HOW: Get set up in a standing position in your ideal squat stance and form. To begin the exercise, bend forward and grab your toes/front of your shoes with your hands. Then pull yourself down towards the ground with your arms until you’re at the bottom of your squat. While still holding onto your feet, lift your chest up, hold this position for a moment (take a breath) then reverse the motion and return to starting position. Repeat.

 

FEEL: This should feel like a lower body and core workout to hold the squat position. You may feel a stretch in your hamstrings as you pull yourself down to the ground, if you cannot tolerate it let your knees bend as you reach for your toes.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not hold your breath, you should be able to breathe at the bottom of the squat while holding your feet and keeping your chest up. Follow along with the video for other tips and tricks.

HOW: Get set-up laying on your side with your elbow directly under your shoulder. Have your forearm facing out, and bend your knees so that your thighs are at a 45-degree angle. Place a band around your knees. Place your top hand on your hip for body awareness. While keeping your feet together, push your forearm and knee into the ground to lift your hips up into the air. Push your hips up and forward as high as you can and hold this position. While keeping your feet together, perform a clamshell exercise by lifting the top knee as high as you can to spread it apart from the other knee, slowly bring it back down and repeat. Perform on both sides.

 

FEEL: This should feel like a full-body exercise. Your shoulder and shoulder blade muscles will be working as well as your hip, back, and stomach muscles. You will feel both sides of your hip muscles working, especially your right hip and core muscles working if you’re laying on your right side. Follow the video for other cues and tips.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not let your hips or shoulder sag, stay strong through your core. Do not let your hips roll back either, keep them stacked and stable.

HOW: Get set-up with your hands supported on a wall with your elbows straight and a band around the top of your feet. While standing tall with a slight lean forward, lift one leg up driving your knee forward until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Hold this position, slowly lower down and repeat on the other side.

 

FEEL: You will feel your hip flexor muscles working on the side that you lifted the leg. You will also feel your core muscles working and your opposite hip muscles working to maintain balance and single limb stance stability.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not round or arch your back when you lift/lower your leg. Try to isolate hip movement during the exercise. See video for tips 

HOW: Loop a band around the bottom of one of your feet. Hinge forward at the waist and bring the other foot/leg up to where your back is almost parallel with the ground. Find your balance and with the other part of the band in each hand, bring the band up to shoulder height on each side with the thumb side of your hand facing up. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to separate the band.

 

FEEL: You should feel your lower body muscles working in the leg balancing. You should also feel your shoulder muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your back flat and hips square, don’t rotate to either side. Don’t bring the bands up over your shoulders.

HOW: Sit on a box/bench/object of the desired height. The taller, the easier. Stand up from the box using both of your legs. Once standing, shift all your weight to one leg and lift the opposite leg in the air. Slowly lower yourself down to the box with only the one leg. Repeat

 

FEEL: You should feel your glutes, quads, and core working to slowly lower yourself down to the box.

 

COMPENSATION: Try not to lean over to one side with your shoulders. Use your core to stay as centered as possible. Do not let your knee dive inward or outward excessively.

HOW: Starting in a standing position, take a moderate length step backwards bending that leg’s knee and using your toes to push into the ground while maintaining an upright trunk. Use the front leg’s quad muscles to push yourself back into a standing position. Alternate and repeat doing this in a dynamic motion for the prescribed amount of reps. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your thigh muscles working the most. 

COMPENSATION: Don’t lean too far forward as you lunge backwards.

HOW: Place a step in front of a wall or an object to use for balance. Using only one leg, step onto the box with the balls of your feet on the edge of the box, and let your heel hang off the box. While keeping your glutes and quads tight to keep your knee straight, lift your heel up in a slow and controlled manner, then slowly lower your heel back down to the ground. Repeat

 

FEEL:  You should feel your calf getting a workout, but also your glutes and quads working as well to help keep your leg straight.

 

COMPENSATION:  Do not let your knee bend as that is a different exercise. 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 calf!

HOW: Stand on top of an elevated surface. Shift your weight to one leg and bend the other knee up. Begin to bend the knee you are standing on and hinge forward at the hips as you straighten your other leg down to the side of the surface. Once you have reached a point that is as low as you can comfortably go, push back into the surface and return to the single leg balance position. 

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your thigh working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t twist your body as you squat down on the one leg.

HOW:Place your forearms on the ground with your elbows straight under your shoulders, your knees straight down from your hips. Push into the ground with your toes and lift your knees off of the ground. From this position, kick one leg straight back from your hip. Bring it back to the starting position and repeat. 

 

FEEL: You should feel you glute muscles working on the leg that is lifting. You will also feel your quadriceps muscles working on the knee that is holding you up.  You should also feel your core working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t twist your back as you kick your leg out. Keep your leg straight out from your hip, not above it.