In and Out Jump Squat

Hello! It’s time again for a new Home Exercise of the Week and this week I have another great plyometric lower body exercise for you to try called the In and Out Jump Squat.

The In and Out Jump Squat is going to work all the muscles of your lower body including glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calf muscles. The jump component will also work your fast-twitch muscle fibers and give you a great cardiovascular workout which means a higher heart rate and more calories burned. Another benefit of this exercise is that the positioning of your feet during the squat will emphasize different muscles of your legs. When your feet are together, the focus will be put on your outer thighs and when your feet are wide, the focus will be on your inner thighs. So this is a great exercise to target different areas of the legs.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the In and Out Jump Squat.

  • start by standing tall with your feet together
  • squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor while keeping your weight on your heels
  • maintain a straight back and keep your knees in line over your toes (don’t let your knees push forward past your toes)
  • from this squat position jump up as high as you can and when you are in the air, separate your feet and land from the jump in a wide stance
  • immediately go back down in to a squat with the wide stance
  • jump up as high as you can again and this time when you are in the air, bring your feet back together and land in the close stance and perform your squat
  • keep alternating between the close and wide stance jump squats for your desired amount of reps or time

So there you have the In and Out Jump Squat. This is a tough one but you will be building strength and endurance as well as burning a ton of 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!

Jumping Jack Squat

Hey there, it’s time for a new Home Exercise of the Week! This week I have a heart pumping lower body and plyometric exercise for you to try called the Jumping Jack Squat.

The Jumping Jack Squat will work all the muscles of the legs including quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves and the jumping jack part of the exercise will give you a great cardiovascular exercise and will also work the arms and shoulders.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Jumping Jack Squat.

  • start by standing nice and tall with your feet together and your arms at your side
  • lower your body like you are going to sit in a chair while keeping your weight on your heels and your back straight
  • make sure to drive your hips back to prevent your knees from going past your toes
  • once your thighs are parallel to the floor, explode up from the squat position and jump your feet out to the side while raising both arms over your head
  • jump your feet back together while lowering your arms down to your sides and descend back in to a squat
  • repeat the movement for your desired amount of reps or time

So there you have the Jumping Jack Squat. Your heart will be pumping, your legs will be burning, and you’ll be sweating. That probably doesn’t sound very pleasant but it will be worth it! 😉

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

See you next week with another new exercise!

TRX Squat and Y Fly

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you all had a great holiday and now that 2019 is in full swing, I have a new Home Exercise of the Week for you to try.

I’m sure a lot of you have health and fitness new year’s resolutions so to help you out with that here’s a full body move called the TRX Squat and Y Fly.

The TRX Squat and Y Fly is going to work your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, shoulders, and upper back.  The TRX is ideal for this exercise but if you don’t have one you could also use a band attached to a door.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the TRX Squat and Y Fly.

  • grab the handles of the TRX and raise your arms up in to a Y shape keeping your arms fully extended
  • now step back until there is no slack on the TRX
  • keep your arms straight and lower them down in front until your hands are at shoulder height while at the same time leaning back and letting the TRX support your body weight (this will be your starting point)
  • keeping your arms extended, lower your body in to a squat while keeping your body weight on your heels
  • push up through your heels and as you come up out of the squat, raise your arms above your head in to the Y position pulling your body upright and squeezing your shoulders and upper back muscles
  • lower your arms back down to shoulder height while leaning back and repeat the movement for your desired amount of reps or time

So there you have the TRX Squat and Y Fly.  This is a fairly simple but very effective full body exercise.  Add this in to your full body routine to work multiple muscles and burn more calories.

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

See you next week with another new exercise!

Kettlebell Wood Chopper

Hey there, I have a new Home Exercise of the Week for you to try called the Kettlebell Wood Chopper.  This is a great full body exercise that primarily works your core (especially obliques), quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and shoulders.

If you don’t have a kettlebell you can also do this with a medicine ball, dumbbell, or any weighted object you have at home that is easy to hold on to.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Kettlebell Wood Chopper.

  • stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart and toes pointed slightly outward
  • hold the kettlebell down in front of you
  • descend in to a squat while keeping your abs tight and twist to your left so the kettlebell is to the outside of your left leg
  • keep your weight on your heels throughout the squat
  • come up from the squat position while swinging the kettlebell up and diagonally to the right
  • at the top position make sure your feet are firmly planted and your upper body is twisted to the right
  • keep your abs engaged throughout the movement
  • keep your arms as straight as you can and lower the kettlebell back down and to the left as you squat
  • repeat for your desired amount or reps or time and then repeat for your right side

So there you have the Kettlebell Wood Chopper.  Add this exercise to your full body routine or as part of your ab routine.  Your obliques will thank you for it!

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

See you next week with another new exercise!

TRX Pistol Squat

Hello again, it’s time for a new Home Exercise of the Week.  The exercise this week is a very challenging one that is done with a TRX suspension trainer.  It’s called the TRX Pistol Squat.  

The TRX in this exercise is mainly used to help maintain balance throughout the movement so if you don’t have one you can try doing the exercise without it, although it is much more difficult.  In this case I recommend standing close to something you can hold on to for support and balance like a squat rack or even a chair.  However, please do so with caution.

Let’s look at the muscles worked, benefits, and how to do the TRX Pistol Squat properly.

The TRX Pistol Squat is going to target your quadriceps, core muscles, glutes, and ankle stabilizers. 

By doing this exercise you’re going to:

  • improve your balance and coordination
  • build more unilateral strength – the strength of one limb versus the other (by doing unilateral movements you will help to correct any imbalances that may have occurred from doing regular squats)
  • have greater joint integrity and movement
  • enhance muscular activation

Here are the key points to doing the TRX Pistol Squat correctly:

  • grab the TRX handles and stand far enough back from the anchor point until your arms are almost fully extended
  • raise one foot off the ground and extend in front of you
  • firmly plant your other foot on the ground and place your body weight on to your heel
  • squat down while continuing to put your weight on to the heel
  • keep your back straight and push your hips back while squatting (like you’re going to sit down on to a chair)
  • keep your knee from extending past your toes as you squat down
  • lower your body until your butt almost touches the ground
  • from this bottom position push through your heel to raise yourself back up to the starting position
  • as you push up make sure to keep your knee and foot aligned and facing forward
  • use the TRX to help keep you aligned, balanced, and as a tool to help pull yourself back up as needed 

So there you have the TRX Pistol Squat.  It’s a very hard exercise but the benefits are great.

Give it a try and let me know how you do in the comments below.

See you next week with another new exercise!