Exercise Glossary

Please speak to your doctor before undertaking exercise if you have any health problems. It is always best to exercise under the supervision of a qualified person.

Squat

Stand with your feet at shoulder width apart with your toes and knees slightly pointing outward. Keep your back straight and your head up. Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Slowly return to the starting position.

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Lunge

Step forward, from this position lower your torso maintaining a straight back until both knees are at a 90 degree angle. Push straight back up to the top of the movement and repeat. For added intensity add a barbell or dumbbells.

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Push Press

Hold a dumbbell in each hand close to your shoulders with your palms facing in and arms bent. Squat down about halfway keeping the chest lifted, the back neutral, the abdominal muscles braced and the body weight back in the heels. From this position and without pausing at the bottom, rise up starting with extension of the knees followed by extension of the hips, drive through the heels and squeeze the buttocks. At the same time and working with the momentum, press the dumbbells straight up and overhead. This must be performed as one continuous explosive movement, generating momentum through the arms in one straight line.

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Press Up

Assume a face down position on the ground, with palms of hands on the floor under the shoulders and legs extended with the balls of your feet touching the ground, keeping your body straight. Raise yourself up using your arms maintaining a stable torso. Lower your torso to the ground until your elbows form a 75 degree angle, and then raise yourself back up by attempting to push the ground away from you. For an easier version keep your knees on the floor.

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Shoulder Press

Sit on a bench holding a dumbbell in each hand in front you at shoulder height with your palms facing forward. Push the dumbbells straight up above the head so that the arms are straight. Return to starting position and repeat.

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Rear Delt Fly

Hold a dumbbell in both hands and lean forward to a 45 degree angle maintaining a straight back. Keep your elbows soft and raise your arms from below your chest to level with your shoulders. Return to starting position, being careful not to shrug the weight.

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Lateral Raise

Stand with feet shoulder width apart and arms straight at the sides. Have a slight bend in the knees and elbows. Hold a weight in each hand with palms facing inward. Slowly raise both arms outward until the hands are as high as your shoulders. Hold at the top position for one second. Lower your arms to the start position. Repeat for desired amount of reps.

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Plank

Lie face down with your elbows on the ground; elevate your body up, keeping your weight distributed between your forearms and feet. Your elbows should be bent at a 90 degree angle. Keep your back straight with the hips raised off the floor. Squeeze the torso tight, ensuring the body is parallel to the floor. Hold this position for as long as required.

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Side Plank

Lie on your side and elevate your body supporting your weight between your forearm and feet. Keep your body straight with the hips off the floor, the neck and back should stay straight. Hold position for as long as required. Repeat on the other side.

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Roller Ab Roll Out

Maintaining a strong torso, resting on your knees with both hands on an ab roller or elbows on a Swiss ball. Push the roller/ ball away from you leaning forward making sure that your torso remains strong without flexing or extending the back, and maintaining tension through the trunk. Pull the roller/ball back to the starting position for one repetition.

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Step Up

Stand straight and keep a neutral spine with one foot on a bench and one on the floor. Step up with one leg and follow with the other. Return to the starting position, complete the set number of reps before repeating on the opposite side. Add dumbbells to make this more challenging.

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Dead Lift

Approach the barbell and assume a stance about as wide as your own shoulders while gripping the bar so that your arms are slightly outside of your thighs.

Your feet should point straight forward or turned out to a 25 degree angle at most. The shins should be two to three inches from the bar and then when you actually bend down and lower your hips in preparation to lift, the shins will touch the bar. Most of the weight will be on your heels. During the ascent, the bar will travel as close to the leg and shins as possible. A "reverse grip" should be used when dead lifting.

This means that one hand will be supinated (palm faces you) and the other pronated (palm facing away). Hold the bar high up on the palm to compensate for any roll of the bar when pulling the weight up.

The lift must start with the hips down, the entire spine neutral, and the feet flat on the floor. As you stand up with the weight, imagine pushing the earth away from you with your feet. When viewed from the side, your hips and shoulders should ascend together. Stand up until the weight is at a mid- thigh level and you are squeezing your bum without hyper-extending the back. Simply return the bar to the floor, under control, by reversing the technique you used to lift the weight.

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Pull Up

Reach up and grab the bar with a firm overhand grip. Your hands should be roughly twice your shoulder width apart. Straighten your arms and let your body hang from the bar. You can keep your legs straight or bend your knees and cross your feet. Slowly pull your body up to the bar so that the top of your chest nearly touches the bar and your chin is over the bar. Try to keep your body straight without arching or swinging. As you move upwards, focus on pulling your elbows down at an angle toward your rib cage. Slowly lower your body to the starting position. A spotter/ helper can lift your legs slightly if you need help on the last few reps.

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