Exercise Classification: Intermediate
Categories
Category: Aerobics
Exercise Classification: Advanced
Description: Stand directly in front of the corner of a chair or couch. Widen your feet just outside your shoulders.
Sit your hips back and bend your knees to squat to the chair or surface. Your butt should lightly touch the seat (not actually sitting down!) in a controlled motion, and then stand back up.
Think about sitting on a balloon!
Stand all the way up to finish the rep. Squeeze your glutes at the top.
If you cannot squat all the way to the chair, try squatting halfway down, and then stand up.
Categories
Step-Ups Lateral
Exercise Classification: Intermediate
Description:
Stand beside the step you will be stepping up onto. Instead of facing the step stand beside it and take a step up onto the step horizontally with the foot closest.
Categories
Bridging Variations
Exercise Classification: Intermediate
- Start laying on your back with your feet together, knees apart, and arms resting at your sides.
- Take a normal breathe in through your nose then, as you exhale normally through your nose or pursed lip, press your hips up towards the ceiling and the bottoms of your feet together. You can hold at the top for 3 to 5 seconds or come right back down.
- Repeat.
- To make this harder: bend the elbows so only the top of your arms are touching the group.
- To make this even harder: straight your arms up towards the ceiling so they are not touching the floor at all.
- Start laying on your back with your arms resting at your sides and feet flat on the floor about hip distance apart.
- Take a normal breathe in through your nose.
- Squeeze your bottom as you push your hips towards the ceiling and gently exhale (through nose or pursed lips).
- Hold the top position and march one knee and hip up past 90 degrees (closer to your chest). To make this harder, only lift to 90 degrees NOT PAST 90 degrees.
- Put that foot down as you take a breathe in.
- Repeat on the other leg as you exhale.
- Return your bottom to the ground.
- If you can easily do 10 of these without rest, try to string 4 or 6 marches together before letting your bottom touch back down to the ground.
Airplanes (Exercise classification: advanced)
Equipment: none
- Start standing with feet together
- Bend forward at the hips as you lift one leg behind you and bring your arms straight out to the sides as if making a “T”. Your hip bones should be facing the floor.
- Exercise 1: If this is hard, try to hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds. To make it easier, stand with a wall or chair to one side of you for light finger tip touch support.
- Exercise 2: If you can balance in this position, bring one arm down and in front of you with your fingertips facing the floor and elbow straight. Return that arm to the starting position. Now try the other arm. If alternating is too challenging, try a few repetitions on one side, rest, then try the other side.
- Remember to breathe throughout the exercise.
- Have some fun! Try this with your belly relaxed and with your belly muscles tightened at a 50% effort.
Half Kneeling Thoracic (Mid-Back) Rotation (Exercise Classification: Beginner)
Equipment: none
- Start in a half kneeling position with one knee on the ground and other foot on the ground (see video) and arms straight out in front of you.
- Take a breath in through your nose then as you slowly and gently exhale, reach one arm behind you while twisting in your mid-back as far as you can (a) without pain and (b) without your pelvis moving. Imagine headlights on your hips bones…they should stay shining forwards the entire time.
- Return to your starting position and go the other direction.
- Good for: mid-back flexibility, balance, trunk control
Lateral Lung with Trunk Rotation (exercise classification: intermediate)
Equipment: none
- Start standing with your feet together and toes facing forward
- Take a big step out to the side, keep your toes of both feet facing forward, and sit your hips down and back into a lunge position. To make this easier, take a smaller step. To make it harder, take a bigger step.
- Once in the lunge, twist your mid back and try to touch the ground on the outside of the opposite foot.
- Return to your starting position.
- Remember to breathe during the movement.
- Try 4 to 6 repetitions on one side and then switch to the other side.
- Good for: hip and spine mobility; hip loading and strengthening
Categories
Standing Hip Rotation at the Wall
Standing Hip Rotation at Wall (exercise classification:advanced)
Equipment: none
- Start by standing very close to wall
- You can then either…
- Keep your hip underneath you (neutral or not bent) and bend your knee that is closest to the wall to a 90 degree angle
- Bend your hip and knee of the leg closest to the wall 90 degrees (HARDER)
- IF you want to work on mobility & flexibility:
- Keep your hip bones facing forwards and outside of your thigh touching the wall
- Slowly move your foot away from the wall, moving from the hip socket (not your whole pelvis), then bring it back to touch the wall
- IF you want to work on strength:
- Push your foot and the outside of your lower leg into the wall as if you were trying to push “through” the wall as you stand tall and hold for 3-5 seconds then relax. The outside of your thigh should touch the wall the entire time.
- Try not to let your back round or arch excessively as you do this.
- Breathe throughout the entire hold.
Clamshell Variations for hip strength and mobility (exercise classification: beginner/intermediate)
If clamshells are too easy or you want to mix your routine up a little, try one of these variations. In the first variation, you are lifting your leg as high as you can with good form and then using your bottom muscles to hold it there. Vary your hold times from 3-10 seconds, with longer holders making for a harder exercise. Lower your leg down slowly. In the second variation, you are working on hip rotation mobility into both directions instead of just one. Make sure you are breathing the entire time. If you want to get a little more out of the exercises, try one set with your belly relaxed and one set with your belly muscles tightened with a 50% effort.
Categories
Hip Rotation Progression
Exercise Classification: Beginner (video 1, 2, & 3), Intermediate (video 4), Advanced (video 5, 6, & 7)
