HOW: Follow along with the detailed video tutorial for all movement cues!

 

FEEL: You should feel nice and warm after completing this, ready to tackle the program or workout!

 

COMPENSATION: None.

HOW: Grab one foot’s ankle with the same side’s hand. Pull your heel to your butt while keeping your thigh straight. Reach straight up overhead with the opposite arm. Hold this stretch for as long as prescribed. Repeat by moving forward and alternating legs. 

 

FEEL: You should feel a stretch in your quadriceps muscles. 

COMPENSATION: Don’t push your knee out when trying to hold the stretch, keep it straight down from your hip. Don’t lean forwards or backwards, stay tall.

HOW: Shift your weight to one leg as you bend the opposite knee and place the lower leg over the top of the knee on the leg you’re standing on. Hinge forward at the hips keeping your back flat and slightly sink down on your leg creating a stretch in the bent leg. Hold this for as long as prescribed and do this as you walk forward alternating legs. 

FEEL: You should feel a stretch in the hip you are bending. 

COMPENSATION: Don’t lean to either side, stay upright even as you hinge forward.

HOW: Start on your hands in knees.  Your hands should be under your shoulders with your palms down. Your knees should be under your hips. Keep your elbows locked, and rotate your shoulder blades down, up, forward, and back down.  Do this in a slow circular motion. 

 

FEEL: You should feel a stretch in your shoulder blade muscles. 

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t arch your back.  Keep your elbows locked out.

HOW: Begin in a standing position. In this example, the tempo relates to the time it takes to lower into a squat, hold the squat, come back up, and the time in between reps. 5-3-1-0 is used for this squat. Five seconds to bend your knees, hinge slightly forward at the waist, and lower into a squat. Three seconds to hold that squat at the bottom for an isometric contraction. One second to return to the starting position, and zero seconds in between reps. Perform this type of squat for the tempo that is prescribed to you. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your lower body muscles working during the squat.

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t cheat yourself on the times prescribed.

HOW: Starting in a standing position, take a moderate length step backwards and perform a lunge movement. Pause at the bottom, then return to starting position. Repeat and then perform on the other side.

 

FEEL: You should feel at least 80% of your weight is on the front leg. This is the leg that will be doing most of the work, with your quads and glutes getting a workout.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not take too short or too long of a step, maintain space in between your feet, you don’t have to step back as if your feet are exactly in line with one another. Don’t lose balance or put too much weight on the back leg.

HOW: Begin in a squat position, with a majority of your weight in the balls of your feet. Take a large step out to one site. 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 bringing the knees to close together. Repeat taking a step from side to side.

 

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 on the ground with a band around the top of your feet. Lift both legs into the air with your knees bent and your knees positioned over your hips. While keeping one leg still and your low back flat against the ground, kick one leg in front of you straight, slowly bring it back and repeat on the other side.

 

FEEL: You will feel your hip flexor muscles on the side that did not move as well as your core muscles the entire time working with this exercise.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not lose hip position when keeping one side still or low back position, do not let your low back excessively arch. 

HOW: Begin on your side with feet stacked together, knees straight, and your elbow on the ground underneath your shoulder. Hold a dumbbell in the other hand out in the front at chest level. From here, lift your hips into the air with your feet and arm creating a side plank position. With your thumb up and elbow straight, lift the dumbbell up until you get to be straight up from your shoulder. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your shoulder and core muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your hips off the ground in the plank position. Keep your thumb up as you bring the dumbbell up.

HOW: Start in the tall plank position. Drive your hands into the ground and also imaging driving your elbows into the ground. This is your stable base position. Keeping the core and shoulders engaged and strong, slowly let your shoulder blades come together. Then drive your hands into the ground again and separate your shoulder blades.

 

FEEL: You should feel all the muscles in your shoulder working, especially in the front part of your shoulder and under your shoulder blades. You will also feel your core working.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not lose your serratus engagement. Keep strong through the shoulder the entire time. Also do not let the elbows bend. This is a push up plus, not a full push up.

HOW: Begin in a staggered stance position, then lean your trunk forward by hinge at the hips. Once in this position bring both arms facing the ceiling while making sure the thumbs are face facing towards the ceiling. Focus on pulling your shoulder blades back and down. Your arms should end in a Y formation.

 

BALANCE PROGRESSION: Focus on balancing on the front leg while performing the Y. Keep your back leg slightly elevated off the floor.

 

STRENGTH PROGRESSION: Step on a long band with the front leg while keeping both ends of the band in your hands. Perform the Y exercise with additional resistance the band will provide you.

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in between your shoulder blades working in addition to the muscles around your shoulder.

 

COMPENSATIONS: Avoid shrugging or excessively arching the low back as you perform this.

HOW: Grab a kettlebell in each hand. Press each one up overhead with your elbows locked out. From here, step forward with one leg bending that knee as you stay upright performing a lunge. Alternate lunging forwards with each leg for the prescribed amount of reps or distance. 

FEEL: You should feel your shoulder muscles working stabilizing the kettlebells. You should also feel your thigh and glute muscles working while lunging. 

COMPENSATION: Keep your upper body upright, don’t lean forwards or backwards while lunging. Don’t let the kettlebells come down as you lunge.