April Weekly Exercise- Week 1

Today  begins a new month of exercises and stretches for each week in April! 

Week 1 Exercise- Lunges

Lunges are an exercise that have many physical benefits to your body, other than just strengthening the muscles in your legs. Lunges allow you to:

1. Have better balance: since lunges train one side of your body at a time, your are greatly improving your balance and coordination when performing this exercise.
2. Be more functional: a functional exercise is one that improves your performance of natural, everyday movements. Lunges are essentially training the movement of walking- which is one of the most important functional moves!
3. Have superior symmetry: One of the best benefits of lunges is the fact that you can "even out" strength and muscular imbalances by bringing your weak side up to par with your strong side.
4. Better core stability: more so than other exercises, lunges have the ability to force you to use and strengthen your core while performing the exercise. While lunging, you have to work very hard to keep your torso upright the entire time. By doing so, you are forcing your core to work and be stable.

• You can choose to perform lunges with or without dumbbells in your hands.
• Be sure that as you lunge, your knee does not extend over your toes.
• Keep your chest up and be sure that you are not leaning forward on the way down.
• Use a mirror to help with your form the first time you perform a lunge
• If you need help, don't hesitate to ask a MOG staff member to show you how to do it!

Week 1 Stretch- Easy Standing Quad Stretch

• Stand straight and touch a wall or stationary object for balance, if needed. 
• Grasp the top of your ankle or forefoot.
• Pull ankle or forefoot all the way back until it touches your glutes.
• Straighten your hip by moving your knee backward.
• Try to seal together both knees- do not allow your stretching knee to flare out to the side.
• Hold stretch for 30 seconds and then repeat on the other side. 

**Balance tip: stare straight ahead at a non-moving object and put one finger on your belly button**