Exercises Archives - 国产吃瓜黑料 Online /tag/exercises/ Live Bravely Sat, 30 Aug 2025 08:32:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cdn.outsideonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/favicon-194x194-1.png Exercises Archives - 国产吃瓜黑料 Online /tag/exercises/ 32 32 A 7-Move Flexibility Routine You Can Do at Home /health/training-performance/flexibility-routine/ Sun, 31 Aug 2025 09:00:57 +0000 /?p=2714743 A 7-Move Flexibility Routine You Can Do at Home

A certified personal trainer and physical therapist share seven moves to improve whole-body flexibility.

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A 7-Move Flexibility Routine You Can Do at Home

Doing the splits and folding your forehead onto your thighs are cool party tricks, but the best flexibility benefits are functional鈥揳nd you don鈥檛 need to be Gumby to reap them.

There are two main perks of adding a flexibility routine to your workout plan, according to , a Wyoming-based physical therapist and adjunct faculty member at Augustana University.

The first perk: when you release tight muscles, they can achieve their optimal length, allowing them to work more effectively. That鈥檚 because they鈥檙e able to produce more force and operate more efficiently, Mason says. This can translate to better performance in sports鈥揻rom running to cycling to climbing.

Better muscle function can also enhance your ability to tackle everyday tasks, such as chasing your toddler around or hauling laundry up the stairs.

The second perk: better flexibility reduces the pain that comes from tight, stiff muscles, Mason says. This can translate to less discomfort as you move about your day, since you won鈥檛 be plagued by achy hip flexors or knots in your upper traps.

Anyone Can Get More Flexible with the Right Stretch Routine

The best part is that you can improve their flexibility with consistent stretching. Yes, this includes even the tightest and stiffest among us. By regularly incorporating static stretches (those where you get into a position that passively lengthens a muscle, and then pause to hold that position), you can relax chronically tight muscles. Mason likens it to silly putty: 鈥淚f you pull it slowly, it will steadily deform over time,鈥 he says. Essentially, by applying a sustained (not abrupt) load to your muscles, you can eventually stretch them out, he explains.

Just Make Sure You Don’t Push Yourself Too Hard

The key is to pick moves that are doable for your current level. That鈥檚 because forcing your way into a stretch can up your chances of injury鈥揳nd it鈥檚 also just ineffective.

Instead of copying your yoga instructor or your wildly bendy friend, try the seven moves listed below. They鈥檙e beginner-friendly stretches designed to loosen up areas of the body that are commonly tight, and you don鈥檛 need the talents of a Cirque du Soleil performer to pull them off. All you need is a doorway, a chair, and a strap.

A 7-Move Flexibility Routine

Complete the stretches in the order listed below. Hold each for 30 seconds per side, then repeat once or twice more, before moving on to the next stretch on the list. (As you get comfortable with these moves, increase the duration to 60 seconds per side.)

Think about melting into the stretches, Mason advises. To get the maximum benefit, you need to be able to relax into these poses. If it feels like you鈥檙e forcing or fighting the movement, ease up.

You can do this routine every day. If pairing it with a workout, do these stretches afterwards as part of your cooldown. You can also sprinkle them into your day as one-offs instead of as part of a circuit.

What You Need to Perform This Routine:听

  • Access to a doorway
  • Chair

1. Doorway Stretch

The doorway stretch targets your pectorals (chest muscles), which are commonly tight in people who spend a lot of time in a forward, rounded position, including cyclists, desk workers, and anyone tethered to their smartphone. It鈥檚 good for inflexible folks because you can dial down the intensity of the stretch by simply reducing the forward lean.

  • Standing next to a doorway, bend your right elbow to 90 degrees with your fingers pointing up.
  • Rest your right forearm on the doorway with your elbow slightly below shoulder height. Let your left arm hang by your side.
  • Lean forward slightly and rotate to the left until you feel a stretch in the right chest and shoulder.
  • Hold for 30 seconds.
  • Switch sides and repeat.

2. Kneeling Lunge with Side Bend

This move lengthens your iliopsoas, a muscle group that helps flex the hips and connects to the lower back. Many people experience tightness in the iliopsoas due to prolonged periods of sitting, which can contribute to back and hip pain. Hip flexor tightness is also common in runners and cyclists. This stretch delivers a gentle way to combat that. It also lengthens the tensor fascia lata (another hip flexor muscle), obliques (muscles on the sides of your torso), and quadratus lumborum (a deep trunk muscle).

  • Start in a kneeling position with both knees on the ground. Step your left foot forward, plant it firmly on the ground, and bend your left knee to a 90-degree angle. You鈥檙e now in a kneeling lunge position.
  • Reach your right arm up and over your body as you tilt your torso slightly to the left. Stop when you feel a stretch at the front of your right hip and on the right side of your torso.
  • Hold for 30 seconds.
  • Switch sides and repeat.

3. Thoracic Extension Over Chair

This stretch helps open up your thoracic spine, which includes your upper and mid back, through extension. It can alleviate tightness caused by activities such as hunching over at a desk, scrolling on your phone, or . Doing it in a chair provides support for the lower back so you don鈥檛 strain that area.

  • Sit tall in a chair with your lower back pressed against the backrest and your feet flat on the ground.
  • Place your hands behind your head and keep your neck in a neutral position.
  • While keeping your lower back pressed into the chair, arch your upper back over the top of the chair.
  • You should feel a stretch in your upper and mid back.
  • Hold for 30 seconds.

4. Supine Figure 4

The Supine Figure 4听stretches your butt muscles, specifically your piriformis, glute medius, and glute minimus. These areas can become tight with prolonged sitting. Performing the stretch on your back (versus standing or in a chair) is more beginner-friendly, as the ground supports your back and you can modify the movement to be less intense by simply stepping your feet out and lessening the bend in the knees.

  • Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet firmly planted on the ground, arms resting by your sides.
  • Lift your right leg and rest your right ankle on the top of your left thigh. Place your left hand in the crook of your left knee (you can use both hands if needed) and gently pull the left knee toward your chest. You should feel a stretch in your right glute.
  • Hold for 30 seconds.
  • Switch sides and repeat.

5. Supine Hamstring Stretch with Strap

Grab your strap! With this move, you鈥檙e lengthening the hamstrings, which shorten up from lots of time spent sitting. There are a bunch of different ways to stretch the hamstrings. This variation is good for folks who aren鈥檛 super flexible, since the supine position helps alleviate any discomfort you may feel in your back when stretching the hamstrings. The strap also makes the stretch more beginner-friendly, since it allows you to manipulate the intensity without compromising your form.

  • You need a firm strap, like a belt or rope. Lie on your back and loop the strap around the middle of your right foot.
  • Holding the strap firmly with both hands, flex your foot and extend your right leg straight up. You should feel a stretch in your right hamstring; it鈥檚 OK if your leg isn鈥檛 fully straight.
  • Hold for 30 seconds.
  • Switch sides and repeat.

