VIDEO

Plank Knee to Elbow Variation, Mountain Climbers, Elbow to High Plank, Plank Jumps
  • Core
  • Arms
  • Legs
  • Abs
  • Hips
Level:Intermediate
Trainer:Cara Richardson
Equipment:No Equipment
Plank Knee to Elbow Variation, Mountain Climbers, Elbow to High Plank, Plank Jumps
  • Core
  • Arms
  • Legs
  • Abs
  • Hips
Level:Intermediate
Trainer:Cara Richardson
Equipment:No Equipment

1.Lay face down on a fitness mat. Push yourself up into a plank position. Keeping your core tight and back flat, bring your right knee to your right elbow and then - left knee to the left elbow. Then bring your left leg backward and up (as higher as you can). Make a pause for a second then slowly get back to the starting position. 2. Start with a high-plank position. Begin to bring your knee under the chest, switching the legs each time. 3.Lay face down on the mat. Rest your elbows on the floor and from this position raise your body up, straightening your hands and getting to high-plank position. 4.From a high-plank position prepare yourself to a leap by engaging and tightening your core. Jump toward your hands, landing in a frog-like position. Hold it for a second, keeping your hands held to the floor.

save to ...

Blog

Did you know that the deltoid muscle is composed of three parts? Therefore, in order to train more effectively, we need to pay attention to each of them. By doing so, harmonious development of the deltoid muscle is possible. Therefore, the goal is to perform special exercises so that the function of each ligament of the deltoid muscle is involved during training. If you want to strengthen your deltoid muscles, you need to train them regularly, so we recommend that you do these exercises for the deltoid muscles Side Dumbbells If you want to develop the posterior deltoids in your shoulders, this is a great exercise to do. It not only works with the deltoids but also the obliques.Hold the dumbbells with a neutral grip and perform bending forward a little keeping your back straight, at this time the dumbbells should be raised to the level of your ears. Front Pull-Up This exercise is great for training the upper body and abdominal obliques.In a seated position, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Lower your arms. Next, raise the dumbbells so that they are parallel to the floor. As you do so, keep your arms straight. When they reach shoulder height, stop. Lower the dumbbells in the same manner. Do the same with the other arm. Lifting to the Side Experts recommend performing these exercises to effectively train the outer deltoid muscles. The effectiveness of your training depends on proper practice, so follow these instructions exactly. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand up straight. Now slowly lift the dumbbells. When the dumbbells reach shoulder height, hold them there. Then lower the hands slowly and return to the position from the start. Bench Press Place the barbell on your chest and bring your elbows forward while tensing your abs, glutes, and legs. Repeat lifting and lowering the barbell, then lifting and lowering again.Do not lift as the bar passes over your face, but lower it toward you for optimal trajectory.If the bar remains in front of you instead of over your body at the apex, you will increase the load on your lower back. Try lifting the bar behind your head. Perform 3-5 sets of 6-8 movements each. Free Arm Pushups The exercise itself is a repetition of a smaller range of push-ups with the barbell raised.Stand in an inverted position with your feet against the wall. Bend your elbows to lower your body and place your head on the floor. Lower your head backward and repeat. Be careful when lowering your head to the floor (any unintentional movement can injure your neck).Placing a blanket or thick book under your head will make the exercise more effective.To make it more difficult, place some kind of solid support under your arms. The more reps you do in a set, the better. Perform 3-5 sets, depending on your mood. Developing your deltoid muscles will improve your athleticism and give you a beautiful body, so if you dream of a beautiful body, please do these exercises.
Read more
Many people mistakenly believe that developing shoulder muscles is not important. Well, obviously, it’s not true. So why is it important to work on the shoulder muscles and how to improve them is the topic of this article. What Are Shoulder Muscles? Shoulder muscles are basically the muscles that provide shoulder movement. These muscles are voluntary, meaning we control their work. The main functions of the shoulder muscles are the following: Holding the shoulder joint and its bones in place Allowing your shoulder joint to rotate Providing the ability to move your arms forward, up, and down Shoulder joint protection As you can see, these muscles are extremely important for performing basic things such as lifting objects or holding something. In