Crunches
1 Lie flat on your back with your feet flat on the ground, or resting on a bench with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle. If you are resting your feet on a bench, place them three to four inches apart and point your toes inward so they touch.
2 Now place your hands lightly on either side of your head keeping your elbows in. Tip: Don’t lock your fingers behind your head.
3 While pushing the small of your back down in the floor to better isolate your abdominal muscles, begin to roll your shoulders off the floor.
4 Continue to push down as hard as you can with your lower back as you contract your abdominals and exhale. Your shoulders should come up off the floor only about four inches, and your lower back should remain on the floor. At the top of the movement, contract your abdominals hard and keep the contraction for a second. Tip: Focus on slow, controlled movement – don’t cheat yourself by using momentum.
5 After the one second contraction, begin to come down slowly again to the starting position as you inhale.
6 Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Variations: There are many variations for the crunch. You can perform the exercise with weights, or on top of an exercise ball or on a decline bench.
Burpees
The burpee, or squat thrust, is a full body exercise used in strength training and as an aerobic exercise. The basic movement is performed in four steps and known as a “four-count burpee”:[1]
1 Begin in a standing position.
2 Move into a squat position with your hands on the ground. (count 1)
3 Kick your feet back into a plank position, while keeping your arms extended. (count 2)
4 Immediately return your feet into squat position. (count 3)
5 Stand up from the squat position (count 4)
Moving Plank (plank ups)
• Start in high plank. Bend one arm to bring the elbow and forearm to the floor.
• Bring the other arm down so you are in a forearm plank.
• Push back up to the start position, placing each hand where your elbows were.
• Repeat this movement, alternating which side you lower first with each rep.
Leg Flutters
Start by lying flat on your back on a mat with your arms by your sides and your palms down. Extend your legs fully out with a slight bend in your knees. Lift your heels about 6 inches off the floor. Make small, rapid up and down scissor-like motions with your legs. The key is to focus on having your midsection do all the work and to keep your abs constantly contracted throughout the exercise.
Split Squats
1 Position yourself into a staggered stance with the rear foot elevated and front foot forward.
2 Hold a dumbbell in each hand, letting them hang at the sides. This will be your starting position.
3 Begin by descending, flexing your knee and hip to lower your body down. Maintain good posture througout the movement. Keep the front knee in line with the foot as you perform the exercise.
4 At the bottom of the movement, drive through the heel to extend the knee and hip to return to the starting position.
Diamond Push-ups
1 Get in the modified push-up position on your knees but with your hands together and back flat. Spread your fingers so that your index fingers and thumbs form a diamond, and extend your arms. This is your start position.
2 Allow your elbows to break, lowering your chest toward the floor while keeping your back flat.
3 Press back up to full arm extension, repeating for the required number of reps.
4 To make the movement more difficult, stay up on your toes rather than on your knees.
Kneeling 2 Point Reach (Quadruped)
• Begin on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.
• Pull your abs in to your spine. Keeping your back and pelvis still and stable, reach your right arm forward and left leg back. Don’t allow the pelvis to rock side to side as you move your leg behind you. Focus on not letting the rib cage sag toward the floor. Reach through your left heel to engage the muscles in the back of the leg and your butt.
• Return to the starting position, placing your hand and knee on the floor. Repeat on the other side to complete one rep.
Sliding mountain Climbers
• With the towels under your feet (if you are on a hard floor; use paper plates if you are on carpet), start in a basic, straight-arm plank position.
• Then, as if you were actually running, pull one knee toward your chest, dragging your foot on your “slider” along the floor. As you push that leg back, pull the other knee forward. Quickly continue running or “climbing” in place for one minute.
Shoulder Push Ups (Pike)
Step 1
Get into the standard push-up position on the floor — arms straight and hands shoulder-width apart.
Step 2
Lift your hips up so that your body forms a V-shape, similar to the downward facing dog yoga position. Keep your legs and arms as straight as possible in this position.
Step 3
Bend your elbows and slowly lower your upper body towards the floor. Your goal is to get your head as close to the ground as possible
Step 4
Take a brief pause, and then push yourself back up. Stop once your arms are straight.
Hand Walk Out
From a standing position, put your hands on the ground in front of your toes. Gradually walk your hands forward past the press-up position out as far as you can stretch. Slowly walk them back in to the starting position. The walk out and back counts as one rep: try to get through three sets of five.