6. Prone Quad Stretch with Strap

Tight quads are a common complaint among desk workers and endurance athletes who rely heavily on this muscle group, including runners and cyclists. This stretch loosens them up from a supported position鈥揵y lying on the ground, you remove the balance challenge inherent in the classic standing quad stretch. Plus, the strap makes quad stretching accessible to folks who struggle to bring their heel to their butt in that traditional standing quad stretch.

  • Lie on your stomach with a strap looped around your right foot.
  • Hold the strap firmly with both hands and use it to pull your right foot towards your right glute. Stop when you feel a stretch in the right quad.
  • Hold for 30 seconds.
  • Switch sides and repeat.

7. Child鈥檚 Pose

This helps gently lengthen several areas at once, including the neck, back, shoulders, hips, and ankles. If you struggle to hold this pose comfortably, you can make it easier by placing a block or blanket underneath your forehead. That will reduce strain on the lower back.

  • From an all fours position, push your hips back so your glutes rest on your heels.
  • Open your knees to deepen the stretch.
  • Reach your arms forward, pressing your palms into the ground, and lower your forehead to the ground.
  • You should feel a stretch in your shoulders and back, especially the lats, which sit beneath your shoulder blades and extend from the mid to lower back.
  • Hold for 30 seconds.

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These Are the Most Common Myths About Building Core Strength, According to a Physical Therapist /health/training-performance/core-strength-myths/ Wed, 13 Aug 2025 09:09:48 +0000 https://www.yogajournal.com/?p=144940 These Are the Most Common Myths About Building Core Strength, According to a Physical Therapist

Whoever told you to squeeze your core all the time...was wrong

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These Are the Most Common Myths About Building Core Strength, According to a Physical Therapist

I had no idea what I was saying yes to before I started hiking Breakneck Ridge in upstate New York. (Yeah, I know, the name should鈥檝e given it away.) It was miles and miles of uneven terrain to traverse and walls of slippery rocks to climb. 鈥淭ighten your core,鈥 I kept telling myself, thinking that would be my saving grace to prevent injury. Years before, I was told by a physical therapist that a weak core was the cause of my back pain, and I had to engage my abs鈥攚hatever that means.

I鈥檝e noticed this same type of self-talk on my yoga mat. For years in Warrior 1, I鈥檇 automatically suck in my stomach, something I figured somewhere along the way that I should do. Of course, that became more confusing in poses like or . The assumption that I should be squeezing my abs *at all times* to strengthen my core was creating confusion around even the simplest of movements.

The more freedom of movement you have, the stronger your core will be鈥攁nd vice versa.

I鈥檓 not alone in falling under the influence of vague sayings and assumptions about the core, says physical therapist . He explains there are many misconceptions about the core, including how to engage it, strengthen it, and use it in everyday life.

Here are the five biggest myths about core strength that we should all stop believing in, like, right now.

1. You Should Squeeze Your Core *All* the Time

Not only is it unrealistic to constantly engage your abs, but doing so can actually be taxing on your body, says Fata-Chan.

鈥淭he typical way we think about core training is to brace as hard as you can,鈥 says Fata-Chan. But bracing the abdominals restricts the spine鈥檚 range of motion.

It makes sense to brace your abs when recovering from injury or lifting a particularly heavy object (think barbells at the gym), says Fata-Chan, but if you鈥檙e reaching down to pick up a pen off the floor, you don鈥檛 necessarily need to tighten your core.

If you keep squeezing your abs and then attempt to do some kind of movement, those muscles aren’t going to lengthen, he says. So, the goal should be to move as fluidly as possible. The more freedom of movement you have, the stronger your core will be鈥攁nd vice versa.

2. A Neutral Spine Equals a Straight Spine

There鈥檚 a false narrative around the back鈥檚 neutral position, in which people seem to draw an imaginary line from their ear down to their foot and think they should maintain that position all the time, explains Fata-Chan.

Standing in neutral doesn鈥檛 mean your spine is as straight as a rod. 鈥淓ven when we stand in 鈥榥eutral,鈥 we still have a postural sway鈥攂ack and forth, side to side,鈥 he says.

There isn鈥檛 one position or 鈥減erfect alignment鈥 your body should be in at all times. 鈥淚f there were one perfect way to stand and move, we would put way too much stress on the same core tissues,鈥 he says.

Instead, view neutral as a zone, Fata-Chan advises. 鈥淲e鈥檙e always moving in and out of neutral.鈥 Fata-Chan even encourages clients to practice intentional slouching as an exercise. (Yes, you heard that right.) Though we talk a lot about preventing slouching, he likes to remind clients that they should be able to move in all directions comfortably.

3. You Should Never Tilt Your Pelvis Forward or Upward

Although you may have heard a physical therapist advise that you need to reduce the anterior tilt of the pelvis, that doesn鈥檛 mean your pelvis should never tilt forward.

We shouldn’t demonize the position of our joints, says Fata-Chan. 鈥淭he pelvis can anteriorly and posteriorly tilt, that鈥檚 part of the full range of motion at the pelvis in the sagittal plane鈥攋ust forward and back,鈥 he says. If you were to never anteriorly tilt your pelvis again, that limits half of that range of motion, says Fata-Chan.

Of course, treating discomfort or pain related to an anterior pelvic tilt is essential. But even then, it likely doesn鈥檛 involve avoiding an anterior tilt forever. Addressing the issue typically means you work on strengthening and stretching the necessary muscles so your pelvis can freely move in both directions.

4. You Should Always Be Mindful of What Your Core Is Doing

Fata-Chan says activating the core doesn鈥檛 have to be鈥攁nd usually isn鈥檛鈥攖hat complicated.

We don鈥檛 have to think about relaxing specific muscles and engaging others. It just happens.

You don鈥檛 even need to think about engaging the core to actually do it. Typically, the body adapts in any given situation to engage the muscles it needs. Fata-Chan uses the example of awkward positions we put ourselves in every day, like crawling into an attic or reaching underneath a bed. We don鈥檛 have to think about relaxing specific muscles and engaging others. It just happens. And the more we move intuitively, the more our body adapts.

鈥淕ive yourself more credit,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he body can provide the right amount of tension to get the job done.

5. Crunches Are the Only Way to Build Core Strength

Not only can you safely let go of the impulse to squeeze your core at all times, but the idea that the only way to strengthen your core is by crunching or 鈥渟ucking in鈥 the abs likely isn鈥檛 serving you, either.

The simplest exercise you can do for your core? 鈥淭ake a full breath,鈥 says Fata-Chan. When you slowly and fully inhale, you feel the core expand. When you exhale completely, you鈥檒l feel the deep core and oblique muscles engage鈥攏ot to be confused with bracing the core, he explains.

Using your core isn鈥檛 just about flexing鈥攅xtending is just as crucial. Fata-Chan guides clients into the supported backbend known as to lengthen the abdominal muscles.

