The Move: Plié Squat with Ball Raise
Working large and small muscles together in one movement during strength training makes the body work harder and therefore burns more calories. This is one of the beauties of a plié squat paired with a stability or medicine ball raise. If done correctly, this is a full body movement that will not only work on your lower body, abs and arms, but it will get your heart rate going as well.
Muscles Worked: Inner thighs, butt, abs, back, shoulders
How to:
- Start standing with legs spread wide (wider than shoulder width) and toes pointed out at an angle
- Hold a stability ball or medicine ball in your hands
- Slowly bend your knees while keeping your back straight. While squatting down, lower the ball towards the floor keeping the arms straight.
- Squeeze the butt and inner thighs to stand up straight again while brining the ball overhead with straight arms.
- Repeat for a minute.
Trainer Tips:
- This movement should be done slow and control…no swinging the ball up or locking the knees in starting position
- The arms should be kept straight for the entire movement to get maximum work out of the upper body
- Pull your abs in tight…you should really be able to feel them tighten when the ball is over your head
- Like all squatting, lunging, etc., make sure that your knees do not come over the toes and that you are pressing into your heels and not your toes. Doing these things will protect your knees from unnecessary pressure.
Make ‘em Harder: Using a heavier ball will make this move harder. You can also stager your stance so that you have one foot up on a low step.
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment