V-Sits With Rotation and Pass to Partner with a Medicine Ball

Sit on the floor about 1–2 feet away from your partner with your knees bent. Sit upright with perfect posture, abdominals contracted tightly throughout the entire exercise. Start by holding the medicine ball into your chest. Now you and your partner recline back a few inches while maintaining perfect posture. Hold that position as you both rotate one way and then the other. Return to the starting position and, once you’re upright, throw the ball to your partner. Your partner will catch it, and you’ll both repeat the exercise. Repeat for 30–90 seconds.

Variations: Try facing the same direction and tossing the ball laterally to your partner.

Partner Upper Body Exercise

Lunge and Full-Body Rotation. Start facing sideways to your partner, holding one end of one tube in your hands. Lunge your outside leg (leg farthest away from your partner) forward while simultaneously rotating to the outside of your body. Press up and backward and do 8–20 reps one side; then repeat on the other side. Be sure that, while lunging, your front knee stays over your front foot and you always push from the leg in front. Both people lunge simultaneously.

Variations:

• Step forward (entry-level variation).
• Perform a deep lunge (more advanced variation).

Partner Exercise Using Tubing

External Rotation. Stand side-by-side with your partner, facing the same direction. Each of you holds one handle of one tube in your outside arm. Your outside elbow, bent at 90 degrees, is anchored at your waist. Keeping your upper arm at your side, slowly rotate your forearm away from your body. Complete 1 set of 8–20 reps for each arm. This partner exercise strengthens weak rotator cuff muscles.

Variations: Try this exercise standing on one leg

Spine Rotation (Back Stretches)

Back pain is a common ailment especially since the back takes in tension more than any other part of the body. Back pain can range from mild discomfort to pain that hinders you from working or participating in your favorite leisure activities. Doing exercises which target your back can help avoid any back pain. The Spine Rotation is one of those exercises. Learn how to do this exercise in this section:

	STEP 1: Lie on your back (on the mat or on the floor) with arms outstretched at shoulder level. Bend both legs.
	STEP 2: Slowly, drop your knees to the right until the right knee is touching the floor. While dropping your knees, keep your shoulder blades flat on the floor. However, don't force the stretch. Hold for 8-10 seconds and repeat with the other side.

Stress makes your muscles tense up and can cause headache, stiff neck, sore shoulders, and a knotted back. The back takes in tension more than any other part of the body. Also, during a Fitness workout, the back muscles contract, further increasing the tension. Full body stretching will relax your muscles, help you to breathe deeper and release all of the accumulated tension your body takes each day.

Cardio at Home

Home Cardio Exercise: Bodyweight Base Rotation

This exercise improves on rapid response and is great for conditioning the core muscles. This drill can also improve an athlete’s core performance. To perform this exercise correctly:

1. Begin with the feet shoulder width apart and a slight bend in the knees (45 degree angle). Make sure that the shoulders are squared and aligned with the body
2. Begin the movement with a small hop while rotating the hips 45 degrees to the right and the arms counter rotate to the left. Make sure the shoulders stay facing forward by only using the hips.
3. Quickly hop while rotating the hips to the left and the arms counter rotating to the right. Make sure the shoulders stay facing forward by only using the hips.
4. Pretend there is an “X” on the floor and your feet move to the ends of the “X”
5. Make sure to rotate from the trunk, not the shoulders