Ready to find out how to do this month’s exercises properly? Please take the time to watch each video. Practice the exercises in front of a mirror to make sure you are doing them right!
Arms:
Bicep Curl + Overhead Press: Two exercises in one for a compound movement that will increase your heart rate and up the intensity of your workout.
Front and Side Arm Raises: Strengthen the arms and increase flexibility with front and side arm raises. You can do these together but do them slowly to make them most effective.
Tricep Overhead Extension: These can be done seated or standing. Keep your elbows in tight and point them forward…not out. Bring your dumbbell up and down squeezing your triceps during each move.
Tricep Dips: We should all know how to do these by now…but take a moment to remind yourself of the proper form. Keep your elbows in tight and close to your ears. You can use a bench or study chair.
Tricep Swings: Keep your back pressed to the floor and your abs tight. This is another great exercise for those flabby arms and a great way to get ready for summer!
Abs: Ready to go crunch crazy? I know we don’t all like doing crunches…me included…but these exercises are going to get us ready to show off those tummies!
Crunches: Keep these low and slow. Avoid rounding your back and lift your chin up. We are doing a lot of these in April…every day in fact. Break them into sets and do them in-between your other exercise sets.
Stability Ball Crunch: If you don’t have a stability ball…reach out to me and we will come up with an alternative, but you can also go to Walmart or Target and get one for a reasonable price and you will love it. The stability ball stretch feels wonderful and you will find lots of ways to use your new toy. 🙂
Lying Leg Raise: Keep your back firmly pressed into the floor and keep your abs tight. Use your abs to raise and lower your legs.
Dumbbell Side Bend: Great standing ab exercise. Keep your core tight and feel the stretch in your obliques.
Frog Sit Ups: Frog sit up will engage the core muscles. Come all the way up and touch the ground in front of your toes. Keep your knees wide and force your stomach to do all the work.
Oblique Crunches: Scott Herman showing a little variation on the Oblique Crunch. I like the way he rolls his leg over to really target those obliques. Remember to breathe during each sit up.
Reverse Crunch: This exercise works the transversve muscles which is the deepest muscles in our abs. Bring your knees up to your nose but avoid brining your elbows in touch your knees.
Plank: We’ve been doing them for a long time…but a reminder is always good. Keep you back flat and pull in your abs. If this hurts your back you are not doing it correctly. “Tuck” your butt under (if that makes sense) and use your abs to hold you up. Make sure your not putting you butt higher in the air. Straight like a table…
Legs: Running is our passion so we need strong legs, hips, and glutes! Some new exercises coming at you this month…several targeting our inner thighs…so make sure to watch how to do them correctly!
Bridge with Inner Thigh Squeeze: Grab a pillow or foam block and place it between your legs. Keeping your legs and core tight, lift your butt up into a bridge. Squeeze your inner thighs during each motion.
Inner Thigh Leg Lift: Keep everything nice and in line and keep your foot flexed. Keep your core tight as always and squeeze your glutes and inner thighs.
Side Step with Squat: Great exercise with a lateral movement to give us a new way to do body weight squats. This video is a little longer but has some great info on why this is such a good exercise.
Squat Jacks: These are fun! Get low and keep your core, legs, and glutes tight!
Curtsey Squats: Curtsey squats will work the glutes and the outer thigh area. Make sure you keep you hips straight and shoulders are pulled back. Keep the knees light and add some weight if you feel like they are a little too easy.
Cossack Squat: Legs, Glutes, Hamstrings, Groin…all areas we will work with this exercise. It’s new to us so please watch this video and make sure you are doing this right. Turn your outside foot out to feel the stretch in your hamstrings. Start slow and don’t go too deep in the beginning. Work your way farther down as the month progresses.
How to do it: Stand with feet much wider than shoulder width, arms relaxed by sides. Squat as deep as possible to the left, while turning right toes up, flexing right foot (right leg remains straight and torso leans slightly forward to maintain balance). Extend arms straight out from shoulders. Return to the starting position and perform on the opposite side to complete one rep.
Daily Stretches: These stretches are in conjunction with each day’s exercises to stretch out those muscles and keep them soft.
Arm Stretches:
Leg Stretches:
Ab Stretches:
Strong to the Core 