For most of the 20 years that I’ve been a competitive runner, I’ve intentionally disregarded yoga. I assumed that it wouldn’t offer anything meaningful to my workout routine. But as I’ve become older—and, it seems, wiser—I’ve found the exact opposite to be true. Especially when it comes to the benefits I experience from core-strengthening exercises in yoga and what they contribute to my training.

After racing competitively in college, I shifted my focus to intense training for half-marathons, marathons, and other road races. It wasn’t until after I began incorporating core-strengthening exercises from yoga into my gym workouts that I began to feel stronger than ever.

Yoga poses engage the less-obvious core muscles often ignored by runners, hikers, cyclists, mountain bikers, and other outdoor athletes. Those include the transversus abdominis and other , the side abdominal muscles, the spinal stabilizers, and the overlooked pelvic floor muscles.

Although the benefits of incorporating yoga into your training aren’t limited to making the shapes. It’s also how you hold yourself in the shapes. I’ve found that the long holds and slow breathwork emphasized by yoga have enhanced my endurance, my balance, and my ability to be more aware of my body.

When I coach others, I encourage them to take a “training wheels” approach by incorporating a few simple yoga poses into their usual ab or core workout. This ensures that you’re not neglecting whatever static or dynamic core strength training already works for you. Yoga will never supplant your gym workout. But it can supplement it to bring you surprising and tangible results.

7 Best Core-Strengthening Exercises for Athlete Needs

Rely on the following sequence of core-strengthening exercises as a complete core workout or incorporate three or four of them into your existing core exercise routine. Maybe you swap out your usual Forearm Plank for Chaturanga or replace V-ups or toe-touch sit-ups with Boat Pose.

1. Cat-Cow

– is a dynamic exercise that mobilizes the entire spine, which is often overlooked during core-strengthening exercises. It’s basically a slow transition between two poses, and as you sync your movement with your breath, you bring awareness to your ability to isolate your vertebrae. You also train yourself to engage your deep transversus abdominis muscles each time you draw in your belly, which helps stabilize your core.

2. Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose)

This core exercise is similar to the familiar Plank and Forearm Plank drills. But demands that you draw your pubic bone toward your belly button to maintain your balance on your forearms and your toes, which engages your pelvic floor muscles. This is important as the pelvic muscles are crucial for improving your breathing mechanics and your stability as you run, squat, bike, or practice whatever outdoor adventure you most love.

Also, be sure to squeeze your glutes to relieve strain on your low back and find safe and optimal alignment.

3. Virabhadrasana 3 (Warrior 3)

All Warrior poses in yoga engage your core, but is the best for strengthening your core muscles. The full-body balancing pose requires engaging all of your core muscles in a 360-degree manner to find and maintain your stability. You experience a similar demand on the core in running, hiking, and weightlifting exercises, although it’s easier to cheat on your form since you’re upright rather than steadying yourself on one foot.

4. Paripurna Navasana (Boat Pose)

is a static, isometric hold that requires tons of core control. This yoga core exercise strengthens not just your abs but supporting muscle groups, including your quads, hip flexors, and spinal stabilizers.

It’s important to keep your back and shoulders straight, rather than rounded, because this helps build your core strength and balance while also supporting proper posture. It also practices engaging the lower abs and lower back, which synergistically support your form. To maximize the benefit of this pose, bend your knees if you must rather than allow yourself to slouch.

5. Vasisthasana (Side Plank Pose)

One of the best yoga core-strengthening poses for your tricky-to-isolate obliques (side abdominal muscles) is . It also shifts the load to your shoulders and demands support from your front and back core muscles, which must engage in varying degrees to support your balance.

6. Eka Pada Utkatasana (One-Legged Chair Pose)

This variation of is basically like holding a single-leg squat but by lifting one foot any amount  It’s a strong pose for runners, cyclists, and outdoor athletes because it requires engaging your core to keep your trunk upright and body balanced while simultaneously strengthening your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and back. It not only strengthens your muscles but your sense of proprioception, which is an awareness of where your body is in space.

7. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)

is one of the best yoga poses for any athlete as it stretches the entire posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, lower back, calves, and Achilles tendons), which is not only essential but feels incredible after biking, running, hiking, rowing, using the elliptical machine, and almost any workout. It also strengthens the shoulders and core, which are often overlooked by those who engage in these endurance sports.

Focus on drawing your belly button toward your spine and squeezing your inner thighs and pelvic floor muscles. This approach engages your core in a complete and balanced manner. Engaging your quads and glutes will increase the intensity of the pose.

Additional Core-Strengthening Exercises for Athletes

If you’re looking to switch up your routine and work in different core-strengthening exercises, consider including , , or cable machine,, and either hanging leg raises or .

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Athletes, take note: Although you already know that the best way to release tension is stretching, you may need a reminder that increasingly supports the fact that practicing stretches after a workout can literally minimize your aches and pains after resistance training of any sort.

Your stretching routine doesn’t need to be particularly long or involved to be effective. But you do need to target all of the major muscles you just exhausted during any full-body workout. So if you engage in strength training of any sort, set aside five extra minutes. You’ll thank yourself later.

6 Best Stretches After a Workout

Or you can pick and choose specific stretches for back muscles, leg muscles, and upper body muscles if you’re short on time or you rely on a body part split routine.Try to stay in each pose for 30 to 45 seconds. Depending on how tight you feel after lifting weights, you can linger in the stretches for longer. Don’t forget to breathe.

1. Downward-Facing Dog

One of the most well-known yoga poses, Down Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) is also one of the best stretches after a workout when you’re strength training because there’s a strong chance it will help lengthen at least one of the muscles you just repeatedly contracted in your weightlifting session. The pose lengthens the entire posterior chain, including your spine and upper back.

It also targets the calf muscles and Achilles tendons, which makes it especially useful following squats. Tightness in these tissues will limit your squat depth and make it difficult to keep your heels firmly grounded when lowering your body into a back squat. Without this stability and mobility, you reduce your Without that full range of motion, your muscles will not get the maximum stimulus for . Lack of flexibility also increase the risk of losing your balance when you go for depth in the squat.

How to: The key to practicing is drawing your hips up and back toward the ceiling and reaching your heels down toward the mat. (There’s no need for your heels to touch the mat. But you want to reach for it to lengthen those muscles and connective tissues.)

Think about creating two sides of a triangle with your body: you should have a straight line from your hips down through your back, shoulders, and arms down to your wrists. Plant your palms firmly on the ground with your fingers spread nice and wide. Then, you should mirror this straight line and a similar angle from the hips down through the heels.

2. Cat-Cow

Not all yoga poses require you to get into a specific shape and then hold it statically. Cat-Cow (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana) is a dynamic yoga exercise that flexes and extends the spine to improve mobility of all of the tissues related to the spine. It also promotes hip mobility. Although this is one of the best stretches after strength training, but it can also be performed as part of a dynamic warm-up.

How to: You will move between an anterior and posterior pelvic tilt in –. Being able to consciously perform a posterior pelvic tilt is critical for any supine weightlifting exercises, such as the bench press. Understanding how to engage the lower abdominal muscles, as you do in Cat-Cow, helps you press your low back and back of the pelvis into the bench to prevent straining the back.

