Lower Body Archives Page 3 of 4 | Redefining Strength

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.

The Suspension Trainer Glute Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Oct 11, 2014

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

WORKOUT

Complete 3-5 rounds of each of the following supersets. Rest 30 seconds to 1 minute between rounds of the circuit and 1-2 minutes between supersets.

SUPERSET #1:
8-15 reps per side Balance Lunges
10-20 reps Straight-Legged Glute Bridge

SUPERSET #2:
8-15 reps per side Side Balance Lunges
10-20 reps Glute Cherry Bombs

SUPERSET #3:
8-15 reps per side Runner’s Start Lunges
10-20 reps L-Sit To Posterior Plank

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

NOTES:
Use the variation of each exercise and rep/set range that is right for you. Beginners may want to choose an easier variation and do higher reps while more advanced exercisers may want to choose a harder variation that they can do for fewer reps. No matter what rep/set range and exercise variation you choose, make sure to challenge yourself to get the most out of the workout.

For more Suspension Trainer Exercises, check out these 10 Suspension Trainer Exercises.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Balance Lunges – Place the toes of one foot into a suspension trainer strap. The shorter the strap and the higher your foot is from the ground, the harder the move will be. Make sure that you have the strap at a height that allows you to perform a full range of motion. It doesn’t have to be super high for this move to really make you work! If you need to, hop out on the other foot so you are in a nice wide stance with your back foot up in the strap. Then sink down into a lunge, dropping your back knee toward the ground. Really sit back into the lunge. Make sure you aren’t going forward and that your front heel is down. Also make sure your chest stays up and your back is flat. Do not round forward as you sink into the lunge. You should feel a nice stretch in the front of the leg that is back when doing this move. If you are really struggling to balance, hold the other suspension trainer strap in your hands. Complete all reps on one side before switching. Slow down the tempo of the move to make it harder or even hold a weight up at your chest or down by your sides.

Straight-Legged 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.

Side Balance Lunges – 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. You can also hold a weight to make this move harder or slow down the tempo.

Glute Cherry Bombs – 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. (First image is the advanced variation. The second is the beginners without the curl in.)

Runner’s Start Lunges – Hold a CoreX strap in each hand with your arms bent. Start back behind the anchor point with one leg lunged back and the front knee bent. Then driving through the foot of the front leg, bring the back leg forward and up. Drive the back knee up as you straighten the standing leg and push all the way up onto your toe. Then quickly bring the knee back down and sink back into the lunge, dropping the front heel back down to the ground. Complete all reps on one side before switching. Make sure to maintain a nice tall posture and not round your shoulders forward as you lunge. You also really want to focus on driving off that standing leg and extending the hip as you squeeze your glute to bring the back knee forward. This is an explosive move. You can make it more challenging by completely jumping off the front leg as you drive the back knee forward and up instead of just coming up onto the toe.

L-Sit To Posterior Plank – Place your heels in the foot straps. With your legs straight in front of you, sit on the ground and place your hands on the ground behind your butt. Then drive your hips up, pressing down through your hands and heels. Try to get your body in a nice straight line, leaning your head back as you lift. Then lower your hips about an inch from the ground and pull your butt back in between your hands. Keep your legs straight the entire time. Then press your hips back up into the posterior plank before repeating the L-Sit. Keep your arms straight throughout the entire movement.

The Sled Quad Killer Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 10, 2013

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

WORKOUT

Set a timer for 15 minutes for each circuit. Do as many rounds as possible in each 15 minute round. Do not go to failure so that you can keep moving from exercise to exercise.

CIRCUIT #1:
8-12 reps per side Single Leg Squats
20-50ft Reverse Sled Drag

CIRCUIT #2:
8-12 reps per side Balance Lunge
20-50ft Sled Frog Hops

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

NOTES:

For the reverse sled drags, add as much weight as you can handle. With the frog hops, make them heavy, but not so heavy that you can’t move explosively forward without pausing between jumps.

If you need to rest between rounds at all, stretch out your hips and quads quickly.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

Single Leg Squats – Choose a variation of the single leg squat that is right for you. Beginners may use a box step while more advanced lifters may use a doorway, TRX or XT straps for balance. If you can do a full pistol squat or use a plate weight to counter balance you, do that variation. Choose as hard a variation as you can do. To perform the basic single leg squat to bench, you will start by standing on one leg. Hold the other leg straight out in front of you. Lower yourself down until you are sitting on the box or table. Then driving off the heel on the ground, stand back up. Do not lean way forward or touch your raised foot to the ground. If you use a box, the more you allow yourself to sit down, the easier the move will be. The more you just lightly touch the box and come right back up, the harder the move will be. Also the lower the box you use or the lower down you go on any variation, the harder the move will be.

