by Cori Lefkowith | May 15, 2015
WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Quads
Hamstrings
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Back
Shoulders/Traps
WORKOUT
Start with the first exercise. Do the first exercise (complete the reps listed). Then start back at the top and do the first exercise and add on the second exercise. Then go back to the first exercise and do the 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Return to the top and do the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Continue returning to the top and adding a new move until on the final round you complete all 10 exercises. So to illustrate how the workout will look in terms of the exercise you do each round.
1
12
123
1234
12345
123456
1234567
12345678
123456789
12345678910
CIRCUIT:
5 reps per side Plank Skier Hops
10 reps per side Split Squat Jumps
5 reps Burpees
10 reps Plank Jacks
5 reps per side Hop Overs
10 reps Plyo Push Ups
5 reps per side Donkey Kick Sit Thrus
10 reps per side Single Leg Deadlift Hops
5 reps each way 3-Way Mountain Climbers
10 reps per side Box Shuffle
COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Quads
Hamstrings
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Back
Shoulders/Traps
NOTES:
Remember, each time you repeat exercise number 1 (Plank Skier Hops) and then add on a new exercise at the end. Rest as needed. You can even time yourself and then try to beat your time later!
EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
For the Mountain Climbers you will do 5 reps for each of the 3 knee drives on both sides. So that will be 15 reps per side of 30 reps in total.
All moves are in our new 20 Bodyweight Cardio Exercises That Aren’t Running post.
by Cori Lefkowith | Mar 6, 2015
WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Quads
Hips/Glutes
Lats/Back
Chest
Shoulders/Traps
WORKOUT
Set timer for 1 minute. Perform each exercise for 1 minute then move quickly to the next exercise. Complete 3 rounds (4 if you have an extra minute or two). Rest only as needed between rounds of the circuit.
CIRCUIT:
1 minute Crawling
1 minute Superman Banana
1 minute Downward Dog Abs
1 minute Rocking Chair Abs
COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Quads
Hips/Glutes
Lats/Back
Chest
Shoulders/Traps
NOTES:
Choose the hardest variation of each move that you can, but make sure you don’t need to rest during the minute of work. You will get the most out of this workout if you can keep moving quickly the entire time. Focus on feeling your entire core working during the movements.
If you feel your low back, regress the movement and maybe even swap it out and work on the Pelvic Tilt instead.
EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Crawling – Check out these Crawling Variations and options.
Superman Banana – To do the Superman Banana, lie face down on the ground and reach your hands overhead with your legs out straight behind you. Then, squeezing your glutes, lift your chest and legs up off the ground. Try to get your chest up as high as you can and your quads up off the ground if possible. You should feel this in your back and glutes. This is the Basic Superman. Keeping your arms and lower legs up off the ground, roll over onto your back. Try not to push off with your hands or feet as you roll. You may need to use your arms just a little especially if you are a beginner, but the goal is to roll without pushing off. Once on your back, keep your belly button drawn in toward your spine and your legs and arms up off the ground. Your neck and head should be in a neutral position. This is “Banana.” Beginners may find they need to lift their legs up higher toward the ceiling or bend their knees to keep their low back against the ground and their abs engaged.
Downward Dog Abs – With this move, stay on one side for a few and then switch to the other side, but make sure to work both sides during the minute. To do Downward Dog Abs, set up in Downward Dog. Start in the high plank position. Then push your butt back and up toward the ceiling as you press your chest back toward your legs between your straight arms. Focus on getting your back flat and a nice straight line from the heels of your hands up to your tailbone. You want your arms to be in line with your torso (aka your biceps by the ears). Push your butt back and up as you hold the downward dog position and try to drive your heels down toward the ground. Do not walk your hands in too close to your feet as you hold just to try to get your heels down. Then raise your right leg up in the air, kicking your heel up toward the ceiling. Drive your right knee in toward your chest. As you drive your knee forward, shift your weight forward into a front plank. Try to get your body in a nice straight line and your shoulders over your arms. Then kick your right heel back up toward the ceiling and move back into Downward Dog. You can then switch sides or you can perform another knee drive with the right, bringing your knee in toward your opposite elbow or the outside of the same elbow. Once you’ve done a few knee drives on one side, switch sides. Changing the angle of the knee drive, hits your core from different angles!
