Santa's Squats
Starting Position: Hold the weight against your chest, elbows tucked, and look straight ahead. Brace your core.
Descent: Push your hips back and bend your knees as if sitting down. Keep your chest up and back straight, ensuring knees track over toes.
Depth: Lower as far as possible while keeping heels on the floor and maintaining a neutral spine. Aim to get your thighs parallel to the floor.
Ascent: Push through your feet to stand up, squeezing your glutes and quads. Extend your hips fully without arching your back.
Deck the Dead Lifts
Stance: Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and the weight in front of your thighs.
Grip: Grasp the weight with an overhand grip just outside your legs/shoulder-width apart.
Posture: Pull your shoulders back and down, lift your chest, and brace your core. Maintain a neutral spine throughout the entire movement.
Knees: Keep a slight bend in your knees; they should remain in this slightly bent position, not bending further as you lower the weight.
Fa La La La Lunge
Starting Position: Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips or by your sides for balance. Engage your core muscles.
Step Forward: Take a large step forward with one foot, keeping your feet hip-width apart to maintain stability (avoid stepping as if on a tightrope).
Lower Your Body: Slowly bend both knees to lower your body toward the floor. Continue until your front thigh is parallel to the floor and both knees are bent at approximately 90-degree angles.
Oh Press-mas Tree
Stance: Stand upright with your feet about hip-width to shoulder-width apart for a stable base.
Grip and Weight Position: Hold a weight in each hand at shoulder height, with your palms facing forward (overhand grip). Your elbows should be bent at a 90-degree angle and positioned slightly in front of your body, not flared directly out to the sides.
Core Engagement: Engage your core muscles and glutes to maintain a neutral spine and prevent your lower back from excessively arching.
Shoulder Blades: Keep your shoulder blades pulled down and back (imagine sliding them into your back pockets) to avoid shrugging your shoulders toward your ears.
Row, Row, Rudolph
Stance and Setup: Place the two weights on the floor slightly in front of you and between your feet. Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart (sumo stance).
Hinge: Hinge at your hips and put a slight bend in your knees, pushing your butt backward while keeping your back flat and core engaged. Your torso should be close to parallel with the ground.
Grip: Grasp the handles of both weights with a neutral grip (palms facing each other).
The Row: Brace your core and pull one elbow up toward your hip, keeping it close to your side. Squeeze your shoulder blade at the top of the movement.
Stabilize: As you row with one arm, press the opposite weight firmly into the floor to help stabilize your body and prevent your torso from rotating.
Lower and Alternate: Slowly and with control, lower the lifted weight back to the floor. As it reaches the ground, immediately begin the same movement with the other arm, alternating sides for the desired number of repetitions.