One tip is to not rush the movement between the cat posture and the cow posture and to sync your movement with your breath. Improving this mind-body connection can help you better activate your core muscles when you are performing other strength training exercises with weights.

3. Extended Triangle Pose

Any version of Triangle Pose (Trikonasana) will help stretch your hips, spine, glutes, hamstrings, and inner and outer thighs. Best of all, this is an excellent yoga pose after chest workouts because it helps open up the pectoral region and shoulder girdle. Use this yoga pose after bench pressing or performing chest fly.

How to: Think about spreading your weight evenly between both feet and grounding them down into the floor in . If you cannot reach the ground with your front hand that is aiming downward, use a yoga block under that hand.

4. Cobra Pose

This backbend helps stretch the chest, shoulders, and abdominal muscles. Because your arms help support your shape in Cobra (Bhujangasana), it doesn’t require a lot of back strength. Also, you get to control how intense you make the stretch.

How to: Try to squeeze your glutes and press the front of your pelvis into the mat to support safe alignment and muscle engagement in

5. Puppy Pose

Puppy (Uttana Shishosana or Anahatasana) is one of the best yoga poses after weightlifting exercises that work the shoulder girdle, arms, and upper back.

How to: Think about lifting your hips up and stacking them directly over your knees as you walk your chest forward in . Also, focus on elongating your spine and stretching along your armpits.

6. Lizard Pose

Also known as Dragon Pose, this is one of the best yoga poses to stretch the quads and hip flexors. The quads stabilize your knees when you practice squats and lunges and the hip flexors help stabilize the pelvis when you lift the bar while deadlifting. The hip flexors are also essential during hip thrusts, kettlebell swings, and so much more, so it’s important to stretch them after a leg workout.

How to: Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana) has countless different options depending on your desired intensity. You basically start in a low lunge with your back knee on the mat. Bring both hands inside your front foot and stay here or come down onto your forearms. You want to feel a stretch along the front of your back hip and thigh. Don’t worry about bringing your forearms all the way down. 

If you practice each stretch one time, the entire post-weightlifting routine takes less than 10 minutes. You can repeat any of the poses where you feel like you need to target the muscles again.

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If you’ve ever been sore after a yoga class or felt your muscles aching while holding Warrior 2, you’re familiar with the strengthening benefits of yoga. Although many of us associate yoga with primarily increasing flexibility and calming one’s chaotic thoughts, yoga does build muscle. But how effective is it? Does yoga count as strength training?

Does Yoga Count as Strength Training?

The short answer is, it depends.

According to the , adults should accumulate a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise per week plus at least two total-body strength training workouts per week. Strength training increases muscular strength and muscular endurance, which are two of the five components of health-related fitness.

Strength training, also known as resistance training, involves exercises that load your muscles. This not only builds muscle but and helps stabilize joints to prevent injuries. Lifting weights or using resistance bands are two common options for strength training.

But they’re not necessarily the only options. Bodyweight training, in which you use your own weight as resistance, is another type of strength training. Some styles of yoga can be considered bodyweight training and can be ideal for anyone who either doesn’t have access to a gym or doesn’t care for or have time for traditional strength training exercises.

That said, there are two factors that largely influence the response to does yoga count as strength training.

1. Type of Yoga

Yoga is an extremely diverse practice with many different styles and ways to practice. Certain types of yoga and poses can strengthen muscles and potentially even build muscle.

2. Your Fitness Level

The other factor that plays a significant role in whether yoga functions as strengthening is your fitness level. Ultimately, it is more difficult to build muscle with yoga than it is with traditional resistance training using external implements such as dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, etc.

In order to build muscle, you need to overload your muscles’ current capacity enough to induce some amount of damage to your muscle fibers. This microscopic damage triggers a process known as muscle protein synthesis, which repairs and rebuilds muscle and helps make your muscles stronger over time.

While it is possible to strengthen your muscles and potentially build muscle exclusively through bodyweight exercises, most people reach a plateau of body strength where some external resistance is necessary to continue strengthening and increasing muscle mass. In general, practicing yoga is not as effective as lifting weights.

However, anything that challenges you is strengthening your muscles. For example, chair yoga can be an efficient strength-training workout. Don’t compare yourself to others and meet your body where you’re at. Also, never push your body beyond your current fitness level or to the point of pain or extreme discomfort.

What Are the Best Types of Yoga for Strength Training?

Beginners often assume that classes for more experienced practitioners are inherently more difficult and better for strengthening than . This isn’t necessarily true. These classes are often faster-paced and focus more on transitions between poses and less instruction from the teacher. This can increase the risk of injury for those who are still mastering the foundations and learning basic yoga poses. It can also shift the emphasis to the space in between the poses rather than the strengthening practice of holding the poses for a length of time.

It’s the style of yoga that plays a more important role in whether or not you will be strengthening your muscles or focusing on other aspects of fitness and health in your yoga class.

Some of the best types of yoga for muscle strength include:

• Vinyasa yoga
• Power yoga
• Ashtanga yoga
• Iyengar yoga

Aside from the style of yoga you practice, there are other ways you can ensure you’re building muscle with yoga and/or have yoga “count” as strength training:

• Do a minimum of two per week in which you work all the major muscles of your body. This means your yoga routine should include yoga poses that strengthen:Lower-body muscles: (, hip adductors, hip abductors, hip rotators, and ankle stabilizers)Upper-body muscles (traps, rhomboids, lats, pecs, deltoids, biceps, triceps, and grip muscles)Core (diaphragm, abs, obliques, pelvic floor, and )
• Choose poses that require your legs, arms, or core to hold the position or support your body, such as the Warrior poses, or Revolved Lunge, , , and
• Hold each pose for at least 30 seconds and practice three sets of your strengthening poses. Alternatively, complete numerous reps in a sequence of several strengthening poses performed back to back. For example, perform 15 cycles of continuous flow between and .
• Finally, . That allows you to take advantage of the numerous benefits of yoga as well as more traditional resistance training exercises. Or, if you prefer to keep your yoga practice separate, supplement it with a gym workout or at-home strength training.

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For some athletes, taking pain relievers like Tylenol (acetaminophen) or Advil (NSAID) to ease muscle soreness after a hard workout is second nature. However, while pain relievers may have their place in lessening discomfort, pain can also be an important signal from the body that you’ve overdone it. 

So, how do you know when to take an occasional Advil for an achy knee, and when to see a professional for help?

Muscle Aches vs Injuries

One of the most common reasons people feel sore after a workout is due to delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. This can feel like tenderness in the muscles, stiffness, or mild swelling. For instance, if you had a tough leg workout, you might spend the next few days walking funny up and down the stairs. You can still exercise when you experience this kind of soreness as long as the tenderness doesn’t affect your movement. However, if you can’t properly execute an exercise without shifting form, then it’s wise to take it easy. It’s always important to warm up before a workout, especially if you’re feeling muscle fatigue. This can decrease the chance that your soreness will get in the way of your routine.

, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, the Director of the Center for Sports Medicine, and Assistant Dean of Clinical Operations at the New York Institute of Technology, says that this kind of soreness is typical and shouldn’t be cause for concern. “After exercising, our muscles are inflamed,” he says. “If there’s no larger injury, this is normal and healthy. When the muscle heals after inflammation, it becomes stronger.”

