5 Split Squat: Body Weight Strengthening

LOAD SETS REPS TEMPO REST
Body Weight 2-3 10 2 Lower: 1 Hold: 2 Rise 1 min or longer depending on exercise response
LOAD Body Weight
SETS 2-3
REPS 10
TEMPO 2 Lower: 1 Hold: 2 Rise
REST 1 min or longer depending on exercise response

Objectives

  • Progression from Hip Extension to Functional Split Squat.
  • Increase lean muscle mass by using multiple muscles and joints.

Targeted Muscles

  • Deep Core Abdominal Musculature
  • Leg and Hip Musculature

How to Perform

  1. Begin by standing with feet together.
  2. Draw core inward as you take your right foot behind you into a lunge position.
  3. Externally rotate your arms from the shoulders so your palms face out. Ensure your back stays straight and over hips. Hips are squared evenly forward.
  4. Pretend like you are going to slide down a wall as you slowly drop down towards the floor bending into both knees.
  5. Hold at the bottom and then slowly push into the front heel to extend yourself back up.
  6. Repeat.

Common Challenges

  • As you start to use multiple muscles and joints the exercises can easily fall out of alignment. To avoid this, watch for:
  • Foot Pronation: This is when the foot fall in towards the midline. Try lifting your big toe and placing your weight in the heel. This will also help to take the load off the knee and help you recruit the back of the hips to avoid knee pain.
  • Knee Pronation: This is when the front knee moves towards the mid line. If this happens try pushing your heel into the floor while engaging the glute muscles to push the knee outward.
  • Uneven Hips: Watch that one hip isn’t further forward or behind the other. If this happens look at your feet to ensure they are facing forward. Then shift the hips back into alignment.
  • Leaning forward: When the core and posterior muscles of the body are weak it’s easy to lean forward from the center. If this happens notice it and pretend like a string is pulling your head up towards the ceiling to straighten your posture. It could also be an indication that your hip flexor muscles are too tight. Use the Hip Opener Stretch to release those muscles and then try the exercise again. Lastly, it helps to focus on activating the front leg glutes (back of hips) muscle to help shift the posture back into alignment.

Alternative Exercise Suggestions for Patients with an ICD

No Restriction