April 2 – Lower

This routine had less exercises (one group instead of two) but the exercises were more challenging in terms of form and control so it still took up as much time as a high rep, speedy work out like March 28’s.

Group 1 – Repeat 3 times
Sandbag Toss – 2 Squat Jump combo: 20 lb sandbag with 16 reps – note: try to keep the throw more horizontal than in the video (you don’t need that much height for this). Ideally, you should be having enough room to do two squat jumps before reaching the bag. If you have a lot of extra space, bump it up to three. Remember to focus on contracting the abs, especially in the pick up and throw movements. You’ll also want to remember to keep your chest up and butt down for the squats, you don’t want to have your chest parallel to the group.
Resistance Band Lunges: black band with 25 reps per leg – note: this is the exact same as a normal reverse lunge, so remember to keep pelvis tucked under, hip over your back knee (no leaning forward). The middle of the resistance band should be under the middle/arch of your foot, not your toe or heel. Take the handles with palms facing your thighs. When you’re ready, pull them up to the chest so your palms face away then rotate them to face your chest. The band should be on the inside of your arm (not around the outside). Starting with feet together, step back into the reverse lunge, lower, rise (through the front heel) and step back so feet are together. The band makes you want to lean forward, so be sure to focus on avoiding that. You want to move through these quickly. Even if you’re focussing on form, the goal is to get your heart rate up as well.
1-Leg Sit Squat: 12 per leg – note: like with the squate jumps, keep the chest up, no leaning forward, avoid rocking when you are coming up from the bench, and when you’re coming down, control it; don’t just plop down on the bench. There should be almost no sound as you sit. You can do this with a chair or anything else you sit on, if you want, as well. Just focus on pushing up through the heel, and keeping the knee facing forward (it may have a tendency to turn in as you push up). This is easier to track if you have a mirrored surface facing you. You also want to be sure that you’re keeping the raised leg in front of the working leg. Don’t allow it to drop behind or to the side. I usually feel it in that hip flexor area near the end, but you’re not getting as much of a challenge if you drop it down. As you get better at these, you can look for lower surfaces to try this with, but starting out, nothing lower than knee-height at most (so you’re at a 90 degree angle when sitting). Keeping your core/abs tight and using the but to push yourself up for this, is essential!

A note about resistance bands: They come in varying degrees of resistance based on their colours. Yellow is usually considered the lighter of the resistances, so I’d start with that and adjust until you find one with the right level for you.