The step up and tap exercise develops the glutes, legs, and calves. Step ups are a functional movement that transfers well to sport and life. Bodyweight step ups can be used as a strength and conditioning exercise. Add resistance or increase the height of the step to challenge your body. Step ups can be used as a substitute for lunges or squats.
The straight leg quad and glutes isometric develops “static” strength in the quadriceps and glutes. This exercise can be performed as part of a beginner workout or rehabilitation routine. This exercise requires little skill and can be performed anywhere.
The wobble board side reach develops balance, hand-eye coordination, and stability. This is a fun exercise to perform with a partner and can be part of your warm-up or cool-down. The unstable surface creates balance demands on the body and challenges the ankles, hips, and torso.
The Single Arm Dumbbell Muscle Snatch is a great shoulder warm up. It is also a good pre-hab exercise for baseball and other throwing sports. It is more challenging than the two handed version because of the uneven loading.
The abdominal machine works the stomach muscles with increased resistance. The abdominal machine can be paired with the back extension machine to work the entire torso or “core” area.
The bent leg sit-up is an effective exercise to strengthen the abdominal muscles. Focus on the quality of the reps, not the number.
Bent-knee sling sit-ups develop power in the core and upper-body. Bent-knee sling sit-ups provide a good strength base in the abs before progressing to medicine ball throws. This is a good exercise for anyone looking to take their ab training to the next level.
The superman exercise performed on the ball develops the erector spinai muscles and glutes. Performing the superman exercise on a swiss ball increased the demand placed on your core muscles. By holding your arms at your side you also stretch the chest and shoulders. This allows you to develop strength-endurance in your back while stretching the upper body. Keep your feet apart for more stability and closer together for increase difficulty.
The lying dumbbell row develops the latissimus dorsi “lats”, rear-deltoids, and the scapula muscles. The bench provides a brace for the upper body to prevent excessive strain on the lower back. Select a bench that allows the bar to travel through a full range of motion. Use lighter dumbbells for muscular endurance and heavier weights for strength development.
The bench press performed with a resistance band works the chest, shoulders and triceps. The resistance on the band increases as you press away from you chest and decreases as you return to the starting position at the bottom. The resistance band also recruits the stabilizer muscles around the shoulders. You’ll want to find a band with enough resistance at the top of the movement, also called the “positive” portion of the exercise.
The bench press is often referred to as the “king” of upper-body exercise. The bench press develops strength in the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Using a barbell allows you to lift more weight than using dumbbells because you do not have to focus on stabilizing the weight as you push up. It’s important to keep your feet on the floor for stability and always use a spotter for safety. The bench press should be a staple in your upper-body workouts.
Performing the bench press with a restricted range-of-motion (ROM) is recommended for anyone with a pre-existing shoulder issue. Using a limited ROM reduces some of the shearing and compressive forces caused by the bench press. Place a bolster or rolled up towel over the sternum as a guide for the negative (lower) portion of the barbell bench press. This will ensure you do not move the weight past the restricted ROM.
Body weight squats performed to parallel develop strength in the glutes, hamstrings, hip adductors, quadriceps and spinal extensors. This exercise transfers well to the real world and can be adapted to meet the needs of almost anyone. For more complete lower-body development body weight squats to below parallel.
The dumbbell step up performed on a low step targets the glutes and thighs. Step ups are a functional movement which transfers well to everyday life. So while you are building great looking legs you are also preparing you body to handle the stress of everyday life. After mastering forward lunges you may try steps ups as an alternative exercise for strengthening the legs and butt.
Lateral lunges strengthen and define the glutes (butt) and hamstrings. Alternating legs develops and strengthens basic motor patterns. Lateral lunges are a bodyweight exercise that can be performed at home or in the gym. Add lateral lunges on your conditioning day or during your lower-body strength workout.
The wide stance PowerBlock squat strengthens and defines the legs and inner thighs. The dumbbells reduce loading on the spine and therefore make a good alternative to back squats. Dumbbell squats can be performed at home or in the gym. Include this exercise on your lower-body workout day.
The Auto Quad Stretch is a good warm down exercise after a lower body workout. Stretches such as the auto quad stretch help improve your range of motion and speed up your recovery. For more of a stretch you can pull the opposite leg toward your glutes and hold it a little longer. Keeping your muscles loose is a good way to avoid injury.
The auto-band leg curl performed seated focuses on the hamstrings. This exercise can be used as part of a rehabilitation program for the posterior chain. These muscles are important for knee stability and low back strength. This is also a good for beginner exercisers or people with limited mobility. You can perform this exercise as a substitute for the seated leg curl machine.