He also has clients practice the pose to teach them how to relax the core muscles. 鈥淪ometimes we protect our backs too much,鈥 he says. Just as bracing the core leads to tension in the back, restricting movement in the back hinders optimal core movement. 鈥淎 toe-touch is a great way to see where in the spine you鈥檙e holding tension and learn to relax every segment,鈥 Fata-Chan says.

A key indicator of core strength is being able to move into and out of positions, says Fata-Chan. After all, the real test of strength is how well your core supports you while you move, not just on the yoga mat or at the gym, but in everyday life.

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3 Chest Exercises to Help Improve Your Posture /health/training-performance/chest-exercises-posture/ Tue, 05 Aug 2025 09:00:34 +0000 /?p=2712345 3 Chest Exercises to Help Improve Your Posture

The good news? You can limit some of that damage by strengthening the muscles that keep you upright.

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3 Chest Exercises to Help Improve Your Posture

You may have rolled your eyes as a teen when an adult told you to 鈥渟tand up straight鈥 or 鈥渟top hunching your shoulders,鈥 but they had a good point: can lead to misalignment, muscle and joint pain, decreased range of motion, and limited movement function.

Everyday activities like driving, typing, and hunching over your phone can lead to a of the muscles in the front of your upper body, like your pectorals, which become overused.

The good news? You can limit some of that damage and strengthen the muscles that keep you upright.

Building your chest muscles, the pectoralis major and minor, not only helps you perform everyday activities like pushing open a heavy door or lifting heavy packages from your front doorstep, but it also improves your shoulder stability and helps you maintain good posture when standing or sitting.

Perform the tri-set below as a circuit (doing one set of each exercise back-to-back with about 90 seconds rest in between) or by doing all three to four sets of each exercise before moving on to the next. Challenge yourself with a heavy weight: when you reach the end of your set, you should feel like you could do just one or two more with good form before reaching failure.

You can also make any of these movements more challenging by slowing down the tempo of the lowering phase or adding a pause at the bottom (for the shoulder taps, you can add a three to five-second pause while one hand is touching the opposite shoulder).

1. Dumbbell Squeeze Press

  • Grab a heavy set of dumbbells and sit on the end of a bench holding the ends of the dumbbells vertically in your hip crease.
  • Keeping your feet flat on the floor, lie back and bring the weights to rest horizontally on your chest.
  • Squeeze the weights together and press them straight up.
  • Pause at the top, then slowly lower the weights back to your chest.
  • Keep squeezing the dumbbells together throughout the entire movement.

2. Plank with Shoulder Taps

  • Begin in a high plank position with your arms straight and your wrists stacked directly below your shoulders. You can spread your feet about shoulder-width apart for better stability.
  • Your body should make a straight line from your head to your heels. (Keep your head and neck neutral and avoid dropping your head down or craning your neck up.)
  • Engage your core, squeeze your glutes, and lift your left hand off the floor. Bend your elbow and reach your hand across your torso to tap your right shoulder.
  • Return your left hand to its starting position and do the same movement with your right hand.
  • Continue alternating for the entire set.

3. Chest Fly

  • Grab a heavy set of dumbbells and sit on the end of a bench holding the ends of the dumbbells vertically in your hip crease.
  • Keeping your feet flat on the floor, lie back and keep the weights close to your chest.
  • Press the weights straight up over your chest and keep them close together to get into your starting position.
  • Slowly lower the dumbbells out to your sides, keeping a bend in your elbows.
  • Once the dumbbells reach chest height, pause, then return to your starting position with your arms straight and the dumbbells above your chest.

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5 Stretches You Can Do at Your Desk to Relieve Back Pain /health/training-performance/desk-yoga/ Sun, 27 Jul 2025 07:37:35 +0000 /?p=2711546 5 Stretches You Can Do at Your Desk to Relieve Back Pain

Feeling stiff or sore? A yoga instructor shares five stretches you can do at your desk to relieve back pain.

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5 Stretches You Can Do at Your Desk to Relieve Back Pain

Before I became a yoga teacher, I sat at a desk for eight hours a day, five days a week, and commuted an hour each way. I thought I was taking care of myself by practicing yoga after work, but all that sitting still created tremendous pain in my lower back. I tried taking breaks and standing up every hour or so, but it was only when I added desk yoga poses to my everyday routine that I began to experience relief.

The effects of sitting for hours at a time can incur devastating and different impacts on each of us. The following desk yoga stretches provide relief to the various muscle groups that may otherwise become tight and irritated, including the neck, shoulders, hips, and lower back.

5 Yoga Poses You Can Do at Your Desk

You can practice these desk yoga poses all at once or sneak one or two in between meetings and deadlines.

1. Palms Interlaced Overhead

Man sitting at a desk with his fingers interlaced and palms reaching toward the ceiling while practicing desk yoga.
(Photo: Patrick Franco)

Why it helps: stretches your chest and shoulders

How to do it:

  • Sit tall in your desk chair.
  • Interlace your fingers in front of your chest and press your palms away from you.
  • Keep them interlaced as you reach your arms overhead. (You鈥檒l probably feel some resistance in your shoulders and neck. Try bending your elbows, moving your arms back a little more, and then straightening your arms again.)
  • Gaze straight ahead or look toward the ceiling. Stay here for 5-10 breaths.
  • Switch the interlacing of your fingers and repeat.

2. Seated Twist

Man sitting in a chair at a desk twisting to one side to stretch his oblique muscles.
(Photo: Patrick Franco)

Why it helps: stretches the muscles along the spine

How to do it:

  • Sit tall in your desk chair.
  • Lift your arms and hold out straight in front of you, keeping them in line with your shoulders.
  • Twist to your right.
  • Place your left hand on your outer right knee or thigh and rest your right arm either on the chair arm or chair back.
  • Press through your heels, breathe in, and sit tall.
  • Breathe out and twist your abdomen, chest, and, lastly, your head more toward the right. Stay here for 5-10 breaths.
  • Switch sides.

3. Side Bend

Man sitting in a chair leaning off to one side while practicing desk yoga.
(Photo: Patrick Franco)

Why it helps: stretches the side body from your hips to your armpits

How to do it:

  • Sit tall in your desk chair.
  • Take your feet slightly wider than your hips and angle your feet outward.
  • Place your right forearm on your right thigh, lean to your right, and extend your left arm over your head alongside your left ear.
  • Breathe in and lengthen from your left hip to your fingertips as you open the side body.
  • Breathe out and begin to turn your chest toward the ceiling. Stay here for 5-10 breaths.
  • Switch sides.

4. Ankle Over Knee

Man sitting in a chair with his right ankle crossed over his left knee in a figure-4 shape while practicing desk yoga
(Photo: Patrick Franco)

Why it helps: stretches your lower back and glutes

How to do it:

  • Sit tall in your desk chair.
  • Place your right ankle over your left knee in a figure-4 shape.
  • Flex your right foot and press through your left heel as you lean your body toward the floor. (Your chest will be over your legs.) Let your neck relax.
  • Stay here for 5-10 breaths.
  • Switch sides.