Rocking Chair Abs – To do Rocking Chair Abs, start half-kneeling with your back knee slightly turned out and your hips extended and glutes squeezed. Your chest should be up nice and tall. Then sit your butt back and round your back as you tuck and roll onto your back. As your roll back, switch the leg crossed underneath so that when you roll back up you can come to a half-kneeling position on the other side. Use your arms for momentum only if needed. Less arm swing makes the move tougher. Less momentum in the roll makes the move harder. Do not touch your hands down to help you come back up to half-kneeling. Keep alternating sides, squeezing your glutes at the top. Press your chest out and half-kneel nice and tall at the top. Beginners may need to use their hand just a little or even regress this and instead do either Donkey Kicks, Fire Hydrants or even Glute Bridges.
by Cori Lefkowith | Feb 13, 2015
WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Lats
ACTIVATION
After stretch and rolling, complete 2-3 rounds of the circuit below to get your core activated and working before you start lifting.
CIRCUIT:
10 reps per side Straight Leg Fire Hydrants
10 reps per side Donkey Kicks
10 reps per side Bird Dogs
WORKOUT
Complete 5-8 rounds of the circuit below. Do the 30 second hold then move right into reps. Once you complete the reps move right into the next hold. If the move is unilateral (like the Warrior III) do the hold on one side then the reps on one side before moving on to the hold on the other side and then the reps. Do both sides before moving on to the next move. Rest 1-2 minutes between rounds of the circuit, but do not rest between exercises or the hold and reps.
CIRCUIT:
30 seconds per side Warrior III Hold
10 reps per side BW Single Leg Deadlift
30 seconds Scapular Wall Hold
15 reps Scapular Push Ups
30 seconds Glute Bridge Hold
15 reps Glute Bridges
30 seconds Forearm Front Plank Hold
10 reps per side Plank with Reach Out and Back
COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Lats
NOTES:
You can also do the Glute Bridge as a Single Leg Glute Bridge. If you do the Single Leg, hold on one side then do the reps before holding on the other side. Focus on the correct muscles working as you hold and then do the reps.
EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Straight Leg Fire Hydrants – To do the Straight-Leg Fire Hydrant, set up like you would for the Bent-Knee Fire Hydrant. Start quadruped on the ground with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet. Straighten your left leg out to the side in line with your hip. Then, keeping your arms straight, lift your straight left leg up toward the ceiling. Squeeze your glute as you lift. Also, make sure to keep your arms straight. Do not bend your arms and lean away just to get your leg higher up. Hold for a second or two at the top then lower back down. Tap your foot down and repeat. Keep your leg straight as you lift and do not let it start to float back behind you. You want to make sure you are lifting basically straight up to the side. Complete all reps on one side before switching.
Donkey Kicks – To do the Donkey Kick, start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet. Keeping your arms straight and your core engaged, drive your right foot up and back toward the ceiling, keeping your right knee bent to 90 degrees and your foot flexed. Keep your core braced and squeeze your glutes as you kick your heel up and back. Do not let your right knee flare out as you lift or your low back arch. Try to get your quad to about parallel to the ground. Only kick up higher if you are extending from the hip. You do not want to hyperextend your low back just to kick up higher otherwise you will start working your back instead of your glutes. Hold for a second or two at the top and lower back down. To make the move more challenging, hold for a bit longer at the top. You can also add weight to this move to make it more challenging by putting on an ankle weight or even using a resistance band. Complete all reps on one side before switching. Make sure you don’t rock forward and bend your arms just to kick up higher as you perform the move.
