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Just when I thought Bulgarian split squats couldn’t get any tougher😮‍💨 The “Deficit Bulgarian Split Squat” proved me wrong. By elevating the front foot, you increase your range of motion, allowing for a deeper stretch through the glutes and adductors. Combined with the goblet hold, this variation increases core...

18,429 views • 2 days ago •via X (Twitter)

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This home lunge superset isn't for the faint of heart. The burning heat in your legs will beg you to stop, but the strength and growth you'll reap make it all worth it. 4 sets of 12 forward lunges, then 12 Reverse right away. Build a lower body that stands the test of time: Lunge Form Cues Set-Up: Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, hands on hips or at your sides. Alignment: Keep your chest up and shoulders back. Step: Take a big step forward, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at 90 degrees. Brace: Engage your core and maintain balance as your front foot lands to stabilize the movement. Push: Drive through your front heel to return to the starting position. Breathing: Inhale as you lower into the lunge, exhale as you push back up. 5 Lunge mistakes and how to avoid them 1. Taking Too Small a Step - What Happens: A short step limits the range of motion, reducing muscle activation in the glutes and quads. - Fix: Step far enough forward to allow both knees to bend at 90 degrees. 2. Rising Onto the Front Toes - What Happens: Lifting the heel shifts balance and reduces engagement of the glutes and hamstrings. - Fix: Keep your front foot flat, pressing firmly through the heel. 3. Poor Hip Alignment - What Happens: Tilting or rotating the hips reduces balance and proper muscle engagement. - Fix: Keep your hips square and aligned with your torso throughout the movement. 4. Feet Too Narrow or Wide - What Happens: Misaligned foot placement reduces stability and increases the chance of losing balance. - Fix: Keep your feet hip-width apart to maintain balance and proper alignment during the lunge. 5. Not Engaging the Core - What Happens: A weak core reduces balance and stability, increasing the risk of wobbling. - Fix: Brace your core upon landing to absorb the impact and keep your torso steady and aligned. Reverse Lunge Form Cues Set-Up: Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, hands on hips or at your sides. Alignment: Keep your chest lifted, core engaged, and shoulders back. Step: Step one leg back, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at 90 degrees. Land: Land on the top of your back foot with the toes pointed to stretch the ankle and prevent assistance from the toes. Push: Drive through your front heel to return to the starting position. Breathing: Inhale as you lower into the lunge, exhale as you push back up. 5 Reverse Lunge Mistakes and how to avoid them: 1. Using the Toes for Support on the Back Foot - What Happens: Relying on the back toes reduces the stretch in the ankle and shifts focus away from the front leg. - Fix: Land on the top of your back foot with the toes pointed to stretch the ankle and isolate the front leg fully. 2. Leaning Forward - What Happens: Leaning forward places unnecessary strain on the lower back and reduces engagement of the glutes and quads. -Fix: Keep your chest up and shoulders back to maintain an upright posture.Letting the Front Knee 3. Collapse Inward - What Happens: Knee valgus increases stress on the knee joint and reduces stability. - Fix: Ensure the front knee tracks over the middle of your foot throughout the movement. 4. Letting the Front Knee Collapse Inward - What Happens: Knee valgus increases stress on the knee joint and reduces stability. - Fix: Ensure the front knee tracks over the middle of your foot throughout the movement. 5. Pushing Off the Back Foot - What Happens: Using the back foot to assist reduces the workload on the front leg. - Fix: Focus on driving through the heel of the front foot to return to the starting position.

