Prologue - Week 2

This week we start to work

Dipping our toes into our first two movements this week. The squat and the hinge.

But first, we gotta talk about warming up.

Warm-up

Almost every workout deserves a warm-up. That said, no warm-up needs to more than 10 minutes unless you have all the time in the world and just want to.

As you gain expertise, you earn the right to skip warm-ups in lieu of 20-30min of movement practice.

Any good warm-up consists of these 3 things

  • Heart Rate

    • To start, do something that gets your heart rate up and breathing. This can be anything. Running, jump rope, burpees (ew), any machines you may have, or anything that you can do >25 reps of. A lot of these times it can be bodyweight movements bodyweight squats, pushups) or light KB movements like swings.

  • Move Your Spine

    • Next, do something to take care of your spine. Our spine is meant to flex, extend, rotate, and bend without pain. The BEST way to stave off pain is to keep your spine healthy. So we will be taking care of it each and every workout (even if it’s just a lil bit).

  • Find The Opposite

    • If you’re doing squats, warm-up with a hinge.

    • If you’re doing a hinge, warm-up with a squat.

    • If you’re doing a push, warm-up with a pull.

    • If you’re doing a pull, warm-up with a push.

    • This is called an antagonist. What’s cool about your body is if you do a bicep curl, you’re definitely using your bicep, but your tricep (the opposite, or “antagonist”) is also working to stabilize your bicep. Both work at the same time although you may only feel it in your bicep.

    • This is also a part of the cheat sheet to being pain free. If your chest hurts, workout your back, if your thighs (quads) hurt, workout your hamstrings.

If you’d like a more in-depth look at building your own workout

Check out this blog post

THE SQUAT

  • Squat - Sit down, stand up - Hips, knees, and ankles all bending together

Fun fact: Your butt is the biggest muscle in your body

We start with the legs. When you work your bigger muscles your entire body responds. When you work smaller muscles (like arms), you get less of a response. It’s like saying when you work your legs, everything gets a lot better, and when you work your arms everything only gets a little better.

I like everything getting a lot better, so we start here.

The most fundamental form of a squat is the Goblet Squat. If you have access to other implements like a barbell, dumbbells, or anything you can use to make it “heavier” feel free to play around with it. This week is about exploring.

The Hinge

  • Hinge - Bending over - Legs stay relatively straight, bending at the waist

If I had to pick one, This would be it.

Hinging is a fantastic way to create balance within your body. A good rule of thumb is actually to do twice as much hinging, as you squat when starting out.

The most fundamental form of a squat is an RDL. It stands for Romanian Deadlift. Again, if you’d like to use dumbbells, or a barbell, the movement does not change between implements.

Goal for Week 2

Create a warm-up For each day you workout this week

  • Warm-up Examples:

    • Heart Rate Up: (Pick One)

      • 2 minutes of: Running, jogging, walking, jump rope, burpees, squats, pushups, rower, ski erg

    • Spine: (Pick One)

    • Opposite:

Perform a squat AND A HINGE at least 3 times this week (In general, Every Other Day)

If you have your own equipment or access to a gym, feel free to replace these with something you feel you would enjoy more.