10/22/2024 – Workout of the Day (Lower-Body & Core Strength)
Today is October 22, 2024, and this workout is designed to enhance functional strength, stability, and muscle growth by combining effective bodyweight exercises and weight training.
This session emphasizes core activation, lower body strength, and full-body coordination, ensuring you’re building balanced, athletic power.
Whether you’re using equipment like resistance bands, foam rollers, and trap bars or modifying with simpler tools like dumbbells, this workout can be easily adapted to suit your needs.
Focusing on both unilateral movements and compound lifts, this routine will help improve your overall athleticism while targeting key muscle groups for strength and mobility.
Warm-Up
Your daily warm-up for your workouts should prepare your body for the exercises ahead and help with long-term injury prevention. Today I did this mobility workout from the Team Beachbody App:
- Program: 9 Week Control Freak with Autumn Calabrese
- Focus: Mobility, flexibility, and recovery
- Equipment: Mat (optional)
Strength Training Exercises
Today was a lower-body strength training day, where I paired isometric exercises with compound exercises.
3.)
- 1A) Copenhagen Plank (4 sets of 20 seconds)
- 1B) Reverse Lunge (4 sets of 20-16-12-8 reps)
2.)
- Glute Bridge on Foam Roller (4 sets of 30 seconds)
- Banded Goblet Squat (4 sets of 12-10-8-6 reps)
3.)
- Trap Bar Deadlift (4 sets of 10-8-6-4 reps)
- Forearm Plank (4 sets of 35 seconds)
Benefits of the Workout
- Copenhagen Plank: Targets inner thigh muscles (adductors) and core, improving stability and strength in the lower body.
- Reverse Lunge: Builds unilateral leg strength, engaging the glutes, quads, and hamstrings while improving balance.
- Glute Bridge: Enhances glute activation and hip stability, which are crucial for lower back and knee health.
- Banded Goblet Squat: Strengthens the quads, glutes, and core while improving mobility in the hips and ankles.
- Trap Bar Deadlift: Builds full-body strength with an emphasis on the posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, and back), while the trap bar offers a more spine-friendly alternative to conventional deadlifts.
- Forearm Plank: Strengthens the core, shoulders, and back, improving posture and stability.
Regressions (if necessary)
- Copenhagen Plank: Perform the plank with the bottom knee bent and resting on the ground for more support.
- Reverse Lunge: Use bodyweight or hold lighter weights to start before progressing to heavier loads.
- Glute Bridge: Perform a traditional glute bridge (both feet on the ground) to build foundational strength.
- Trap Bar Deadlift: Start with lighter weight or perform dumbbell deadlifts if a trap bar isn’t available.
- Forearm Plank: Hold the plank for shorter intervals (15-20 seconds) and gradually increase as you build strength.
Safety Tips & Form Cues
- Copenhagen Plank: Keep your body in a straight line, and avoid letting your hips sag. Engage your core throughout the hold.
- Reverse Lunge: Maintain an upright posture with your chest up and core braced. Step back carefully, ensuring your front knee stays over your ankle.
- Single-Leg Glute Bridge: Press through your heel and avoid overarching your lower back. Engage your core to keep your hips level.
- Banded Goblet Squat: Keep your chest up and maintain tension in the resistance band. Drive through your heels and focus on full range of motion.
- Trap Bar Deadlift: Keep your spine neutral, hinge at the hips, and engage your core. Avoid rounding your back during the lift.
- Forearm Plank: Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels. Engage your core, glutes, and shoulders to maintain stability.
By following these guidelines, this workout will help build functional strength and muscle mass while promoting stability and injury prevention.