Fitterclub

Exercise: Tuck Jumps Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Strength/Endurance Body Focus: Lower Body Bend at the knees and extend your arms behind. Using your arms for momentum, jump up high. Once in the air pull and tuck both knees to the chest holding very briefly with your arms. When you land cushion the knees to absorb high impact. Re-set body position and repeat. If you find this move to difficult to begin with try jumps with knee taps until you are able for a tuck jump.

Exercise: Sumo Squats Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Strength/Endurance Body Focus: Lower Body Stand with your feet wider than hip-width and your arms by your sides. Pull your shoulders back and engage your abdominal muscles to stiffen your spine. Just like a sumo wrestler, drop into a wide-stance squat position (mechanics are like regular squats), lower your body to a deeper depth, or until your thighs lie parallel to the floor and your body weight rests on your heels. Position your arms where they assist you in maintaining balance, by the side or clasped in front. To progress with this move, try sump rotational squats or sumo squat jumps.

Exercise: Sit to Stand Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Strength/Endurance Body Focus: Lower Body Another simple yet effective movement for your functional fitness. From a seated position with your back straight place both feet flat on the floor hip width apart. Drive through the leg into a standing position ideally without the use of your hands to help push you to a standing position Slowly lower by pushing the hips back to return to the seated start position and repeat.

Exercise: Press Up Variations Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Strength/Endurance Body Focus: Total Body Bend forward to place your palms flat on the mat, positioning your hands shoulder-width apart with your fingers facing forward. Shift your weight forward until your shoulders are positioned directly over your elbows and hands. Reposition your hands as needed to allow full extension of your body from the knees without any bend at the hips. Stiffen your torso by contracting your core and abdominal muscles (bracing). If you are doing a bent knee press-up, kneel on an exercise mat or floor and bring your feet together behind you in line with the knees and hips. Slowly lower your body towards the floor while maintaining a rigid torso and head aligned with your spine. Avoid letting your low back sag or your hips hike upwards during this downward phase. Continue to lower yourself until your chest touches the mat or floor. Your elbows should remain close to the sides of your body, flaring outward slightly. Press upwards through your arms while maintaining a rigid torso and head aligned with your spine. To progress your push-up, try the Spiderman or narrow variations. Lateral press-ups: Start in the extended plank position—move your left hand and foot to the left, then bring in your right hand and foot to meet. Complete a full press-up. Shuffle and repeat to the right. The lateral movement adds an extra challenge to the core and the stabilization required through the shoulders and hips. Press-up rotation: Start in the press-up position and perform a press-up. As you return to the starting position, gradually rotate so that you are perpendicular to the floor, keeping rigid throughout. Aim to reach high and keep the hips up. Pause, then rotate back and slowly lower yourself into another position. Press up and repeat.

Exercise: Standing Calf Raise Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Strength/Endurance Body Focus: Lower Body Stand about 6 -12 inches away from a wall with your feet hip-width apart and facing the wall. Extend your arms to place your palms on the wall, level with your chest or shoulders. Raise up onto the toes and use your hands on the wall to support your body. Hold your raised position briefly, slowly lower your heels back towards the floor. To progress this move try single leg calf raises – from your starting position, bend your left knee to lift your left foot off the floor and perform single-leg calf raises.

Exercise: Lunge Variations Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Strength/Endurance Body Focus: Lower Body Start this move with your feet hip width apart and take a giant step forward with your right foot. Heels will be raised and hands on hips, clasped in front, or behind head. Bend at the knees and drop into a lunge. Keep the abs tight and shoulders back then fire back from the front foot stepping back to the start position and repeat with the opposite leg. To progress this move, try a plyo lunge.

Exercise: In and Out Jump Squats Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Strength/Endurance Body Focus: Lower Body Start standing tall with feet together, jump your feet out wider than hip width then lower straight into a squat, drawing the hands up in front of your chest. Power back up from the squat position jumping the feet back together, swinging your arms back by your side. Jump the feet back out and repeat for reps.

Exercise: Jumps into Backward Hops Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Strength/Endurance Body Focus: Lower Body Start with your feet hip width apart, using the arms to gather momentum take a large jump forwards. In a swift movement take 2 short hops back to your start position. Reset and repeat. Make sure you concentrate on your landing when doing this high impact movement.

Exercise: Curtsy Lunge Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Strength/Endurance Body Focus: Lower Body Start this move by stepping the right leg out with knee and toes pointing out, keeping hips directly below shoulder in a strong upright position. As you do this, sweep the opposite leg behind at a diagonal dropping the knee into a curtsy position. Hands can be clasped in front for balance.

Exercise: Crab Position Toe Taps Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Strength/Endurance Body Focus: Lower Body Start this move seated on the floor or matt extend the arms behind you and keep shoulders, elbows and wrists aligned. Push through the arms and lift the butt from the floor, hover in this position keeping the hips up, tap opposite fingers to knee, shin, or toe and alternate.

Exercise: Triceps Stretch Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Upper Body One arm at a time reaches a hand up and over the same shoulder placing a palm on the back of the shoulder. Using the opposite hand gently pull the elbow further back to add additional stretch to the triceps. Exhale and repeat on the opposite side.

Exercise: Shoulder Stretch Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Upper Body Draw one arm across the chest keeping a cushioned elbow, draw the other arm upwards and across to assist in pulling the arm across for a focused stretch through shoulder. Slowly release and repeat opposite side.

