8 Mobility Exercises Anyone Can Do

8 Mobility Exercises Anyone Can Do

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I highly encourage all my clients to incorporate mobility into their week. Generally leaving when and how much up to them, but these are 8 mobility exercises anyone can do. Read for a full explanation on how and why to do them and find downloadable workouts to follow at the end.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Child’s Pose with Traction
  2. Trap Traction
  3. 3 Point Hip Flexor 
  4. High Plank Sit Back
  5. 90/90 Hip Mobility
  6. Hip Circles
  7. Iron Cross
  8. Thoracic Extension
  9. Downloadable Workouts

HOW TO PERFORM CHILD’S POSE WITH TRACTION

Let me be clear here. Adding traction to child’s pose will shift the traditional focus to stretching your lats. If you can’t even get into child’s pose I would not suggest using this stretch for your lats.

Your lats are the largest back muscle you have. They run the length of your entire back and they are used in so many movements from throwing to pull-ups. Taking care of your lats like you do your glutes and lower body will help your posture and daily comfort.

To really target your lats using a child’s pose with traction you need to make two changes:

  1. Once in child’s pose bring both your hands across to one side and grab a stable object.
  2. Allow your hips to fall to the side as you bring your hands across.

Making these two changes to a traditional child’s pose will create traction and elongate your lat. Read the full steps below and as always be sure to stay in a pain free range of motion. And since we are doing mobility do not hold the end position for long. Simply work into your end range of motion then back to start and repeat.

STEPS FOR A CHILD’S POSE WITH TRACTION

  1. Start in child’s pose, see the first picture below, with an object on your left that you can hold on to create traction.
  2. Walking your hands to the left and grab the object.
  3. Once you have a firm grasp of the object allow your hips to fall to the right increasing the lengthening of the lat muscle.
  4. Hold for a few moments, return to start and repeat.

WHAT TO AVOID

You should never be in pain. Please stop ANY mobility you are doing if pain exists. Our bodies are designed to try and prevent injury. That doesn’t mean that we can never get hurt. Rather that we should listen to our bodies.

Our muscles consist of muscle fibers in which every fiber has a muscle spindle. The muscle spindle’s only job is to detect and regulate the lengthening of muscles. When we are doing mobility, or pushing the range of motion, we are lengthening the muscle. If we push, intentionally or unintentionally, to a point of pain the muscle spindle will be activated to PREVENT the lengthening from occurring. This is the opposite of why we want.

HOW TO PERFORM A TRAP TRACTION

Your traps, or Trapezius muscles, are one of several back muscles.  This muscles is named after it shape, a trapezoid. And it is quite large, running from the base of the head, out to the clavicle and shoulder and down the spine. Our traps help tilt, turn and stabilize at the head. They also are involved in shrugging your shoulders, stabilizing the shoulders and twisting the arms.

Basically you are using your traps all day. And there are other factors that impact your traps. Like sleep. If you are like me you like to sleep on their side, giving themselves a hug and pulling their shoulders (shrugging) up to the ears. Basically increasing the tension in my traps while I sleep, go me! I go to sleep to recover, not make things worse.

And then there is stress. If you haven’t heard, your shoulders are a very common place to “carry stress”. Simple put that means, when you are stressed you tend to shrug your shoulders. Putting more tension into those already active traps.

STEPS FOR A TRAP TRACTION

We are using a weight to produce the traction portion of this exercise, but you can just as easily use a counter or desk by grabbing underneath.

  1. Stand comfortable on two feet with a shoulder width stance with a weight in your left hand.
  2. Keeping your posture tall, but your shoulder relaxed, slowly turn your head to the right and tuck your chin towards your armpit.
  3. Find your end range of motion, hold for a few moments and return to start. Repeat this movement varying your chin location.

WHAT TO AVOID

  • Pain. As always, mobility should be pain free. Control the stretch by bringing your head into a more upright position.
  • Shrugging Shoulders. This is the opposite of what you want here. So try to relax those shoulders to get the most out of this stretch.

TIPS FOR A TRAP TRACTION

  • You don’t need a ton of weight, but if all you have at your disposal is a 5 pound weight you are better off using a table/counter/railing. Anything that you can get your hand under to provide a base for the pulling force.
  • Try working your chin from your midline out towards your armpit. There might be more than one spot that needs stretching.

HOW TO PERFORM A 3 POINT HIP FLEXOR EXERCISE

This is a variation you can take on a traditional hip flexor mobility exercise. It is by no means the only variation you can take, but you bet your bottom dollar it feels fantastic early in the morning or at the end of the day.

We commonly say “my hip flexor” is tight or “you have tight hips”, but this can be misleading. When we talk about hip flexion it is the act of bending at your hip to bring your knee towards your chest or lower your chest towards your legs. But the hip is a very dynamic joint, allowing for a very large range of motion. For example abduction at the hip with flexion will put your knee out to the side and up toward your chest.

