Tag Archives: hamstrings

Lateral Lunge Helicopter

Posted on by
Reply

Hey everyone!  It’s time for another Home Exercise of the Week and this week I have combined two exercises in one to really burn your legs out and get your heart rate up.

The exercise is called the Lateral Lunge Helicopter and it’s going to target all the muscles of the lower body.  It’s a plyometric move as well so get ready to sweat as your heart rate increases to pump all the oxygenated blood to the working muscles!  You’ll not only be working your lower body but you will be working on your cardiovascular conditioning as well.

Also, if you hold a dumbbell with both hands in a half curled position while doing the movement you can get a good isometric bicep workout during the set!

Let’s take a look at how to do the Lateral Lunge Helicopter properly.

  • stand tall with your shoulders back and your feet shoulder width apart
  • lunge to your right and keep your body weight on your right heel
  • keep your left leg straight while squatting down on your right leg
  • push up through your right leg back to the starting position
  • squat down on both legs and then jump as hard as you can and turn 180 degrees in the air
  • you’ll now be facing the opposite direction
  • lunge to your left side to work your left leg and repeat the movement

So there you have the Lateral Lunge Helicopter!  It is quite challenging but once you get the hang of it, you’ll want to add this in to your lower body or full body workout routine.  Nothing gets you results more quickly than plyometric and dynamic movements!

Happy jumping and I’ll see you next week with another new exercise!

Split Squat Jump

Posted on by
Reply

Hey everyone!  It’s time for a new Home Exercise of the Week and this week I have a plyometric lower body exercise for you to try.  It’s called the Split Squat Jump and I won’t lie…this one is going to burn!  Don’t let that scare you away though because the benefits outweigh the temporary discomfort.

The Split Squat Jump is going to target your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. This will also help to improve your balance and the plyometric component of the exercise will burn more calories and help improve your cardiovascular conditioning.

Let’s take a look at the key points to doing the Spit Squat Jump properly.

  • start in a lunge position with one foot in front of you and one behind
  • maintain an upright position throughout the movement with your head up and shoulders back
  • lunge down until both legs are at 90 degree angles
  • from the bottom position, explode up quickly jumping in the air while maintaining your leg position
  • land from the jump and immediately lunge down again and repeat
  • do 10 to 12 reps on one side or for the desired amount of time then switch to the other side

So there you have the Split Squat Jump!  Give it a try and let me know how you do.  Work hard, stay healthy and I’ll see you next week with another new exercise!

Bridge Hold Knee Crunch

Posted on by
Reply

Hey everyone!  It’s time for another Home Exercise of the Week and this week I have a great exercise that is going to isometrically work your hamstrings, glutes, shoulders, and triceps and it will also work your core.

It’s called the Bridge Hold Knee Crunch and it’s a great exercise that you can do for time or reps.  30 seconds each leg or 15 to 20 repetitions for each leg is a good place to start.

Let’s look at the key points to doing the Bridge Hold Knee Crunch.

  • sit on the floor, lean back slightly and place your hands on the floor behind you
  • keep your feet flat on the floor with your knees bent and drive your hips upward
  • keep your hips up throughout the movement and squeeze the glutes
  • take one foot off the floor and pull your knee in towards your chest while squeezing your abdominals
  • extend your leg back out and repeat for desired reps or time then switch legs to complete the set
  • to make this a bit easier, lay your upper body on the floor while performing the movement

So there you have the Bridge Hold Knee Crunch!  Give it a try and let me know how you do.  I will see you next week with another new exercise!

Lower Body Circuit Workout/Abdominal Tabata

Posted on by
Reply

Hey everyone, it’s time for another Home Workout of the Week and this time I have a Lower Body Circuit Workout/Abdominal Tabata for you to try!

There are a few plyometric exercises in this routine so make sure you are properly warmed up before starting this.

You will do three rounds of the leg circuit before moving on to the abdominal tabata and there are two different tabata’s for the abs.

Work hard, get a good sweat going, and burn some calories before the holidays!

Lower Body Circuit Workout/Abdominal Tabata

Warm-Up

  • 30 seconds of Jumping Jacks
  • 10 Spinal Rotations for each side
  • 10 Shoulder Circles for each arm
  • 12 Body Weight Squats
  • 12 Spiderman Climbs

Circuit

Rest 60 to 90 seconds then repeat the circuit 2 more times

Abdominal Tabata

Tabata Protocol – 20 seconds of as many reps as you can do followed by 10 seconds of rest; 4 rounds of the first tabata followed by a 1 minute rest before moving on to the next tabata.

Tabata 1

Tabata 2

 

Lower Body/Core Circuit Workout

Posted on by
Reply

Hey there!  I hope you’ve been working hard with these Home Workouts of the Week.  I have a new one for you this week and this time you are going to be doing a Lower Body/Core Circuit Workout!

Legs are always challenging and the least favorite for most people to work on.  The reason for this is because the legs consist of some of the biggest muscles in your body and thus require more oxygen and blood to be pumped to them while exercising.  This means a higher heart rate and more rapid breathing.  So basically working your legs is going to really tire you out.  That being said, the benefits far outweigh the temporary discomfort.  Working your legs will increase your metabolism, burn more calories, excrete more growth hormone in the body helping them to recover as well as helping the rest of your muscles to grow, and also give you shapely toned legs over time.

So work your legs hard and enjoy the benefits!  Let me know how you do with the workout or if you have any questions.

Happy leg training!

Lower Body/Core Workout

Warm-Up

  • 30 seconds of Jumping Jacks
  • 10 Spinal Rotations for each side
  • 10 Shoulder Circles for each arm
  • 12 Body Weight Squats
  • 12 Spiderman Climbs

Circuit

Rest for 60 to 90 seconds then repeat the circuit 2 more times.

Core