Walking lunges with Rotation

Targets: Abs, Butt, Hips, Legs & Thighs
Level: Intermediate
Photos at bottom of post

Step One:

Stand with your feet hip width apart. Pull your shoulders blades down and back without arching your low back. Engage your abdominal/core muscles to stabilize your spine. Hold a weight, like a medicine ball, in front of you firmly with both hands.

Step Two:

Slowly lift your right foot off the floor ready to step forward, balance on your standing leg. Keep your abdominals engaged to avoid any sideways tilting or swaying in your upper body. Press the standing foot firmly into the ground to reduce any unwanted movement and maintain stability. Hold this position briefly before stepping forward. Your right foot should land on the floor heel first. With the right (forward) leg placed firmly on the floor, shift your body weight forward. Focus on lowering yourself downward toward the floor rather than forward. As you load your bodyweight into the right leg, avoid any sideway tilting or swaying in your upper body and try not to move your left (back) foot.

Step Three:

Continue lowering your body to a comfortable position or until your front thigh is parallel with the floor and your shinbone is in a slight forward lean. While in this lunge, lean forward slightly at your hips. Keep the abdominals braced to stabilize the spine. Keep the weight in front of you and rotate your torso to the left.

Step Four:

While still in the lunge, rotate back to centre. Firmly plant the right foot into the ground and pull your body weight forward. As you bring yourself to an upright position and begin to centre your weight over your right leg, bring your left leg off of the ground and slowly swing it forward to initiate the next lunge.

Step Five:

While balancing on your right leg, your left foot reaches forward into the lunge. Your left foot should land on the floor heel first. With your left (forward) leg placed firmly on the floor, shift your body weight forward. Focus on lowering yourself downward toward the floor rather than forward. As you load your bodyweight into the left leg, avoid any sideway tilting or swaying in your upper body and try not to move the right (back) foot. Keep the abdominals braced.

Step Six:

Continue lowering your body to a comfortable position or until your front thigh is parallel with the floor and the shinbone is in a slight forward lean. While in this lunge, lean forward slightly at your hips. Keep the abdominals braced to stabilize the spine. Keep the weight in front of your mid-section, rotate your torso to the right.

Step Seven:

While still in the lunge, rotate back to centre. Firmly plant your left foot into the ground and pull your body weight forward. As you bring yourself to an upright position and begin to centre your weight over your left leg, bring the right leg off of the ground and slowly swing it forward to initiate the next lunge.