All of this is to say that hip flexion can occur in various movement patterns, which means various hip muscles will be active. And those muscles attach at various points on your pelvis, spine and femur. So when we work to relieve “tight hips” or “a tight hip flexor” moving in various ranges of motion can be helpful. 

STEPS FOR A 3 POINT HIP FLEXOR EXERCISE

  1. Start in a split kneeling position. I suggest having something soft, like a stability pad, to kneel on.
  2. Tilt your pelvis under and squeeze your glutes.
  3. Keeping your glutes tight you lean forward then return to starting position. Point 1
  4. Reach overhead sideways towards the forward knee then return to starting position. Point 2
  5. Rotate towards the front knee. Point 3. (See pictures below.)
  6. All 3 movements combine to make the 3 point hip flexor exercise. Perform 5 reps on each side.

WHAT TO AVOID

  • Arching or extension in your low or mid back. Allowing yourself to arch or extend will produce a range of motion we are not looking for. We want the movement (of the range of motion) to be from the hip. I remind my clients to keep their core braced to serve as a reminder for a neutral posture.

TIPS FOR A 3 POINT HIP FLEXOR EXERCISE

  • Focus on tilting your pelvis and engaging your glutes. This will help increase the stretch at your hip flexor by pushing your hip into extension. You must maintain this posture with movement.
  • It is likely one movement is tighter than the other(s). Consider adding in a few extra reps in that pattern regularly.

HOW TO PERFORM A HIGH PLANK SIT BACK

With so many mobility exercises “on the market” it is hard to know why you should or shouldn’t do one. Unfortunately, without knowing your health history it is hard to know what is right or wrong for you. However, I can tell you some great reasons for doing the high plank to sit back. And if any of those reasons hits home with you, then give it ago by following the steps below. Just make sure to read the section on what to avoid.

Hip & shoulder mobility together – a nice benefit to save time and work functionally. However, this may be a drawback for you if you experience shoulder pain or limited range of motion.

Warm-up & core activation – we know that a plank requires us to use our core, so a high PLANK to sit back will be no different. Doing these will help wake up your core and warm your body to be ready for more challenging movements.

Decrease low back pain – hip mobility is linked to decrease low back pain, but so is core strengthening. Two birds, one stone. You can’t really go wrong there.

STEPS FOR A HIGH PLANK SIT BACK

  1. Start in a high plank with your feet shoulder width apart.
  2. Push through your hands, bend your knees and sink into yours hips as you “sit back”. This should mirror child’s pose in yoga, except elevated off the ground.
  3. Once you have reached your maximal “sit back” push through your toes, straighten your legs and move back to a high plank position.
  4. Repeat for desired reps. I recommend sets of 10 for a warm-up, sets of 5 for active recovery

WHAT TO AVOID

  • Be sure not to let your low back arch or your hips sag as you bring your body back into a high plank position. Keeping your core engaged the entire time will help prevent any low back arch.
  • Pain. We are always avoiding any pain or high level discomfort. Remember that there are a large variety of hip mobility exercises out there. You can certainly find another.

TIPS FOR A HIGH PLANK SIT BACK

  • This is a great warm-up exercise, but it can also be incorporated into a workout by adding a movement between reps. For example, a push-up between sit backs or step your feet in and stand-up between each rep.
  • If you have wrist discomfort when in a high plank consider using dumbbells (hex style are easiest) as the base for your hands. This will allow your wrists to stay straight, versus the flexed position they typically in during a high plank.

HOW TO PERFORM A 90/90 EXERCISE

90/90s should be included in your mobility program because they target the hip from multiple angles. Depending on what leg is in front, or your chest is facing, the joint positioning is different. Add in the process of switching from side to side and you are accessing a large range of motion, or trying to at least. 

Another unique factor is how you are using your body weight in this mobility exercise. 90/90s use your body weight, and the ground, to help increase the the end range of motion achieved on both sides. This will help to produce quick results in improve mobility.

The key is in the set-up. Starting position should be 90 degrees at knee and hip of your front and back leg. This will be awkward and unusual the first time. If you can’t get into this position try other hip mobility drills consistently and come back to this one.

Mobility is always about quality over quantity. Be calculated in your movements and listen to your body.

STEPS FOR A 90/90

  1. Start seated on the floor with your knees bent and let both of your legs fall to the same side. This will put the outside of one leg and the inside of the other leg on the floor.
  2. Adjust your upper legs so the angle between your thigh and your hip is at 90 degrees on the front and the back leg.
  3. Adjust your lower legs so the angle at your knee is at 90 degrees.
  4. Once in this position you want to apply force down into the ground from your front and back leg, working towards contact with the ground.
  5. Lean your chest forward towards the front leg, keeping your back flat.
  6. Return to to starting position and switch your legs and face the other direction and repeat.

