Beginning Position:

End Position:

1. Sit to Stand

Repetitions:  3 x 10-12 (requires a chair without wheels)

Resistance:  Body Weight / Band / Free Weight

Description:  Start from a standing position, slowly reach your hips back toward the seat of the chair, tap the seat with your gluteals, push through your heels as you return to a standing position.  Repeat. Keep the abdominals pulled inward and upward and the shoulder blades inward and downward.  Throughout this movement the knees should remain behind the toes, this requires pushing the hips back and “reaching” for the seat prior to bending at the knee.

2. Bentover Shoulder Extension

Repetitions:  1-3 sets, 10-12 repetitions

Equipment: Elastic tubing

Description: Place door attachment at lowest point of door frame. Stand facing the door with handles in each hand and feet hip-distance apart.

Sit down into a squatting position and hinge forward from the hips to lower the chest to “face the ground”. Abs are strong. Arms should be reaching toward the floor, just in front of your chest.

Squeeze the backs of the shoulders and the shoulder blades toward the spine as you  pull the entire arm up, as one unit, along the sides of the ribs. Slowly lower to start and repeat.

3. Standing Ab Crunch

Repetitions:  1-3 sets, 15 repetitions

Resistance:  Band (Note: The band takes the place of the machine in the pictures.)

Description  Place the resistance tube  around a firm, stationary surface, located above the head.  Grasp the handles, and step away until there is tension in the band.  Perform an abdominal crunch by flexing the torso  forward. Keep the abdominals pulled inward and upward and the shoulder blades inward and downward.  Initiate and control the movement with the abdominals!

4. Standing Row

Repetitions: 1-3 sets, 10-12 repetitions

Resistance:  Tube in door.

Description: Place door attachment at elbow height with appropriate tube.

Hold the handles in each hand. Stand facing the door so the resistance tube is taut and your arms are extended in front of you with palms facing each other.

Squeeze the shoulder blades toward the spine and as you pull the elbows across the sides of the ribcage. Hold for 2-3 seconds before returning to start.

5. Plank

Duration:  Hold 15-60 seconds

Description:  Get into a push-up ready position on forearms, and hold.  Focus on keeping the hands no wider than shoulder width and maintaining a straight line from the head to the heels.  Avoid lifting the hips too high or allowing them to drop too low and keep the head from dropping toward the floor. Keep the abdominals pulled inward and upward and the shoulder blades inward and downward. 

6. Standing Chest Fly

Repetitions: 1-3 sets, 10-12 repetitions

Resistance: Tube in door at chest height.

Description: Stand facing away from the door so the resistance tube is taut. Arms out to the sides with palms facing forward and elbows slightly bent.

Squeeze chest muscles to bring arms toward the center. Hold for 2-3 seconds before slowly returning to start. Feet can be staggered for balance. Keep core strong.

7. Lunge

Repetitions: 1-3 sets, 10-12 repetitions each leg

Resistance:  Body Weight or Resistance Band

Description:  Begin by placing both feet through the handles and placing the middle of the band around the upper back.  Place one foot approximately 2-3 feet in front of the other with toes of both feet facing forward.  Bend the knee of the lead leg, slowly going into a lunge position, keep the shin of the lead leg perpendicular with the floor and knees behind the toes, similar to the Modified Squat.  Keep the abdominals pulled inward and upward and the shoulder blades inward and downward. Torso should remain upright!

8. Standing Lateral Raise

Repetitions: 1-3 sets, 10-12 repetitions

Equipment: Exercise Tube

Description: Stand on tube with feet hip-width apart. Be sure to allow sufficient slack in the tube along the length of the leg so that you can raise your arms to shoulder-height. Toes face forward with knees slightly bent.

Hold onto the tube in each hand with palms facing the body.

Lift the arms out to the sides to create the letter “T”. Slowly return to start.

9. Bird Dog

Repetitions: 1-3 sets, 10-15 repetitions both sides

Resistance:  Body Weight

Description:  Set-up From a quadruped position, simultaneously extend an opposing arm and leg.  Extend the arm straight-out from the shoulder or slightly higher (focusing on increasing the range of motion in the shoulder joint) while the opposite leg is extended straight-out from the hip. Avoid rotating the hips by keeping the heel directed toward the ceiling. Keep the abdominals pulled inward and upward and the shoulder blades inward and downward, lengthen the spine as you maintain neutral spinal alignment

10. Standing Reverse Fly

Repetitions: 1-3 sets, 10-12 repetitions

Equipment: Exercise Tube

Description: Standing tall. Arms out in front of you at shoulder- height/width. Hold exercise tube taut between hands with palms facing down.

Keeping abdominal muscles pulled inward & upward, initiate the movement by SQUEEZEing the SHOULDER BLADES together. Control the movement as you “Pull the tube apart”.

Keep the arms extended, but elbows ‘soft’, as you bring your arms out to the sides , creating the letter “T”. Slowly return to start, so your arms are directly in front of you.