5. Forward Fold

Man sitting in a chair leaning forward while practicing desk yoga
(Photo: Patrick Franco)

Why it helps: stretches the entire back side of the body

How to do it:

  • Sit tall in your desk chair. Ensure your legs are wide enough to allow your body to fit comfortably between them.
  • Breathe in and lift your chest, breathe out, and lean your chest forward between your legs.
  • Bring your hands to the floor, if they reach, and let your neck relax.
  • Stay here for 10-20 breaths.

is a yoga instructor and director at . He leads in-person and online teacher trainings worldwide, with a primary focus on yoga sequencing and the business of yoga.

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Triceps Exercises You Can Do at Home with Just a Set of Dumbbells /health/training-performance/triceps-exercises/ Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:17:22 +0000 /?p=2710764 Triceps Exercises You Can Do at Home with Just a Set of Dumbbells

Try these three triceps exercises that you can do with just a pair of dumbbells in the comfort of your own home.

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Triceps Exercises You Can Do at Home with Just a Set of Dumbbells

Your triceps are tiny muscles that are responsible for a major movement. While your biceps help your elbow bend, your triceps, those horseshoe-shaped muscles towards the top of your arm, . Though we tend to think of training these muscles primarily for aesthetic purposes, we also need them to be strong to perform basic daily functions like pushing a grocery cart or stroller, reaching for an item on a high shelf, or pulling on a pair of pants.

The triceps have three heads: long, lateral, and medial. All three work together for elbow extension and shoulder stability, but the long head, the strongest of the three, is also responsible for extending the arm at the shoulder. When your shoulder is elevated, the medial head .

You can train your triceps muscles as part of a compound movement, which challenges multiple muscle groups and joints at once (think: pushups, overhead presses), or in isolation as outlined below.

To make these exercises more challenging as you progress, you can add weight, slow down the lowering phase (the eccentric portion) of the movement, or add a pause at the end range.

3 Dumbbell Triceps Exercises

Triceps exercises tend to be done with lighter weights, so you can do a few more reps before hitting failure. Aim for three sets of eight to 12 reps with about 60 seconds rest in between.

To determine your working weight, use the . Start with the lightest dumbbells and aim for a set of eight reps. At the end of your set, if you feel like you could do three or more additional reps without compromising your form, add a bit more weight. When you reach the end of a set and feel like you can only do one or two more repetitions, that鈥檚 a good working weight.

If you are doing these exercises as a finisher to a routine of compound movements, you can also take the last set of each exercise to full failure, as long as you don鈥檛 feel any pain during the final reps.

1. Pulsing-Arm Kickbacks

  • Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a light weight in each hand.
  • Hold your arms straight by your sides with your palms facing behind you.
  • Hinge at the hips and allow your knees to bend slightly.
  • Press your arms behind you as far as you can without bending or locking your elbows.
  • Pause at your end range, then slowly return to your starting position.

2. Skull Crushers

  • Begin by lying on your back on a flat bench with the top of your head in line with the edge of the bench. (If you don鈥檛 have a bench, you can do this on the floor.)
  • Hold a light weight in each hand.
  • Raise both arms up so they are fully extended and in line with your shoulders.
  • Bend your elbows and slowly lower the weights down so the top of the dumbbell is in line with your ears.
  • Pause, then slowly return to your starting position.
  • Move as slowly as possible through the lifting and lowering phase of this exercise.

3. Alligator Mouth Flies

  • Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a light dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing towards your body.
  • Hinge at the hips and bend your knees slightly.
  • Let your arms hang down by your sides.
  • Keeping your arms straight, bring your left arm forward and swing your right arm back at the same time.
  • Pause at the top, then slowly return to your starting position with control.
  • Switch sides so your right arm goes forward and your left arm goes behind you, then continue alternating.

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Bodyweight Biceps Exercises You Can Do At Home /health/training-performance/bodyweight-biceps-exercises/ Sat, 28 Jun 2025 09:01:54 +0000 /?p=2708030 Bodyweight Biceps Exercises You Can Do At Home

These three bodyweight biceps exercises can be done in the comfort of your own home and are personal-trainer approved

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Bodyweight Biceps Exercises You Can Do At Home

Building strong biceps doesn鈥檛 have to exclusively involve curling a set of dumbbells until you鈥檙e utterly exhausted. You can build upper body strength using just your bodyweight from the comfort of your own home with just three biceps exercises.

Part of progressive overload鈥攖he principle that illustrates how to increase muscle strength, size, and endurance with more than just heavier weights鈥攊ncludes changing the speed at which you move. Slowing down the of an exercise (when your muscle fibers stretch and lengthen during a movement) has been shown to lead to because muscle fibers tear more during the eccentric phase of an exercise than the concentric (shortening) phase. It also makes any movement significantly more challenging. If you focus on this part of an exercise, you鈥檒l feel the results of your efforts when delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) kicks in within 12 to 24 hours post-workout.

Adding a pause, otherwise known as an isometric hold, at the end range of an exercise (say, the top of a biceps curl), will increase the difficulty level of the move. Doing this has been shown to and improve the muscle鈥檚 ability to produce against resistance.

Bodyweight biceps moves can be great for when you鈥檙e traveling without access to a gym, are looking to familiarize yourself with proper form before adding weight, or want to add a brutal finisher after a lifting session at the gym to really push your muscles to their limit before letting them build and repair during recovery.

3 Bodyweight Biceps Moves

Try doing four sets of 8 to 12 reps with around 30 to 60 seconds of rest between sets. You can make any of these more challenging by changing the tempo, adding a pause during the exercise, or shortening your rest periods between sets.

1. Inchworm

  • Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
  • Hinge at your hips, allowing your knees to bend slightly, and reach down to place the palms of your hands on the floor. (Depending on your flexibility, you may have to bend your knees a bit more until your hands touch the floor.)
  • Keep your core engaged and squeeze your glutes as you walk your hands forward until your body is in a plank position.
  • Hold the plank for a few seconds.
  • Begin to walk your feet towards your hands.
  • When you reach your starting position, stand up. That鈥檚 one rep.

2. Isometric Towel Curl

  • Lay out a towel on the floor.
  • Stand on the short edge of a bath towel. Reach down and grab the opposite short edge, holding it in your hands. Your arms should be down by your sides, and the towel should be slack and without tension.
  • Hold the top end with both hands in an underhand grip. Keep your elbows close to your sides.
  • Pull up on the towel until both of your arms form 90-degree angles; the towel should now feel taut.
  • Squeeze your biceps as if you鈥檙e holding in the midpoint of a dumbbell curl.
  • Try to hold this position at this angle for at least 20 seconds, working up to 60 or more.

FYI: You can also do this as a single-arm movement with one end of the towel under one foot and the opposite end in the hand on the same side (so, left foot and left hand, for example).