WHAT TO AVOID

  • Anything other than 90 degrees at your hip and knee. After all, that is the whole point of the exercise.
  • Pain. Mobility or flexibility training should not be painful. Pain is an indicator that you are doing something wrong. Listen to your body.

TIPS FOR A 90/90

  • Your mobility will be challenge on each side and in transition. There is a reasonable amount of core work going on here to be able to change your leg position. Keep your upper body quiet and core braced as you go to switch sides.
  • On each side try to achieve floor contact from both your front and back leg while you slightly lean forward by hinging at your hips. That means your back stays straight!
  • There are a lot of variations of this exercise, but we consider this to be a good starting point. If switching your knees side to side isn’t your jam you can always work the forward lean on each side for a few reps before switching positions.

HOW TO PERFORM A HIP CIRCLE

Hip mobility has a large impact on low back pain. For example, tight hips can cause your posture to change and your low back to hurt. Tight hips can also cause an individual to use poor technique while lifting increasing the odds of a low back injury. Working hip mobility to restore range of motion can minimize low back pain and injury.

Increasing range of motion at the hips is also connected to improved athletic performance. Limited range of motion means your mechanics, loading pattern and ability to work efficiently will be limited as well. Opening up range of motion opens up the opportunity to access more power and translate that power to performance.

Before we jump into the steps decide whether you want to do standing or quadruped hip circles. Does it matter? An argument can be made in both directions, but for this purpose you decide. I favor the quadruped when I am indoors and or doing mobility. I use standing when I am outdoor or getting warmed-up, especially for running.

STEPS FOR A STANDING HIP CIRCLE

  1. Find your balance on one leg  by engaging your core and keeping a soft bend in the knee of the weighted leg.
  2. Once balanced raise the non-weight knee to 90 degrees.
  3. Then keeping your foot pointed at the ground rotate your hip open so your knee points to the side.
  4. Finally rotate your hip so your knee points down to the ground and your foot to the back.
  5. Bring your knee back up to 90 and follow the same steps.
  6. Repeat 5 times then reverse the steps, working hip rotation in the opposite direction.

STEPS FOR A QUADRUPED HIP CIRCLE

  1. Start on all fours, hands and knees, and brace into the ground by driving force through your limbs and engaging your core.
  2. Lift one knee off the ground and rotate at your hip raising your knee away from your body.
  3. Rotate your hip again so that your quad is parallel with the ground and your foot is pointing to the sky.
  4. Bring your knee back down to the ground and follow the same steps.
  5. Repeat 5 times then reverse the steps, working hip rotation in the opposite direction.

WHAT TO AVOID

We have said it before, but we will say it again … we are focusing on a specific range of motion. The size of the movements does not matter. We do NOT want excessive motion or a flailing body. Isolate the movement at your hip by controlling your torso and upper body.

Your hip joint is a ball and socket, which allows the joint a large range of motion. That range of motion can become limited over time. Enter mobility and flexibility training. While you are doing the exercise think about that ball and socket joint. Envision your leg moving around your hip. The rest of your body should be still or quiet.

TIPS FOR A HIP CIRCLE

  1. You can use a wall as proprioception to control the rest of your body from moving. Just line up sideways with one shoulder against the wall and maintain contact as you move through the range of motion.
    • When you are in the quadruped position it will prevent too much rocking side to side which will help control your range of motion.
    • Standing it will prevent the side bend from occurring in order to move your leg.
  2. Keep your core braced so that you do not wobble side to side and hyper focus your attention on your hip.
    • In the quadruped position you should drive your limbs into the ground & squeeze your abdominals before lifting the knee off the ground.
    • Standing you should put a slight bend in the weighted leg and engage your abdominals to help with balance and posture.

HOW TO PERFORM AN IRON CROSS FOR DISASSOCIATION

The iron cross can be helpful to establish rotational range of motion at their hips separate of the upper body. Also known as disassociation. There are a significant number of exercises that focus on disassociation of the hips and shoulders where the hips stay still and the shoulders move. Think of a split squat with arms straight forward and rotating your shoulders side to side.  There are far less that work the opposite.

The simple reason is that it is hard. To rotationally move the lower body without the upper body requires you first to be in an open chain movement pattern. Second the joint(s) that actually produce enough rotational movement are found in your thoracic spine, not your lumbar spine. And your lumbar spine is closest to the hips.

STEPS FOR AN IRON CROSS

  1. Starting laying flat on your back with your legs straight and your arms out to the side at shoulder height, palms down. Making a T with your body.
  2. Brace your core and lift one leg straight up into the air. Maintaining core tension and contact with the ground at your hands and shoulders try to cross the upright leg over toward the ground.
  3. Once you have found your greatest range of motion, keeping your shoulders down, return the leg to upright and lower to the ground.
  4. Alternate legs focusing on the same key points side to side.

