HOW: Start by lying on your back with a swissball underneath your feet. Bend your knees with your feet flat on top of the ball. Push down into the ball lifting your hips up. While keeping your hips up, take one leg off of the ball and let the other leg slowly straighten while still pressing down into the ball. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your hamstring and core muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t let your hips drop down as you extend your leg out.

HOW: Place a kettlebell on the ground in between your legs. Hinge forward at the hips, slightly bend your knees, and keep your back flat. Reach down with both hands and grab a hold of the kettlebell. While keeping your back parallel with the ground and your elbows straight, slightly pull up on the kettlebell using your glutes and hamstring muscles. Once it is barely off of the ground, hold that position for five seconds (or the prescribed amount of time) and relax. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your glutes and hamstrings working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t arch your back, keep it flat. Don’t straighten your knees. Keep a slight bend in your knees, don’t straighten them.

HOW: Start by holding a kettlebell in each hand in front of your shoulder with your knuckles facing up and your elbows under your wrist.  Keep the elbows at your side and squeeze your shoulder blades back. While maintaining this position, bend your knees and hinge forward at the hips while keeping your chest up.  Go as low as you feel comfortable with and keep your feet flat on the ground. At the low point, push into the ground with your feet and return to the starting position. 

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your lower body working and shoulder.

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your back upright and chest up. Keep your elbows in at your side as you squat.

HOW: Sit on a tall chair or elevated step where your feet are off of the ground. Place your foot in the kettlebell handle. Point your toes up as you kick your leg straight up ending with your knee straight.  Bring the weight back down and repeat all while your toes are pointing up. 

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your lower leg working as well as your thigh muscles. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your toes pointed up while holding the kettlebell and straightening your leg.

HOW: Shift your weight to one leg. Use some type of support on the same side. With the other leg, bend the knee and bring it up and straight out from your hip creating an “L” shape. Rotate just the lower leg in a circular motion clockwise and counterclockwise. Focusing on pure rotation at the hip.

 

FEEL: You should feel your hip muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep the knee straight up and out from the hip, don’t let it drop. Only rotate the lower leg.

HOW: Start by standing on a step or elevated surface with a band around your knee. The band needs to be looped around just above your knee cap and should be wanting to pull your knee in. Your goal is to push your knee out the entire time while performing this exercise. The other knee should be behind the band. With your leg straight, begin to step forward off of the step and bend the knee that has the band around it. After you’ve reached a spot where you can not bend down anymore, push into the elevated surface and return to the starting position. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your glute and hip muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your back upright as you squat, don’t bend forward too much. Keep the knee that has the band around in line with your hip, don’t let the band pull your knee in. 

HOW: Place a folded towel on the ground in front of you. Position both of your big toes on the towel with the balls of your feet still on the ground. Use a wall for balance support as you keep your knees straight and raise your heels off of the ground with your toes pushing into the towel. 

 

FEEL: You should feel a stretch in the bottom of your big toe and underneath your foot. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your big toe on the towel, not all of your foot. Keep your knee straight when raising your heel.

HOW: Start with your hands on the ground directly underneath your shoulders in a push up position. Your toes should be pushing into the ground with your knees straight and a little less than shoulder width apart. From this position, drive one knee up towards your opposite shoulder in a diagonal direction and bring it back as you do the same to the other side. Maintain a flat back as you alternate your knees coming up. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your core and hip muscles working.

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your back flat, don’t arch it. Keep your elbows straight and stay strong in your shoulders for stability.

HOW: Anchor a band at shoulder height or above. Have a band in each hand and cross the bands. Straighten your arms and bring them slightly above shoulder height. From this position, squeeze your shoulder blades and pull the bands to your face.  Keep your elbows high straight out to the side of your shoulders. Your palms should be facing forward.  While holding the tension in the band in this position, press your arms straight up overhead. Lower down and return to the starting position. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your shoulder and upper back muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your back upright, don’t lean back or forwards. Keep your upper trap muscles relaxed.

HOW: Place a step in front of you or use an elevated surface. Bend one knee and place your foot on top of step. Hold a kettlebell on top of your knee as you shift your weight forward. Be sure to keep your heel on the step as your knee goes over your toes. Move your knee straight over and out to the side for different reps, changing the way your ankle feels the stretch. 

 

FEEL: You should feel a stretch in your ankle and your calf muscle. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your heel flat on the surface, don’t let it come up.

HOW: Start by sitting upright on a swissball. Engage your core and begin the pelvic tilt by arching your back and rotating your hips backward. Then, round your back bringing your hips forward.  Move back and forth between the two motions. The more your knees are bent up the harder the tilt will be. Try to move the ball back and forth with just your hips!

 

FEEL: You should feel your core, low back, and hip muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t move your whole body as you tilt forwards and backwards. Use only your low back and core muscles.

HOW: Get set up laying flat on your back. On the side you plan to mobilize – hug that knee towards your chest and support that thigh with your hands wrapped behind your knee. To perform the exercise, kick your knee straight while simultaneously pointing your foot and toes down, reverse the motion at your knee and foot, and repeat. View video for more tips and modifications

 

FEEL: You should feel a stretch/pulling sensation in the back of the leg you’re moving. You may feel this from your low back all the way down into your foot. 

 

COMPENSATION: Try to keep the rest of your body still and your knee in the same position that you start in. View video for other tips and details.

HOW: Facing the anchored band on your side, straighten your legs out with your feet on top of each other and have your elbow on the ground directly underneath your shoulder. Push into the ground with your feet and elbow and lift your hip up to where your ankle, knee, hip, and shoulder are in a straight line. Grab the band with the top hand, squeeze your shoulder blade, and pull the band towards you keeping your elbow at your side.

 

FEEL: You should feel your core and upper back muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t let your hips drop in the plank position. Don’t let the band roll you forward, use your core to keep you stable.

HOW: Start in a standing position holding a kettlebell in each hand. One arm will carry the kettlebell at your side.  Bring the other kettlebell up into the front rack position. Your elbow should be squeezed in as you hold the kettlebell by the front of your shoulder. Keep upright and begin walking slow and controlled. 

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your shoulder, forearm.

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your back upright, don’t slouch.  Keep your elbow squeezed in for the arm in the front rack position. Don’t shrug your shoulders on either side, keep your traps relaxed. Maintain these positions when walking.

HOW: Begin on your hands and knees. In this position, you will balance on the opposite arm and leg. The wider you are the easier to balance, the more narrow the more challenging this will be. Keep your back flat and your core engaged. Bring one arm and the opposite leg up until your leg is straight out from your hip and your arm is straight out from your shoulder. From this position, we will try to draw squares with both our arms and legs at the same time. Move your leg out as you move your arm out, then move them down, and finally back into the straight out position. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

 

FEEL: With the leg kicking out you will feel the muscles on the back of the hip working, with the arm that is punching out you will feel the muscles on top of the shoulder and back of the shoulder blade working. You should feel your core muscles working the entire time.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid rotating the trunk, arching the back as you raise your leg, or shrugging the shoulder as you raise the arm.