3. Pseudo Planche Push-ups

  • Begin in a plank position with your hands under your shoulders. Instead of keeping your wrists straight with your fingers out in front of you, externally rotate your wrists so that your hands and fingers point out to the sides, ideally at 90 degrees (if you can manage doing so without pain).
  • Keep your body in a straight line with a neutral pelvis and your core and glutes engaged. Do not allow your hips to drop.
  • Press your hands hard into the floor.
  • Shift your bodyweight forward, coming up higher on your toes, so your shoulders are in front of your hands instead of directly over your wrists.
  • Lower your body towards the floor, keeping your elbows close to your body and your head and neck in a neutral position. To increase the intensity, you can slow the pace at which you lower yourself toward the floor, keeping tension on your biceps for a longer period.
  • Before your chest touches the ground, press your palms into the floor and push back up to your starting position. That鈥檚 one rep.

To make this move more challenging: hold your lowered position for a few seconds before pushing back up to your plank.

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The Secret to Better Skiing? Hip Mobility. /health/training-performance/hip-exercises-skiers-mobility-strength/ Thu, 23 Jan 2025 10:00:49 +0000 /?p=2693532 The Secret to Better Skiing? Hip Mobility.

Whether you鈥檙e a skier or not, some of the most common aches and pains can be traced back to hip weakness and instability

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The Secret to Better Skiing? Hip Mobility.

If your lower back or knees ache at the end of a long day on the slopes, you may have limited hip mobility.

Compromised range of motion in the hips can be 鈥渁 silent culprit鈥 for pain elsewhere in the body, says Mandie Majerus, a physical therapist with in Kirkland, Washington, and co-founder of the , an online ski and snowboard training program designed by physical therapists to improve performance and reduce injuries. If you lack mobility in your hips, 鈥測our body is going to find it somewhere else,鈥 Majerus says.

Majerus has been working on the medical team for World Cup ski races and training camps for 14 years. During that time, she has noticed a consistent trait in the athletes who top the podiums: 鈥淭hey wake up, do their hip mobility work, go ski, and then come right back to the gym to do their cooldown.鈥

For the rest of us, dedicating even a few minutes a week to improving our hips鈥 range of motion and stability can have a meaningful impact on ski performance, longevity in the sport, and overall health.

How Do Your Hips Move When You Ski?

Think of your hips as 鈥渢he steering wheel of your lower body,鈥 says Majerus. Each turn is initiated from the hips. As you carve, your hips alternate between abduction (the movement of the leg away from the body) and adduction (the movement of the leg towards the body), or external and internal rotation.

If your hip mobility is compromised and you can鈥檛 rotate well, you鈥檒l be less effective at turning your skis, Majerus says. As a result, you鈥檒l start relying on your back to power these movements, which can lead to aches and pains.

Similarly, if you鈥檙e lacking mobility and stability in your hip muscles (including the glutes, adductors, hamstrings, and hip flexors), 鈥渢hat load all goes into your quads and therefore your knees,鈥 explains Majerus.

About one third of all alpine ski injuries occur in the knee, with the majority impacting the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), according to published in Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy. These injuries often occur when we catch or lose an edge in a turn, or fall backwards. But there鈥檚 evidence that strong hip muscles can lower your risk of knee injury. A 2015 study published in the found that lower preseason hip abduction and external rotation strength increased the risk of suffering a non-contact ACL injury during the competitive season.

Even if you stick to groomers, you鈥檙e likely to encounter some uneven terrain. Your hips are responsible for absorbing the shock of those bumps, maintaining your center of gravity, and helping you adjust quickly to ice and bare patches.

woman downhill skiing
More skiing in Kuhtai, Tirol, Austria. (Photo: Michael Truelove)

When Can You Work Through Discomfort and When Should You Seek Help?

If you experience a nagging ache while skiing or develop a new acute pain when you stand up at the end of apr猫s, you may need professional help, Majerus says.

She suggests following a traffic light scale to determine if you can keep skiing or if it鈥檚 better to take a break. Green would be 鈥渘o pain.鈥 Yellow should register at about a four out of ten on the pain scale, when you can ski through a small amount of discomfort that doesn鈥檛 seem to be increasing. Red is when your gut tells you not to keep pushing, or when there is localized swelling, pain, or warmth; that鈥檚 when it鈥檚 time to rest and seek care from an orthopedist or physical therapist.

The Moves

Majerus suggests starting to work on hip mobility and stability at least two to four weeks before your ski season begins with two to three sessions a week, then repeating your exercises two to three times a week throughout the season. (The couch stretch can be done daily). You can do this routine鈥攚hich promotes mobility, flexibility, and stability鈥攊n the morning or evening. Just be sure to do it at a time of day when you鈥檙e able to pay close attention to how your body feels as you move.

Before you head out for a powder day, be sure to do a dynamic warmup. Once you鈥檙e off the slopes, give your hips some extra care and attention.

鈥淚nstead of coming home from a day of skiing and then just grabbing a beer and sitting on the couch, do a couple of hip stretches and maybe some foam rolling,鈥 says Majerus.

Hip Hinge

man squats in front of a box with his backside touching it as one of the hip exercises for skiers
(Photo: Alpine Training Project)

How it helps: Ensures your hips are hinging correctly before you load them with your body-weight while skiing

Begin by standing with your back to a wall or other vertical surface, like the side of a box. Step a few inches away from the wall (about the length of one of your feet). Your feet should be hip-width apart and your arms can be crossed over your chest or held straight out in front of you. Maintaining a straight back, bend slightly at your knees and hinge at your hips to push your rear back until it taps the wall, then return to standing. You should feel a stretch in your hamstrings throughout the movement. If you are unable to tap the wall, try moving a little closer. Perform two sets of ten reps.

You can progress this movement by stepping farther away from the wall, or by holding a kettlebell at your chest.

Supine Hip Internal Rotation Stretch


How it helps: Improves internal hip rotation

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Your feet should be about two feet apart (if you鈥檙e on a yoga mat, they should be just outside the edges of your mat). Let both knees drop towards the same side until you feel a stretch on the outside of your hip. Repeat on the other side. Hold about five seconds for each rep, repeating ten times on each side.

Side Lying Hip Abduction with Wall Support

Man lies on side with one leg up in the air resting on a wall behind him
(Photo: Alpine Training Project)

How it helps: Strengthens hip abductors

Lie on your side with your back pressed against a wall. You can either rest your head on your bottom arm or cradle it in your hand to support your neck. Straighten your top leg and allow a slight bend in your bottom leg. Raise your top leg up, sliding your heel along the wall, and stop before your upper leg rotates or pulls away from the wall. Then, lower it back down. You should feel this movement primarily in your glutes. Complete ten reps on one side before switching sides. Perform two or three sets.

To make this exercise more challenging, move your upper body slightly away from the wall but keep the heel of the top leg in contact with the wall as you raise and lower. When you鈥檙e ready to progress from there, you can try this move without wall support.