IMPORTANT!

Your range of motion is limited by movement at your shoulders. Remember we are trying to create movement at the hips without movement at the shoulders. This means you may need to place a box, chair, foam roller or something elevated off the ground to work towards instead of the ground. The height of this object will depend on your range of motion.

The rotation should be felt through your thoracic spine, not your low back. If for any reason this causes discomfort in your low back stop immediately. This exercises is not for you. Seek professional help if you are looking to work on your ability to disassociate your hips and shoulders.

The range of motion from your hips can be limited by the flexibility of your hamstrings and IT band. If you experience that you should consider specific stretches, for example a standing hamstring stretch. We do not agree with using this exercise to increase flexibility of your legs.

If you experience too much of a pull or any discomfort in your legs doing this exercise you should consider bending your knee to decrease the the flexibility demand. Bending the knee will also decrease the load by shortening your force arm.

WHAT TO AVOID

This is not an entry level mobility exercise. It looks simple, but demands a person be relatively mobile and highly stable to begin with. And at very least requires you to check your ego at the door and appropriately limit your range of motion.  If you are new to mobility or stiff/tight start with a thoracic rotation exercise like side lying chest openers. These will still work on disassociation between the upper and lower body and help to contribute to improved thoracic rotation.

TIPS FOR IRON CROSS

  • Focus on the rotation occurring through your thoracic spine. I like to envision a twist through my belly button.
  • Remember upper body should stay still.
  • Bending your knee will decrease the flexibility demand on your legs and decrease the force load of the exercise.
  • More is not better. Work for controlled, quality movements and couple with rotational strength for the best results.
  • If you have any discomfort in your low back, stop immediately.

HOW TO PERFORM THORACIC SPINE MOBILITY MINI CRUNCHES

The objective of these mini crunches is to work your thoracic spine into extension. Since we spend a typical day in flexion – sitting and rounding of the shoulders. It is important to focus your attention and movement to the thoracic spine. Movement elsewhere will give you a false range of motion and could contribute to more discomfort.

For simplicity, you can think of your thoracic spine as the section where your ribs are located. It is designed to support and protect the heart and lungs via the ribcage. The range of motion is small, but the thoracic spine can move in flexion (bending forward), extension (arching backward) and rotation. Range of motion most commonly decreases in extension and rotation due to repetitive motions. Like I said above – sitting at a desk, driving, etc.

Of course age and injury can and will have an impact on range of motion. But for the average person it is your daily life style that is causing your range of motion to change, decreasing mobility and contributing to daily discomfort.

STEPS FOR MINI CRUNCHES

  1. Start with your foam roller perpendicular to your spine at the bottom of your shoulder blades.
  2. Cross your arms over your chest and plant your feet firmly on the ground.
  3. Engage your abdominals and squeeze your glutes to brace your lower body.
  4. Allow your back to extend, or round, around the foam roller as you lean back.
  5. Extend back, as far as you can go, keeping your core engaged.
  6. Return to the starting position.
  7. Perform 5 reps in one location then move the foam roller slight up your back and repeat.

WHAT TO AVOID

Our main focus here is on the mid back, or the thoracic spine. Your focus should be on creating movement in that region of the body. Avoiding movement in others.

When working on spinal mobility you have to acknowledge that your spine works synergistically, but it should also work independently. Isolating our thoracic spine is essential to creating mobility. We need to avoid movement in our lumbar spine during extension on this exercise.

TIPS FOR MINI CRUNCHES

  • You should feel no pain, movement or work in your lower back. If you do work to better engage your core.
  • Move the foam roller up only an inch or two at a time to help target individual vertebra.
  • If you are able to keep your core engaged you can extend your arms overhead to increase the the force pulling you into extension. A weight can also be held in your hands.
  • I’ll say it again … be conscious of your core, specifically keeping it braced. Doing so will help control any movement in your lumbar spine and isolate the movement in your thoracic.

WORKOUTS

There are many workouts for you to download and save. Scroll through them all to find which ones you want to try. 

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How To Use a BOSU and Swiss Ball

How To Use a BOSU and Swiss Ball

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I am going to break down how to use a BOSU ball and a Swiss ball. As a bonus I am going to include a look at how you can use SKLZ sliders, a TRX, and a medicine ball with the BOSU ball.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. How and Why Use a BOSU Ball
  2. How and Why Use a Swiss Ball
  3. BOSU ball with SKLZ Sliders
  4. BOSU Ball with a TRX
  5. BOSU Ball with a Medicine Ball
  6. Downloadable Workouts
  7. Equipment

You can probably seamlessly starting incorporating the BOSU Ball in the routines you are already doing. It is a great way to provide a new stimulation to old exercises. Keep reading as we discuss the function of a BOSU Ball and what you are getting out of your workouts by adding it in.

