Today, I’m going to introduce you to my newest exercise of the month which I can guarentee you’ve never done before . This is actually a functional strength movement where we will be combining two more common movements known as the lunge and the back row. By combining the movements, we not only make the movement a lot more functional, but a lot more gratifying and efficient as well .

Remember, the key is to center on technique . A free weight or dumbell is the first thing you’ll need to grab . I’m using a 15 pounder, something not too heavy . Let’s start with a profile view, picture me from the side to get an idea of how this looks. First of all, set yourself into a lunge position, left leg forward and right leg back for instance. Place the weight on the inside of your right foot. Your forward knee does not go past the toe. Your back leg should roughly be at a right angle at the knee. Your torso starts off perpendicular to the ground, so that your back is straight. From here, keeping your ab muscles tight, you want to lower your torso roughly 15 degrees, keeping your back straight and pick of the weight in your right hand. The left hand does not hold onto the leg. Make sure that the weight of your body is in the left leg .

Now the second movement is coming into play . Pull your right arm back, using the weight, as if you were starting a lawn mower. When you pull your arm back, make sure to squeeze your shoulder blade in toward your spine. Keep your core nice and strong and your torso nice and straight. Make sure your shoulders are square, meaning that each shoulder is the same distance to the ground. And there you have it: the lunge with a one-armed back row. Do 10-12 reps on one arm with the opposite leg forward. When you have finished those, just switch legs, switch arms, and repeat the same thing on the other side. Remember to keep your torso straight, and pull the shoulder blade back toward the spine. And above all, smile during your workouts ! Remember, this is a great workout for those looking for an athletic workout!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 16th, 2010 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Equipment, Sports And Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.