTES:
If you have access to weights, you can use them for the Anterior Reach Lunge or just do a few more reps. Also, you can use a step in a staircase if you don’t have a box or bench for Step Downs.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS: For all of the moves included in this post, see our Dealing with Knee Pain post.

Strengthen Your Foundation Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Jan 16, 2015

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Foot
Calves/Shins
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Back/Lats

ACTIVATION:

Complete 2 rounds of the following circuit. Hold each move for 30 seconds.

CIRCUIT:
30 seconds Warrior III
30 seconds Scapular Wall Hold
30 seconds Glute Bridge Hold
30 seconds each side Side Plank Holds

WORKOUT

After completing the Activation circuit, complete 4-6 rounds of each superset. Rest up to 1 minute between rounds of each superset and up to 2 minutes between supersets. Then rest up to 2 minutes before doing your 5 minutes of Conditioning.

SUPERSET #1:
8-12 reps per side Single Leg Deadlifts
15-20 reps Suspension Trainer Glute Cherry Bombs

SUPERSET #2:
8-12 reps per side Suspension Trainer Side Balance Lunges
15-20 reps Straight Leg Glute Bridge

CONDITIONING:

Set a timer for 5 minutes. Go through the ladder, mixing up the drills and walking/jogging back to the start before going through another drill. Check out this post for Agility Ladder Drills to try.

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Foot
Calves/Shins
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Back/Lats

NOTES:

Make sure to really roll out and stretch your feet and lower legs. This workout can really help you prevent and alleviate foot and ankle injuries.

Use the activation exercises to get your glutes firing while also building stability in your feet and ankles. Then use the workout to strengthen your feet and lower legs as well as your hamstrings and glutes. The moves will also improve your balance.

The Conditioning at the end will improve your mind-body connection. Make sure to do the agility ladder drills quickly but correctly. Speed is only beneficial if they are done well!

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

Warrior III – To do the Warrior III pose, balance on one foot with your knee slightly bent. Hinge over at your hips, lifting your back leg toward the wall behind you as you lean your chest over. Pretend you are driving your foot straight back into the wall behind you. As you hold the pose, keep your back flat and your core tight. Reach your hands overhead or back behind you. Hold in this position. Do not let your back round or your other foot touch down. You want a nice straight line from the bottom of your lifted heel to the top of your head. Make sure you do not lock the standing leg out as you hold. Also make sure your hips don’t rotate open up as you hold. Squeeze your glutes to keep your hips level. Beginners may need need to use the wall behind them to help them balance. Stand with a wall behind you and when you hinge over have the lifted foot lightly touch the wall behind you to help you balance.

Scapular Wall Hold – To do the Scapular Wall Hold, stand with your back to the wall just a few inches away. Bend your arms to 90 degrees and drive your elbows back and your chest out. Lean back and place your elbows on the wall with your chest pressed out and your shoulder blades drawn down and back. Do not shrug your shoulders as you drive your elbows back and pinch your shoulder blades down and together. You want to open your chest up toward the ceiling as you lean on your elbows against the wall. Do not let your upper arms or back touch the wall. Relax your head back instead of tucking your chin. Pinch your shoulder blades down and back while keeping your core tight as you lean into the wall. Squeeze your glutes and don’t arch your low back. Really press your chest out so that you feel this move low between your shoulder blades. You don’t have to be at a huge incline or have your feet very far from the wall to feel this move. You may want to work your feet away from the wall as you get stronger, but even very advanced lifters should feel this between their shoulder blades while standing almost upright if they are consciously contracting.

Glute Bridge Hold – To do the Basic Glute Bridge Hold, bend your knees and put your feet flat on the ground just close enough that you can graze your heels with your fingertips when you stretch your arms down by your side. Your feet should be about hip-width apart. You can change up how far your heels are from your butt. If they are further out, you may engage more hamstring. While keeping your heels in closer to your butt will isolate more glute. Then bend your elbows to 90 degrees so that only your upper arms are on the ground. Drive up through your heels and upper back and arm to lift your glutes up off the ground. Drive your hips up as high as possible, squeezing the glutes hard. Keep your belly button drawn in so you don’t hyperextend your back. Do not push backward off your heels. Make sure you are driving straight up almost as if driving your knees forward over your toes. Also, make sure that your knees aren’t caving in or falling open. Squeeze your glutes and hold at the top. Concentrate on feeling your glutes work. Don’t just go through the motions. Actually think about the muscles that should be working!

Side Plank Holds – You can do the Side Plank from your forearm or hand. Doing the Side Plank from your hand is harder and requires more core and shoulder stability. Stacking your feet on top of each other instead of having one foot in front of the other also makes the move harder. Beginners will want to start with a Side Plank from their forearm and knees or knee (you can bend your bottom knee and have your top leg out straight instead of stacking both knees on top of each other). To do the Basic Side Plank from your forearm, set up on your side and prop yourself up on your forearm with your elbow right below your shoulder. Your legs should be out straight. You can either stack your feet or place your top foot on the ground in front of your bottom foot. Then, driving through your forearm and the sides of your feet, lift your bottom hip up off the ground as high as possible while keeping your body in a nice straight line. Squeeze your belly button in toward your spine and keep your glutes tight. Do not let your chest rotate forward toward the ground or your top hand touch the ground. Keep your top hand on your hip or reach it up toward the ceiling.