In cases such as this, you can take an anti-inflammatory (such as ibuprofen) until DOMS subsides. Take note, however, of how often you’re doing this. , a Board-Certified Sports Medicine Physician, Holistic Pain Management Expert, and the Chief Medical Advisor at Sunrider International, notes that DOMS isn’t necessarily reoccurring, and thus you shouldn’t need to be popping pain relievers after every workout. In fact, as you progress in your physical fitness, DOMS should go away completely within a few weeks to a month.

“If there’s occasional swelling in the knee joint, for example, then taking an anti-inflammatory would be appropriate,” says Chen. “But if you notice the need to take an anti-inflammatory every time you exercise because of swelling and pain, then it’s time to seek professional help.”

To differentiate between injury and DOMS, you should pay attention to how the painful spot feels when you move around. With DOMS, the pain should lessen when you warm up and move your body. Injuries, however, usually become more painful with movement. Instead of soreness, an injury will feel like localized sharp pain and bruising that doesn’t go away. 

What Is the Best Pain Reliever for Workout Soreness?

Chen makes it clear that, while NSAIDs can be helpful for short-term pain management, continuous use can be dangerous. shows that long-term usage can impair healing, make someone more prone to injury, and create health problems down the line. He adds that, if you really need a pain reliever, it might be best to take Tylenol, which has been shown to in the future. 

“Try some other over-the-counter (OTC) medications, like Tylenol, about 30 to 60 minutes before you hit the gym,” Chen advises. “Also, be sure to consult with your doctor on any OTC meds you take and stay hydrated by drinking fluids before and during any workout.”

Chen, who has a background in traditional Chinese medicine, recommends also considering some Eastern medicine modalities for managing aches and pains. He adds that acupuncture is a beneficial holistic pain reliever alternative. suggest that it’s effective at treating various forms of pain, including osteoarthritis and myofascial pain syndrome.

“Modalities like controlled breathing, ice, and osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), are safe, inexpensive, and effective ways to reduce pain,”  Zwibel says. “They also empower patients by allowing them to feel more involved in their own care.”

Food, as we know, can often be the best medicine. Turmeric, for example, has been for its anti-inflammatory effects on irritable bowel syndrome, psoriasis, atherosclerosis, and other diseases. Hydrolyzed , fatty , and also have anti-inflammatory properties. The good thing about these options is that you can consistently take them, unlike NSAIDs that, over time, with your heart, kidney, liver, and blood circulation. It’s always a good idea to look into alternatives before opting for pills. Overall, it’s best to avoid regular use of pain relievers like Advil and Tylenol after a workout to ease sore muscles.But if you need to occasionally take the edge off muscle aches and soreness, Tylenol is the best option.

Most importantly, remember to listen to the signals your body is giving you. If that aching isn’t clearing up, or seems more sharp and pronounced, it’s time to see a doctor.

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When it comes to the best stretches for outdoor athletes, the emphasis tends to be on lower body movements. It makes sense: Your hamstrings, quads, and calves work hard to keep you healthy and mobile. However, upper body stretches are just as important—especially if you’re a climber, triathlete, or cyclist. Many of these stretches will feel basic, which underscores the point that sometimes you don’t have to get complicated to get results. 

What to Focus on With Upper Body Stretches

If you want to have a well-balanced recovery routine, make sure to target the pectoral muscles of your chest, the deltoid and rotator cuff muscles in your shoulders, the triceps and biceps in your upper arms, and the rhomboids, traps, lats, and serratus anterior muscles in your upper back. By giving attention to each of these key areas, you’ll maintain flexibility and mobility in your top half. 

The Best Upper Body Stretches for Outdoor Athletes

Some of these movements are great for a dynamic warm-up before starting an activity, while others are good recovery options. By integrating these stretches in your regular routine, you’ll feel more mobile and flexible throughout your upper body. 

1. Arm Circles

This movement is a great dynamic stretch to do before beginning any workout to help open up your chest, shoulders, and upper back.

How to do it: 

1. Stand upright with good posture.
2. Bring your arms straight out to the sides in a T-shape. 
3. Slowly rotate both arms forward, tracing small invisible circles with your fingers. Keep your elbows straight. Gradually increase the size of the circles with each rotation. 
4. Complete 15 arm circles. 
5. Reverse the direction of your circles and repeat.

2. Trunk Twists

This is another great stretch to add into your warm-up routine to support your upper back and shoulders. 

How to do it: 

1. Stand upright with your feet planted hip-width distance apart. Bring your arms out to the sides in a T-shape. 
2. Keep your hips square. Rotate and twist your torso from right to left, opening up your obliques, back, and chest. Gradually increase the speed and range of motion.
3. Twist for 30 seconds. 

3. Chest Stretch

If you’re looking for a post-workout recovery movement, this is a great stretch to turn to. Focusing on the pectoral muscles in your chest and the front of your shoulders, this exercise is particularly helpful for cyclists who spend a lot of time hunched over in an aerodynamic position. 

How to do it: 

1. Face a doorway with your arms out to the sides in a T-shape. 
2. Step your right foot far enough forward through the doorway so that your arms catch on the sides of the entrance. You should feel a stretch across your chest and the front of your shoulders. 
3. Keep your spine neutral, gaze forward, and core tight.
4. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side. 

4. Shoulder Stretch

As the most mobile joints in your body, your shoulders do a lot. To offer them some relief, try this post-workout stretch. 

How to do it: 

1. Bring your right arm in front of your body. It should be parallel to the floor. Keep your elbow straight.
2. Hook your left arm under your right and use it to pull your right arm across your body, toward your left shoulder. Your right hand should be pointing to the left. 
3. With your left hand, gently press behind your right elbow or the back of your upper right arm. Keep your right arm straight. 
4. Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds.
5. Switch sides and repeat. 

5. Overhead Triceps Stretch

After swimming, lifting weights, or practicing yoga, this stretch can open up your shoulders and triceps. 

1. Straighten your right arm and lift it overhead. Bend your right elbow and reach toward the top of your spine with your right hand. Your right elbow should point toward the ceiling. 
2. Press into the back of your right elbow with your left arm to deepen the stretch. By doing so, your right hand should be able to reach a bit further down your back.
3. Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds.
4. Switch sides and repeat. 

6. Eagle Arms

If you are an avid yoga practitioner, you may be familiar with this arm variation. But beyond being a part of your asana sessions, this stretch is a great go-to move for softening the muscles in your back and shoulders. 

1. Sit on the floor with your legs crossed in a comfortable position. 
2. Hook your right arm under your left. Press your palms together.
3. Lift your elbows to shoulder height. 
4. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds.
5. Switch sides and repeat. 

After practicing eagle arms, move into another yoga arm variation, cow face pose, to stretch your chest and shoulders. 

1. Sit in a comfortable seated position on the floor. 
2. Lift your right arm up. Bend at the elbow and reach for the upper part of your spine.
3. Bend your left arm and place it near your left hip. Reach toward your right arm with the back of your left hand pressing against your spine. 
4. Unless you are extremely flexible, your hands likely won’t touch. If they do, interlace your hands to open your chest. 
5. In either case, hold for 20 to 30 seconds.
6. Switch sides and repeat. 

7. Neck Stretch

This gentle stretch can help loosen up your and your upper traps to help relieve tension in your neck.