Bird Dogs – To do the Basic Bird Dog, start on your hands and knees on the ground with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet. From here you are going to kick your right leg back as if doing the Straight Leg Kickback as you raise your left arm out toward the wall in front of you. Kick your leg straight out behind you as if kicking it into the wall while you reach the other arm out straight toward the wall in front of your head. Don’t worry about lifting your leg or arm up high. Really try to drive your arm and leg toward opposite walls as you keep your core engaged and squeeze your glutes. You do not want to hyperextend or arch your low back just to reach your arm or leg up higher. Also make sure to keep your chest and hips square to the ground as you reach out. Hold for a second or two at the top then, as you lower your arm and leg back down, bend them and bring them together under your body. Try to touch your elbow to your knee before extending back out. Complete all reps on one side before switching to the other side. All reps should be done in a slow and controlled manner. You should even hold for a second or two at the top of the move. A longer hold at the top will make this move even more challenging.
Warrior III Hold – To do the Warrior III pose, start standing tall with your feet together. Then shift your weight so you are balancing on one foot with the knee slightly bent. Hinge over at the hips, leaning your torso forward as you push your butt back and lift your back leg straight toward the wall behind you. Pretend you are driving the foot of the lifted leg straight back into the wall behind you as you reach your head toward the wall in front of you. You want a nice straight line from your head to your raised heel, making sure to keep your back flat and your core tight as you hold this hinged over position. You can then reach your hands overhead in front of you, out to your sides or back toward your heels. Hold in this position and feel your foot working to grip the ground. Try to straighten your standing leg as much as possible to work on improving your mobility while your glutes and core work to keep you balanced. Make sure you do not lock the standing leg out though as you hold. Also make sure your hips don’t rotate open. Squeeze the glute of the lifted leg to keep your hips level. Do not let your back round or your other foot touch down as you hold. Beginners may need to reach back toward their foot instead of out in front of them or they may even not be able to hinge over as far and raise their back leg as high. Using a wall can also help beginners. 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.
BW Single Leg Deadlift – Stand up nice and tall, balancing on your right leg with your knee slightly bent and your left toe lightly touching the ground. Your arms should be hanging down by your sides. Then lift your left leg back toward the wall behind you as you hinge over, keeping your back flat. As you hinge over, extend your arms down toward the ground. Make sure to sit your butt back as you hinge over and not simply lean forward. Your weight should shift slightly toward the heel of your standing leg although you do not want to complete rock backward or you will lose your balance. Do not reach your arms toward the ground and let your back round. It doesn’t matter if you touch the ground, just extend your arms down toward it 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. Hinge over as far as you can with good form and then drive through that standing heel to come back up to standing. Feel your glutes work to bring you up nice and tall. Squeeze your glutes at the top and repeat, hinging back over on the same leg. Only tap your other foot down at the top if you need to. Also, do not use the other foot to help you come back up to standing. Slow down the tempo of the movement to make it harder. You can also add weight to the movement to make it harder.
Scapular Wall Hold – For the Scapular Wall Hold, and variations, check out this Scapular Wall Hold post.
Scapular Push Ups – Set up in a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your feet together. Your body should be in a nice straight line from head to your heels. Then press your chest out and pinch your shoulder blades together. Your hips should not drop toward the ground and your elbows won’t bend. The Scapular Push Up is a very small range of motion. All you are doing is pinching your shoulder blades together and then relaxing. Make sure you keep your head in line with your spine and don’t tuck your chin as you complete your reps.
Glute Bridge Hold/Reps – 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! To do the reps, simply lift and lower instead of holding at the top.
Forearm Front Plank Hold – To do the Basic Forearm Front Plank, lie on your stomach and bend your elbows so that you’re propped up on your forearms. Your legs should be straight out behind you with your feet together. Flex your feet and lift up onto your forearms and toes. Your elbows should be stacked under your shoulders and your feet should be together. On your forearms and toes, create a nice straight line with your body from your head to your heels. Make sure that in this position you are concentrating on tucking your pelvic to engage your abs as you squeeze your glutes and quads to keep your legs straight. Make sure that you are also squeezing your legs together as you hold and driving back through your heels. Do not push forward onto your toes. Also, do not let your chest sag toward the ground or your upper back round. You want a nice flat upper back. While holding, don’t just go through the motions. Assess whether the right muscles are engaged and even consciously activate them. If you begin to shake, you know you are engaging the muscles. Hold in this position for a set amount of time or until your form starts to break down. If you feel this in your low back, assess whether or not you are performing a proper Pelvic Tilt. For instructions on how to do the Pelvic Tilt, check out this post.