addition to that, these muscles are rather important for certain sports that require lots of jerky movements in the shoulder area. For example, dancers, basketball players, tennis players, swimmers, and others. All in all, shoulder muscles do a lot of work, which is why we have to develop them. Why Do I Need to Work on My Shoulder Muscles? We have already partly answered this question above, but we’ll give you a more detailed answer just to make things clear. First of all, strong shoulder muscles are a must for many athletes, dancers, and fitness enthusiasts who actively involve arms and shoulders in their activities. The thing is, these muscles are rather fragile, and jerky movements can lead to an injury. At the same time, if one works on these muscles regularly, they significantly lower the risks of possible injuries. But what about people who are not professional dancers or athletes? Well, even if you are not a pro athlete, you still need to go to the gym at least a few times a week to maintain your health, and simple workouts can also cause an injury if you have weak shoulder muscles. So as you might have already understood that working on the shoulder muscles is a must for everyone. Exercises for Improving Shoulder Muscles So what workouts can you do to improve your shoulders? Well, why don’t you consider the following ones: Push-ups Barbell overhead press One-hand push-ups Half-kneeling landmine press Dumbbell shrugs Arnold press Sideways dumbbells Push press Barbell press Wide-grip seated row Final Thoughts Stronger muscles minimize the risks of having severe injuries while working out or even doing your regular chores. So no matter if you are a pro athlete or dancer or just a regular person, you should consider working on your shoulder muscles.
Read more
СWorking on the core muscles is not only essential for good looks, but also for your health. In this article, we will talk about core muscles and how to develop them. So without any further ado, let us begin. Core Muscles: What Do They Consist of? To put it simply, core muscles consist of two main groups, which are central and peripheral. The central muscles resemble a sac that protects internal organs by covering the abdominal cavity. In other words, we need these muscles to keep the vital organs safe. In fact, if we didn’t have these muscles, a slight kick in the abdominal area would cause significant damage to vital organs. Central muscles can be divided into several parts, which are: Front - abs Lateral parts - oblique muscles and the surrounding muscles Back - the muscles that support the spine Upper wall - diaphragm Lower wall - pelvic floor muscles The second group of core muscles, the peripheral muscle group, consists of the trapezius, the latissimus dorsi muscle, the pectoralis muscle, the buttocks, and the muscles of the shoulder girdle. These muscles are essential for our posture and back health, which means that developing those is rather important for everyone who wants to be healthy and look beautiful. Both central and peripheral core muscle groups are extremely significant for our health, posture, as well as the way we look. Therefore, in the next paragraph, we are going to talk about the best exercises for strengthening these muscles. Best Workouts for Strengthening Core Muscles So we made it pretty clear that developing core muscles is important for pretty much everyone. So what exercises can you do to strengthen these muscles? Well, here they come: High plank Supine toe tap Hollowman Bird Dog Crunches Bicycle crunch Superman Warrior crunch Supine leg lifts Elbow to knee Bridge Mountain climber V-sit V-ups Side plank Plank shoulder taps Turkish get-up Elbow plank twists As you can see, there are many workouts that will no doubt help you develop core muscles and eventually become healthy and fit. So why don’t you grab your fitness mat and try at least some of these useful exercises to see their effectiveness yourself? Wrapping Up Not only are core muscles essential for beautiful abs, but also rather important for your back health and posture. Furthermore, these muscles protect your internal organs, which is a pretty important feature. Therefore, if you regularly train but you always avoid core exercises thinking they are not as important as the workouts for your legs or arms, you better stop doing that because core muscles are perhaps the most important muscle group in your body.
Read more