1. Wrap your right hand over your head. 
2. Place your right palm slightly above your left ear. 
3. Gently pull your head towards your right shoulder. You should feel a stretch along the left side of your neck.
4. Hold for 15 to 20 seconds. 
5. Switch sides and repeat. 

8. Downward Dog

You likely think of downward dog as a lower-body stretch for your hamstrings, calves, and glutes. However, it’s also one of the best upper body stretches to do after exercising, as it targets your back, shoulders, triceps, and forearms. 

1. Come into a tabletop position. Your hands should be slightly in front of your shoulders. Your knees should be underneath your hips. Curl your toes under your feet. 
2. Spread your fingers apart. Your hands should be as wide as possible. Press your palms into the floor.  
3. Lift your knees off the floor and press your heels down as you raise your butt toward the ceiling. Your body should be folded at the hips in an inverted “V” shape. Make sure your chest faces your thighs. 
4. Engage your core. Keep your neck and spine neutral. 
5. Hold for 30 seconds. 

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Regardless of whether you’re a runner, skier, or climber, you’re likely overlooking a key muscle in your training: the gluteus medius. Located within the , alongside your gluteus maximus and the gluteus minimus, this muscle helps protect and drive your hips. You engage this critical mover on a regular basis—without even thinking about it.

What Are the Benefits of Gluteus Medius Exercises?

It’s about much more than developing lower body strength. Your glutes also help extend and stabilize your hips. While hip extension is primarily driven by the gluteus maximus, your gluteus medius is essential for hip abduction, the movement of bringing your leg out to the side of your body.

Weakness in this muscle can increase the risk of injury, including knee and hip issues, IT band syndrome, and lower back pain. Strengthening exercises that target the gluteus medius help avoid these issues by building stability in your hips.

How to Understand the Strength of Your Gluteus Medius

If you’re unsure about how strong your gluteus medius is, there’s a simple test you can do to see. One of the common indications of weakness in this muscle is the .

Here’s how to do it: Stand on one leg and have a friend look at your pelvis straight on. It should remain level. If your non-weight bearing hip drops down, that’s a sign of weakness in your glute muscles, particularly your gluteus medius.

What Are the Best Gluteus Medius Exercises?

To strengthen your gluteus medius muscle, turn to these exercises a few days a week.

1. Lateral Banded Walks

How to do it:

1. 1. Slide a small loop resistance band around your ankles. Stand upright with good posture. Place your hands on your hips.
   2. Your feet should be at least hip-width apart. Make sure there is tension on the resistance band. If the band is slack, swap your band out for one with more resistance or gradually increase the distance between your legs.
   3. Keep your core tight, glutes engaged, back straight, and chest up. Take a large lateral step out to the right with your right foot.
   4. Take a small step with your left foot to the right. There should be enough distance between your two legs to maintain tension on the band.
   5. Repeat this process. Continue taking small shuffle steps to the right. Allow for a slight bend in your knees.
   6. Take 20 to 30 steps to the right before repeating the same process on the left side.
   7. Complete three sets.

2. Frog Bridges

You may turn to a glute bridge as a go-to bodyweight exercise on your lower body days. And while this movement is useful for supporting the gluteus maximus, it doesn’t target the gluteus medius. However, this variation of the exercise does just that.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent. Place your feet flat on the floor. Cross your arms over your chest.
2. Drop your knees out to the sides and position the soles of your feet together. Your legs should be in a
3. Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips off of the floor. Your butt should be in line with your knees and your shoulder blades.
4. For a modified version, place your elbows alongside your body for added support.
5. Pause and squeeze your glutes for 3 to 5 seconds in the lifted position.
6. Slowly lower your glute

3. Side Planks With Side Leg Lifts

Sure, side planks are often a go-to exercise for working your core. However, adding a lateral leg lift also makes it a great gluteus medius strengthening move.

How to do it:

1. Start in a low side plank position. Your elbow should be directly under your shoulder. Stack your feet on top of one another.
2. Engage your core. Squeeze your glutes. Slowly lift your top leg a few inches up. Keep the leg straight.
3. Slowly lower back down.
4. Complete 15 leg raises. Keep your hips lifted throughout the movement.
5. Switch sides and repeat.

4. Lateral Lunges

In addition to strengthening the gluteus medius muscle, this exercise also works the adapters in your inner thighs, as well as your quads and core.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your hands at your sides and your feet hip-width apart. If you want an added challenge, hold a dumbbell at your right shoulder.
2. Step your right leg out to the right. Shift your weight toward your right side as you bend the right knee and drop into a side lunge. Keep your left leg straight.
3. When your right knee is bent to 90 degrees or more, press through your right foot to return to the starting position.
4. Complete 10 reps.
5. Switch sides and repeat.

5. Side-Lying Leg Raises

For an added challenge with this exercise, add ankle weights.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your right side with your legs straight and stacked on top of one another. Prop your head up with your arm.
2. Lift your top leg as high as you can.
3. Slowly lower it back down.
4. Complete 20 reps.
5. Switch sides and repeat.

6. Fire Hydrants

Like the previous exercise, add ankle weights to make this movement more challenging.

How to do it:

1. Start in a tabletop position. Keep your core tight and back flat.
2. Engage your core to stabilize your hips. Lift your right leg out to the side. Keep the leg bent at a 90-degree angle. Stop when the knee is parallel with your shoulder.
3. Pause for 2 to 3 seconds at the top.
4. Return to the starting position.
5. Complete 15 reps.
6. Switch sides and repeat.

7. Single-Leg Balance

This movement may seem simple, but it can be very helpful for strengthening the gluteus medius, particularly for runners, hikers, and cyclists.

How to do it:

1. Stand on one leg with a small bend in your standing leg.
2. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds. To make it more challenging, close your eyes. For added support, hold onto a wall.

8. Clam Shells

How to do it:

1. Place a resistance loop band around your thighs, just above your knees.
2. Lie on your left side. Stack your knees on top of each other. Bend your legs at a 90-degree angle.
3. Lift your right knee toward the ceiling, pushing against the resistance of the band. Rotate your hip to open your groin.
4. For an added challenge, squeeze your heels together and lift your feet a few inches off of the floor. Keep your feet in this position throughout the exercise.
5. Complete 10 to 15 reps.
6. Switch sides and repeat.

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Whether you identify as a runner, cyclist, or hiker, you likely know that you should be incorporating a full-body stretch routine into your day. However, it can be difficult to know which exercises to do. (And, when you don’t know, it offers an easy excuse to skip.)

Here, we break down eight movements you can turn to on a regular basis to keep your body ready for all of your outdoor adventures.

Do I Need to Do a Full-Body Stretch?

We get it: You’d rather be out on the mountain or hitting the trail than forward folding in the parking lot. However, there are a number of for outdoor athletes.

The Benefits of a Full-Body Stretch Routine for Outdoor Athletes

1. It increases your range of motion and flexibility. A 2016 study published in Physiotherapy: Theory and Practice static stretching can improve your range of motion and increase your flexibility. cited the same result for dynamic stretching done prior to a workout. This can help you optimize your movement mechanics—and help you avoid feeling stiff and sore after outdoor exercise.
2. It delays potential soreness. Incorporating stretching into a cooldown can help minimize the severity of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS),
3. It can decrease your risk of injury. A 2021 study published in Sports Health dynamic stretching helps activate your muscles prior to a workout, improving your movement efficiency and reducing your risk of injury.

