Extra

Diamond Downsizer

Works butt, hips, thighs Lie on right side, legs stacked, knees bent, with right forearm supporting upper body, left hand in front of body. Raise legs about 3 inches off floor. Keeping legs lifted and instep of feet touching, open left knee so legs form a diamond shape (as shown). Open and close legs. Do 2 sets of 16 reps. Switch sides; repeat.

 

Bird Dog Gets Down

Alex Palombo

Targets back, rectus abdominis, obliques, and transversus abdominis

• Start on mat on all fours, then tuck toes under and press hips back and up as you step back to form an upside-down V; lift right leg behind you.
  MAKE IT EASIER: Keep both feet on mat.
• With right leg lifted, shift body forward to come into full push-up position, shoulders over wrists. Hold for one count; return to start. Do 10 to 15 reps; switch sides, repeat. Do 2 to 3 sets.

Split Squat

Alex Palombo

Targets butt and quads

• Stand with back facing a chair (about 2 feet away), hands on hips, and bend left leg behind you to place top of foot on chair seat.
• Squat, bending right leg 90 degrees with knee over ankle. Make it harder: After each full squat, do a half squat, bending just 45 degrees.
• Do 15 to 20 reps. Switch legs and repeat. Do 2 to 3 sets.

Karen Pearson

Abs and obliques

• Lie on right side on floor with legs together, hips stacked and center of band wrapped around soles of feet, holding ends of band in left hand. Extend right arm on floor in front of you at shoulder level, palm flat, and bring left hand in front of thighs.



• Keeping abs engaged and band taut, bend left elbow behind you at shoulder level as you lift upper body and legs as high as possible off floor, balancing on right hip; lower to start.



• Do 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps; switch sides and repeat

Knee Pull

Karen Pearson

Targets: Abs and butt

• Start on floor in push-up position (arms straight, balancing on hands and toes) with center of band wrapped around sole of right foot, holding one end of band in each hand, palms flat.



• Keeping abs engaged, pull right knee toward chest; round back toward ceiling slightly as if bringing head to meet knee. Press right heel back to straighten leg, then lower foot to start.



• Do 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps. Switch legs and repeat, maintaining push-up position throughout.

Warrior III Curl

Alex Palombo

Targets rectus abdominis, obliques, transversus abdominis, and butt

• Place yoga blocks shoulder-width apart on floor so that blocks are at their tallest. Hinge forward 90 degrees at hips and place palms atop each block, shoulders aligned over wrists; extend left leg behind you parallel to floor with toes pointing down.
• Contract abs and round back as you bring left knee toward forehead.
• Do 10 reps; switch legs, repeat. Do 2 to 3 sets.

Balancing Act

Alex Palombo

Targets rectus abdominis and transversus abdominis

• Lie faceup on mat and bend knees into chest to place a single yoga block atop soles of flexed feet; place arms on floor slightly out to sides and slowly extend legs straight up.
  MAKE IT EASIER: Do not use block.
• Without rocking, slowly lift hips a few inches off mat and then lower them.
• Do 2 to 3 sets of 10 reps.

Pass the Block

Alex Palombo

Targets rectus abdominis and transversus abdominis

• Lie faceup on mat with arms extended behind head, both hands holding a single yoga block.
• Curl up to reach arms toward toes, bending knees to place block between feet.
• Holding block with feet, lower back to mat as you extend arms behind head and legs forward.
• Reverse motion back to start to complete 1 rep. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.

Tolasana on Blocks

Alex Palombo

Targets rectus abdominis, obliques, and transversus abdominis

• Sit on mat with knees bent and ankles crossed, and place each palm atop a yoga block on either side of hips, fingers pointing forward.
• Straighten arms and exhale as you contract your abs to lift butt and legs off mat. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds. Lower.
  MAKE IT HARDER: From lifted tuck position, try to extend legs midair.
• Do 5 reps, alternating leg that's crossed on top.

