HOW: Begin in a standing position with your legs as wide as you can spread them. From here, shift your weight to one side as you perform a deep lateral lunge. Try and sit back on your heel as you bend your knee as much as you can while the other leg stays straight and your foot rotates a bit upward. Return to the starting position, rotate your body and alternate going into this deep squat on both sides. 

 FEEL: You should feel your thigh and hip muscles working while squatting, and a stretch in your inner thigh muscles on the outstretched leg. 

COMPENSATION: Don’t round your back as you squat to one side, keep it upright.

HOW: Start on your hands and knees then assume a high plank position. Perform the exercise by lifting one arm up and reaching towards the ceiling as you rotate your chest 90 degrees to the same direction to assume a high side plank position. Hold this position for a moment, then return to starting position. Repeat in the opposite direction, then repeat again.

 

FEEL: This should feel like an upper body and core workout, especially your shoulders and shoulder blades and triceps. Your lower body will be working as well to keep your hips up off the ground.

 

COMPENSATION: Maintain ideal shoulder position and keep your shoulders and arms stable as you perform this exercise. Do not let your hips sag, you should be rock solid maintaining ideal high plank and high side plank form as you move through this exercise. Quality over speed.

HOW: Begin in a squat position, with a majority of your weight in the balls of your feet. Take a step out to your side (in a W formation) and allow your opposite leg to slowly meet with the leg that stepped out. Make sure to keep tension on the band for the entirety of this exercise, avoid allowing the knees to get close together.  I only go forward and backward with a very small distance for filming purposes, feel free to cover a much larger distance.

 

FEEL: You will feel the entire leg with this exercise, majority of the burn will likely be in the glute and quad muscles.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid allowing the knees to cave in during this exercise, make sure to keep the knees spread into the band. Also avoid allowing the knee from going forward past your toes. 

HOW: Get set-up flat on your back with one foot supported on an elevated surface with the knee bent, the other leg is unsupported in the air. While maintaining a flat low back, push into the elevated surface to bridge up and lift your hips off the ground. Your body should create a straight line from your shoulder to your knee. Slowly lower down and repeat.

 

FEEL: You will feel the muscles behind your thigh, knee, hip, and butt muscles working hard with this exercise. You may also feel your core muscles working too, you shouldn’t feel your back muscles working hard.

 

COMPENSATION: Limit excessive arching of your back, keep your hips level with the ground. Do not let your hips drop or rotate. 

HOW: Stagger your feet by placing one foot slightly forward, making sure that your feet are about shoulder width apart. Place the leg you want to work more in the back. Then, complete a box squat by bending at your hips and knees like you are to sit  down, tapping the box with your butt, and then squat back up. Put more weight on the leg that is closer to the box as you squat back. 

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles both legs working, but the back leg will be working more. 

 

COMPENSATION: Try to avoid shifting your hips to either side. Don’t let your knees cave in.  Keep your chest up.

HOW: Begin in a standing position with a slider underneath one foot. Shift most of your weight to the leg without the slider. Perform a small squat by bending your knee and hinging forward at the hips while you slide your foot forwards, laterally, backwards. Return to the starting position in between each rep. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your thigh muscles working in the leg that is squatting down. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep you back upright. Keep the knee that is sliding out straight.

HOW: Place a step in front of a wall or an object to use for balance. Using only one leg, slightly bend your knees into a quarter squat position. Then lift your heels up in a slow and controlled manner, then slowly lower your heels back down to the ground. Repeat

 

FEEL:  You should feel your calves getting a workout, but also your glutes and quads to maintain the bent-knee position.

 

COMPENSATION:  Make sure to keep your knees bent. Do not lift your hips and let them rise up or fall down. Only our knees should be moving up and down as your raise/lower your heels. Do not shift your weight side to side. Make sure you go through your full range of motion at your ankle. This is not a balance exercise, so hold onto something to help with balance as the goal of this exercise is to strengthen your calves!

HOW: Take a quick step forward into a forward lunge position. Get deep into the lunge position by bending your front knee. Then explosively push yourself backwards and up, balancing on your opposite leg. The goal of this exercise is to work on explosively pushing off the ground and getting off the ground as quick as you can. Pretend the ground is hot lava.

 

FEEL: You should feel all the muscles in your front leg, especially your quadriceps muscle working. When balancing, keep your core and glutes tight to help maintain your balance.

 

COMPENSATION: The movement should be quick and explosive! Do not move slowly, but also perform with good form and hip/knee alignment.

HOW: Get set up by lining up your body properly first! Lie on your side, place your elbow and forearm on the ground directly underneath your shoulder. Keep your hip in line with your shoulder as you bend the bottom leg’s knee. Align your top leg’s foot/ankle with your hip and shoulder as you engage your core, push into the ground lifting your hips and bottom leg off of the ground. Hold that plank position for as long as prescribed. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your core and the top leg’s inner thigh muscles working the most. 

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t let your hips drop down as you push into the ground with your elbow and foot. Keep your body in a straight line.