Reverse Sled Drag – Hook a strap and handles up to a sled. Then stand facing the sled with a handle in each hand. Bend your knees and sink into a little squat. Keep your chest up and your back flat with your arms out straight in front of you. Then start walking backward. Stay as low as possible and do not let your back round forward as you walk backwards.

Balance Lunge – Place your back foot up on a table, bench, chair or box. Do not let the chair or bench be too high. Hop your front foot out so you are in a nice wide stance with your back foot up on the box. Then sink down, dropping your back knee toward the ground. Really sit back into the lunge. Make sure you aren’t going forward and that your front knee is not going past your toe. You should feel a nice stretch in the front of the leg that is back when doing this move. Beginners may want to use a super low box or do the move from the ground.

Sled Frog Hops – If your sled has higher handles, use that side. Set your feet about hip-width apart and place your hands on the handles with your arms out straight. Lean your chest forward a bit with your back flat, pressing your arms straight into the sled. Sit your butt back a little then drive your hips forward, sliding the sled forward as you jump. Sink right back down into a little half squat then jump forward again. Try not to pause between hops. Try to move quickly while doing as big of jumps as possible.

Stronger Legs For Cycling

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 9, 2013

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

WORKOUT
Complete 3-5 rounds of each circuit. Rest up to 1 minute between rounds and 1-2 minutes between circuits.

CIRCUIT #1:
5-12 reps per side Backward Rotational and Front Cross Lunges
8-12 reps per side Single Leg Glute Bridge Off Box

CIRCUIT #2:
8-15 reps per side Side Lunges
15-20 reps Reverse Hypers

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

NOTES: These workouts will help strengthen your glutes for more power when riding and less pain in your hips, low back and knees. Use weights to advance the lunges and use a hold at the top of the glute bridges and hypers to make them harder.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Backward Rotational and Front Cross Lunges – This move is two lunges, one opening back and the other lunging forward and across. One rep is both the open back lunge and the front cross lunge. For the backward lunge, you will lunge toward “5″ on the clock with your right foot. Your right foot, when you step back, will be perpendicular to your left foot, which is pointing toward “12.” Push your butt back and sink into a lunge, bending the right knee while keeping the left leg straight. Do not let the right heel come up. Keep your chest up and sit your butt backward. Driving off your right heel, push back to standing. Make sure that your left toe doesn’t rotate but continues to point toward “12.” Also make sure your left leg does not bend.Once you push back to standing, you are going to take your right foot and step forward and across. Beginners will need to pause between lunges while more advanced exercisers will go right from one to the other. For the front cross lunge, lunge forward and across toward about “10″ on the clock with your right foot. Pivot your right foot so that your feet are perpendicular. Sink down into a lunge, bending both knees. Make sure your right heel stays down as you lunge. Then drive off your right heel to come back to standing and repeat going into the backward rotational lunge. Front load, holding a weight at your chest to advance the move.

Single Leg Glute Bridges Off Box – Beginners should do a single leg bridge from the ground or even a two leg bridge if they can’t get their hips up as high with the single leg bridge. Intermediate exercisers may want to do a two leg glute bridge with their heels up on the box. The single leg glute bridge off the box is an advanced progression. To do the glute bridge off the box, place your heels on the box. Your butt should be right against the box. Bend your arms to 90 degrees with just your upper arm on the ground. Lift one leg up and point the toe toward the ceiling. Do not bend that leg or use it to help you bridge up. Drive through the heel on the box and press your hips up as high as you can. Squeeze your glutes and keep your core tight as you bridge up. Hold for a second or two and then lower down. Complete all reps on one side before switching.

Side Lunges – Lunging with the right foot, step the right foot out toward “3″ on the clock. As you lunge out to the side, you are going to bend the right knee and sit your butt back. Keep your left leg straight. Both toes should be pointing straight ahead. Keep your right heel down as you sink into the lunge. Push your butt back and keep your chest up. Then drive back up to standing and repeat on the same side. Add weight to make the move more challenging.

Reverse Hypers – Lie face down on a table, bench or box. Make sure your hips are right at the edge. Hold on to something in front of you if you want. Keep your upper body relaxed. Squeeze your legs together and point your toes out. Lift your legs to basically parallel to the ground, keeping your legs straight. Do not hyperextend your back and lift way higher than parallel. You do not want to feel this in your low back. Hold for 2-5 seconds and then lower down. Keep your core tight and really squeeze your glutes as you lift.