Exercise: Standing Chest Stretch Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Upper Body Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes pointing forward and arms by your sides. Slightly lift your chest up and out, while externally rotating the shoulders (rolling them back). Reach your arms behind, squeeze shoulder blades together, link fingertips together and lift up and away from the body.

Exercise: Standing Inner Thigh Stretch Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Lower Body Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes pointing forward and arms by your sides. Keep the pelvis in line with the shoulders facing forwards, rotate one leg to the side and keeping the knee aligned with the toes gently ease your weight onto the bent leg. Ease back out of the stretch keeping the torso upright, rotate the opposite knee and repeat.

Exercise: Seated Hamstring Stretch Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Lower Body Start seated on the floor/matt or even in a chair, extend one leg whilst keeping the opposite knee bent or sole of foot at the side of the stretching leg. Gently roll your body forward reaching down the extended leg for a stretch along the back of the leg (hamstrings) and also lower back. Switch sides and repeat.

Exercise Side Lying Quad Stretch Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Lower Body Lie on your right side on a mat/floor with your legs extended straight away from your body. Bend your left knee and pull your left heel up towards your left glute muscle (your butt). Use your left hand to grab a hold of the top of your left foot. Your right (lower) arm should be bent and positioned under your head for support. Your hips and shoulder should be aligned vertically to the floor. Your head should stay aligned with your spine. Exhale and use your left hand to gently pull your left heel and lower leg towards your tailbone while simultaneously keeping the left thigh and knee resting on the inside of the right thigh and pointing straight out from the left hip joint. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds, then straighten the leg and contract (squeeze) the quadriceps (thigh) muscles and repeat for 2-3 repetitions alternate sides and repeat with the right leg. Be sure to keep the spine in a straight line and maintain the abdominal bracing to keep the pelvis stable.

Exercise: Upward/Downward Dog Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Total Body Start this stretch lying face down set your hands at shoulder-width apart. Your hands should be flat with equal spacing between each finger your entire palm needs to be pressed down. Feet should be hip to shoulders width apart keeping your back flat. Push your body weight back into your heels as you rise, and the head moves between the upper arms. Hold and return to downward dog pose, relax the feet then lift the torso from the mat whilst Keeping shoulders over elbows, then elbows over wrists this keeps a balance of weights in your arms. Push through the pose and press the chest forward. Pull the shoulders back towards each other. Keep ears off shoulders.

Exercise: Cross Body Stretch Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Total Body Stand tall, shoulders back and abs engaged, push the palm of one hand to the sky. Using the other hand take hold of the extended arms wrist and tilt your torso to the opposite side, feeling a stretch through the ribs and side of body.

Exercise: Childs Pose Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Total Body This is a super relaxing stretch targeting the hips, thighs and ankles. Starting on your hands and knees ease your body back and sit on to your heels. Bring your toes together then move the knees outwards to be as wide as the hips. Lower your torso to the mat, lengthen your tailbone and at the same time reach forward with your fingertips.

Exercise: Sit Up to Hip Up Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Total Body This is a spine mobility stretch of back torso and neck. Starting on hands and knees, make sure knees are under hips and hands are under shoulders Keep head parallel to the floor as you exhale tuck pelvis and curl your spine towards the ceiling drawing your naval towards your spine like at angry cat. Then let your head drop towards the ground as you inhale tilt your pelvis the opposite way, lifting the head to look straight ahead and chest towards the ceiling. Let your spine arch down as if your belly is about to touch the floor. This is a slow, controlled movement.

Exercise: Torso Twists Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Mobility Body Focus: Upper Body To complete this move, lift the arms up to 90degrees elbows in line with the shoulder, cushion at the knees. Brace the core, aiming just to rotate through the torso keeping the knee facing forward as best you can. Twist from side to side starting with small movements and then making larger rotations.

Exercise: Cross Body Rotational Chop Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Mobility Body Focus: Total Body Standing with the hands clasped together extended in front the chest, cushion at the knees and keep the pelvis facing forward with the movement from your hips. Rotate side to side keep the focus on movement through the torso rather than the knees.

Exercise: Knee Grab and Full Extension Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Stretch Body Focus: Total Body Start this stretch lying on your back. Draw the knees towards your chest and hug your knees into you, squeezing and lifting the lower back off the floor slightly. Hold for a few seconds, then release slowly. As you do image your arms and legs are being pulled, lengthening your body as long as you possibly can for a super full body stretch, slowly. Reset and repeat.

Exercise: Stride Back Heel Planter Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Mobility Body Focus: Lower Body Step forward from a standing position into a stride/lunge but your back leg remains extended as the front knee is slightly bent. Tilt forward through the hips as you reach high towards the sky and lean towards the side of the bent knee. You then bend backwards, lean into the stretch feeling a release through the front of the hip and up through your torso. Hold for a couple of seconds and repeat. Alternate these strides forward for a dynamic warm up and mobility of the hips and surrounding muscles.

Exercise: Ankle Circles Equipment: No equipment Movement Type: Mobility Body Focus: Lower Body This is a simple yet super effective and often neglected exercise. You will go a long way to avoiding pain or injury if you take the ankles through some circles before your training sessions. Take the ankles through circles clockwise and anti-clockwise increasing the range of movement and losing the joints. This is very important especially when progressing onto the more demanding ballistic or high-impact movements.