Alex Bernier

14,524 views • 1 year ago

Strong legs are the foundations of a stable posture, yet many let theirs weaken over time. You lose your ability to move and stand upright. Much of my work with chronic pain clients involves strengthening the legs. This video shows 8 essential lower body motions: 1- Hip Extensions Standing upright involves straightening your torso to align it with your lower body, an extension of your hips executed by your Glutes and Hamstrings. The problem is you sit on these muscles all day, weakening them over the years to the point where they fail to do their job. Your lower back picks up the slack against its will and becomes overworked. I'll start chronic pain clients with Hip Bridges on the floor to ensure everything is balanced, then progress to Hip Thrusts and eventually Standing exercises like the Romanian Deadlift. As for the Deadlift off the floor, those are great if you can access a barbell or kettlebell. - Hip Bridge (0:05) - Hip Thrust (0:11) - Romanian Deadlift (0:17) - Deadlift (0:23) 2- Split Squats Split Squats are excellent for strengthening the knees. In the case of a chronic pain client, I use them to stretch the quad and Hip Flexors of the back leg, which are often extremely stiff due to sitting. This stiffness makes the body collapse forward and is often the limiting factor when people try this exercise for the first time. I'll start someone with the Front Foot elevated because it's easier on the front leg and gives a great stretch, then progress to flat and rear foot elevated. - Front foot elevated (0:30) - Flat (0:36) - Rear-foot elevated (0:42.2) 3- Lunges Lunges are the dynamic version of the Split Squat. Besides being excellent for strengthening your leg muscles, the one thing I love about this exercise is that it teaches you how to brace yourself as your foot lands. Many people lack the core strength to absorb an impact. Lunges develop that shock absorption capacity, especially when done with weights. Ensure you have mastered the Split Squats before doing them, and use different directions to target your muscles differently. - Forward (0:48) - Back (0:54.7) - Side (1:07) 4- Squats The king of all exercises is crucial for your ascension. The vertical motion improves your ability to overcome the world's weight crashing down upon you. It's also an amazing Glute and Quad stretch in the bottom position. I'll start chronic pain clients with the bodyweight variation before progressing them to weighted and eventually one-legged, also known as Pistol Squats. Doing one leg at a time is one of the best ways to balance your body's left and right sides from head to toe. - Body weight (1:12.5) - Loaded (1:19) - Pistol (1:25.5) 5- Step-ups Step-ups are amongst my favorite one-sided exercises to strengthen the Glutes and Quads. They are excellent for improving the stability of your hips and abdominal muscles. Use the Front and Lateral variations to maximize your results. - Front (1:31.5) - Lateral (1:38) 6 - Leg Curls Leg Curls strengthen the lower attachment of your Hamstrings. They are an integral part of my knee and lower back recovery programs because many people are weak due to sitting. I'll have chronic pain clients use a towel to create muscle resistance, though you can do them standing to get some much-needed blood flow. The best way to benefit from this exercise is by using an exercise ball or a machine at the gym. - Standing (1:43) - Towel (1:49) - Exercise ball (1:55.4) - Machine (2:02.1) 7- Adductions The inner thigh muscles become problematic when people sit with their legs crossed. They either get stiff or weak depending on whether you cross one leg over the other or with your foot on the opposite knee. I love Copenhagen Planks to restore the balance in your adductors. - Knee-bent (2:08.8) - Straight-leg (2:14) 8- Calf Raises The ankles are the cornerstone of your posture because they affect the alignment of every other joint above. Strong Calves are essential to their stability, yet many omit them from their workouts. Standing Calf Raises also strengthen the knees from behind. Doing the Donkey variation, you'll feel an intense stretch from the knee to the ankle. Seated Calf Raises work a different lower leg muscle essential to pump blood back up from your feet. - Standing (2:20.5) - Donkey (2:26.6) - Seated (2:33.3) Include these 8 types of motions in your routine as an insurance policy against serious mobility problems down the line. Keeping your legs strong ensures a stable posture and quality movements, two crucial factors for a high quality of life.

Alex Bernier

696,133 views • 2 years ago

Cable Zercher Slant Board Squat This is a very cool exercise I have started doing with the following beneficial mechanics: - Slant Board (Heels Elevated): The incline shifts your center of gravity forward, allowing for greater knee flexion, a deeper squat for those with limited mobility and a more upright torso. This puts an extreme emphasis on the quadriceps, particularly the vastus medialis (VMO) or teardrop muscle. - Zercher Position: Holding the load in the crooks of your elbows forces your upper back and core to work harder to prevent the weight from pulling your torso forward. This is a very natural force pattern that has great carryover to real life applications. - Safety/Stability: The cable acts as a guide, making it easier to maintain your balance on the slant board while focusing entirely on the muscle contraction, good for those who want to push the legs with a bit more “safety” than a free weight squat. Unlike a barbell where the tension changes through the range of motion (getting "easier" at the top), the cable provides constant mechanical tension throughout the entire squat. It is an exceptional movement for building teardrop quad definition and improving knee stability, as well as core bracing. I like to do it 6 or so sets, high volume repetitions - pyramiding up from low weight to high with minimal rest times - focusing on achieving the most brutal lactic acid build up that I can in the legs, done at the start of a workout. Even though the weight isn’t hugely high on the cable machine, it still packs a massive punch. Try it out! Wearing Sol Dept. 100% cotton sol shorts and drinking Aurum ancient mineral salts in my water

⚡️🌞 Sol Brah 🌞🐬

67,763 views • 7 months ago