Airplane听

man stands on one leg and twists body toward standing leg
(Photo: Alpine Training Project)

How it helps: Improves hip rotation

Stand on one leg with a slight bend in your knee, hinge forward at your hips, and raise your opposite leg slightly so your foot hovers over the floor. Maintain tension through the raised leg. With your arms outstretched to the sides like airplane wings, twist your torso towards the standing leg, aiming for about a 45-degree angle, allowing the opposite hip to drop slightly. (If balancing in this position is challenging, try performing it next to a couch, chair, or countertop and holding on for added stability). Return to center, then twist and open your torso towards the opposite side, aiming for about a 10-degree angle only. You should feel this movement primarily in the glute, hamstring, and quad of the standing leg. Perform one set of ten reps, completing all reps on one side before switching sides.

Bulgarian Split Squat听听

A person doing a Bulgarian split squat. Their left leg is bent at a 90-degree angle and their right leg is bent behind them, with the top of their right foot placed on a box. Their arms are outstretched in front of them.
(Photo: Alpine Training Project)

How it helps: Teaches you to properly engage your glute muscles during movement

Stand about two feet in front of a bench or a chair, facing away from it, with your feet hip-width apart. Lift one leg, bend at the knee, and place the top of that foot on the flat surface behind you. You can cross your arms at your chest or extend them in front of you. Engage your core and begin to lower your butt towards the ground, bending the knee of your standing leg,听and allowing a slight hinge at your hips. Your opposite leg should bend as well, but most of your weight should be in your front leg as you lower into the squat. Continue to lower, making sure the knee of your front leg stays in line with your ankle, until your front thigh is parallel with the floor. Press the foot of your standing leg into the floor to return to standing. Keep your back leg elevated on the bench throughout the entire set. You should feel this movement primarily in the quads, hamstrings, and glutes of your front leg. Complete ten reps on one side before switching sides. Perform two sets on each side.

You can make this movement more challenging by adding an isometric hold at the bottom of the last rep of each set for about 20 seconds.

Couch Stretch


How it helps: Opens up the hips and helps relieve tight hip flexors

Begin in a kneeling position facing away from a couch or chair. Bend one leg and rest the top of that foot on the couch or chair. Step your opposite leg forward to form a 90-degree angle, with your foot flat on the floor. Engage your core and glutes, keep an upright torso with your shoulders over your hips, and push your hips forward until you feel a stretch in the front of your hip and thigh. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds for two sets on each side. You can do this movement daily to maintain flexibility in your hip flexors.

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How to Keep Your Chin Up When It Hurts /podcast/pull-up-24-hour-record/ Thu, 16 Jan 2025 12:00:21 +0000 /?post_type=podcast&p=2693921 How to Keep Your Chin Up When It Hurts

When John Orth, a violin maker from Colorado, set out to break his own world record for the most pull-ups in 24 hours, he had no idea he was competing against a college kid from Virginia

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How to Keep Your Chin Up When It Hurts

When John Orth, a violin maker from Colorado, set out to break his own world record for the most pull-ups in 24 hours, he had no idea he was competing against a college kid from Virginia. And that kid, Andrew Shapiro, didn’t know Orth had his eyes set on the same number鈥10,000 pull-ups. No one had previously thought such a feat was possible, and as the two men grabbed their respective bars and started to pull, they would find a new limit to human endurance.

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You Don鈥檛 Have to Work Out Every Day. Here鈥檚 How to Be a Weekend Warrior. /health/training-performance/weekend-warrior-workouts-study/ Thu, 16 Jan 2025 10:00:55 +0000 /?p=2691258 You Don鈥檛 Have to Work Out Every Day. Here鈥檚 How to Be a Weekend Warrior.

A new study found that people who cram all their exercise into a couple of days a week鈥攕o-called weekend warriors鈥攔eap similar health benefits as people who work out throughout the week

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You Don鈥檛 Have to Work Out Every Day. Here鈥檚 How to Be a Weekend Warrior.

You should do something that makes you sweat every single day, right?

At least, that very loose metric has long been the standard for anyone who wants to stay fit, live longer and healthier, and stave off any number of diseases that are associated with inactivity. According to in both the U.S. and UK, adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise (like walking) or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (like running) each week听to reduce the risk of long-term health issues like .

However, according to a journal from the American Heart Association, it might be perfectly fine to cram a week鈥檚 worth of exercise into one or two days. In fact, the study says that doing as much鈥攂ecoming a 鈥weekend warrior,鈥 so to speak鈥攃an lower the risk of developing more than two-hundred diseases when compared to wholly inactive people.

The study, led by scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital, analyzed information from nearly 90,000 people enrolled in the UK Biobank project and categorized their physical activity as weekend warrior, regular, or inactive based on federal guidelines. Researchers found that weekend warriors鈥 approach of going hard on their days off seemed as effective at reducing disease risk as regular exercise spaced more evenly throughout the week.

鈥淏ecause there appears to be similar benefits for weekend warrior versus regular activity, it may be the total volume of activity, rather than the pattern, that matters most,鈥 the study鈥檚 co-senior author, Dr. Shaan Khurshid, said in a news release.

It鈥檚 hardly a shock that doing something is better than doing nothing. But seeing the positive impact of just a few workout sessions per week backed by scientific research is reassuring, especially for people who may not have the time to get sweaty every day.

All that being said, don鈥檛 give in to the temptation to skip your warmup so you can pack all of your fitness goals into a compact timeframe.

鈥淓ven if your time is very limited, I would never tell an athlete to go into a workout cold,鈥 says Mandy Gallagher, a level-one USA Cycling coach based in Durham, North Carolina. Gallagher also says you should still move your body as much as possible during the week, even if that just means taking a short walk every day, lightly stretching and loosening your body during work hours, or, if you鈥檙e a parent, getting outside and playing with your kids.

鈥淒o something active during the week, even if it鈥檚 just for ten minutes a day,鈥 she says.

Matt Sanderson, a human performance coach at the fitness company , stresses the importance of approaching a reduced workout load for exactly what it is.

鈥淒on鈥檛 try and pack five days of working out into two days,鈥 says Sanderson, who has a master鈥檚 degree in strength and conditioning and was previously a physical training instructor with Britain鈥檚 Royal Air Force. 鈥淎pproach it as a two-day-a-week training plan.鈥

So how do you become a weekend warrior? How do you wring the most out of those 75 or 150 minutes? Here鈥檚 how to optimize your weekend workouts.

Change Up Your Zones

To get the most out of your two-day-a-week workout plan, both Gallagher and Sanderson agree that varying your level of intensity is key.

Alternating workouts between two of the five heart-rate training zones is an effective way to build aerobic and anaerobic fitness, Sanderson says. He recommends exercising in zone two, which is typically 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate, for one of your workouts. Then on the next day, try exercising in zone five, which should push you to 90 to 100 percent of your maximum heart rate. (To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, a 35-year-old would have a maximum heart rate of 185 beats per minute).