REASONS TO DO BOSU BALL WORKOUTS

There has to be a reason why you would want to use a BOSU Ball. For those of you that have used it, you are probably thinking “because it makes it harder!” and you would be right. But let’s take a moment to understand why it makes it harder and what you are actually getting out of using the BOSU ball.

BALANCE AND STABILITY

The BOSU Ball challenges your balance and stability because of its half circle shape. The instability increases the demand on your muscles which can stimulate physiological changes and cause muscle fatigue. In addition, when your balance is being challenged your core will turn on. Because your core is the center of balance for your body.

When you take common exercises like a squat or a push-up and do them on a BOSU Ball the demand on the body immediately changes. You will notice physiological responses like shaking and a faster onset of fatigue as your body tries to figure out how to balance on an unstable surface.

CORE STIMULATION

Whenever the conversation turns towards balance the core has to be considered. Core strength and stability are the key to having good balance. Think that through and you will understand that the BOSU Ball is training your core no matter what exercise you are doing on it. Just remember to keep proper core bracing while performing your repetitions!

I bet you are wondering what about doing core specific exercises with the BOSU Ball. Of course you should do that. Doing a plank on a BOSU Ball is going to have a greater demand on your core stability AND your shoulder stability. Given how susceptible our shoulders can be to instability due to, in part, the large range of motion available at the shoulder, training them for stability is a must in any program design.

ADVANCE YOUR EXERCISES

You can add a BOSU Ball into a ton of different exercises to challenge your body in a different way. A common exercise, like a mountain climber, done with either your upper body or lower body on the BOSU Ball will require an increase in your core stability. This WILL make the exercise feel harder.

Lower body exercises like squats, lunges and RDLs also become more challenging because of instability. We won’t dive into it here, but the BOSU Ball provides you with a way to train the lower body in an open chain capacity. Something that can be helpful in injury rehabilitation and that should be present in a well rounded program.

MY FAVORITE EXERCISES TO USE A BOSU BALL FOR

  • Push-Up Variations
  • SL RDL, Curl + Press
  • Plank Variations
  • Lunge Patterns

TIPS FOR DOING A BOSU BALL WORKOUTS

  1. Step on directly in the middle of the BOSU Ball. Try to put the middle of your arch in the center of the BOSU Ball. This will be different if you are using the BOSU Ball with a cable, where you want to offset your foot back to allow for better balance and weight distribution.
  2. Make sure your weight is mid-foot to heel. This helps to engage our glutes and hamstrings.
  3. Don’t completely straighten your knees when you are standing on the BOSU Ball. This allows your muscles to activate and help with balance.
  4. If it’s your first time using a BOSU Ball, take a second to just step on and let your muscles get used to the unstable ground and stay close to a wall or something you can use to help your balance as you get comfortable. Your muscles will feel very shaky, but that is their way of trying to figure out what is going on. Your muscles are rapidly firing to recruit enough fibers to meet the stability demand.
  5. Your muscles are going to have to adjust to the BOSU Ball. When working your lower body start by standing on the BOSU with two feet. Then progress to a  single leg balance on the BOSU. After you are comfortable there you can add dynamic movements.
  6. When you step off the ball, whether its because you are done with your reps or losing your balance, step completely off the BOSU Ball. Don’t try to catch yourself by shifting your feet or putting your other foot on the BOSU Ball. That will just cause you to lose your balance even more and possibly end in an injury.
  7. If your hands are on the BOSU and you are in a high plank position, make sure your shoulders are right above your hands. The BOSU Ball decreases the stability at the shoulder joint in that position, and you do not what to put unnecessary pressure on your shoulder by being too far forward or backwards.

Everyone knows what a Swiss Ball is. But you might not know it by that name. You might call it a yoga ball, a stability ball, a physio ball, a balance ball, or even a birth ball. It has many names because it can be used for so many different things. Expecting mothers use the Swiss Ball to induce labor and manage pain.  It is also just as common to be seen at a desk replacing a traditional chair. But we use it every day in the gym.

REASONS TO DO SWISS BALL WORKOUTS

We use the Swiss Ball because of the numerous benefits and the ability to incorporate it with almost every exercise. Take a squat, add in a Swiss Ball, and it adds a proprioception aspect which allows the individual to be more conscious of their torso. Helping them to make sure their torso is up right, chest is up, shoulders are back and their core engaged. It teaches the client correct form so when the Swiss Ball is removed from the exercise the body knows how to properly load the muscles. 