Lower Body Suspension Trainer Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 8, 2013

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

WORKOUT
Complete 3-5 rounds of each of the following circuits. Rest no more than a minute between rounds and 1-2 minutes between circuits.

CIRCUIT #1:
8-15 reps per side Side to Side Lunges
8-15 reps per side Lateral Hops

CIRCUIT #2:
8-15 reps per side Backward Single Leg Lunge
8-15 reps per side Lunge back with Explosive Knee Drive

CIRCUIT #3:
8-15 reps per side Single Leg Squats
8-15 reps per side Single Leg Alternating Squat Jump

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

NOTES: Challenge yourself by doing the hardest bodyweight variation you can. Also slow down the tempo of the repetition and do more reps to make the workout harder. Do not add weight to any of these moves.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Side to Side Lunges – Step your feet wide apart with both toes pointing straight ahead. Your feet will be wider than shoulder-width apart. Then, you are going to bend the right knee and sit your butt back into a lunge on the right side. Keep your left leg straight. Both toes should still be pointing straight ahead. Keep your right heel down as you sink into the lunge. Push your butt back and keep your chest up and back flat. Then slowly slide across until your left knee is bent and your right leg is straight. Make sure both heels stay down as you move from a side lunge on one side to a side lunge on the other. Stay as low as you can as you move slowly from one side to the other. Beginners may need to stand up in the middle. Do not move your feet as you alternate lunges. The slower you move and the lower you get, the harder the move will be.
Lateral Hops – Start to one side of the space you have to use with each hand holding a suspension trainer strap. You are going to jump lateral, holding the straps and hopping from one foot to the other while trying to move as quickly and cover as much distance as possible. If you start to the right, you are going to push off your right leg and push yourself laterally as far as you can. When you land, you will land on your left leg. Keep your chest facing straight ahead. As you land, sink into a variation of the skater lunge. Then push off your left leg and jump back right, landing on your right foot. Try not to touch the other foot down when you land. Only touch if you need to. Beginners may need to go slower and not jump as far. As you advance, do not pause on either side of the jump to balance. Also, make sure you are jumping as far as quickly as possible.
Backward Single Leg Lunge – Stand facing the suspension trainer. Hold a strap in each hand. Step back so there isn’t slack in the straps. Then, standing nice and tall, lift one leg off the ground. Bend the lifted knee to 90 degrees with your foot back behind you. Then bend your front knee as if lunging backward. As you squat down, kick the back leg back and lean forward just slightly. Use the straps to help you balance. Sink as low as you can, lunging back while keeping that back leg bent and the foot off the ground. Beginners may not be able to go as low. Do not let your back toe touch down. Then drive straight back up to standing, bring the leg that lunged back forward to meet your standing leg. Complete all reps on one side before switching.
Lunge back with Explosive Knee Drive – Stand facing the suspension trainer. Hold a strap in each hand. Step back so there isn’t much slack in the straps. Then lunge backward with one foot and bend both knees as if kneeling to the ground. Quickly explode out of the backward lunge, driving the knee of the leg that lunged back forward and up. Come up to standing and squeeze your glute as you quickly drive the knee up. Keep your chest up nice and tall throughout the entire move. Then sink right back into a backward lunge and repeat. Complete all reps on one side before switching.
Single Leg Squats – Beginners may find they need to use a box step while more advanced lifters may use TRX or XT straps for balance. To perform the basic single leg squat with a suspension trainer, stand holding one handle in each hand. Move back so that the straps are relax but there isn’t a ton of slack. Stand on one leg with the other leg straight out in front of you. Push your butt back and sit into your heel going as low as you can. Then driving up off the heel on the ground, stand back up using your arms on the suspension trainer only as much as needed to stand back up. Do not lean way forward or touch your raised foot to the ground. Do not turn this move into a pull up. If you are feeling it only in your arms, this variation may not be right for you yet. To advance the move further, hold only one strap. Start by holding a strap in the opposite hand from the standing leg and then progress to holding it in the same hand as the standing leg. Single Leg Alternating Squat Jump – Stand holding one handle in each hand. Move back so that the straps are relax but there isn’t a ton of slack. Stand on one leg with the other leg straight out in front of you. Push your butt back and sit into your heel squatting down to just above parallel. Do not squat too low. You do not want to go below parallel. Then driving through the heel, come out of the squat and jump up, landing on the other foot. Quickly go down into a squat on that side and jump back up landing back on the foot you started on. Keep alternating legs until all reps are complete. Beginners may not want to squat down very low at all and may want to slow down the move, pausing between jumps. They can also do a small jump with their foot barely coming off the ground as they jump to the other foot. Advanced exercisers will want to move as quickly as possible and jump as high and as powerfully as possible.