If you don鈥檛 have a way to track your heart rate, Sanderson says you can estimate your workout intensity by your ability to talk. While exercising in zone two, you should be able to hold a conversation; a zone five workout will require 鈥渆verything you鈥檝e got,鈥 he says.

Depending on your level of cardiorespiratory endurance, a zone two workout could be an hour of brisk walking, jogging, or alternating between walking and running at a leisurely pace. For another moderate intensity workout, Sanderson recommends rucking鈥攁n increasingly popular fitness trend that involves walking with a weighted backpack.

鈥淕o ruck for 400 meters,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hen ditch your pack and walk for 400 meters. Then throw your pack back on for 400 more. Alternate that for an hour.鈥

Your zone five workout may include sprint repeats or shorter, max-effort runs. For these efforts, Sanderson stresses focusing on how close you are to your endpoint, whether that鈥檚 your home or your car.

鈥淧ick a loop around your neighborhood or go work out at the local track,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he last thing you want is to have done hard efforts five kilometers down a trail only to say, 鈥極K, I鈥檓 done,鈥 and have to walk five kilometers back.鈥

Ride Your Bike

If you鈥檇 rather spend your weekend cycling, Gallagher also recommends varying the pace and length of your bike rides.

鈥淥ne day focus on endurance or a longer ride, one day focus on intensity or a shorter ride,鈥 she says.

To build a strong endurance base, Gallagher recommends a 90-minute ride at a steady, conversational pace. Bookend that ride on either side with a 15-minute warmup and a 15-minute cool down and stretch. For your warmup, Gallagher suggests an easy ride peppered with some quick speed bursts, where you鈥檙e pushing your pedals over 100 RPM.

To increase your , your next workout should focus on intense efforts. For those, Gallagher recommends the following with the same warmup and cool down efforts.

鈥淔ind some short climbs, under three minutes, and do hill repeats,鈥 Gallagher says.

She advises听starting with a set of three to five climbs with about two to three minutes in between efforts. As your fitness increases, you can add additional sets.

Gallagher also suggests finding some flat terrain and focusing on 15- to 30-second-long sprints. Start with five to eight sprints with about two to three minutes of moderate cycling in between efforts, and add more sprints as you are able.

Finally, Gallagher encourages one-to-one bursts, where efforts and rest come in equal measure. In other words, ride hard for 30 seconds and then rest for 30 seconds. As you gain fitness, increase to one minute on, one minute off; three minutes on, three minutes off, etc. Repeat the efforts three to six times per set with five to ten minutes of rest in between sets.

Keep It Fun

The key to staying consistent as a weekend warrior is having fun. If you don鈥檛 enjoy running, don鈥檛 run. If you have limited time to achieve your fitness goals, it鈥檚 best (and easiest) to get your exercise in by planning an activity you鈥檒l look forward to.

鈥淚t鈥檚 essential to do something that you enjoy rather than something you hate that you think is going to be beneficial to you,鈥 Sanderson says. 鈥淵ou have to think of it like, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 something I鈥檓 going to do for the rest of my life?鈥 rather than, 鈥楾his is something that鈥檚 going to be beneficial to me over the next six weeks.鈥欌

Sanderson also says that exercise can be a social activity. In particular, the conversational nature of zone two workouts allows you to connect with a workout partner in a way that intense efforts may not.

鈥淔ind a flag football league or a softball league, a running club or a cycling group,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hat helps massively, not only for fitness but also accountability and mental health.鈥

If you enjoy your workout, it will feel less like work, Gallagher says.

鈥淭he big thing is that you don鈥檛 want to make it seem like another job,鈥 she says. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e out on your bike, that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥

Too often, we associate fitness with suffering in a gym or miles thumping underfoot. In reality, fitness can and should be fun. And when it is, you鈥檙e more likely to keep coming back to it, even if it is just for a few hours each week.

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A Body-Weight Workout You Can Do Anywhere While Traveling /health/training-performance/bodyweight-workout-plan-travel/ Fri, 20 Dec 2024 10:00:51 +0000 /?p=2692106 A Body-Weight Workout You Can Do Anywhere While Traveling

Simplify your fitness routine as you travel for the holidays with this customizable full-body workout

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A Body-Weight Workout You Can Do Anywhere While Traveling

If you鈥檙e used to following a fitness program, the prospect of taking a break over the holidays can feel daunting. Will all that time spent sitting in airport terminals or melting into the couch set you back in your training? Will you return from vacation a slower, weaker athlete?

Let鈥檚 start with the good news: A short break from working out can actually be helpful. 鈥淎s long as you鈥檙e staying consistent before then, taking a three- or four-day rest is actually going to be a net positive because you鈥檙e giving your body that time to recover,鈥 says Grayson Wickham, a doctor of physical therapy听and the founder of , a stretching app and website.

During a break from exercise, cardiovascular capacity typically declines faster than strength, but even that reduction in aerobic fitness takes longer than you may think. A 2024 meta-analysis published in the journal suggests that it takes at least 12 days of not training before your VO2 max starts to decrease. You have even more leeway when it comes to strength training. The researchers behind a 2024 study published in the say that people who lift regularly 鈥渟hould not be too concerned鈥 about taking up to ten weeks off once a year.

But this doesn鈥檛 mean you should be sedentary for the duration of your vacation either, as prolonged sitting may lead to muscle and joint , which can make everyday tasks difficult or uncomfortable. A little movement can go a long way.

Yes, Body-Weight Workouts Still Count

Body-weight exercises might sound easy for experienced athletes. But there are three levers you can pull to make an on-the-road workout harder: eccentrics, isometrics, and plyometrics. 鈥淰arying your exercise choice, as well as tempo and speed, can make your workout more challenging and lead to increased strength, power, and hypertrophy,鈥 Wickham says.

Eccentric training involves controlling a weight (including your body-weight) as it moves downward (think: lowering into a squat or a pushup, or bringing a weight back down after an overhead press). Focusing on the eccentric portion of an exercise can also lead to greater 鈥渁s there is typically more muscle damage elicited during the exercise鈥 rather than at a typical speed, Wickham explains.

Isometric holds involve while keeping its length constant. When performed at a joint鈥檚 end range of motion鈥攍ike the bottom of a squat or the top of an overhead press鈥攊sometric holds 鈥渁re very effective for improving mobility and range of motion,鈥 Wickham says. This will then lead to increased joint stability and injury prevention potential, he adds.

鈥攋umping movements that challenge you to quickly exert force and target your fast-twitch muscle fibers鈥斺渁re great at improving power as you are now taking a movement and then increasing the speed at which you are performing it,鈥 Wickham says. During this type of training, your muscles need to control the descent back to the ground, he adds. Plyometrics particularly benefit athletes whose sports rely on fast, forceful movements (think: tennis, martial arts, sprinting).

If you鈥檙e primarily focused on training for one sport, you can structure your body-weight workouts in service of that goal. Cyclists, for example, can focus on leg exercises and may want to do higher rep sets to improve muscular endurance.

