Tag Archives: balance

Jump Lunge Hold

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Hello everyone!  It’s time again for the Home Exercise of the Week.  I have a killer thigh burning and sweat inducing exercise for you today!  It’s called the Jump Lunge Hold and if the jumping part doesn’t cause you to shout profanities then the hold will. 😉

The Jump Lunge Hold is going to strengthen and build your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.  The hold is going to build muscular endurance and the jumping adds a plyometric aspect to the exercise increasing your explosive power and heart rate.  So overall this is a great leg exercise to add in to your routine and can be done anywhere with or without weights.

How to do this leg burner effectively:

  • keep your body upright with your chest out and back straight throughout
  • lunge down until both legs are at 90 degree angles
  • jump up pushing through the heel of your front foot
  • switch legs in the air and try to land softly keeping your weight distributed between your front foot and back toes
  • hold the lunge position for 3 to 5 seconds before switching legs

So that’s it for the Jump Lunge Hold.  Give it a try and I guarantee that it will strengthen and burn your thighs and butt!  If you are in one of my boot camps or a one on one client then you have this exercise to look forward to in your next session!  Happy lunge jumping. 🙂

 

One Arm Plank Shoulder Circles

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It’s time to get your core and shoulders working with this Home Exercise of the Week!  In the video you’ll notice that this exercise has a really long name! (obviously at the time of filming it I couldn’t think of anything better)  So instead I have shortened it to One Arm Plank Shoulder Circles.

I’m going to be honest with you and say this exercise is hard!  That being said there are modifications to make it easier until you get stronger.

The plank part of the exercise is isometric which means the joint angle and muscle length doesn’t change during contraction.  This is really going to work your core!  The shoulder circle part of the exercise works your deltoids and in particular, your posterior deltoid and upper back muscles.

Let’s take a look at the key points to remember when doing One Arm Plank Shoulder Circles.

  • keep your feet wide to stabilize yourself during the movement
  • keep your body straight throughout (no butts sticking up!)
  • pull your belly button in towards your spine to keep your abdominal muscles flexed
  • raise one arm out to the side keeping it in line with your upper body
  • move your arm in small circles at an even, medium pace (this is going to burn!)
  • start by doing forward circles for 10 to 20 seconds or for 15 to 20 repetitions then go backwards for the same amount of time or reps
  • breath deeply and evenly throughout the exercise

As I mentioned earlier, there is a way to make the exercise easier if you are having trouble.  To do this, put your knees on the floor instead of being on your toes.  Keep in mind though that you still need to keep your body straight with this modification so no bending at the waist.

So there you have One Arm Plank Shoulder Circles!  If you have progressed to the point where this exercise is starting to get easy, try holding on to a dumbbell when doing the shoulder circles.  This will step up the intensity and maybe even cause you to utter some profanity while doing it!

Stability Ball Pushup

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I have a challenging exercise for you today for the Home Exercise of the Week!  If you’re a fan of pushups, the Stability Ball Pushup will add something new to your routine.  If you don’t like pushups, well then you’re probably thinking wow I didn’t know they could get any worse than they already are!

Whether you like pushups or not, the Stability Ball Pushup is a great exercise that will work your chest, shoulders, and triceps.  Since you are doing this exercise on a ball, you will also be working on your balance, core muscles, and all the little stabilizer muscles to keep you from flying off the ball.

If this is your first time trying the exercise, I recommend placing the ball against a wall which will make it easier to balance.  As you get more comfortable with the exercise you can place the ball freely in the room.  Also, you can start with a modified pushup from your knees if needed until you get stronger.

Some tips when performing the Stability Ball Pushup:

  • grab the ball on the sides and squeeze it as you move down to increase the contraction in your pectoral muscles
  • make sure your hands are in line with your chest throughout the movement
  • keep your ab muscles tight at all times by pulling your belly button in towards your spine
  • a wide foot position will increase your stability and if you feel that’s too easy then bring your feet together to work your core and stabilizers even more (at this point you’re probably thinking “yeah right Craig, let’s start with getting on the ball first!”)
  • at the top of the movement, stop just before your arms are fully extended to keep tension on your pectorals throughout

So there you have the Stability Ball Pushup!  Add this great exercise to your routine and you might impress people so much with your acrobatic feats that you get asked to join the circus!

Reverse Lunge Leg Kick

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The Home Exercise of the Week this week is the Reverse Lunge Leg Kick.  If you ever have one of those personal trainers that are always pushing you to do more when you don’t want to, then this exercise could come in handy! 😉

Like a regular reverse lunge, the Reverse Lunge Leg Kick works your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.  Adding the leg kick however, will increase the difficulty and will greatly improve balance, coordination, and core strength.

Some key points to remember when doing the Reverse Lunge Leg Kick:

  • Step backwards with one leg and lunge down until both legs are at 90 degree angles
  • Keep your back upright and straight throughout the movement
  • When stepping out of the lunge, push up through your front heel
  • When raising your knee up to do the kick, make sure to really squeeze your ab muscles (make sure your trainer is close enough in front of you as well if he/she is annoying you!)
  • give a nice forceful kick and bring the same leg back in to the lunge and repeat
  • do 10 to 12 reps for one leg then repeat on the other leg

So there you have the Reverse Lunge Leg Kick!  This is a great variation to the regular lunge and also good practice if you ever want to be a kung fu master!

One Sided Body Weight Squat

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This weeks Home Exercise of the Week is the One Sided Body Weight Squat.  This is a great exercise to isolate one leg more than the other and is a nice change from doing just regular squats.  The muscles being worked are your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.  The key to doing this exercise properly is to keep your body weight on that one leg the whole time while using the other leg for balance support.  Make sure to push up through the heel of the working leg and keep your back upright and straight.  To make this a little more challenging try holding on to some dumbbells or a kettle bell!