After the abdominal muscles are prepared, the obliques are the next step. The obliques are several groups of abdominal muscles on either side of the main body. The external obliques are at the top and the internal obliques are at the bottom. Training them with functional exercises includes flexion, twisting, and other rotational movements. In order to properly exercise the lateral muscles, however, it is important to remember that most oblique exercises also involve the other abdominal muscles, especially the medial transverse muscles. Therefore, you need to engage certain areas of the abdominal abs in a conscious manner. Lateral twists The basic exercise for the abdominal obliques is the lying lateral twist. Begin with lying on your side with your arm bent at the elbow to support your head. Extend the elbow toward the leg slowly, performing a purposeful contraction of the abdominal obliques. Prone lateral push-ups This exercise is fine for developing the neuromuscular links between the abs and the brain. Lying on the back, pull your left elbow in a slow tempo towards the opposite knee. Perform 12-15 reps on each side, and try to achieve a special burning feeling. Lateral push-ups on a fitness ball The advantage of this exercise is that you achieve a wide range of motion by bending your body slowly and controlling each movement over the ball. As you lift, feel your side abdominals twist and stretch as you descend. Place your arms behind your neck and do not move them apart. Cross contacts Make sure that your legs are straightened up while you are lying on your back. Place your hands on the back of your head and lift your head and shoulder blades slightly. Then do a twisting motion, extending your legs with the opposite arm straight. Perform the same movement for the other side. Repeat at least 20 times. Lift your hips Make sure you are lying straight on one side. Your feet should be lying on top of each other and your free arm fixed at the waist. You need to lift your torso so that your body line is completely straight at peak amplitude. At the apex, pause briefly to emphasize the work of the obliques. As you lower your torso, your thighs are only gently touching the ground and the muscles are not fully relaxed. Developed obliques provide the framework for your abs and make them look amazing, so if you really want to have a great abdomen, you should work both your abs and obliques.
Read more
In the initial stages of training, while people focus on working the chest, arms, and back, the calf muscles are often neglected. As a result, exercises to strengthen the calves are delayed or rarely performed, resulting in a lack of progress. The calf muscles, like the deeper muscles of the back, get little rest during the day because they must support the weight of the body, help maintain balance, and stabilize the joints when walking. This means it is at a lower level of development and the approach to working with it should be different. Thus, we decided to share some exercises for strengthening your calves. Let’s check them out. Calf 45 Of all the exercises intended to develop the calf muscles, this exercise is one of the most challenging. It involves changing the angle of the legs, which involves not only the calves but also the soleus muscles. To perform this exercise, you will need the Gackenschmidt's Machine. Depending on the design, you will stand in front of it or not. Set an appropriate working weight. This is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the working weights from the previous two exercises. Then adjust the weights according to the load. Then lower the heel and stretch the calf as much as possible. Lift with the toes. Hold under extreme tension for 1-2 seconds. Dumbbell Calf Raises This exercise is designed for all levels of athletes and is considered a basic exercise to build calf muscles. Start with standing on a wooden block. You can do this in Smith by placing a step platform under your feet and placing a barbell on your shoulders. Hold your body in a straight position. If you need extra weight, you should take dumbbells or kettlebells. Next, lower your heels under the bar and stretch your ankles as much as possible. Stand up on your toes in a powerful impulsive movement. Hold this position for 1-2 seconds and pull your calves up. Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position. Squat Calf Raises This exercise is great for lazy workouts and will be a great option for beginners. Sit on the seat of the training machine. Place your toes on the support step. Bringing your heels down to the floor as far as possible, lower the lever with the soft stop to your knee and lock it. Leg Press Lie down on a leg press machine. Find a platform where your legs are straight. Fix the speed. You only need to do two movements. Removing the platform from your foot, squeeze it with your toes. Return your toes to their original position. It is important to know that posture has a much greater impact on the development of the shin and calf muscles than movement. Flat feet, if not taken into account and compensated for, can also prevent the shaping of the calves. To improve the calves without exercising, the selection of the proper footwear and a corrected gait is necessary. Well-trained calves will help you perform certain exercises better as well as make your legs look great. So take another look at these exercises and be sure to try them next time.
Read more