Split Jumps

Photograph by Beth Bischoff

Stand with your feet in a staggered stance, left foot in front of your right, two or three feet apart. Lower your body into a split squat (a). Quickly jump up and scissor-kick your legs so that you land with your right leg forward (b). As soon as your feet land, lower your body into a split squat (c). That's one rep. Do six.

Low Box Lateral Shuffle

Mountain Climbers: description.
Power Skipping. Remember skipping as a kid? Well, you’re going to do it again, but this time you’ll put a bit more oomph into it. Perform a regular skip, but jump and lift your knee as high as you can. Just like this guy:
Tuck Jumps. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Explode and jump as high as you can. As you rise, pull your knees into your chest. On the way down, straighten your legs and land softly on the balls of your feet. As soon as your feet touch the ground, perform another tuck jump.
Alternate Leg Bounding. Bounding is sort of like running, except your steps are longer and higher. Drive off your right foot and bring your left knee up. Try to stay in the air as long as possible. Land on your left foot and repeat with the right foot.
Box Jumps. Stand in front of a box or other suitable platform (like a park bench). Try to find a box that’s at least 18″ off the ground. As you get stronger, increase the height. Jump onto the box and immediately back down to the same position. Immediately repeat. Perform the jumps as quickly as possible.

Vertical Depth Jump. Start off by standing on top of a box or other platform. Hop off the box and land on both your feet. As soon as your feet hit the ground, jump as high as you can. Get back on the box and repeat.

Plyometric Push-up. Assume a normal push-up position. Lower yourself to the floor. With explosive force, push off the floor with enough force that your hands leave the floor. Repeat.

Plyo is a great way to get and stay in shape. Here is a routine that I found to be pretty good.

- walking lunges (6-8 times up and down)
- squat hops (6-8)
- frog jumps (6-8)
- box jumps (2 or 3 different sizes, 20 times, 3 sets)
- jumping lunges standing in place
- calf raises
- lateral line jumps
(the last 3 in a circuit, 20 times, 3 sets)
mountain climbers
burpees
Gorilla Stomps. Start in a squat, jump up while beating your chest, repeat, FASTER MAGGOT!!!
Plyometric movements can strengthen and even increase the number of fast-twitch fibers in your muscles.” I agree that muscle fibres (both fast and slow twitch) can be made stronger and potentially quicker however it’s a well documented scientific fact that you can NEVER increase the number of muscle fibres and individual has.
This is the reason why some people are built for explosive activity and some people regardless on the training regime will never develope into this kind of athlete.
A certain percentage of your fibres from birth are fast twitch and a certain percentage are slow twitch, this is probably largely heriditary (Hense sons often following in their farthers foot-steps in sporting performance and often even event selection).

Further more it is worth pointing out that understanding your individual muscular build can greatly help in chosing the best sport for you. Someone with great ability when performing plyo’s or who tends to be a good short distance (100/200mtr) runner probably has a high percentage of fast twitch fibres and would also make a great jumper, thrower or short distance cyclist, sprint swimmer or other athlete requiring power.

Those athletes who respond well to plyo’s and short distances but who also have some ability when training with stamina training probably have an even mix of slow and fast twitch fibres and make excellent Boxers, middle distance runners (400, 800, 1500 mtrs upto around 5k), swimmers and hockey players.

Those who struggle to train with plyo’s, those who can’t seem to improve their times when sprinting and generaly those of a small musculature probably have a higher percentage of slow twitch fibres (these are harder to hyper-trophy [increase in size]) and should basically maintain their fast twitch fibres regularly but concentrate on stamina and endurance training and sports as NO amount of training of any kind will ever make you a sprinter (trust me I’ve tried :S) – Don’t get me wrong you can still improve (it will take longer and the end result may not be as great). These athletes make excellent long distance athletes (10,000mtrs+, long distance cyclists etc) due to their light body weight and highly oxidative abilities.