Exercise Index: Tabata #5
Dumbbell Deadlift
The Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift is ideal for teaching the hip hinge pattern and can be used with beginners and more
advanced lifters for variety. Besides being a great mass and strength builder, deadlifts also burns a great number of calories, meaning it can help you to decrease body fat and get leaner and healthier. Deadlifting can also serve as a cardio workout as it requires a lot of oxygen – and calories – to perform the movement. This can help to improve your cardio and muscular endurance.
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What you Feel: Glutes, Hamstrings and Lower Back
What to Do:
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Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding either one or a pair of dumbbells in front of your thighs, palms facing you.
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Keeping your back flat, shoulders back, and core engaged, push your hips back and simultaneously hinge forward at your waist as you bend at your knees.
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Lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor and/or you feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings. Keep the dumbbells within an inch or two of your legs throughout the move.
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Pause, and then slowly reverse the movement to return to the standing position.
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Jack Knife
Jack knife sit ups are a great low-impact exercise for strengthening abdominal muscles. They are a great core and lower body exercise that can strengthen your abs while burning fat.
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What you Feel: Upper and Lower Abdominals
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What to Do:
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Place your palms at the back of your mat. Extend both legs and engage your abdominal muscles by drawing your belly button in towards your spine. This is your starting position.
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Inhale. Exhale. While keeping your legs extended, slowly raise your legs outwards until they form a 45-degree angle with your hips.
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Inhale. Slowly lower your legs to return to the starting position, but without lowering your feet to the floor. Repeat for the specified number of repetitions.
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Lying Toe Touches
You want a strong, defined abdomen to power you through workouts and to look good in a swimsuit. That's where the toe-touching exercise comes in. It works the middle and upper region of your ab muscles. The toe touch looks simple enough, and it is. But, attention to form is critical to keep your back healthy and to make the move as effective as possible.
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What you Feel: Core and Hamstrings
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What to Do:
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Lie down with your back on the floor or on a mat and stretch your arms straight out above your head. Lift both legs so the soles of your feet face straight up towards the ceiling.
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Roll your head, neck and shoulders off the mat as you reach your hands toward your toes. Pull your abdominals into your spine as your lift up and maintain a strong neck -- neither curling it to your chest nor letting it fall back.
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Hold the position, with your shoulder blades lifted off the floor, for two to four counts.
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Slowly release your upper body and arms to complete one repetition.
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Squat Thrust
The squat thrust is an excellent cardio and strength training exercise. It is a calisthenics exercise that uses your bodyweight with little or no gym equipment to activate muscle groups throughout your whole body, particularly strengthening more of your lower body. Squat thrust is a highly versatile compound movement that helps in improving the cardiovascular health, muscle mass and fat burning. It is a great warm-up exercise usually performed quickly to boost its effectiveness.
What you Feel: Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings, Core
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What to Do:
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Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and arms hanging at your sides.
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Bend down and place your hands on the ground before hopping your legs back into push-up position.
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Quickly spring your legs forward to the bottom of a squat and jump back to the starting position.
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