Lower Body Exercises

Back Squat:  Place barbell on your back keeping good posture, chest and eyes up with shoulder blades pinched together.  Feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width and your toes should be slightly externally rotated, hands should be outside our shoulders.  Keeping good posture push your hips back and squat until you thighs are parallel with the ground, return to standing position.

Front Squat:  Holding the barbell shoulder width apart push your elbow forward so that the bar is sitting on your chest and your elbows are straight out in front of you.  Feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width and your toes should be slightly externally rotated.  Keeping good posture push your hips back and squat until you thighs are parallel with the ground, return to standing position.

DB Goblet Squat:  Holding one DB by the top with your elbows high like in front squat.

DB Front Squat:  Holding a dumbbell on each shoulder with elbows high like front squat.

Split Squat:  Can be done with various implements and modifications but the general form should always be the same.  Place feet in a lunge position, keeping good posture, chest and eyes up with shoulder blades pinched together.  From there drop the back knee down until you just about reach the floor then extend back tall.  Your feet should be long enough apart so that when you drop down both knees make 90 degree angles, most of the pressure should be in the heel of the front foot.

DB Split Squat:  Hold dumbbell at your side with arms extended

Barbell Split Squat: Hold barbell on your back as with Back Squat

Front Split Squat: Hold barbell on your chest as with Front Squat

Low Cable Split Squat:  On a cable stack hold a single handle in the side with the leg back

SA Split Squat: Hold one dumbbell on the back leg side

SA OH Split Squat: Hold one dumbbell over head with arm locked out on the side with the leg back

Bulgarian Split Squat: (or Split Squat Rear Foot Elevated): Same as above but place the back leg on an elevated surface, bench or plyo box

Lunge (use pictures above for visual): Can be done with the same implement variations as split squat.  Start in a standing position, step one foot out front and drop into a split squat position, most of the pressure should be in the heel of the front foot, and then explode back to a standing position.

Reverse Lunge (use pictures above for visual):  Same as Lunge but now step back into split squat position.

Lateral Squat:  Can be done with a bar on back or with one or two dumbbells.  Start with feet wide, standing tall and holding good posture.  Both feet should stay flat and facing straight ahead throughout the whole movement.  Laterally sit to one side keeping the opposite leg straight.

Lateral Lunge (use pictures above for visual):  Same as lateral squat except now dynamically step out into the position and explode back to a standing position.

Deadlift:  Start with feet under hips and toes straight ahead with barbell at your shins. Grab the barbell with your hands directly outside of your shins, your hips low and good posture in your upper body.  Stand up leading with your chest and finishing with your hips, keep good posture throughout the whole movement, your upper body should not move.

Sumo Deadlift:  Start with your feet wider than your hips grab the barbell between your legs so your arms are straight down from your shoulder and your knees are outside your elbows.  With your hips low and good posture in your upper body stand up leading with your chest and finishing with your hips.  Keep good posture throughout the whole movement, your upper body should not move.

Single Leg Squats:  Start standing on one leg with your hands straight up in front of your eyes for counter balance.  Movement starts by shifting your hips back and squatting.  Your knee should stay behind your toes and should track directly over your foot.  

SL Squat to Bench: Squat down to a bench and either get a quick touch or bottom out and give yourself a little boost to get up. 

SL Squat off Box: Squat down as low as you can keeping good form and good posture.

DB Step-Ups:  Start by standing in front a plyo box or bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand with good posture.  From there step-up in a controlled manner keeping good body position.

DB Lateral Lunge:  Same as DB Step-up but now you are lateral to a plyo box or bench.

DB Step-ups to Reverse Lunge: Combine the two movements so after you step-up you immediately go into a reverse lunge

DB Lateral Step-up to Lateral Lunge:  Combine the two movements so after you do the lateral step-up you immediately go into a lateral lunge.

Explosive Exercises

Box Jumps: Facing a plyo box or bench, explosively jump as high as you can and land on top of the box.  Land in a strong position, landing heel to toe, the landing should be quiet and you should be able to hold the landing position.

