Personal Trainer Alejandro

Grab a resistance band and train your hips for strength, stability, and better movement.

20 single leg banded marches to strengthen your hip flexors and improve hip drive.

20 lateral leg raises to strengthen your glute medius and improve hip stability.

20 banded medial leg lifts to strengthen your inner thigh and help support knee stability.

20 banded leg swings to strengthen your glute max and hip extension.

20 banded lateral walks to strengthen your glute medius and improve hip stability. This is especially useful if you play sports and need to move, cut, and change direction.

Finish with 20 banded air squats. Keep tension against the band as you squat to train external rotation and reinforce better knee tracking.

Save this routine and try 2-3 rounds.

If you sit for long periods of time, give your hips some attention.

Do 10 reps of single leg lift offs to strengthen your hip flexors and get them working after hours of sitting.

Do 10 reps of the 90-90 switch to work on internal and external hip rotation and loosen up stiff hips.

Do 10 reps of single leg hip thrusts to strengthen your glutes while training each side independently.

Do 10 reps of elevated clamshells to strengthen your glute medius and improve hip stability.

Sitting for hours every day can leave your hips feeling stiff and underworked. Spend a few minutes strengthening and moving them through different ranges of motion to offset all that time at your desk.

Want to get your hips ready for your next leg workout? Try this:

10 reps of 90/90 switches for hip rotation and mobility.

10 reps of hip flexor lift-offs for active hip flexion and control.

10 reps of figure-four hip extensions for hip mobility and glute activation.

10 reps of single-leg hip thrusts for glute strength and hip extension.

10 reps of hip hurdles for hip mobility, coordination, and control.

Put it all together and you’re training your hips through multiple ranges of motion while building mobility, stability, and control.

Save this one and use it before your next leg day.

This is how you train your glutes with just your body weight.

Start with the single leg hip hinge to strengthen your glutes in a lengthened position.

Then hit single leg hip thrusts to train your glutes in a shortened position.

Add elevated clamshells to target your glute medius and build more hip stability.

Finish the routine with:
• 20 kickbacks for your glutes
• 10 leg abductions per side for your glute medius

No gym. No equipment. Just a simple bodyweight routine you can do anywhere.

Save this one for your next lower body workout.

If I had to relearn the Cossack lunge from the beginning, this is exactly what I would do.

Start by getting comfortable holding a deep horse stance. This will strengthen your legs while building the flexibility you need to get lower.

Next, practice shifting your hips from side to side by working the top portion of the Cossack lunge. This will help you get comfortable loading one leg at a time.

Then work on your end-range flexibility by training the bottom portion of the Cossack lunge. Only go as low as you can comfortably control.

Once that feels good, use assistance and practice one side at a time. Go down and back up through whatever range of motion you currently have.

Finally, add some passive stretching:

• Tailor’s pose for your groin and adductors
• V-sit for your hamstrings and inner thighs
• Deep resting squat for your hips, knees, and ankles

Build the strength. Build the flexibility. Practice the movement.

Combine all of that together and you’ll be doing the Cossack lunge in no time.

Short on time? You can still get a solid lower body workout in with nothing but your body weight.

Try to get this done within 20 minutes:

• 20 reverse lunges for leg endurance, quad strength, and single leg ability
• 20 bodyweight squats to strengthen your quads and knees
• 20 single leg hip hinges to strengthen your hamstrings and glutes
• 20 curtsy lunges to train your glute medius and knee stability
• 10 single leg hip thrusts for your hamstrings, glutes, and hip extension
• 10 leg abductions for your outer thighs and glute medius
• 10 medial leg raises to strengthen your inner thighs
• 10 single leg lift-offs to strengthen your hip flexors

You don’t need a complicated workout to train your legs. Hit the major movement patterns, train one leg at a time, and keep moving.

If one round is too easy, do more sets or add some weight.

If you have weak or unstable ankles, start training them instead of just stretching them.

Perform as many reps as you can of relevé calf raises to strengthen your calves and ankles.

Then switch to pigeon-toe calf raises to challenge your ankles from a different position.

Next, practice the single-leg hip hinge. This forces your ankle and foot to stabilize while the rest of your body is moving.

Finish with tippy-toe walks to train ankle stiffness, calf strength, and your ability to stay strong on the balls of your feet.

For mobility, practice slowly supinating and pronating your feet to work on controlling the foot and ankle through different positions.

Strong ankles need strength, stability, mobility, and control.

Train them now so they’re better prepared for whatever you throw at them later.

Stay moving!

Mobility doesn’t have to be advanced to be effective.

If you can do a bird dog, you’re training your core stability and helping strengthen the muscles that support your low back.

Practice thread the needle to improve rotation through your thoracic spine and get your mid-back moving.

Do 10 reps of plank to downward dog to work on your core while opening up your hamstrings and calves.

Practice a forward fold into a runner’s lunge to stretch your hamstrings and open up your hip flexors.

And here’s the important part: every single one of these movements can be modified using an elevated surface.

You don’t need to force yourself into advanced mobility exercises just because that’s what you see online. Start where your body is today and build from there.

Movement is for everyone. There’s a modification for almost everything.

Stay moving!

Yoga poses I do every day to keep my body mobile.

Deep resting squat: Opens up the hips while stretching the knees and ankles. If you have trouble getting low, hold onto something for support or elevate your heels.

Lateral lunge: Opens up the inner thighs and stretches the adductors and hamstrings.

Tailor’s pose: A simple way to stretch the adductors and groin while opening up the hips.

Forward fold: Stretches the hamstrings while teaching you how to hinge from the hips. Keep your back long and pull yourself gently into the stretch.

Runner’s lunge: One of my favorites for opening up the hip flexors. Reach one arm overhead to increase the stretch.

Downward dog: Strengthens the shoulders while stretching the calves and hamstrings.

You don’t need a complicated mobility routine. Spend a few minutes in these positions every day and keep your body moving.

Stay moving!

Train your entire core in just 5 minutes.

Your core isn’t just your abs. You want to train stability, rotation, your obliques, and the muscles that help support your spine.

Try this routine:

• Plank or bear pose: Hold for 1 minute to train core stability and help support your low back.

• Reverse plank: Hold for 30–60 seconds to strengthen your glutes, hamstrings, and posterior chain.

• Side plank: Hold for 30 seconds per side to strengthen your obliques and lateral core.

• Dead bugs: Perform 20 reps to train core stability while improving contralateral movement and coordination.

• Toe touches: Perform 20 reps to target your abs through spinal flexion.

• In and outs: Perform 20 reps to challenge your abs and hip flexors.

• Russian twists: Perform 20 reps to train your obliques and rotational control.

You don’t need a long workout to train your core. Hit it from different angles, stay controlled, and make those 5 minutes count.