Plank with Reach Out and Back – To do the Plank with Reach Back and Out, set up in a Front Plank from your hands and toes with your hands under your shoulders and your feet about hip-width to shoulder-width apart. For this move, you will want your feet wider to create a more stable base. Beginners can do this move from their knees. Then from the Plank position, reach one hand back and across toward the opposite ankle, pushing your butt back and up toward the ceiling as you reach. Then reach back forward and out toward the wall in front of you, dropping your hips back into a nice plank position. Do not drop your hips too low and feel your low back engage. Keep your core tight to protect your low back as you come back into that nice plank position. Reach back and across with the same hand until all reps are complete on that side.
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.
by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 12, 2014
WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Lats
WORKOUT
Set a timer for 30 minutes and complete as many rounds of the circuit below as possible in that time. Rest only as needed.
CIRCUIT:
8-12 reps Backward Rotational Lunge to Forward Cross Lunge
10-15 reps Scapular Wall Row or Corner Row
5-10 reps per side Side Arm Balance Burpees
5-10 reps per side Sit Thru
COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Lats
NOTES:
Complete as many reps as possible in the 30 minutes. Do not go to failure on any exercise so that you can keep moving. Make sure to challenge yourself though and do the hardest variation of each move as possible.
EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Backward Rotational Lunge to Forward Cross Lunge – These two lunges make up one rep. Starting on the left side you will lunge back toward “7″ on the clock with your left foot. Your left foot, when you step back, will be perpendicular to your right foot, which is pointing toward “12.” Push your butt back and sink into a lunge, bending the left knee while keeping the right leg straight. Do not let the left heel come up. Keep your chest up and sit your butt backward. Driving off your left heel, push back to standing. Make sure that your right toe doesn’t rotate but continues to point toward “12.” Also make sure your right leg does not bend. Then come back up to standing and with the left foot, lunge forward and across toward about “2″ on the clock with your left foot. Pivot your left foot so that your feet are perpendicular. Sink down into a lunge, bending both knees. Make sure your left heel stays down as you lunge. Then drive off your left heel to come back to standing.
Scapular Wall Row/Corner Row – Stand in a corner with your back relaxing against the walls and your feet about six inches from the corner. (You can also do this just off the wall like demonstrated above if you don’t have a useable corner.) Place an elbow against each wall with your elbows bent. With your body in a nice straight line, drive off the wall with your elbows, pressing your chest out and pinching your shoulder blades down and back. Relax back into the corner, keeping your body in a nice straight line from your head to your heels. Do not arch your low back as you press out. Also, make sure not to shrug your shoulders.The further from the corner that you walk your feet out, the harder the Corner Row will be.
Side Arm Balance Burpees – To do the Side Arm Balance Burpee, start standing. Then bend over and place your hands on the ground as you jump your feet back into a high plank position. Perform a push up. Once at the top of the push up, lift one hand up toward the ceiling and rotate into a side plank. Open completely and then place the hand back down on the ground and perform another push up, dropping your chest to the ground. At the top of the push up, rotate into a side plank on the other side. Then perform another push up. Once you’ve completed the push up, jump your feet in toward your hands and come to standing, jumping at the top. Beginners can always step back instead of jumping. They can also do the push ups from their knees or even remove a push up or two if needed. Beginners may simply jump back and do a side arm balance to each side. Or they may just need to remove one push up and do a two push up variation (push up, side arm balance, push up, side arm balance then jump up). Or they can even do a single push up variation (push up, side arm balance, side arm balance, jump up). All are acceptable variations as long as the focus is on a quality movement. Do fewer push ups if it means QUALITY push ups. Check out this post for a video of the move and other Burpee Movements.
Sit Thru – To do the Sit Thru, start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet and press up onto your hands and toes. Then rotate open toward the right and bring your left leg under 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. Then bring the left leg back through so you are back in the starting position. Next rotate to the left and kick your right leg through and forward as you lift your left hand. Move as quickly as you can back and forth. Beginners may need to move slowly or even start in a more spread out position with their legs out straight instead of their knees under their hips.
