Floor Crunch With Back Flattening Lay on the floor (on your back) with your knees bent in a comfortable position. Activate your lower abdominal muscles and flatten/push your low back into the ground. Work to maintain this contraction throughout the exercise. If holding the contraction is too difficult and is distracting you from the crunch, […]

Kneeling Oblique Stabilization (hold or raises) Start lying on your side with your bottom forearm and knees supporting your weight. Your top hip should be directly above or a little in front of your bottom hip and you should be as straight as possible from your shoulders to your knees. Focus on contracting your obliques […]

Low Abdominal Back Flattening Start lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Activate (contract) your lower abdominals and flatten your back against the ground. When done correctly, it should feel like you are tightening a group of muscles that form a band of tension horizontally across your tummy. […]

Floor Cobra This is a great exercise for people with low back problems (arthritis, herniations, etc.), because it strengthens muscles necessary to protect your back and spine. However, if your back is acting up or you cannot perform the movement without pain, it becomes counterproductive and should be avoided until things improve. Start lying face […]

Kneeling Push-ups Start kneeling on the ground with your weight on your hands and knees. Focus on keeping your abs tight and your body as straight as possible from knees to shoulders. Stop if you feel pain in your back or if your low back cannot stay straight. Use your arms to push your body […]

Split Squat (holding on) Start with one leg forward and one leg back (this is called a split stance). In this variation, you should hold on to something stable, so you don’t have to worry about stabilization/balance as much. As your ability improves, you can hold on less, but it’s still a good idea to […]

Reverse Fly with Scapular Squeeze Start in a standing position with good posture and your arms straight out in front with your hands just below shoulder level. Keep your shoulders as relaxed as possible and slowly move your arms horizontally out to the side until it feels like they can’t move any further. At that […]

Palms Up, Front Shoulder Raises Start in a standing position with good posture and your arms at your sides. Hold a light weight in each hand with your palms facing forward and keep a small bend in each elbow. Start the movement by raising your arms forward an up and stop when your hand is […]

Squat (holding on) Start in a standing position with your feet about shoulder width apart or a little wider. Toes should be pointed straight ahead or turned out somewhat. In this variation, you should hold on to something stable, ideally around waist level. That way, you can use your arms for stability/support, although you still […]

1-Leg Squat with Arms Overhead This is a variation of the 1-Leg squat that puts a greater demand on muscle stabilization and flexibility. Start in a standing position with your feet about shoulder width apart, arms overhead, and lift one leg off the ground. Form should be as close as possible to the traditional squat […]