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Technique Library - Leg Exercises

Technique Library - Leg Exercises

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Legs, they take you everywhere and do a lot of your day's work. It is important to take care of them with proper movement patterns, loads, recovery, and more! Unilateral training is an awesome way to get strong, and stable. Unilateral training is training on one leg. If you are strong on the one you will be strong on both! So don’t be afraid to incorporate lunges or UL training into your programs. They are challenging and fun! Always add more posterior legwork into your training as well. The glutes and hamstrings should be trained every day, whether its activation or strengthening. A strong posterior chain leads to a healthy and happy body! Below are videos and cues for all leg exercises you will find in programs now and in the future!

Below are cues with short videos to help you with your form so you can reach your goals faster with less pain! 

 DB Step Up Cues

  1. Grab a pair of dumbbells and a medium ploy box (don't want to overstep and reach when you do these)
  2. Put your whole foot on the box
  3. Push the box down into the ground
  4. Stand tall and squeeze your glute
  5. Hip hinge back then resist down slow
  6. Repeat other leg

 

Goblet Squat Cues

 

  1. Grab a dumbbell and hold it in your hands, under your chin, and keep your elbows up
  2. Set your feet at hip-width apart (remember everyone is different)
  3. Toes slightly out (Squat barefoot or with Olympic lifters)
  4. Hip hinge back
  5. Sit down as deep as your hips allow you (parallel and past is when your glutes fire most!)
  6. Push the floor away with the heels but keep three points of foot contact with the ground
  7. Drive the knees out *but not too much!
  8. Squeeze those cheeks at the top

 *Always keep your hips, knees, and ankles aligned when squatting (I should be able to draw a straight line down them at all times)

 

Goblet Split Squat Cues

 

  1. Grab a dumbbell and hold it in your hand, under your chin, and keep your elbows up
  2. Set your feet in a split position (If the floor is hard put a stability pad or yoga mat)
  3. Sink down controlled and tap your back knee off the pad
  4. Push the floor away with the front foot heel
  5. Repeat other side

*Always keep your hips, knees, and ankles aligned when squatting (I should be able to draw a straight line down them at all times)

  

Glute Ham Cues

 

  1. Find something to hold your heels (a person, a small box, a rack attachment, or a glute-ham machine)
  2. Put your feet under the rack with your heels towards the top of the attachment
  3. Drive your heels up through the attachment
  4. Squeeze the cheeks, hips in a straight line
  5. Through the pressure of your heels fall all the way down slowly until your knees are fully extended
  6. Push yourself back up and pull through your heels until your at the start position

 

Glute Ham RDL Cues

 

    1. Find something to hold your heels(a person, a small box, a rack attachment, or a glute-ham machine)
  1. Find something to hold your heels (a person, a small box, a rack attachment, or a glute ham machine)
  2. Put your feet under the rack with your heels towards the top of the attachment
  3. Drive your heels up through the attachment
  4. Push your butt back (like an RDL)
  5. Let your chest fall to the floor while maintaining pressure through your heels and a neutral spine
  6. Pull yourself back through your heels and by squeezing your glutes at the top

 

Hamstring Curl Cues

 

  1. Get into the hamstring curl machine
  2. Back flat against the back pad and arms extended
  3. Legs straight and your toes to shins
  4. Pull the heels down through and squeeze your hamstrings (your heels should almost touch your butt)
  5. Fight back to the starting position slowly

 

Inverted Split Lunge Cues

 

    1. Use a flat bench and put your back foot on it (toes down or toes on)
    2. Put your other foot out front (you should be able to sink down until the top of your quad is parallel with the ground without your heel coming off)
    3. Core tight and keep your chest big
    4. Sink down through the front heel
    5. When your hip or quad is parallel with the ground
    6. Drive the floor away with the heel

    *Always keep your hips, knees, and ankles aligned

 

Kettle Bell Swing Cues

 

  1. Feet hip-width apart
  2. Arms straight and holding the KB
  3. Soft bend in the knees
  4. Drive the hips back (similar to an RDL)
  5. Keep a neutral spine
  6. Drive the hips and glutes back through
  7. Squeeze the glutes and core (these are the breaks to protect your back)
  8. Be fast and let your hips do the work

 

Pushback Lunge (Forward) Cues

 

  1. Starting tall with feet hip-width apart
  2. Take a step out
  3. Sink down through the front heel keeping your core tight and chest big
  4. When your hip or quad is parallel with the ground
  5. Drive the floor away with the heel returning to the start position
  6. Repeat other leg

 *Always keep your hips, knees, and ankles aligned

 

RDL Cues

 

  1. You can use dumbbells or a barbell for this exercise
  2. Feet hip-width apart
  3. Hands even *if using barbell
  4. Soft bend in your knees *this wont change
  5. Push your hips back (if a door was behind you, close the door with your butt)
  6. As you push back, keep the bar close to your body and go as low as your hamstrings would let you
  7. Do not let your shoulders round forward, keep a neutral back
  8. Pull the bar in and back up
  9. Drive your hips through
  10. Squeeze your glutes and back

 

Side Lunge Cues

 

  1. Hold a dumbbell in a goblet position
  2. Feet hip-width apart
  3. Take a step out to the right
  4. The right leg you are lunging towards, sink down through your heel
  5. Keep your chest tall as you sit down through your hip
  6. As your sink to the right, your left trail leg should remain straight
  7. When your hip or quad is parallel with the ground
  8. Drive the floor away with the heel returning to the start position
  9. Repeat other leg

 

Single-Leg Hamstring Curl Cues

 

  1. Get into the hamstring curl machine
  2. Back flat against the back pad and arms extended
  3. Leg straight and your toes to shins
  4. Pull one heel down through and squeeze your hamstrings (your heels should almost touch your butt)
  5. Fight back to the starting position slowly
  6. Repeat other leg

 

 Single-Leg RDL cues

 

  1. Use a DB or a KB
  2. Hold the KB in your right arm with your shoulder back at all times
  3. Soft bend in your left knee
  4. Sweep your right leg back through the hip
  5. As your sweep back, keep that soft bend in your knee that is planted on the ground
  6. Keep your back neutral (never round your shoulder or back)
  7. Keep the KB or DB close to your body and reach for your heels
  8. Pull up through and squeeze your glute at the top

 

Stepback Lunge (Reverse) Cues

 

  1. Starting tall with feet hip-width apart
  2. Take a step back
  3. Sink down through the front heel keeping your core tight and chest big
  4. When your hip or quad is parallel with the ground
  5. Drive the floor away with the heel returning to the start position
  6. Repeat other leg

 *Always keep your hips, knees, and ankles aligned

 

 

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