Combination Exercise For Total Body Results!!!

Combining two basic exercises for a body-weight routine can produce results from head to toe.

You don’t always have easy access to a gym.  But that doesn’t have to stop you from getting a full body workout wherever you are.  Below, I will lay out a routine that uses only your body weight and your own muscle power to provide the resistance you need for a complete upper and lower body workout.

Lunge to Lateral Plank:

1.  Start in a basic lunge position, with your back knee 2 to 3 inches off the floor, front knee at a right angle and your back straight.  Rise up but don’t go into full extension, instead keeping the knee over the ankle.

2.  Drop back down into the lunge and place the hand opposite to your forward knee on the floor below the shoulder.

3.  Rotate your body into a lateral plank position, with the arm straight and legs stacked.

4.  Rotate back to basic plank, returning to your starting lunge position.

5. Stand up.

Repetitions:  Beginners, 6-12 and Advanced 15-25

Sets: 3

This Combination exercise is perfect for those individuals who engage in sports-specific activities that require significant lateral flexibility and power.  Anything from golf and tennis to snow-skiing and sand waterskiing will be improved from this routine.  The primary muscles used are the quadriceps and glutes during the lunge and the obliques, rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis and lower-back muscles during the lateral plank.

Once you have mastered the above sequence, you can move on to these three advanced moves.

A.  Plyo-Lunge:  Introduce a jump to the top phase of the lunge, keeping both legs in the same position at takeoff and landing (and throughout).  This will increase the intensity of the exercise and stress the neuromuscular coordination necessary in all sports.

B.  Raised Leg Lateral Plank:  During the lateral plank portion of the exercise, raise the top the top stacked leg.  This challenge stabilizer muscles, mainly the obliques.  To help with your balance, raise the top arm during the variation.

C.  Bent Elbow Lateral Plank:  During the lateral plank portion of the exercise, bend the elbow of the arm touching the ground and hold for 3 – 5 seconds.  This will trigger more activation for the triceps and shoulder stability as well as challenge the lats, pecs and serratus anterior and posterior muscles.