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The Bodyweight Core Workout For Less Low Back Pain

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.

The Battling Ropes Core Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Feb 7, 2015

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

LOCOMOTION

After stretch and rolling, set a timer for 5 minutes and jog, backpedal, side shuffle, carioca, skip, do butt kickers and/or high knees. Move around at about 75% of your max effort to get your heart rate up and blood pumping.

WORKOUT

Set a timer for 20 seconds. Perform the Rope exercise for 20 seconds as fast as you can then quickly move on to the two ab exercises for reps. Rest the same amount of time it took you to complete the round or alternate with a partner. Complete 3-4 rounds of each circuit. Rest up to 2 minutes between circuits.

CIRCUIT #1:
20 seconds Battling Ropes Jumping Jacks
10 reps TFW Sit Ups
10 reps each side Rope Russian Twists

CIRCUIT #2:
20 seconds Stage Coach with Reverse Lunge
5 reps each side Sit Thrus
10 reps each side Oblique V-Ups

CIRCUIT #3:
20 seconds Rainbows with Lunge
10 reps Cherry Bombs
15 reps per side One Arm Plank Waves

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

NOTES:

Beginners may need to do fewer reps of the core exercises to continue moving quickly. You do not want to rest during the three exercises. Rest only between rounds. Beginners may also need to rest double the time they worked instead of resting equal to the time they worked.

Advanced exercisers may want to raise the reps just slightly as long as they can continue to move quickly and rest only equal to the time they worked. With the equal rest to work ratio, you should be able to go just as hard each round as the round before. If you find you’re really falling off, you may need to lessen the reps you are doing or rest just a bit longer. You do not want your work output to dip too much.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

For all Battling Ropes Moves (Battling Ropes Jumping Jacks, Rope Russian Twists, Stage Coach with Reverse Lunge, Rainbows with Lunge, One Arm Plank Waves), see our Battling Ropes Exercises post and video.

All other moves are below:

TFW Sit Ups – To do the TFW Sit Up, lie on your back on the ground with your legs out straight in front of you. Bring your hands up under your chin. Then from lying on the ground, come up to a seated position, bringing your knees in as you sit up. As you come to a tucked seated position, grab your shins with your hands. Then lie back down, straightening your legs out in front of you. Sit back up and bring your knees back in, grabbing your shins. Lie back down and repeat.

Sit Thrus – 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.

Oblique V-Ups – Lie on your side with your bottom arm out in front of you just below shoulder height. Angle your straight legs a bit out in front of you, stacked one on top of the other. Keep your legs together. V up on your side reaching your top hand toward your toes. Lift your legs up as high as you can as you sort of prop yourself up on your bottom arm. Relax back down and repeat.

Cherry Bombs – Sit on your butt and draw your knees into your chest. Wrap your arms around your shins and lift your feet off the ground. Then open your arms and straighten your legs out wide and let your upper body go back toward the ground. You should almost look like a big X on the ground with arms and legs out and open. Then come back to seated and draw your knees back in. Your feet should stay off the ground the entire time; however, do try to straighten your legs out as close to the ground as you can when you open up.

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.