"Knee Day Programming" [no exercise is WRONG]   ⬅️ Going off of yesterday's post on keeping it simple with your programming, know that no exercise is "wrong" as long as it accomplishes your goals. My goal - general fitness and good mental health. I'll dissect the exercises I did earlier today for my "knee day" at the gym.   🏋️‍♂️ Front Squats. I always like to include one compound lift. Today it was the front squat. It's more knee dominant than a back squat, but would a back squat have been a wrong choice here? No, but I did back squats last time around so I switched it up. I worked with triples today, and have been doing triples the past month. I'll probably choose a 5-6RM range next month. Again, just changing things up. . ☝️ Plyometrics. I like to include some form of plyos in my knee day just simply from an injury prevention perspective. Today it was single leg hops in the sagittal and frontal planes. It could have been double leg broad jumps. Or transverse plane hops. Or continuous skater bounds. No wrong exercise here. Just chose some sort of plyo for today and did it. Notice my eye gaze. Down on the ground until I feel comfortable and then looking ahead (no mirror). General rule of thumb to progress plyos is to take your gaze forward - not down at the feet.   ⏬ Reverse Walking Lunges. These are some of my favorite for working the quadriceps (rectus femoris) in a lengthened position, which we typically don't do with other exercises. With these, the goal is to use your back leg to propel yourself backwards. Check out the article (link in bio) on how utilize biomechanics to your advantage with choosing specific lunge directions. Could any other form of lunges worked here? You bet.   ⬆️ Step downs. Usually will include some single leg exercise. Today I happen to choose forward step downs. I could have chosen skater squats. Or lateral step downs. Or single leg box squats. Next time, I'll choose one of those.   💤 Calf raises. Nothing fancy here. Just focus on a nice slow and controlled eccentric and maximal "push" at the top.   👌 All 5 of these exercises could have been replaced with just about any other exercise or variation and it would have been A-O-KAY. Changing it up and practicing movement variability is important. But master the basics first. Goblet squat before a front squat. DL jump in place before the SL hop sequences. Master the split stance position first before walking reverse lunges. Box squats before step downs. Level ground heel raises before elevated calf raises.   👍 Keep it simple. Know the basic movements. And change something every few sessions or every few weeks. Most importantly - have FUN in the gym!!!!
Exercise Library