squats are a fundamental leg workout that will help you strengthen your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.

Instructions:

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointed outward. Keep your chest up and core engaged. Lower your hips as if sitting in a chair, keeping your knees in line with your toes. Go down until your thighs are parallel to the floor (or lower if flexibility allows). Press through your heels to stand back up. With squats, you are exercising your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and core (Escamilla et al., 2001).

Safety tips:

Avoid rounding your lower back.

Move in a controlled motion.

Progression Tips:

Easier: Perform box squats (sit down onto a chair or low surface for support).

Harder: Try jump squats for explosive power or tempo squats (3-second descent).

Lunges Aim to improve the same muscle groups as squats but also improve your balance. And can be done still or moving

Instructions:

Stand tall, step one foot forward, lowering your back knee toward the ground. Keep your front knee aligned with your ankle (avoid letting it go past your toes). Press through your front heel to stand back up. Switch legs and repeat. The muscle groups you work with are the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves (Donnelly et al., 2006).

Safety Tips:

Avoid leaning forward too much.

Keep your core tight to prevent wobbling.

Progression Tips:

Easier: Perform reverse lunges (stepping backward reduces knee strain).

Harder: Try jumping lunges for explosive power or walking lunges for endurance.

This exercise strengthens your lower back, glutes, and shoulders and helps with spinal health.

Instructions:

Lie face down with arms extended forward and legs straight. Lift your arms, chest, and legs off the floor. Hold the position for 30-45 seconds while breathing steadily. Slowly lower back down and repeat. The muscle groups you are exercising are the lower back (erector spinae), glutes, and shoulders (McGill, 2002).

Safety Tips:

Engage your glutes, not just your lower back.

Keep your neck in a neutral position.

Maintain steady breathing.

Progression Tips:

Easier: Hold for a shorter duration or lift only your arms or legs.

Harder: Add flutter kicks while holding the position.

Reverse angels improve your upper back, rear delts, and your core.

Instructions:

Lie face down with arms extended forward, palms facing down. Lift your chest slightly off the ground while keeping your legs down. Move your arms in an arc-like motion to your sides (like making a snow angel). Slowly return arms to the starting position and repeat. The muscle groups you are training are the upper back (trapezius, rhomboids), and rear delts (Bogduk, 2005).

Safety Tips:

Avoid swinging your arms too fast.

Avoid looking up.

Don’t rely on momentum.

Progression Tips:

Easier: Perform half-range reps or keep your forehead resting on the floor.

Harder: Hold a water bottle or small weight in each hand.

Push-ups are a fundamental bodyweight exercise that strengthens the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core.

Instructions:

Start in a high plank position, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width. Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels. Lower your chest until it’s just above the ground. Press back up to the starting position. The muscle groups you are exercising are the chest (pectorals), shoulders (deltoids), triceps, and core (Cogley et al., 2005).

Safety Tips:

Don’t let hips sag

Control the movement

Progression Tips:

Easier: Perform knee or incline push-ups (hands on a raised surface).

Harder: Try diamond push-ups (hands closer together) or clap push-ups for explosiveness

This workout combines core and upper body work on the chest, shoulders, triceps, and abdominals.

Instructions:

Start in a forearm plank, elbows under shoulders. Place your right hand on the floor, followed by your left hand, pushing into a high plank. Lower back down one arm at a time, returning to a forearm plank. Repeat, alternating which arm leads. The muscle groups you are exercising are the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core (Youdas et al., 2010).

Safety Tips:

Avoid twisting your torso.

Avoid placing hands too far forward.

Progression Tips:

Easier: Perform on knees or slow down the movement.

Harder: Add a push-up at the top or elevate your feet on a step.

Jumping jacks are really good warm ups as they engage the whole body and get you ready for harder exercises.

Instructions:

Stand with feet together and arms by your sides. Jump your feet out to shoulder-width while raising your arms overhead. Jump back to the starting position and repeat. The muscle group you work with is your Body but especially the calves, shoulders, and core (McArdle et al., 2015).

Saftey Tips:

Land softly to protect your knees.

These are some ideas for stretches, in these exercises, you stretch the hamstring, quadriceps, and inner thighs.

Instructions

1: get onto one knee, and push your lower body slightly forward until it stretches your hamstring.

2: get onto one knee put one foot forward onto its ankle, Land ean forward until it stretches your thigh

3: focus on a point, lift your leg while keeping balance, put your leg to your glute, and stretch.

4: sit down, pull your legs toward you, and get them as far down as possible.

Do as much as you like, these are just some ideas for stretches you can do.

Safety Tips:

Don’t overstretch, A mild pulling sensation is enough; avoid pain.

Warming up before a workout is essential to prepare your body for movement. It reduces the risk of injury (McArdle et al., 2015). A good warm-up, like jumping jacks or dynamic stretches, helps activate the muscles you’ll use in your workout.

The Importance of a Workout Plan:

A workout plan makes sure you have balanced training, which covers all muscle groups and prevents overuse injuries. Your plan should include strength, endurance, and flexibility exercises to improve overall fitness (Escamilla et al., 2001).

The importance of Goal Setting:

Setting fitness goals keeps you motivated. Research shows that goal setting improves adherence to exercise programs (Donnelly et al., 2006).

Principles of Training:

Progressive Overload: increasing the intensity of your workouts.

Specificity: Training specific muscles and movements that align with your goals.

Rest & Recovery: Allowing your body time to repair and grow stronger.

Nutrients:

eating properly is incredibly important to ensure that you can complete your training to the fullest. Hydration is also important you need to be hydrated when training.

Why Stretching is Key:

Stretching reduces the risk of injury and Post-workout stretching allows muscles to relax and recover.

Cogley, R. M., Archambault, T. A., Fibeger, J. F., Koverman, M. M., Youdas, J. W., & Hollman, J. H. (2005). Comparison of muscle activation using various hand positions during push-ups. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 19(3), 628-633.

Donnelly, J. E., Blair, S. N., Jakicic, J. M., Manore, M. M., Rankin, J. W., & Smith, B. K. (2006). Appropriate physical activity intervention strategies for weight loss and prevention of weight regain for adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 38(2), 459-471.

Escamilla, R. F., Fleisig, G. S., Zheng, N., Barrentine, S. W., Wilk, K. E., & Andrews, J. R. (2001). Biomechanics of the knee during closed kinetic chain exercises. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 33(7), 1176-1185.

McArdle, W. D., Katch, F. I., & Katch, V. L. (2015). Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance (8th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

McGill, S. M. (2002). Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation. Human Kinetics.

Youdas, J. W., Budach, B. D., Ellerbusch, J. V., Stucky, C. M., Wait, K. R., & Hollman, J. H. (2010). Comparison of muscle activation levels during push-up exercise on various unstable surfaces. Physical Therapy in Sport, 11(4), 146-152.