The Best Full-Body Stretch Routine for Outdoor Athletes

Looking for some inspiration? Try completing this full-body stretch routine after your workout a few days a week.

1. Leg Swings

This pre-workout stretch will help open up your hips, loosen your hip flexors and glutes, and increase blood flow to your legs.

How to do it:

1. Come to stand. Position your body perpendicular to a wall, chair, or pole and hold onto it with your right hand.
2. Lift your left leg and swing it back and forth in front of and behind your body (like a pendulum). Keep your left knee straight. Maintain a soft bend in your right leg to avoid locking it out.
3. Keep your core and glutes engaged. Your torso should remain stationary and upright. Avoid hunching over.
4. Complete 15 leg swings. As you warm up, you can increase your range of motion with each swing.
5. Switch legs and repeat.

2. Downward Dog

Downward dog is a yoga pose that stretches the entire posterior chain of your body, which includes your hamstrings, glutes, calves, Achilles tendons, lower back, upper back, and shoulders. This move is particularly beneficial for cyclists who ride in an aerodynamic position, as well as runners and hikers who tend to feel tightness in their lower body.

How to do it:

1. Come into a tabletop position. Place your hands slightly in front of your shoulders. Your knees should be directly underneath your hips. Curl your toes under your feet.
2. Spread your fingers. Press your palms firmly into the floor.
3. Lift your knees off of the floor. As you straighten your legs, press your heels down and raise your butt into the air. Your body should be folded at the hips into an inverted “V” shape. Make sure your chest faces your thighs.
4. Draw your belly button toward your spine to engage your core. Keep your gaze toward your feet to maintain a neutral position in your neck and spine.
5. To give a deeper stretch to your Achilles, bend your knees slightly while pressing your heels down.
6. Hold this position for 30 seconds.

3. Butterfly Stretch

This move stretches your groin, glutes, and the adductor muscles along your inner thighs, while also opening up your hips.

How to do it:

1. Sit upright on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat.
2. Place the soles of your feet together in front of your body. Allow your knees to fall out to the sides. Your legs should be a diamond shape.
3. Keep your core engaged and your back straight. To deepen the stretch, use your elbows to gently press down on the inside of your knees. Hinge forward from your hips.
4. Hold this position for 30 seconds.

4. Knees-to-Chest Stretch

If you’re a cyclist, runner, or just spend the majority of your day hunched over a screen (guilty!), this stretch will provide some relief to your lower back.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back.
2. Bend your knees. Bring them toward your chest.
3. Use your arms to hug your knees in place. To get a deeper stretch, squeeze tighter.
4. Hold for 30 seconds.

5. Glutes/Piriformis Stretch

This is one of my go-to stretches for outdoor athletes because it stretches your glutes and deep piriformis muscle, which have a tendency to get tight with repetitive motions.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Lift your left foot off the floor. Create a 90-degree angle with your leg. Your shin should be parallel to the floor. Hold the leg in this position.
3. Bend your right leg. Rest your right ankle on your left thigh. Rotate your right hip outward.
4. While holding this position, grab behind your left thigh with one or both hands. Pull the leg in toward your chest. For a deeper stretch, press your right thigh away from your body with your right hand while hugging your left leg in.
5. Hold for 30 seconds before switching sides.

6. IT Band Stretch

If you’re an outdoor athlete, you likely have tight IT bands. This post-workout stretch not only helps massage this connective tissue but also stretches your hamstrings, lower back muscles, calves, and glutes.

How to do it:

1. Stand upright. Cross your right leg over your left leg. Your right heel and ankle should be planted to the outside of your left foot.
2. Keep your knees straight. Hinge at your hips and reach toward your toes.
3. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Stand up and switch legs.

7. Standing Quad Stretch

This static stretch targets your quads and hip flexors, while also improving your balance.

How to do it:

1. Stand upright with good posture.
2. Lift your right foot off the ground. Bend your knee. Pull your heel behind you (toward your butt) with your right hand.
3. Try to keep your knees aligned. Don’t allow your left knee to drift out to the side.
4. Hold for 20 seconds.
5. Press your pelvis forward. Lean back slightly with your torso. You should feel a stretch in your hip flexor.
6. Hold for 20 seconds before switching sides.

8. Chest Stretch

The muscles in your upper body are likely in need of a stretch, especially if you’re a skier, swimmer, or hiker. This move offers relief to the pectoral muscles in your chest and the anterior deltoids in the front of your shoulders.

How to do it:

1. Face an open doorway. Lift your arms up and out to the sides. Your body should form a T shape.
2. Step one foot forward through the doorway. Your straightened arms should catch on the sides of the door frame.
3. Keep your gaze forward and your spine upright.
4. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch your front leg and repeat.

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Contrary to what you may think, you don’t need heavy weights to build leg strength. While a set of dumbbells can be a helpful tool while training, it’s also possible to strengthen your quads, calves, and hamstrings with bodyweight leg exercises.

The Benefits of Bodyweight Leg Exercises

1. You can avoid the gym.

I get it: When you’re a beginner, the gym can be an intimidating place. In your home, you have the ability to focus on just you and your workout—without feeling self-conscious or overwhelmed by your surroundings. Additionally, doing strength training exercises at home is more convenient.

Bodyweight leg exercises are also budget-friendly. Instead of shelling out money on dumbbells or other strength training tools, you can put that cash toward your next road race or ski trip.

2. You can still complete “leg day” while traveling.

When you’re away from home, it can be difficult to stick to your workout routine. Even if your hotel has a gym, it may lack the equipment you typically rely on. Bodyweight exercises help fill this gap. This type of workout can be done pretty much anywhere.

Whether you’re squeezing in some strength training between oceans dips or clocking your daily movement in your Airbnb, you only need your body to break a sweat.

3. You can master the basics.

If you’re a beginner or in the process of rebuilding your workout regimen after a break, bodyweight leg exercises can be a great way to build foundational strength before progressing to dumbbells. Instead of inadvertently injuring yourself by overloading your muscles with weights, you can dial in on the proper form and technique.

How to Complete This Workout

The number of sets and reps you should do of these bodyweight leg exercises will depend on your fitness level and training goals.
Building is more difficult when you’re just using your bodyweight, since you don’t have external resistance to overload your muscles. As a result, you’ll want to perform more reps than you would in a typical weighted set.

If you’re a beginner, you’ll likely see from bodyweight exercises. However, most studies suggest that experienced athletes may need to or complete more than 15 reps per set if they are using a reduced weight load to see strength gains.

In this workout, beginners should start with two sets of the following movements, . Advanced athletes should complete at least three sets with 15 or more reps per exercise.

11 Best Bodyweight Leg Exercises

1. Bodyweight Squats

Bodyweight squats are a foundational compound leg exercise that strengthen all of the major muscles in your lower body. They’re also a helpful building block, teaching you a primary movement pattern used in more advanced lower body workouts.

How to do it:

1. Stand upright with good posture. Keep your chest up, your core engaged, and your shoulders relaxed. Your feet should be slightly wider than hip-width apart.
2. Bend your knees as you simultaneously lower your butt all the way back as if you’re going to sit in a chair. You can bring your arms forward in front of your body as a counterbalance. Make sure that your shins are parallel, and your knees do not extend beyond your toes.
3. When your legs are at a 90-degree angle and your thighs are parallel to the ground, pause at the bottom of your squat.
4. Press through your heels to stand up.
5. Progress this exercise by pausing at the bottom of the squat position and holding each squat for 5 to 30 seconds, depending on your fitness level. This isometric hold will help build muscular endurance.