The Swiss Ball can also add instability in an exercise to make it more difficult. Everyone knows what an elbow plank or a glute bridge is right? They are pretty simple exercises. But add in a Swiss Ball and it takes the exercise up a notch. The instability created by the Swiss Ball requires small muscles to fire to help execute a traditional exercise. So an elbow plank becomes harder as a whole and your core will really feel the burn.

The Swiss Ball is also great to use as a light resistance, especially in core exercises. A Swiss Ball pass over is a great example of this, take a look at the pictures below. With your limbs acting as the levers you only need a light weight to make the exercise challenging.

TIPS FOR DOING A SWISS BALL WORKOUT

  1. Don’t over inflate the Swiss Ball. There is a little leeway around how inflated your Swiss Ball should be. Really it comes down to your preference. But when first inflating your Swiss Ball it may be helpful to remember the size of your Swiss Ball, either 45, 55, 65, or 75 centimeters and blowing it up to that specific size. Also don’t store your Swiss Ball somewhere too cold. Air expands when warm and contracts when cool so you will have to re-inflate your Swiss Ball if it gets to cold.
  2. When using the Swiss Ball against the wall in a squat or lunge position, the Swiss Ball should be positioned somewhere between the middle of your back and low back. If the Swiss Ball is to high it is likely your torso will curve forward, if the Swiss Ball is too low, you won’t be able to drive your hips back properly. 
  3. The Swiss Ball can make an exercises you can perform well a lot more difficult. Be responsible when progressing to a Swiss Ball. Progressing too fast can increase chance of injury. If you are progressing to an elbow plank on the Swiss Ball, start by putting the Swiss Ball up against the wall. This will allow for some instability but not as much which allows you to make sure you can preform the plank with good form before moving forward. When you are ready, take the Swiss Ball off the wall and see how you do.
  4. Check for sharp objects around you when using a Swiss Ball. We don’t want you to be using the Swiss Ball to support yourself and then it complexly fall out from underneath you! Or for you to fall off the Swiss Ball!

WHAT ARE SKLZ SLIDERS?

The SKLZ sliders are a great way to spice up your workout! They are great for a quick, low impact, full body workout where ever you go. And they are small and light weight making them a great travel companion.

Essentially they are a flat object that allows smooth movement across a variety of surfaces. SKLZ is a brand of fitness equipments, who make a slider product. There are numerous other brands on the market and you could even use a towel on hardwood surface or a tupperwear lid on carpeting.

The SKLZ Sliders can be used to decrease the stability at your joint, forcing the muscle around that joint, and your core to engage and do the work. Or the SKLZ Sliders can be used to enhance cardiovascular possibilities of a workout by increasing speed because they can easily slide across most surfaces. They are another great piece to include in your home gym or take with to the gym.

SKLZ + HIIT WORKOUTS

I love to use the SKLZ sliders for high speed and low impact cardio workouts! This makes them perfect to include in HIIT workouts, or high intensity interval training. HIIT workouts are a recent top fitness trend, but most people don’t understand what a HIIT workout really is.

The goal of a HIIT workout is to maximize a person’s aerobic capacity without sacrificing form. HIIT workouts alternate between working sets and recovery periods. They are great because they can be modified to meet anyones fitness level and you still get a great workout, in a short period of time.

Using the SKLZ Sliders with a BOSU is a challenging combination that promises to leave you exhausted in a HIIT workout. Here are a few of my favorite exercises:

  • Mountain Climber Variations
  • Push-up + Plank Complexes
  • Lunge Patterns that use the BOSU as resistance

WHAT IS THE TRX?

The TRX Is a form of suspension training that uses body weight exercises to develop strength, balance, flexibility and core stability. This means that very little equipment is needed to get a great workout and a TRX is very easy to set up. Your TRX can hang off of anything that will hold your weight and not pull over. There are even TRX door anchors that are super helpful if you live in an apartment or don’t wht to do anything permanent. Read more about training with a TRX here.

By combining the BOSU and TRX, you are almost always going to get a great full body workout no matter what you do. If you are doing side to side squat jumps on the BOSU, you are working on lower body plyometrics and aerobic capacity. At the same time you are getting slight upper body activation by pulling yourself out of the hole with the TRX. Or if you are doing a pushup on the BOSU with your feet in the TRX you are working posterior shoulder, biceps and triceps. But your core also needs to stabilize your body to keep your back flat and minimize excess movement.

WORKING OUT WITH A TRX AND A BOSU

I love to talk about balance and stability. It is often under appreciated or overlooked in typical programming. This is one of the reasons I love the BOSU. It will challenge your balance and stability helping you to create a stronger body.

Balance is easy to challenge using the TRX. You can do upper body movements holding on to the TRX handles on a single leg instead of both legs. For example, do single leg inverted rows or do a single leg assisted squat. You can take that a step further and stand on a BOSU ball.

