Exercise of the Day: Dumbbell Side Lunge and Touch

Hello everyone!

Getting a lot of requests for lower body and core moves again, so today's Exercise of the Day is the Dumbbell Side Lunge and Touch.

This move works your entire lower body and core and there are not the many steps. Plus, you can do it without the dumbbells and just use your own bodyweight as resistance if you do not have any equipment handy.



1-Start standing straight, with the dumbbells in each hand, resting at your sides. Be sure that you are creating length in your spine, chest up, shoulders down and back. Have your core and your glutes activated.
2-Step your right leg out to the side, slightly forward of your body, and let yourself come down into a lunge. Be sure to step far out enough that your knee does not bend past your toes.

Form Tip: Make sure that your glutes go straight down and keep your chest and head up. Keep your right thigh parallel to the ground so you do not externally rotate your leg and cause strain to your knees and hips. Your left leg stays straight.

3-Touch the dumbbells so that they straddle your right foot.
4-Pushing through your right heel, return back to the starting standing position.

Repeat this lunge 12-15 on your right leg, then switch sides. Do 3 sets on each leg.

Enjoy!

Healthy Tip of the Day: Cut out the Soda

So by now we have all heard that soda is not good for you and by eliminating it from your diet you may lose pounds instantly! But what about the people who have a hard time kicking the habit? The following article from Men's Health has tips on how to cut back on soda but still fulfill the cravings that hard to get over:

http://fitbie.msn.com/eat-right/tips/kick-your-soda-habit-and-drop-pound-week

So go ahead and try it for at least a week and see how you feel!

Exercise of the Day: Front Squat with Barbell Press

I once asked a weight lifting coach that if he had to pick one weight conditioning exercise to do for the rest of his life, and he was not allowed to do any other, what exercise would he pick? The answer was the Front Squat Press.

When you do a front squat press, you are truly doing a total body weight and cardio workout. You are working your glutes, quads and hamstrings throughout the squat, and your shoulders and arms while doing the press. Your core is constantly activated and working hard the whole time.


1-Start standing straight, barbell in hands, resting at your waist.
2-Bend your elbows your hands come up in front of your shoulders and your forearms are facing away from your body. It is very important to keep your wrists active and in line with your forearms. Letting your wrists extend too far backwards is going to cause a lot of unnecessary pain and strain!
3-With your legs about hip width apart, come down into a squat. Stay pushing into your heels, keeping your knees behind your toes. Stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor.
4-As you push through your heels to come back up to standing, exhale and begin to press the barbell overhead. Again, stay in your heels, as this will provide stability. Really flex your core-this will prevent you from arching your back and help you maintain the shoulder press.
5-Slowly hinge your elbows back down in front of you to the starting position, resting the barbell at chest level.

Repeat this exercise 8-10 times.

Congrats! You just worked everything!

Enjoy!