2. Jump Squats

Jump squats are a plyometric exercise to build power and explosive strength in your glutes, quads, and calves. In addition to being a great full-body exercise, this movement will give you a small cardio workout by elevating your heart rate.

1. Follow the same steps for the bodyweight squat. Once you are at the bottom of your squat, thrust your arms upward toward the ceiling, and explode through the balls of your feet up into a vertical jump.
2. Bend your knees and allow your arms to swing behind you as you descend to cushion your landing.

3. Rear-Elevated Split Squat/Bulgarian Split Squat

Commonly known as the Bulgarian split squat, this exercise is a great way to isolate the workload onto the quad and glute muscles in your front leg.

If you are doing this workout at home, you can use a coffee table, chair, or step to elevate your back foot. If you’re at a gym, use a weight bench.

How to do it:

1. The set-up position for this exercise is important. Position the toes of your back foot on the bench behind you. Your front leg should be planted far enough forward to allow you to lunge without your knee extending beyond the toes of your front foot.
2. Keep your core tight, your chest up, and your shoulders down. Drop into a lunge by bending your front knee until your thigh is parallel to the ground.
3. Pause in this position before pressing through your front heel to return to the starting position.
4. Complete all of the reps on one leg before switching to the other side.

4. Glute Bridge

The glute bridge is a great beginner-friendly bodyweight exercise. Initially, start with both feet on the ground at the same time. As you build strength, progress to a single-leg bridge by lifting one leg up straight into the air and pressing through one heel at a time.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
2. Place your hands on the ground next to your body. To progress this movement, cross them over your chest.
3. Squeeze your glutes. Lift your hips up until they create a straight line with your knees and shoulders.
4. Pause and hold in this position, contracting your glutes for 2 to 3 seconds.
5. Slowly lower back down.

5. Single-Leg Hip Thrust

While the glute bridge is a good beginner-friendly bodyweight leg exercise, more advanced athletes can progress to a single-leg hip thrust. Compared to the previous exercise, this isometric movement will create more of a challenge by loading all of your body weight onto one leg.

This exercise could be the key to building muscle. A 2019 study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that the hip thrust may be more effective than squats at strengthening your glutes.

How to do it:

1. Rest your shoulder blades and upper back on the long edge of a weight bench, couch, chair, or coffee table. Bend your knees to approximately 90 degrees and keep your feet flat on the ground.
2. For a single-leg hip thrust, lift one leg off the ground. Hold it in the air or rest it on the shin or thigh of the other leg. This is the starting position for this exercise.
3. Drop your hips until your butt is right above the ground.
4. Engage your glutes and hamstrings. Press through your grounded foot to lift your body back up into the starting position.
5. Squeeze your glutes for 2 to 3 seconds before starting the next rep.
6. Complete all of the reps on one leg before switching to the other side.

6. Heel Slides

Heel slides help build strength in your hamstrings, a critical muscle for climbing, running, and hiking. For this exercise, you’ll need to wear socks on a “slippery” surface, such as a tiled or hardwood floor. If you practice this movement at a gym, you can use sliding discs.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back with your heels on the floor.
2. Lift your hips up into a glute bridge.
3. Slowly straighten your knees as you slide your heels away from your butt. Maintain control. Make sure that your glutes stay lifted off of the ground.
4. Keep tension in your hamstrings. Slide your feet back to the starting position. Your shins should be perpendicular to the floor.

7. Step-Ups

This simple movement is more effective than you think. A 2020 study published in Journal of Sports Science & Medicine that step-ups are one of the best lower body strengthening exercises. At home, find a set of stairs or a sturdy chair to step onto. If you’re at the gym, use a plyometric box.

How to do it:

1. Step up onto the box with one leg.
2. Engage your lower body and core muscles. Push through the leading leg until you are firmly standing on the box.
3. Step back down with the same leg that you led with.
4. Complete all of your reps on one leg before switching to the other.

8. Box Jumps

If you’re an advanced athlete, you can progress from low-impact step-ups to explosive box jumps. Instead of stepping up onto your box one leg at a time, jump up with both legs.

How to do it:

1. Use your arms to provide momentum. Draw them back and move into a half-squat with your legs.
2. Explosively thrust your arms forward and jump up onto the box.
3. As you land on the box, allow your arms to swing behind you to cushion your landing.
4. Jump or step back down before starting the next rep.

9. Calf Raises

Instead of practicing calf raises in place, do them off of a step. This subtle change will increase the range of motion in your heels. It will also elongate the eccentric portion of the exercise, which builds muscle mass and strength more efficiently than the concentric contraction of the movement.

How to do it:

1. Stand on the edge of the step on the balls of your feet. Use your calf muscles to rise up onto your tiptoes.
2. Pause at the top position for 2 to 3 seconds.
3. Slowly lower down. Dip your heels below the level of the step.
4. Pause again for 1 to 2 seconds.
5. Press through the balls of your feet to lift back up onto your toes. Begin the next rep.
6. Progress this movement by practicing it as a single-leg exercise, hooking one leg behind the calf of your other leg.

10. Curtsy Lunges

Curtsy lunges strengthen your gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, as well as the adductors in your inner thighs and your hip rotators. Like regular lunges, they also support your gluteus maximus, quads, hamstrings, and calves.

Balance and muscular engagement are key. Activate your abs and lower back muscles to find stability in this movement.

How to do it:

1. Stand upright with good posture. Position your feet hip-width apart.
2. Lift your right leg up. Cross it behind your left calf. Bend your left knee into a lunge. Push your arms forward for a counterbalance.
3. Tap your right toe behind and to the outside of your left foot.
4. Push through your left heel to stand up. Bring the right leg back to the starting position.
5. Complete all of your reps on one leg before switching to the other.

11. Single-Leg Squats

Commonly known as pistol squats, single-leg squats are a great advanced bodyweight leg exercise. This movement builds strength by overloading your leg muscles on the weight-bearing leg, which triggers .

Because this is a unilateral exercise, it requires balance. Use your core and the muscles in your hips and ankles to find stability.

1. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your chest up and your core engaged.
2. Lift your left leg and extend it in front of your body. Bend your right knee and sit your hips back.
3. Squat as low as possible without losing your balance. If you’re a beginner, you may only be able to sink into a partial squat.
4. Hold for a second. Press through your heel to stand back up.
5. Complete all of your reps on one leg before switching to the other.

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When it comes to your hip flexors, you’re likely focused (or, obsessed, in our case) on stretching them. However, with this critical muscle group, there’s a key element you’re probably neglecting: strength-building. Hip flexor strengthening exercises can help improve your athletic performance, as well make daily activities, such as walking uphill or climbing stairs, easier.

In this guide, we’ll explain why you need to focus on your hip flexors, as well as provide a range of exercises to build your functional leg strength.

What Are the Hip Flexors?

The hip flexors are a group of muscles located at the front of your hip and pelvis that help flex the leg. Hip flexion is the motion that occurs when you elevate your knee closer to your chest, moving it into a bent position.

