B Strong Greatest HIITs: [At-Home] Planks & Plyos Drill

I love drills like this to burn out your body at the end of a workout. I also keep them in my back pocket for days I can't get to the gym and/or don't have any equipment available to me. In just 6-10 minutes, you can get your heart rate up, work every major muscle group AND get a good sweat going!

Here's your drill:
*1min/movement series x 3-5 rounds [no rest between movements]
A. Plank Series: 2 Low Plank Oblique Crunches; March to High Plank for 2 Cross Under Crunches; March Down to Low Plank & Repeat from beginning.
B. 2 Lunge Jacks + 2 Squat Jacks; repeat for full 60 seconds.

Notes on form:
[Plank Series]
- Engage lats, squeeze glutes, and tighten quads to maintain a straight spine & keep hips squared up with the floor.
- As you march up & down, avoid letting your hips twist so one drops closer to the floor!
[Lunge Jacks]
- Land softly, with upright posture, & in proper lunge position: front foot flat, back foot with heel lifted, and weight equally distributed between front & back foot.
- Drive through the heel of your front foot as you push off the toe of your back foot to jump your feet together.
[Squat Jack]
- Land softly, with upright posture, & in proper squat position: feet flat, loading the heels of each foot, hips hinged back behind you and knees bent at least 90 degrees.
- Drive through your heels as you jump your feet back together.

How many rounds were you able to power through?! Tell me on FB/IG/TW @cassiebstrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

Hard CORE: Leaning Leg Extensions & Crunches

You may recognize this routine if you've done my Halloween-themed playlist! This core series advances your traditional leg extension core exercises and engages your back more by sitting propped up on your forearms rather than laying on your back. If you find it's straining your lower back, even when you try to fix your posture, take a more traditional pose and lay all the way back with your arms by your sides.

We have 3 leg extensions in this movement series: 1 to each side to target your obliques, and one straight forward with a hip abduction to target your abdominals, obliques and adductors.

Perform this series for 45-90 seconds for 3-5 sets as part of a total body or abdominal circuit.

Notes on form:

- When you lean back on your forearms, squeeze your shoulder blades together and puff your chest right out. Avoid letting your shoulders roll forward and your chest collapse back toward the floor.

- Keep your neck long and shoulders pulled down away from your ears.

- When you extend your legs, extend your legs until they're straight and squeeze your glutes tight so that your lower back is supported.

- For the hip abduction, keep your legs straight and ensure that your knees face the ceiling. The more you turn them out, the less supported your groin is.

How do you feel about this non-traditional posture? Was it more challenging?! Tell me on IG/TW: @cassiebstrong #BStrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

Hard CORE: Single Leg Low Plank Rotations

This exercise gets the Body Fix crew DRIPPING in sweat! Get ready to engage you entire body and work up some serious heat!

Perform this movement for intervals of 30-60 seconds per side for 2-4 sets.

Notes on form:
Keep your spine neutral by:
- Squeezing glutes and lower abs to tuck pelvis slightly forward
- Keeping gaze straight forward toward the floor to keep neck aligned
- Pulling shoulders down back to lengthen neck and engage lats
- Focusing on squeezing the glute of the elevated foot to ensure lower back is supported
- Rotating to reach to the ceiling until hips are stacked; top hip should not rotate farther back than bottom hip

How many reps were you able to do your first time trying?! Tell me on IG/TW: @cassiebstrong #BStrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

Hard CORE: Gliding Plank Core Chiseler

Grab Gliders, Paper Plates, or towels to put under your feet and try this core exercise series on a wood floor to get your whole body burning!! 

Here's the series: wide knee crunch to a gorilla squat, glide back to plank, open right arm to side plank, pike, glide back to plank, open left arm to side plank.

Perform this series of movements for 45-90 seconds in a total body or core focused circuit for 3-5 rounds.

Notes on form:
- Keep your shoulders pulled down away from your ears to keep your lats engaged, which will support your neck.
- Perform every movement slow enough to have full control and not use momentum. Feel free to speed up as you master it.
[Knee Crunch to Gorilla Squat]
- Feet are wide and glide to outside of hands.
- Flatten feet completely, (heels to floor), once they are directly outside your hands.
[Pike]
- Legs stay straight through entire movement.
- Pull your feet up behind your hands as close as you can without bending your knees.
[Side Plank]
- When you open your arm to the ceiling, both heels fall to the side so you're on the inside and outside edges of your feet.
- Stack your hips one on top of the other. Avoid letting your top hip rotate back behind your bottom hip.

How long were you able to push through your first round of trying this?! Tell me on IG/TW: @cassiebstrong #BStrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

Hard CORE : Lower Ab Attack

You know that muffin top area?? This one blasts the muscles in that area! You know what though? It doesn't blast the fat. So, DO THIS to strengthen your lower abdominals. DO THIS to create definition in that area for when you do blast the fat away. But don't expect doing this exercise - alone - to make your lower belly look exactly the way you imagine. You gotta keep it intense in the gym and really watch what you consume in order to make these muscles more visible.

With that said, this is super important to do no matter what because is trains your core to better stabilize your lower spine, and since many of us experience lower back pain, this needs to be an area we focus on often.

Try 8-12 reps for 3-4 sets. I love adding this to a circuit so I can target every area of my core!

Notes on form:
- Knees over hips. Not over belly button, not over chest.
- Knees in 90 degree angles. Shins parallel to floor.
- Lower spine is constantly pressing down into floor through entire movement.
- Angle of knees never changes through entire movement.
- Squeeze your glutes super tight to support your lower back as your legs lower and lift.
- Only lower your legs as far as you can without your back arching. If you don't touch the floor that's OK!!

How many reps did you get your first time trying?! Tell me on IG/TW: @cassiebstrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.