You can also use the TRX on your lower body to create instability. For example, a push-up with your feet in the TRX. Or a Bulgarian split squat with rotation with the elevated foot in the TRX. And again you can advance these exercises by incorporating a BOSU ball.

Between the BOSU Ball and the TRX you are getting a ton of core stimulation. The instability from the BOSU Ball requires full body tension, but most importantly core tension. Your core is just as important in TRX exercises. In a TRX chest press, you need to keep your core engaged to hold the plank position. If you do not engage your core your back will arch causing low back pain and making the chest press more difficult.

Here are a few of my favorite exercises using a TRX and a BOSU ball:

  • Push-up Variations
  • Side Squat Jumps
  • Plank Variations

WHAT IS A MEDICINE BALL?

Medicine balls come in a variety of materials and weight. Some are made to be cushioned and soft, others more reactive and even others compact. When shopping for a medicine ball, take into consideration the weight . I pretty much use a 10 pound med ball for everything. Adjusting the sets and reps to make the exercise easier or more difficult.

Goals and fitness level play a big part in determining the proper weight. I regularly use 6 pound and 15 pound medicine balls with my clients. If you only want one medicine ball at home get one that is between 6-10 pounds. If you have the space, get a vertical rack and fill it up!

There are a few different types of medicine balls. When purchasing a medicine ball be conscious that some are made to bounce back when you do a med ball slam, we will call them hard shell. And others are made to stay on the ground, we will call these soft shell med balls. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t do slams with both kinds. As long as they are well made you can still throw both.

WORKING OUT WITH A MEDICINE BALL AND BOSU BALL

Medicine balls are really great because they can be used for so many different things. From a programming perspective they are great for training stability and power. Balance drills can become more advanced by adding a medicine ball.

For example a single arm shoulder press with a medicine ball will require more stability than with a dumbbell. Or you can hold a medicine ball between your knees to activate your adductors. You can also throw the med ball at the wall or ground to make an upper body plyometric drill.

And remember to use proper form when picking up the med ball form the ground. Core engaged, butt down, back flat. Not using proper form when picking up a medicine ball has to be the most common mistake I see.

Here are a few of my favorite exercises using a medicine ball and BOSU ball:

  • BOSU Side Squat to Single Arm Press
  • BOSU Glute Bridge with Medicine Ball Hold
  • BOSU Reverse Lunge with Rotation

WORKOUTS

There are many workouts for you to download and save. Scroll through them all to find which ones you want to try. 

bosu upper body workout
bosu lower body workout
core hiit workout bosu
lower body hiit workout bosu
upper body hiit workout bosu
lower body workout trx and bosu
upper body workout trx and bosu
core workout bosu and medicine ball
full body workout medicine ball and bosu
fully body pyramid workout bosu
circuit workout bosu
tabata workout bosu
pilates workout bosu
30 min hiit workout bosu

EQUIPMENT

These are affiliate links. While there is no cost to you when you order through them, I do make a commission. Your support, by ordering through them, is greatly appreciated!

You can find many of these pieces of equipment all over the place. But if you want to support Pure Fitness you can order through the links below on Amazon.

Now for some items you will want to use with your TRX. A high quality exercise mat. My favorite brand is Manduka because it has lasted years, I don’t slip and it is easy to clean. I linked the one I use here.

If you have a space dedicated to a home gym I would get the TRX wall anchor. This way you don’t have to worry about moving your TRX in and out of a doorway every time you want to start and end your workout.

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Fast Workouts For Everyday

by

Have you ever set yourself a really aggressive short-term goal? I mean like 20 things on a to do list when there is really only time to do 5 things?

Well, I am here to tell you that you are not alone. This behavior is something that I have struggled with my entire life. It crosses over into everything I do – personally and professionally. Mike, my husband, always calls me a slave driver when I tell him what’s on the list for the weekend. As a child my parents lovingly told me that I would make a great third world dictator when I grew up.

I guess I come by it naturally.

Knowing that doesn’t eliminate this tendency from my personality. However, as I’ve matured and confirmed my loved ones are in fact correct, I have tried to curb my aggressive short-term goal habit. One of the ways I do that is by setting REALISTIC goals based on the time I have in the day not my desire to get projects done.

One area of my life that I find easy to throw into the “back seat” is my workouts. I know I am a trainer and that probably sounds ridiculous. But we are human too. We struggle with the same things everyone else struggles with.

Exercises is also an area of my life I can’t function without. I am just irritable, obnoxious and unhappy when I don’t workout. Which means I make everyone else around me feel irritated, annoyed and unhappy. So I have to make it priority. For the sake of my marriage, my relationships and my happiness. I like to use fast workouts occasionally to help me blow off some steam. They give me some much needed self-love and don’t increase my stress because of the time commitment.

