Tag: intermediate

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Wall Lats Stretch

This one is the easiest way to stretch our lats.

Facing a wall, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms by your sides. Brace your abdominal muscles to stabilize your spine. Pull your shoulder blades down and back. Do not allow the low back to arch. Keep your chest lifted and your chin tilted up slightly.

Exhale as you shift your weight over your heels and slowly begin bending forward at the hips. Keep the abs engaged and the back flat. Place your hands on the wall. Keep the arms straight so there is a straight line from the shoulders, through the elbows to the wrists.

Hold the stretch position for 15-30 seconds. Repeat for a total of 2-4 repetitions. To increase the stretch, rotate your thumbs to point toward the ceiling.


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Seated Back Row (High) With Resistance Bands

An excellent exercise to work our lats with resistance bands.
Anchor the band at the top of the door. Facing the door, grip a handle in each hand and sit close to the door, with your knees bent and toes touching the door. Keep your back and head straight, your chest up, and shoulders forward. Your arms should be straight and pointed up towards the door anchor. Lean back until your upper body is making a 45-degree angle with the floor.
Exhale, gently contract your lats, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and pull the handles back until your hands are right below your chest.
Inhale and gently return to the starting position. Repeat.


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Resistance Band Lateral Raise

An easy way to work our deltoids with a resistance band.
Stand on the band with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart.  Grab one handle with each hand, elbows relaxed, palms facing your body.  Contract your abs, bracing your torso. Pull your shoulder blades down and back. Keep these engagements throughout the exercise. Your head should be aligned with your spine.
Exhale and slowly raise the hands up and out to your sides. Your elbows and upper arms should rise together and lead the movement ahead of the forearms and dumbbells. As your arms near shoulder level, turn your thumbs slightly upward. Continue raising until your arms are level with your shoulders. Do not allow the back to arch or the wrists to bend.
Inhale and gently return to your starting position. Keep your elbows almost straight, maintaining the neutral grip position. Repeat.


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Standing Biceps Curl with Resistance Bands

Effective exercise for your biceps. You don´t need a lot of room for this one.

Stand on the band, hips width apart. Grab a handle in each hand and stand up straight. Contract your abs, bracing your torso. Pull your shoulder blades down and back. Your head and neck should be aligned with your spine. Do not allow the back to arch. Maintain these engagements throughout the exercise. Start with your arms straight down with palms facing forward, and elbows tight to your sides.

Exhale. Slowly bend both elbows in a full range movement. Do not allow the elbows to move forward. Keep the palms facing forward and your wrists straight without any bend. Do not allow the shoulders to shrug.

Inhale. Gently straighten the elbows and lower the handles back to your starting position. Repeat.


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Side Lying Hip Adduction

A great exercise for our glutes and hips. No equipment needed.
Lie on your side on a mat/floor with your legs straight and your feet stacked in a neutral position. Your lower arm can be bent and placed under your head for support. Your upper arm rests upon your upper hip or in front of you for stability. Your hips and shoulders should be stacked up and aligned vertically to the floor.
Exhale and raise the lower leg off the floor. Keep the knee straight and the foot in a neutral position. Do not allow the hips to roll forward or back. Both knees should be “looking” straight ahead. Continue raising the leg until the hips begin to tilt, the waist collapses into the floor or until your feel tension develop in your low back or oblique muscles.
Inhale and return the leg to your starting position. Repeat.
Due to the limited movement at the hip joint in this direction, the leg need only rise a few inches off the mat/floor.


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Standing Rotation

Stand sideways to a cable or resistance band with your feet hip-width apart and hold the cable/band handle. Engage your abs to brace your torso. Keeping your torso vertical to the floor, pull your shoulder blades down your back without arching your lower back.

Exhale and slowly rotate your torso away from the cable/band anchor, keeping your upper arms at your sides, elbows bent and hands positioned at the midline of your body. Your head, chest and torso should all move together. Avoid leaning your torso in the direction of your movement.

