Medicine Ball Pop Up

HOME EXERCISE OF THE WEEK

The Medicine Ball Pop Up is a challenging plyometric pushup variation that’s going to work your chest, shoulders, triceps, core, balance, and coordination. This exercise is going to take some practice so take your time and start with a modified from-the-knees version if needed. You will need a medicine ball for this move but if you don’t have one you can also use a soccer or volleyball instead.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Medicine Ball Pop Up.

  • start by getting in to a full plank position with your hands on the medicine ball and the ball directly underneath your chest
  • make sure your feet are wider than your shoulders to provide stability throughout the movement
  • squeeze your abs and your glutes to keep your body nice and straight and to prevent your hips from dropping
  • in one move, quickly remove your hands from the ball and out to the side so that you’re now in a pushup position
  • lower your body down towards the ball until your chest is almost touching
  • now pushup as hard and as fast as you can while bringing your hands back on top of the medicine ball
  • pause for a moment to get your balance and then repeat the move
  • make sure your abs and glutes are engaged throughout
  • perform this move from your knees if you need to start with an easier version

So there you have the Medicine Ball Pop Up. Give it a shot and let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you soon with another new exercise!

Hitchhiker Pushup

HOME EXERCISE OF THE WEEK

The Hitchhiker Pushup is a great variation of the pushup that’s going to work your chest, shoulders, triceps, core, and upper back. This exercise is much more challenging than a regular pushup so start off slow until you get the move down and if you have trouble doing the full pushup, you can start with the modified from-the-knees version. 

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Hitchhiker Pushup.

  • start by getting in to a full pushup position with your hands and feet wider than your shoulders and keep your hands in line with your chest
  • squeeze your abs and your glutes to keep your body nice and straight and to prevent your hips from dropping
  • now lower your body down towards the floor until you’re almost touching while keeping your arms at about a 45 degree angle from your body
  • push back up and once you have returned to the starting position, extend your right arm and thumb up while bracing your abs until you feel a nice squeeze on your upper back and rear shoulders
  • lower your arm back down to the floor and repeat your pushup
  • now you will extend your left arm and thumb up once you have returned back to the starting position after the pushup
  • keep alternating arms after each pushup for your desired amount of reps or time
  • to perform the slightly easier version, do your pushup from your knees and then lift your knees off the floor and come up on your toes to do the arm raise

So there you have the Hitchhiker Pushup. Try this variation of the traditional pushup and let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!

Donkey Kick

HOME EXERCISE OF THE WEEK

The Donkey Kick is a great plyometric exercise that is going to target your glutes primarily but will also work your shoulders and core muscles. The jump adds a cardiovascular component to the exercise which will strengthen your cardiovascular system and burn more calories in the process. It’s a fairly simple move but it does take some coordination and you have to be quick with the kick in order to land back on your feet.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Donkey Kick.

  • get in to a full plank position with your feet together
  • engage your abs and glutes and jump both feet straight up in the air
  • as soon as you jump, bend both legs and try to kick your butt with both feet before falling back down to the floor
  • after the kick, extend both legs back out and land from the jump in to the starting position
  • repeat the move for your desired amount of reps or time

So there you have the Donkey Kick. It’s a bit of a funny looking exercise but it will give you great glutes and get you sweating and burning calories!

Let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!

Burpee Jump Lunge

HOME EXERCISE OF THE WEEK

The Burpee Jump Lunge is a very challenging full body exercise that is going to target your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, core, shoulders, and arms. The plyometric component is also going to work on your balance, coordination, your cardiovascular system and the fast-twitch muscle fibers that are responsible for big explosive movements. 

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Burpee Jump Lunge.

  • crouch down and place your hands on the floor as if you were going to do a pushup
  • jump your feet back until you are fully extended in a full plank position
  • from this full plank position, jump your feet back up and underneath you then jump straight up and bring your left leg forward and your right leg back so that you land from the jump in a lunge position
  • make sure both legs are at 90 degree angles at the bottom of the lunge and your weight is placed on your front heel
  • from here, jump straight up and switch your legs in the air so that your right leg is forward and your left leg is back
  • land from the jump in to a lunge position again and repeat the upward jump
  • now land from this jump with both feet together and immediately bring your hands down to the floor and repeat the burpee
  • repeat the entire sequence of moves for your desired amount of reps or time
  • always make sure to keep your abs engaged throughout the movement

So there you have the Burpee Jump Lunge. This is a great exercise to add in to a HIIT session or a full body routine. It won’t be easy but you will be burning a ton of calories while building muscular and cardiovascular strength and endurance. Get ready to sweat!

Let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!

Pushup Bird Dog

Hello! Here’s another new Home Exercise of the Week for you to try! This week I have another very challenging upper body and core exercise for you called the Pushup Bird Dog.

The Pushup Bird Dog is a compound move that’s going to work your chest, shoulders, triceps, abs, upper and lower back, and glutes. You will also be working on your balance and all the little stabilizer muscles as you perform the bird dog. This exercise will take some practice so start off slow until you get the move down and if you have trouble doing the full pushup, you can start with the modified from-the-knees version which I’ve included in the video demonstration. 

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Pushup Bird Dog.

  • start by getting in to a full pushup position with your hands and feet wider than your shoulders and keep your hands in line with your chest
  • squeeze your abs and your glutes to keep your body nice and straight and to prevent your hips from dropping
  • now lower your body down towards the floor until you’re almost touching while keeping your arms at about a 45 degree angle from your body
  • push back up and once you have returned to the starting position, extend your right arm and left leg up while bracing your abs until you feel a nice squeeze on your back and glutes
  • lower your arm and leg back down to the floor and repeat your pushup
  • now you will extend your left arm and right leg up once you have returned back to the starting position after the pushup
  • keep alternating arms and legs after each pushup for your desired amount of reps or time
  • perform the pushup from your knees for a slightly easier version if you have trouble doing the full pushup

So there you have the Pushup Bird Dog. It’s a tough one but it’s very effective in targeting your chest and core and it will greatly improve your balance and coordination. You will also look pretty bad ass while doing it!

Give it a shot and let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!