THE “ALPHABET WORKOUT”

This is why I LOVE the idea that is trending around town of “alphabet workouts”. They are so simple, can be done anywhere and leave you no room for excuses (hopefully). But what is an alphabet workout? You saw the image at the top of this article right? Maybe you even found this article because you clicked on that very image. THAT is an alphabet workout

We developed a list of exercises, where each exercise represents a letter of the alphabet. Then we will post a word of the week for you and everyone else who needs a FAST workout to use. The spelling of that word is used to select the exercises and the order.

You can do 1 round, 3 rounds or 5 rounds. Whatever you can do based on the time you have.

You can also use the same word or workout several times in the same week. Giving you multiple times to release some stress.

Heck, you can even make up your own words and do this entirely on your own or with your friends and family.

All we care about is that you feel good about doing it. Otherwise, why do it at all?!

Save the image here!

This week’s word is PURE FITNESS.

That means you are doing: 10 forward raises, 20 bent over rows, 1 minute wall sit, 20 alternating reverse lunges, 1 minute of jumping jacks, 20 high plank shoulder taps, 20 toe touches, 2o Russian twists, 20 alternating reverse lunges, 10 reverse flys & 10 more reverse fly.

Go through it once, twice or as many times as you can!

EXERCISE EXPLANATIONS

Dead Bugs – While laying on your back with your legs and arms straight up, extend your right leg and left arm, move them back into the straight up position and then extend the opposite limbs. Keep your core engaged throughout the exercise to avoid a painful arch in the back.

Pushups – These can be performed from your knees or toes. Position your hands outside your shoulders and bend your elbows to 90 degrees.

V Sit – Sit back on your sit bones with your knees tucked towards your chest. Extend your legs and arms out then pull back into the starting position.

Side Plank W/ Crunch – In the side plank position crunch your core and bring your top elbow and knee together.

Alternating Reverse Lunge – Standing feet together reach one leg back and sit into a lunge position. Try for a 90 degree angle in both legs.

Jumping Jacks – Starting feet together and arms at your side, jump your legs out laterally while also raising your arms laterally to a comfortable height.

Burpees – Start standing up right, drop down into the push up position, jump your legs back up towards your hands, jump into the air.

High Plank Shoulder Taps – Hands under your shoulders and back as flat as possible and feet wide to avoid rotation at the hips. Bring your right hand to your left shoulder and then your left hand to your right shoulder.

Bicep Curls – Standing comfortably with good posture weights at your sides, flex your bicep with palms up and bring the weights towards your shoulders. Avoid movement in the elbows.

Penguins – On your back, knees bent towards your butt. Pull your shoulders off the ground and reach your fingers towards your toes alternating sides.

Lateral Raises – Standing up right knees slightly bent, start with your hands at your side with weight and lift the weights laterally about shoulder height. Keep a slight bend in the knee.

Arnold Press – Standing up right knees slightly bent, hold your elbows out in front of your body, rotate your elbows out to your sides and then press the weight over head. Your palms should start facing you and face out as you finish the press.

Russian Twist – Hold the V Sit with a weight at your chest, rotate your torso and touch the weight to the ground at your side, then do the same on the opposite side.

Hammer Curls – Bicep Curls – Standing comfortably with good posture weights at your sides, flex your bicep with palms facing in and bring the weights towards your shoulders. Avoid movement in the elbows.

Forward Raises – Standing up right, knees slightly bend, raise your hands forward to shoulder height. You should have a slight bend in your elbow.

Plank Shifts – Elbows on the ground under shoulders, and back flat, shift shoulders in front of elbows and then behind.

Wall Sit – With your back flat against the wall, lower your body down into a squat position, aim for a 90 degree angle at your knees.

Reverse Fly – In a slightly bent over position, weight in front of you and elbows slightly bent, retract your shoulders and raise your hands to shoulder height.

Toe Touches – On your back with your legs straight in the air, reach your fingertips towards your toes while crunching your core and bringing your shoulders off the ground.

Bent Over Rows – Knees slightly bent, and torso leaning forward, let weight hang down and then retract shoulders to pull the weight towards your chest

Planks – Either and your elbows or hands, shoulders over your base, and core engaged to avoid a dip in your back.

Wood Choppers – One weight in your hands, rotate your body to bring the weight above one shoulder, and then rotate the opposite way and control the weight across the body to the opposite knee.

Squat Jumps – Squat down to a comfortable depth then explode out of the hole and jump into the air. Arms come down as you squat and can be used as momentum to propel you upward.

Split Squat Jumps – In the split squat or lunge positions, with knees at or above 90 degrees, jump into the air and land in the beginning position.

Plank Dips – In an elbow plank, with shoulders over elbows and back flat, rotate hips to one side and then the other.

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