Tag Archives: arms

Jumping Jack Squat

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Hey there, it’s time for a new Home Exercise of the Week! This week I have a heart pumping lower body and plyometric exercise for you to try called the Jumping Jack Squat.

The Jumping Jack Squat will work all the muscles of the legs including quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves and the jumping jack part of the exercise will give you a great cardiovascular exercise and will also work the arms and shoulders.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Jumping Jack Squat.

  • start by standing nice and tall with your feet together and your arms at your side
  • lower your body like you are going to sit in a chair while keeping your weight on your heels and your back straight
  • make sure to drive your hips back to prevent your knees from going past your toes
  • once your thighs are parallel to the floor, explode up from the squat position and jump your feet out to the side while raising both arms over your head
  • jump your feet back together while lowering your arms down to your sides and descend back in to a squat
  • repeat the movement for your desired amount of reps or time

So there you have the Jumping Jack Squat. Your heart will be pumping, your legs will be burning, and you’ll be sweating. That probably doesn’t sound very pleasant but it will be worth it! 😉

Let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!

Close-Grip Pushup

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The Home Exercise of the Week this week is the Close-Grip Pushup also known as the Military Pushup.  This is a great exercise to work your tricep muscles, inner chest muscle, anterior deltoid (front shoulder), as well as your core!

This is generally more challenging than a regular pushup because the tricep muscles are the prime mover whereas your chest does more of the work in a regular pushup.  Since the tricep muscles are smaller than the muscles of your chest they won’t have as much strength.

If you are new to performing the Close-Grip Pushup, you will most likely find that your elbows tend to flare out from your body because your chest takes over and does the work to compensate for the weaker tricep muscles.  You will want to try and keep your elbows tucked in to your body as much as possible to avoid this.  Over time, as your triceps get stronger, it will be much easier to keep your elbows from leaving your sides.

Another key point to remember when performing this exercise is to always keep your body as straight as possible.  There is a tendency, especially from the kneeling position, to just move your upper body down towards the floor while leaving your butt up in the air.  You will want to make sure that your hips come down with you so you get the full benefit of the exercise.

So there you have the Close-Grip Pushup!  Add this effective exercise to your routine and you’ll be on your way to sculpting strong and shapely arms!