Inhale and rotate back to starting position. Repeat.

Variation: Repeat the same exercise, but fully extend your arms to shoulder height and keep your arms in this position throughout the exercise. The longer lever increases the loading on the spine, requiring the core muscles to work harder.


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Side Lying Hip Abduction

And old and excellent exercise to work our butt and hips with no equipment.
Lie on your side on a mat/floor with your legs straight and your feet stacked in a neutral position. Your lower arm can be bent and placed under your head for support. Your upper arm rests upon your upper hip or in front of you for stability. Your hips and shoulders should be stacked up and aligned vertically to the floor.
Exhale and raise the upper leg. Keep the knee straight and the foot in a neutral position. Do not allow the hips to roll forward or back. Both knees should be “looking” straight ahead. Continue raising the leg until the hips begin to tilt, the waist collapses into the floor or until your feel tension develop in your low back or oblique muscles.
Gently inhale and gently return the leg to your starting position. Repeat.


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Lying Oblique Crunch with Resistance Bands

This is an effective exercise for our obliques and hip flexors.

Anchor the band at the bottom of the door. Attach each end of the band to an ankle strap.

Fasten an ankle strap around the bottom of each foot and lie on the floor on your side, with one foot stacked on top of the other. For stability place your bottom arm straight out to the side with your palm down. Position your top arm with your hand behind your head and elbow pointed straight up.

Exhale and gently pull your knee on top away from the door up until your thigh is perpendicular, and calf is parallel to the floor. At the same time crunch your body up and touch the elbow of your top arm to your top knee. Do not pull your head as you crunch.

Inhale as you return to starting position. Repeat


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Kneeling Lat Pull Down With Resistance Bands

If pull ups are too hard for you, you can use resistance bands to work your lats and develop your strength.
Anchor the band at the top of the door.
Facing the door, grab a handle with each hand and kneel down on one knee, 3 to 4 feet from the door. Keep your back and head straight. Your arms should be pointed towards the anchor with palms facing down.
Exhale and contract your lats, pulling the handles down until your hands are below your chin.
Inhale and return to the starting position. Repeat.


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Stability Ball Hamstring Curl

An excellent exercise for your hamstrings with no weight.
Lie on your back on a mat, placing your lower heels on the top of the stability ball. Your feet should be lined up with your hips and your toes pulled slightly toward the ceiling. Contract your abs and extend your arms out to your sides with palms turned to the floor to help stabilize your body during the exercise.
Lift your hips up off the floor. Press your heels into the ball for additional stability. Do not lift the hips so high that the lower back begins to arch. Continue to press upwards until your body is in a straight line from your heels to your shoulder blades.
Exhale and gently bend your knees and pull the ball toward your hips. Your toes may point away from your body in this movement. The hips will continue to lift as you pull the ball toward your hips. Keep the torso stable.
Inhale and slowly press the ball away from your hips until the knees are straight, stabilizing with the core, hamstrings, glutes, and arms. Repeat.


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Seated dumbbell biceps curl

An excellent exercise to develop your biceps.

Sit. Your back, head, shoulders, and butt make contact with the bench. Grasp a dumbbell in each hand with your arms at your sides, close to your body and your palms are facing forward. Pull the shoulder blades down and back.

Exhale and slowly bend your elbows bringing the dumbbells toward your shoulders. Do not allow your back to arch, your shoulders to shrug, or your elbows to move forward. Keep the wrists in line with your forearms. Do not allow the wrists to bend throughout the exercise.
Inhale, straight your elbows and lower the dumbbells back to your start position and repeat.


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Plank Jacks

The plank is good for your core, but adding a jumping jack motion with your feet pushes this move to a whole new level. The plank jack is a great cardio move; it raises your heart rate while working your lower and upper body.

Start in a standard plank position, with your shoulders over your wrists, your body in one straight line, and your feet together.

Like the motion of a jumping jack, jump your legs wide and then back together. Keep your pelvis steady and don’t let your butt rise toward the ceiling.


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