Single Leg Deadlifts – To do the kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift, hold a kettlebell in each hand down by your sides. Stand on your right leg with your knee slightly bent and your left toe lightly touching the ground. Then lift your left leg back toward the wall behind you as you hinge over, keeping your back flat. As you hinge over, drop the kettlebells down and back. Do not reach them toward the ground and let your back round. Only lower them as far as you can without rounding or “squatting.” Your standing knee should be soft but isn’t going to bend extra as you hinge over. Make sure that as you hinge over you sit back in your heel and then drive through your heel to come back up to standing. You want to feel your hamstring and glute work.

Suspension Trainer Glute Cherry Bombs – To do the Glute Cherry Bomb, place your heels in the suspension trainer straps and lie on your back on the ground. With your legs out straight and your feet close together, bridge up, squeezing your glutes and driving through your heels. Keep your core engaged so you don’t hyperextend your low back. Then curl your heels in toward your butt while maintaining the nice high bridge. Keep your glute engaged. Straighten your legs back out then and, keeping the nice straight bridge, move both feet out laterally, opening your legs up. Keep your hips up high as you spread your legs. Feel the outside of your butt work to open your legs up. Then bring your feet back together and repeat, curling your heels in toward your butt. This is an advanced movement. Beginners may not want to include the curl or may only want to do a single leg curl instead of the double leg curl.

Suspension Trainer Side Balance Lunges – To do the Side Balance Lunge, place one foot on its side in a suspension trainer strap and face to the side. Your leg should be out straight to the side in the strap. Then bend the standing leg and push your butt back as you sink down into a lunge. Let the leg with the foot in the strap slide out to the side as you sit back and down. Keep your chest up. You may hinge forward a bit as you sink but do not let your back round. Then, driving through the standing heel, come back to standing, pulling the leg in the suspension trainer back in toward your standing leg. You will feel your adductors work to pull the leg back in. Do not bend the leg in the suspension trainer. Also make sure to squeeze your glutes as you come back up to standing. Complete all reps on one side before switching. Beginners may want to hold the other strap in their hands to help them balance. Make sure that you don’t put the strap for your foot up too high. The height of the strap will be very dependent on your hip mobility.

Straight Leg Glute Bridge – To do the Straight Leg Glute Bridge, place your heels in the CoreX foot straps. Lie back on the ground with your legs out straight in front of you. You can either bend your elbows to 90 degrees or leave your arms on the ground down by your sides. Squeezing your glutes and driving down through your heels, lift your hips up as high as you can while keeping your legs straight. Keep your abs engaged so that you don’t hyperextend your low back as you lift. Hold at the top for a second and lower back down.

The Sandbag Cardio Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Jan 10, 2015

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Lats

WORKOUT

Set a timer for 30 seconds of work, 15 seconds of rest. Do an exercise for 30 seconds then transition to the next exercise in the 15 seconds of rest before working for 30 seconds on the next. After completing all the exercises, rest for 1 minute before repeating the circuit. Complete 5-8 rounds of the circuit.

CIRCUIT:
30 seconds Lunge with Rotation
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Bent-Over Rows
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Duck Under Lunge
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Alternating Overhead Presses
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Bear Hug Squats
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Anti-Rotational Plank Pull Throughs
1 minute Rest

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Lats

NOTES:

Make sure you choose a variation of each exercise and a weight that challenges you but allows you to keep moving the entire 30 seconds. Do not rest during the 30 seconds of work. Regress as needed, but keep moving.

My favorite sandbags for this workout are the Ultimate Sandbags.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

For all the moves in this workout, see the video below or check out this post – 13 Sandbag Exercises – for written descriptions and pictures.

The 1-Minute Squat Challenge

by Cori Lefkowith | Jan 2, 2015

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Back/Lats

WORKOUT

Complete 5 rounds of Front Squats or Goblet Squats following the work/rest ratio below. Then rest up to 2 minutes before moving on to the supplemental circuit. Complete 3-5 rounds of the circuit resting as necessary between exercises and rounds. Do not rest longer than 1 minute though between rounds.

SQUAT CHALLENGE:
1 Minute Front/Goblet Squat
1 Minute Rest

CIRCUIT:
8-15 reps per side Airborne Lunge
10-15 reps per side Low To High Woodchoppers
10-20 reps Jumps For Height
8-15 reps per side Plank with Rotational Reach

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Back/Lats

NOTES:

Pick as heavy a weight as you can handle for the Front or Goblet Squats. You can use a barbell, sandbag or kettlebell(s). Make sure that you can keep moving quickly the entire minute with the weight you choose; however, choose a weight that challenges you. Rest only 1 minute and then repeat. Try to increase the weight you use a little every single time you complete the workout.