The primary muscles in your hip flexors are the and the iliacus. Together, these muscles are referred to as the iliopsoas. Other important muscles in this group include the rectus femoris (one of your quad muscles), the sartorius, and the pectineus.

Why Are Hip Flexor Exercises Important?

Hip flexor strengthening exercises are crucial for avoiding unwanted discomfort and injury. If you have , you may experience back, hip, and knee pain, as well as poor efficiency when running. A lack of hip flexor strength can also cause in your hips and knees, increasing the risk of certain injuries such as herniated disks, pinched nerves, and strained quads.

What Are the Best Hip Flexor Exercises?

Depending on your fitness level and how strong your hip flexors are, you may want to start with exercises that require only your body weight. As you build strength, progress to adding ankle weights or using resistance bands.

Begin with two sets of the following exercises. As you get stronger, add a third set or swap in a tighter resistance band. Some of these exercises require TRX suspension straps or a kettlebell, which can typically be found at a gym.

10 Hip Flexor Exercises

1. Straight Leg Raises

This exercise is a great option for beginners. Start practicing this movement using only your body weight. When you become familiar with the motion, you can add on a set of ankle weights.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back. Bend one knee and place the foot of that leg flat on the floor. Extend your other leg straight up in front of you.
2. Place your hands at your sides for support.
3. Engaging your hip flexors, slowly lift the straightened leg up toward the ceiling. Maintain a straight knee and keep your toes pointed toward the ceiling.
4. Pause at the top of your range of motion. This position will depend on your hamstring flexibility. Even if you have a lot of mobility, you shouldn’t extend your leg past a 90-degree angle with the floor.
5. Slowly lower your leg back down. Instead of allowing your heel to touch the ground, keep it slightly elevated. When your heel is hovering just above the floor, re-engage your hip flexors and lift the leg back up.
6. Complete 15 to 20 reps before switching to the other side.

2. Standing Resisted Marches

This exercise requires a small loop resistance band or a booty band.

How to do it:

1. Step both of your feet inside a small loop resistance band or booty band.
2. Keep one foot firmly planted on the ground. Drive the knee of the other leg up toward your chest, pulling against the resistance of the exercise band. Make sure to maintain good posture. Do not lean to one side or round your back.
3. Pause at the top position to work on the isometric strength of your hip flexors.
4. Slowly lower the foot back down.
5. Perform 15 reps before switching to the other leg.

3. Walking Lunges

A walking lunge (also known as a static split squat) builds strength throughout your hip flexors, as well as in the major muscles in your lower body, including your calves and quads. Depending on your hip mobility, you may also find that this exercise helps stretch your hip flexors.

How to do it:

1. Stand with good posture. Keep your chest up and your shoulders down. Place your hands on your hips.
2. Take a large step forward. To find the right position, make sure that when you drop into a lunge, you’re able to bend your front and back knees 90 degrees. Your front knee should not shift beyond your toes.
3. Bend both knees and sink into a deep lunge. Make sure your front shin is perpendicular to the floor, and your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Engage your core muscles to keep your torso upright and your back straight.
4. Press through your front foot to stand up. Bring your back leg up and forward in front of your body, stepping through to the next lunge. When you lift the trailing leg, try to exaggerate the movement by imagining that you’re clearing a hurdle before planting the leg down. This motion will help strengthen your hip flexors and improve hip mobility.
5. Repeat this movement, alternating your front leg as you progress forward.
6. Complete 25 to 30 reps.

4. Sit-Ups

You may think of the sit-up as a classic ab-strengthening exercise, but that’s not all it is. have shown that sit-ups activate the hip flexors as much as, if not more than, the abdominal muscles. So, if your goal is to strengthen your hip flexors, this exercise can be a helpful tool.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back. Bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor. Point your toes straight ahead. Gently cradle the back of your head with your hands. Be careful not to pull up on your neck with your arms.
2. Engage your abs and hip flexors to lift your shoulder blades and torso up off of the floor. Stop when you are sitting with your trunk perpendicular to the floor. Focus on using your muscles, instead of propelling your body up with momentum.
3. Slowly lower your torso back to the starting position.
4. Complete 15 to 20 controlled reps.

5. Resisted Hip Hikes

This resistance band exercise is one of the best ways to target your hip flexors. Over time, you can swap in a stiffer resistance band with greater tension. If you have trouble balancing, hold onto a wall or table for support.

How to do it:

1. Secure a resistance band with a long loop around a low anchor point. Place the other end of the band around the top of your shoe.
2. Stand upright with good posture, facing away from the anchor point of the band. Make sure to stand far enough away to create tension in the band.
3. Keeping your core and glutes tight, drive your knee up to your chest, squeezing your hip flexors. If your balance allows for it, move your arms in a reciprocal pattern, as if you are running. You can also opt to hold onto something, such as a wall, for support.
4. Hold and squeeze at the top position for 2 to 3 seconds. Slowly lower your leg back down, resisting the pull of the band by contracting your hip flexors.
5. Perform 10 to 15 reps before switching legs.

6. Mountain Climbers

This exercise offers an opportunity to integrate a burst of cardio into hip flexor movements. In addition to strengthening the hip flexors, mountain climbers also work your core muscles, shoulders, arms, and glutes.

To progress this movement, add sliding discs under your feet or practice it with socked feet on a hardwood floor. Adding in ankle weights will also increase the workload on your hip flexors and core muscles.

How to do it:

1. Start in a push-up position. Your body should be in a straight line from the top of your head to your heels.
2. Keeping your core and glutes tight, drive one knee up toward your chest. Return the leg back to its original position. Repeat this movement with the other leg. Make sure to keep your upper body and core as still as possible, and your hips in line with your body.
3. Run as hard and fast as you can for 30 to 60 seconds.

7. TRX Tucks

If you have TRX suspension straps available, you can practice an advanced variation of mountain climbers called TRX tucks.

How to do it:

1. Place your feet in the loops of the TRX straps and move into a push-up position.
2. Engage your core and hip flexors. Drive both of your knees into your chest, keeping your hips down and in line with your body.
3. Hold and squeeze for one second. Shoot your legs back out to the starting position.
4. Perform 10 to 15 tucks.

8. Kettlebell Swings

The kettlebell swing is one of the best functional hip flexor exercises. This is a dynamic, full-body movement that works your entire posterior chain (lower back muscles, glutes, hamstrings, and calves) along with your hip flexors, abdominal muscles, chest, and shoulders.

In order to maximize the benefits of this movement, focus on snapping your hips forward when you swing the kettlebell up. The momentum should be coming from driving your hips—not from using your arms.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Grip the kettlebell handle with both hands, ensuring that they are next to one another. Your arms should be fully extended so that the kettlebell is hanging down in front of your body.
2. Keep your heels firmly planted on the floor. Allow for a gentle bend in your knees.
3. Press through your heels. Snap your hips forward to drive the kettlebell upward until it’s roughly at chest height. Your arms should be fully extended in front of you.
4. Use your glutes and hamstrings to control the kettlebell as it descends, allowing it to swing backwards through the space between your legs.
5. At the end of the arc of the swing, pop your hips forward again. Explode through your hip flexors to drive the kettlebell back up to chest height.
6. Complete 12 to 20 reps.