Rotational Box Jumps: Start lateral to a plyo box or bench, explosively jump as high as you can and rotate 90 degrees landing on the box.  Land in a strong position, landing heel to toe, the landing should be quiet and you should be able to hold the landing position.

Reactive Box Jumps: Place a cone or mini hurdle one foot in front of a plyo box or bench.  Jump over the mini hurdle/cone and re-actively jump up onto box.  Spend as little amount of time as possible on the ground.  Land in a strong position, landing heel to toe, the landing should be quiet and you should be able to hold the landing position.

Hang Snatch: An explosive movement with the intent of getting triple extension through the hips, knees and ankles.  Start with your feet under your hips and your toes straight ahead.  Grip the bar so your hands are outside of your thighs.  With your eye focus straight ahead and your chest up (shoulder blades pinched together) slide the bar to the top of your knee caps.  From there jump as hard as you can propelling the barbell over your head.  You are not pulling the bar with your arms, you are just guiding it over head.  Once the bar is over head you should sit underneath it landing in a half squat position heels flat and with the bar directly over your head and your arms fully extended.

DB Snatch: An explosive movement with the intent of getting triple extension through the hips, knees and ankles.  Start with your feet under your hips and your toes straight ahead, holding one dumbbell in front of you.  With your eye focus straight ahead and your chest up (shoulder blades pinched together) slide the dumbbell between your knees.  From there jump as hard as you can propelling the dumbbell over your head.  You are not pulling the dumbbell with your arms, you are just guiding it over head.  Once the dumbbell is over head you should sit underneath it landing in a half squat position heels flat and with the dumbbell directly over your head and your arms fully extended.

Clean Pull/Rack Pulls/Hang Shrugs:  An explosive movement with the intent of getting triple extension through the hips, knees and ankles.  For Clean Pulls the bar will come from the floor, for Rack Pulls set the safety bars so the bar will start at the top of your knee caps and for hang shrugs start holding the bar and then slide to the top of your kneecaps.  Start with your feet under your hips and toes straight ahead, grip the bar with your hands places directly outside of your legs (shins for clean pull, thighs for rack pulls and hang shrugs).  Keep your eye focus straight ahead and your chest up, squeezing your shoulder blades together, keeping that posture through the movement.  Once your body is set explosively pull the bar, driving with your legs and finishing with a shoulder shrug.  You should end up on your toes for a quick second, while extending your hips and knees. 

Hang Clean:  An explosive movement with the intent of getting triple extension through the hips, knees and ankles.  Start with your feet under your hips and your toes straight ahead.  Grip the bar so your hands are outside of your thighs.  With your eye focus straight ahead and your chest up (shoulder blades pinched together) slide the bar to the top of your knee caps.  From there jump as hard as you can propelling the barbell up to your chest.  The explosive jump moves the bar, you are not pulling the bar with your arms you are just guiding it up to your chest.  Once the bar is at your chest push your elbows through sitting your hips back and landing in a half squat position heels flat and with the bar resting on your shoulder and elbows straight out in front of you.

Power Clean:  An explosive movement with the intent of getting triple extension through the hips, knees and ankles.  Start with your feet under your hips and your toes straight ahead.  Start with the bar on the floor, grip the bar outside of your shins and sit in a good strong position so the bar is up against your shins.  With your eye focus straight ahead and your chest up (shoulder blades pinched together) jump as hard as you can propelling the barbell up to your chest.  The explosive jump moves the bar, you are not pulling the bar with your arms you are just guiding it up to your chest.  Once the bar is at your chest push your elbows through sitting your hips back and landing in a half squat position heels flat and with the bar resting on your shoulder and elbows straight out in front of you.

DB Swings:  Hold the top of a dumbbell standing with your feet slightly wider than your hips.  Take the dumbbell and swing it between your legs as if you are doing an RDL.  Explode through your hips swinging the dumbbell up to eye level, squeeze your glutes.  From there swing the weight back between your legs and repeat for the assigned reps.

DB Push Press:  Holding two dumbbells on your shoulders in a neutral grip position.  Dip your hips back and explode them back to tall propelling the dumbbells into the air.  Make sure the dumbbells stay within your shoulder frame and finish directly overhead with your biceps in your ears.