With the supplemental circuit, you can do slightly lighter weights and higher reps or work heavier and lower the repetitions. Just choose a rep range and weight that challenges you!

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

Front or Goblet Squat – To do the Goblet or Front Squat with a kettlebell, take one kettlebell and turn it upside down, holding it on the bell. Set your feet between hip-width to shoulder-width apart. Keep the kettlebell in at your chest. Draw your belly button in toward your spine. Sit your butt back and keep your weight in your heels as you squat down. Keep your chest up and don’t let your back round forward. Sink your butt down as low as you can, keeping your heels on the ground. Then, driving through your heels, come back to standing. Do not lean or rock forward as you stand up. Come all the way up and squeeze your glutes at the top then sink back down. You may also do a double racked kettlebell front squat to make the weight heavier if you don’t have a single bell heavy enough. You can do front squat with a barbell or sandbag instead if no kettlebell is available. (Goblet KB Squat shown below. And Racked Squat below that.)

Airborne Lunge – Beginners will start with the Single Leg Lunge. To do the Single Leg Lunge, hold a strap in each hand and step back so that there is tension in the straps. Then stand on one foot and bend the other knee bringing your foot up toward your butt. You want to drop the knee of the back leg down to the ground without touching your foot down. Sit your butt back and hinge over, dropping that back knee down to the ground. You want to make sure you are sitting back and driving through that standing heel. Do not rock forward and come up onto your toes. Also, make sure you don’t “swing” back on the straps. You want that knee to be over your ankle/foot. Touch your knee down then drive through your heel to come back up to standing. Squeeze your glutes at the top. Use the suspension trainer to help you balance and get back up, but do not turn this into an upper body exercise. Use your arms only as needed! Complete all reps on one side before switching to the other leg. Beginners may not be able to go all the way down and touch their knee to the ground. Start with the range of motion you can control while feeling your glutes work. Advanced exercisers may want to slow down the tempo to make this move harder or even hold only one suspension trainer strap.

They can also do the full Airborne Lunge. To do the Airborne Lunge, stand on your right foot and bend your left knee, bringing your heel back up toward your butt. Then bend your right knee and sit back into your right heel as you lunge down, dropping your left knee to the ground. Do not touch the left foot down when you drop the knee to the ground. Do not reach the left knee back too far when you lunge down. Keep it just a little behind your right foot so that you are almost slightly squatting. Lean forward as needed to counterbalance but do not round forward. To come back to standing, drive up through your right heel and straighten the leg. Complete all reps on one side before switching. Make sure you engage your core and keep your standing heel on the ground at all times. Also, make sure you feel this move in the glute of your standing leg.

Low To High Woodchoppers – Place a band around a low anchor point. Grab the handle of the band in both hands and stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Your side will be to the anchor point. Step away from the anchor point so that there is tension in the band even at the end range of motion. Then pivot your feet and bend your knees to reach the handle down outside the knee closest to the anchor point. Your arms should be straight and your chest should be up and there should be tension on the band. Do not round your back to reach lower. Bend your knees and bring the hands outside your knee. Then bring your arms and the band up and across your body as you stand up and pivot toward the opposite shoulder. You should end reaching the other way with your arms reaching up and out at about shoulder height. Do not reach to high up as you reach across. Then control the band back down and across as you pivot and bend your knees. Move in a slow and controlled fashion back down. Do not let the band pull you. Complete all reps to one side before switching. (BOTTOM PICTURE! Can also mix things up with a high to low as well though.)

Jumps For Height – Stand with your feet between hip-width and shoulder-width apart. Perform a shallow squat and explode as high off the ground as possible, reaching overhead and extending your body. Do not squat too low. If you drop too low in a squat, you will actually reduce your power. Beginners may need to rest between each rep; however, that doesn’t mean landing with your legs straight. You should never land with your legs completely locked. Bend your knees to help you absorb the impact of landing.To make the move harder, jump up and sink right back into the squat to repeat as quickly as possible. Really focus on a soft landing and then exploding quickly into as high a jump as you can.

Plank with Rotational Reach – Set up in the high plank position on your hands and knees (beginner) or toes (advanced). Set your feet wider apart to create a more stable base. Then reach one hand under your armpit and toward the far wall. You aren’t just reaching under your armpit to pat yourself on the back. You want to really reach toward the wall. As you reach, make sure your hips stay down. Then pivot open, rotating into a Side Plank as you reach your hand up toward the ceiling. You will reach the hand that reached under your armpit up toward the ceiling, keeping your hips up as you move into a Side Plank. Then reach the hand back down and under your armpit, rotating your hips back down toward the ground and into the Front Plank position. Repeat. Complete all reps on one side before switching and reaching the other way. Do not let your butt go up in the air or your hips sag toward the ground as you reach.

The Plank with Rotational Reach can also be done in the Suspension Trainer (the move in the trainer is almost a hybrid of the Plank and Side Plank with Rotational Reach). However, using the Suspension Trainer makes this move very advanced. Do not add in the trainer until you’ve mastered the movement from the ground.