If you鈥檙e a higher level athlete or otherwise concerned about straying from your usual schedule, plan ahead by building in a de-load or taper week to coincide with the holiday break.

The Moves

These exercises cover five fundamental movement patterns typically used while training and performing everyday tasks: squat, lunge, hinge, push, and pull.

Build your own workout(s) by choosing one or two moves from each category. Each basic exercise can be enhanced by slowing down the eccentric movement, holding an isometric pause, or adding a plyometric component.

Any amount of time spent working out is great, but try to fit in a session that鈥檚 20 minutes or longer if possible.

For each exercise, complete three or four sets of eight to twelve repetitions with about 60 seconds between sets.

Squat

man in living room completes bodyweight workout plan by squatting with his arms straight out in front of him
(Photo: Antonio_Diaz/Getty Images)

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hands by your sides. Engaging your core, hinge at the hips and bend your knees at the same time. As you lower into the squat, keep your arms straight and raise them to chest height. Keep your gaze straight ahead as you maintain a flat back and proud chest. When you鈥檙e ready to rise back to standing, press your feet into the floor and imagine that you鈥檙e trying to pull the floor beneath your feet apart. This will help keep your knees from caving in as you stand back up.

How to Make This Move More Challenging

Eccentric

Try lowering for a count of three.

Isometric

Hold a two-second pause at the bottom.

Plyometric

At the bottom of the squat, bring your straight arms slightly behind you, then quickly bring them forward and use them to help you drive your body up from the floor. Extend your legs as you rise so your ankles, knees, and hips are at full extension in the air. Land with control and then repeat.

Reverse Lunge

woman does reverse lunge with arms hanging by sides

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides. Take a big step back with your right leg and bend both knees so your legs form 90-degree angles, bringing your arms to 90-degree angles by your sides. Your right knee should hover an inch above the floor, and the majority of your weight should be in your left leg (if you鈥檙e feeling this more in your right leg, try leaning your torso slightly forward). Press through your left foot and straighten both legs as you return your right leg to standing and let your arms hang by your sides. Complete all reps on one side before switching sides.

How to Make This Move More Challenging

Eccentric

Lower into each lunge to a count of three.

Isometric

Hold at two-second pause at the bottom of the lunge, keeping your back leg hovering just above the ground.

Plyometric

For this one, you鈥檒l switch legs after each rep. At the bottom of the lunge, press into both feet and jump up, coming to full extension of the ankle, knee, and hip in the air. Land with the opposite leg in front and lower into a lunge on that side. Keep switching back and forth.

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift


Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a soft bend in both knees. Shift your weight to your left leg and hover your right foot off the ground. Engage your core and hinge at your hips as you kick your right leg back behind you. Lower until your torso and leg are in a straight line and parallel with the floor. You can keep your hands clasped at your chest for the duration of this movement. To make this move more challenging, hold a weight or another household item, like a water bottle or book, in each hand. Alternatively, you could hold a single weight in the hand on the same side as the elevated leg. Maintain a flat back throughout the movement. Switch sides.

How to Make This Move More Challenging

Eccentric

Lower to parallel to a count of three.

Isometric

Pause for two seconds at the bottom of the hinge.

Plyometric

Romanian deadlifts should be slow and controlled but you can similarly challenge your hip hinge with a box jump or broad jump. For a box jump, use a sturdy platform like a stair or bench. Stand with your feet parallel in front of the platform, bend your knees, and jump up, landing with your hips and knees in flexion. Stand up and step back down. For a broad jump, choose a spot on the floor in front of you, and bounding off both feet at the same time, jump toward that spot. Land with your hips and knees in flexion, then stand up, turn around, and jump the other way.

Push-Up

a woman does a pushup in her living room
(Photo: Drazen_/Getty Images)

To do a standard push-up, begin on the floor on all fours, your hands shoulder-width apart. Step one leg back at a time so you鈥檙e in a plank position. Bending your elbows out to the sides, slowly lower your body in a straight line without arching your lower back or raising your hips. When your torso is just above the floor, press your palms into the floor and rise back up to plank position.

In addition to doing traditional modified push-ups on your knees, there are several other ways that you can make the basic push-up easier.

  • Elevated push-up: Place your hands on a chair (as long as that chair is pressed against a wall) or similar elevated surface. To make this even easier, stand with your hands pressed into a wall.
  • Banded push-up: If you have a resistance band, place it around both arms, just above your elbows (a long loop band may need to be wrapped around twice). As you lower into the push-up, the band will help you press back up to the top.
  • : Begin by sitting on the floor on your knees. Walk your hands out in front of you until your back is flat, keeping your knees and toes planted on the floor. Bend your elbows and lower your body all the way to the floor. When your chest touches the floor, pause, lift your hands one inch off the floor, place them back down, and push yourself back up.

How to Make This Move More Challenging

Eccentric

Lower for a count of three (you can do this as a hand-release push-up as well).

Isometric

Hover just above the floor for two seconds before pressing back to the start position.

Plyometric

Plyometric push-ups are a particularly advanced move when done on the floor. Try this move first by beginning in an elevated push-up stance as explained above. Lower your chest towards the bench or other sturdy elevated surface, keeping your elbows pressed into the sides of your torso. Press your hands into the bench and try to explosively push your body away from the bench, extending your arms straight as you rise; your hands should be off the bench for a brief second before landing back into push-up position. That鈥檚 one rep.

Resistance Band Rows

(Photo: Mindful Media/Getty Images)

Pulling pattern movements are going to be most effective with something to pull onto. If you can slip a long resistance band (loop- or handle-style) into your bag, there鈥檚 a lot you can add to your workouts.

You can do these two ways: horizontal row and vertical row.

For the horizontal row, attach one end of a resistance band to a sturdy anchor point at about chest height (this might mean kneeling to use a door knob or table leg, or standing and closing a door on the band). Grip the opposite end of the band in both hands, keeping your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width. Drawing your shoulder blades together and engaging your lats, pull your elbows back. Hold, then return to the starting position.

For the vertical row, stand with your feet hip-width apart, one end of the looped band under your feet. Grip the opposite end with both hands about shoulder-width apart. Keeping an upright torso, draw your elbows high, pulling the band up towards your chin. Hold, then slowly return.

How to Make This Move More Challenging

Eccentric

Resist the band for a count of three as you return to your starting position.

Isometric

Hold for a count of two at the highest point of your row.

Plyometric

Making a banded row plyometric is challenging (especially when it鈥檚 attached to the doorframe of someone else鈥檚 home). For a plyometric pulling exercise, try attaching one end of your band to the top of a door or, if possible, a tree branch outside. Hold the opposite end of the band with two hands, shoulder-width apart. As you would on a Ski Erg machine, in one quick motion, hinge at the hips and pull the band down with force, drawing your hands towards the outsides of your hips, as you might with a pair of ski poles.

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