with Personal Trainer Musulain Toomer
1. Sumo Squats
Sumo squats engage your lower body muscles and are very effective for targeting the adductor or inner thigh muscles. (A) Start in a traditional squat stance, holding one dumbbell or kettlebell in front of you. Step your feet out wide with your toes pointed slightly outward. (B) Bend your knees as you lower your body into a squat. Draw your tailbone straight down to the floor. Keep your core engaged throughout the movement and your head tilted up to align with your spine.
2. Reverse Lunges
(A) Start standing tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Shift your weight onto your left foot and step your right leg back and slightly out, landing with your toe first. (B) Bend both knees to 90-degree angles, then reverse the motion to return to standing. Be sure to complete an equal number of reps on both legs.
3. Goblet Squats
(A) Hold a kettlebell up to your chest, either grabbing by the handle or cradling the bell in your palms. Tuck your elbows in close to your abdomen. (B) Sit back in your hips as you bend at the knees, lower into a squat, then return to standing and repeat. Aim to keep the kettlebell close to your chest throughout the entire movement.
4. Bulgarian Split Squats
(A) Place the top of your left foot on the bench behind you. (B) Keeping your torso tall, bend at both knees to perform a deep lunge. Lower until the knee of your trailing leg touches the floor or as low as it can comfortably go, then rise to stand and repeat, completing an equal number of reps on both sides.
Tip: The best way to set up for Bulgarian Split Squats is to sit down on a bench or Bulgarian split squat stand with a dumbbell in each hand. Extend your right leg forward, placing your heal on the floor, then stand up where your foot naturally falls and place the top of your left foot on the bench behind you.