9. Tucks

In addition to strengthening your hip flexors, tucks also build your core strength.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back. Extend your legs straight out in front of you and your arms over your head.
2. Engage your abs and hip flexors. Lift your torso up with your back straight (almost like a sit-up) while drawing your legs into a bent position. Squeeze your hip flexors to draw your trunk and thighs toward one another.
3. Pause at the top, engaging your entire core and hip flexors. Do not round your back.
4. Slowly lower your torso to the ground, while simultaneously straightening your legs back out. Make sure to maintain control by engaging your hip flexors and abs.
5. Do not allow your feet or upper body to come to a full rest on the floor. Instead, hover just above the floor in the extended position. After pausing for a second, crunch back up into the tuck.
6. Perform 10 to 15 reps.

10. High Knees (Sprinting in Place)

You may think of high knees as a warm-up exercise. However, this movement is also beneficial when it comes to building strength in your hip flexors and core. If you’re a beginner or have joint pain that makes running difficult, you can march in place. To progress this movement, add ankle weights.

How to do it:

1. Run in place, exaggerating the knee drive by using your hips and core to lift your leg up as high as possible.
2. Use your arms to help drive your knees up toward your chest.

Amber Sayer is a certified personal trainer and running coach. 

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Psst, you don’t need heavy weights to have an effective workout—you just need a band. Resistance bands are portable, inexpensive, versatile, and most importantly, functional. published in Sports Med found that resistance bands can help increase your muscular strength.

In this workout, we breakdown how to use bands to strengthen and sculpt your arms through a simple at-home exercise routine.

Start with two sets of each of these exercises. Over time, build up to performing three sets of each exercise. As you get stronger, trade in looser bands for thicker ones to increase the difficulty of each movement.

Resistance Band Arm Workout

1. Resistance-Band Biceps Curls

You’re likely used to performing bicep curls with dumbbells. However, by using a resistance band during this exercise, you can focus on the full range of motion this movement requires, maintaining tension with the band as you curl up and lower down.

How to do it:

1. Stand upright with good posture. Step on the middle part of the resistance band, with your feet distanced at least hip-width apart.

2. Hold one handle in each hand with your palms facing upward.

3. Keeping your elbows tucked into your sides, curl the band up to your shoulders by bending your elbows.

4. Hold this position at the top for 2 to 3 seconds. Make sure to squeeze your biceps.

5. Slowly lower the band back down by straightening your elbows.

6. Perform 8 to 12 reps.

2. Overhead Triceps Extensions

This exercise strengthens the triceps, which are the muscles in the back of your upper arms. By focusing on these, you’ll improve your ability to perform pressing or pushing exercises, such as push-ups, dumbbell chest presses, and barbell bench presses.

How to do it:

1. Stand with both feet planted on the middle section of the resistance band.

2. Grab one handle of the band with both hands, one on each side of the handle. Leave the other handle and the other half of the resistance band on the floor.

3. Position the handle behind your neck and below the base of your head.

4. Point your elbows forward and keep your biceps tucked in next to your ears. Press the band straight up behind your head, fully extending your arms.

5. Squeeze your triceps in this locked-out position. Slowly lower the handle back down to the original starting position, behind your neck. Your upper arms should remain fixed in the same position the entire time. Only move your lower arms.

6. Complete 8 to 12 reps.

3. Resistance-Band Overhead Presses

Even though this exercise is typically done with weights, it can be just as effective using a band. (Especially on those days when you don’t want to drag yourself to the gym.) This movement is one of my go-tos for strengthening the deltoids in the shoulders.

How to do it:

1. Stand with both feet planted on the middle section of the resistance band.

2. Grip a handle in each hand. Slowly bring each handle up to your shoulders with your palms facing forward. This is the starting position for the exercise.

3. Keep your back straight, glutes tight, chest up, and core engaged.

4. Press the handles of the resistance band all the way up until your arms are fully extended overhead.

5. Pause for 2 seconds at the top.

6. back down to shoulder height.

7. Complete 8 to 12 reps.

4. Bent-Over Resistance-Band Rear Delt Flies

The bent-over rear delt fly is one of the best resistance band exercises for the back of the shoulders (the posterior deltoids). It also helps strengthen the upper back muscles, such as the rhomboids and upper traps.

How to do it:

1. Stand with both feet planted shoulder-width apart on the middle section of the resistance band.

2. Grab one handle in each hand with a neutral grip position. Your palms should face each other.

3. Hinge from your hips. Keep your back straight as you sit your hips back and lower your torso towards the floor. Engage your core and glutes to help maintain a straight and stable spine.

4. Extend your arms and straighten your elbows. Your arms should reach for the ground a few inches in front of your feet.

5. As you inhale, pull the handles of the band outward and upward until your arms are in line with your shoulders or slightly further back. Think about squeezing your shoulder blades together as tightly as possible. You can allow a soft bend in your elbows.

6. Pause at the top position for 2 to 3 seconds.

7. Slowly lower your arms back down until your hands meet back in the middle. Your arms should be extended down in front of your body.

8. Perform 8 to 12 reps.

5. Band-Resisted Push-Ups

If regular, bodyweight push-ups have become too easy, consider adding resistance. This is an advanced movement, but you can also opt to do it from your knees. Push-ups primarily strengthen your pectoral muscles, but they also target your triceps and deltoids.

How to do it:

1. Get down into the lowered position of a push-up with a resistance band crossing over your upper back and down the sides of your arms.

2. Tuck the ends of the resistance band and the extra slack under each hand until the band is taut.

3. Once the band is tucked under your palms, press them firmly into the resistance band to anchor the band. Slowly press up to the traditional starting position of the push-up by straightening your elbows. During this motion, you should feel a lot of resistance from the band.

4. Pause for 2 to 3 seconds at the top.

5. Slowly lower your chest back down toward the ground by bending your elbows.

6. Begin the next rep by pressing up against the resistance of the band again.

7. Complete 6 to 20 reps.

6. Resistance-Band Lateral Raises

This exercise works the deltoid muscles in your shoulders. If you have multiple sets of resistance bands, opt for a lighter one, as most people lack mobility in their shoulder abduction.

How to do it:

1. Stand in the center of a resistance band, spacing your feet about hip width-apart.

2. Hold a handle in each hand with your arms down at your sides. Your palms should be facing inward.

3. Keep your core and glutes engaged. Maintain a straight back. Lift your arms up and out to the sides, forming the letter T. Your elbows should remain straight.

4. When your arms are parallel to the floor, pause and hold at the top position for 2 to 3 seconds.

5. Slowly lower your arms back down. Remember to keep your elbows straight.

6. Perform 8 to 12 reps.

7. Resistance-Band Forward Raises

This exercise strengthens the anterior portion of your deltoids, the section of the muscle that builds your arms’ forward mobility.

How to do it:

1. Stand in the center of a resistance band with both feet, spacing them about hip width-apart.

2. Hold a handle in each hand. Extend your arms down in front of your body. Your palms should face toward your thighs.

3. Engage your core and glutes. Keep your chest up and maintain a straight back. Lift your arms up in front of your body until they are straight out in front of your chest. Your elbows should remain straight.

4. When your arms are parallel to the floor, pause and hold at the top position for 2 to 3 seconds.

5. Slowly lower your arms back down in front of your body. Remember to keep your elbows straight.

6. Perform 8 to 12 reps.

Interested in other workout ideas? Check out a great core workout here.

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