For August’s Exercise of the Month video, Merrithew^® Lead Instructor Trainer Sarah Jarvis has put together a circuit of four exercises from the CORE^™ Athletic Conditioning & Performance Training^™ program.

These cardio-boosting moves incorporate the Strength Tubing^™, Medicine Ball and your own bodyweight to challenge your entire body, with exercises focused on legs, arms and core.

Sarah has combined body control and power movements to get your heart pumping. Adjust the exercises for different skill levels by using lighter props, less resistance or fewer reps.

Once you’ve mastered this sequence of four exercises, you can add on additional moves, increase the weight or the speed.

Tips
1) Unilateral row with rotation with Strength Tubing: Work on stabilizing through the glutes, quads and abductors as you complete this move, trying not to wobble from side to side. Make sure you’re using the opposite hand and leg and keep a nice long line in your torso while in the lunge position. Allow the pelvis to rotate as the thoracic rotates backwards and forwards, first starting with the hips facing forward. This exercise targets the glutes, obliques, retractors and posterior shoulder muscles. This exercise is a great choice to challenge balance and mobilize the thoracic spine, an area where many people are stiff or lack mobility.

2) Woodchopper with Medicine Ball: This is a great workout for the legs, arms and core. Make sure you rotate the torso and pelvis in the same direction as your arms and sink low into your squat. Try to speed up the reps for an added challenge. Make sure the Medicine Ball is the appropriate weight for the client. It’s easy to strain the shoulders or the low back if the tension is too heavy and the client can’t stabilize properly.

3) Squat with Medicine Ball toss: Keep your eyes on the Medicine Ball as you pass it back and forth. Squat as low as you can with the weighted ball. Make sure the spine is restacked over the pelvis each time the body comes back to vertical.

4) Plank on Medicine Ball: Keep your legs wide to start as this is more stable than adducted. Make sure the whole body is connected before bringing each hand down to the mat. Activate through the legs, glutes and core.

If you’re looking for more exercises from the CORE program, check out these videos:
CORE for Weekend Warriors: Burpee with Halo Trainer Plus
CORE Lunges with Medicine Ball
CORE for Weightlifters: Pushup with rotation to side plank