• Lie back on the mat with your arms by your sides and your palms facing down.
• Begin by pointing with your left foot, as if reaching out with your toes toward the ceiling, and rotate your leg slightly outward.
• Inhale, and trace a circle on the ceiling with your left leg, moving your whole leg, but keeping your hips still. Don’t lift your left hip off the floor.
• Trace the circle on the ceiling 5 times in a clockwise direction. Repeat in a counter-clockwise direction.
• Switch legs and repeat 5 times.

Lunges with Dumbbells

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a 5- or 8-pound dumbbell in each hand.
• Lunge forward with your left leg, then straighten your leg. When you lunge, your right knee should come to about an inch above the ground without touching it.
• Keep your torso perpendicular to the floor, with your weight evenly distributed between your legs. Align your front knee over your front ankle, keeping the weight in your heels instead of on your toes.
• Continue these lunges for 30 seconds before switching sides and doing another 30 seconds on the other leg.

Phase 2 of lunges with dumbbells:

• Hold the dumbbells at shoulder height, palms facing front.
• Lunge forward with one leg, then bring your feet back together and lunge forward with the other leg. You should continue lunging on alternate legs for 60 seconds.
• Add a biceps curl in the final progression of this move: After each lunge forward, push through the heel of your forward foot while lifting your back knee in front of you to hip level.
• Do a biceps curl, then step back into a lunge. Repeat the lunge, plus curl, on one leg for 30 seconds, and then switch legs for another 30 seconds.

Toe Squat with Overhead Reach

• Come into a chair pose, abs engaged, inner knees and ankles touching, hips lowered to a half-squat, dumbbell over your head.
• Now come up onto the balls of your feet and keep your lower legs controlled as you lower and lift your butt, about 4 inches.
• Take your time and keep yourself steady as you lift and lower, between 8 and 12 times.

  Sun Salutation

  
• On a mat, stand tall with your feet together and your arms by your sides. Be sure to distribute your weight evenly through the soles of your feet.
• To begin, take a deep breath and lift your chin slightly as you raise your arms over your head.
• Now, with your arms straight and your palms facing each other, reach toward the ceiling with your fingertips. (This is mountain pose.)
• From the mountain pose, sweep your arms down to the sides, exhaling as you swan dive forward into the forward bend. Bend at your hips until your palms or fingertips touch the floor on either side of your feet.
• Keep your fingers aligned with your toes and bend your knees if your back or hamstrings are tight.
• From the forward bend, move into a flat back, inhaling as you raise your torso to waist height, keeping your back flat. Bring your gaze forward, reaching with your tailbone away from the top of your head. Keep your head aligned with your spine and your navel pulled in.
• Bend your knees and place your palms flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart.
• Jump or walk both feet backward and lift your hips, coming into a downward facing dog. Spread your fingers and make sure your feet are parallel and hip-width apart. Reach with your tailbone toward the ceiling. Hold this position for a moment, breathing as you move deeper into the pose.
• To reverse this series, jump or walk your feet forward into the flat-back pose.
• Drop your head, straighten your legs, and bring your fingers outside either foot, moving into the forward bend.
• Lastly, sweep your arms overhead as you return to mountain pose.

  Plie

  
• Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing out.
• Bring your arms out straight in front of you and lower into a squat.
• Come back up and repeat. Go as low into the squat as you can without letting your knees move past your toes.
• Be sure to tuck your tailbone under and contract your glutes. Keep your torso tall, and don’t let your knees creep past your toes.
• Do for 1 minute. (After about 40 seconds, pulse at the bottom of the squat for 20 seconds.)

• Pick-Up Squat

  

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a 5- or 8-pound dumbbell in each hand by your sides.
• Bend your knees 90 degrees, keeping your chest lifted as you place the dumbbells down, outside your feet.
• Stand up and immediately squat down again, picking up the weights at your feet.
• Repeat for 1 minute, alternating lowering the weights and picking them up.

• Outer and Inner Thigh Kick Stretch

  
• Stand holding the back of a chair. Press your shoulder blades back and down.
• Come up onto the ball of your left foot, and lift your right leg.
• Keeping your abs pulled in, bring your right leg across your body, in front of your left.
• Now, swing it back out to the right, keeping your toes flexed and your toes turned out. Use momentum to swing through your leg as you fire through your left glutes.
• Do 10 reps. Be sure to keep both hips facing forward.
• Come onto the right leg and repeat for 10 more reps, again making sure your hips are facing forward.
• Flex your foot as you use momentum to swing your left leg and fire through your right glutes.
• Take a breather, then do a second set.

Plie Squat

• Stand with feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out about 45 degrees.
• Squat, keeping abs engaged, hands on hips and knees aligned with ankles.
• Squeeze glutes to stand up. Do 15 reps.

Donkey Kick

• Get on all fours on mat (hands under shoulders, knees under hips).
• Keeping right knee bent 90 degrees, flex right foot and lift knee to hip level.
• Lower knee without touching floor; lift again. Do 15 reps.
• Switch legs; repeat.

Curtsy Lunge

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, hands on hips.
• Lunge back with left leg, crossing left foot behind right; bend both knees 90 degrees, keeping right knee directly above right ankle.
• Return to start.
• Switch legs; repeat. Do 20 reps, alternating sides.

Tiptoe Plie Squat

• Stand with feet more than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out 45 degrees.
• Lift heels off floor and squat, keeping knees above ankles.
• Squeeze glutes to stand up; lower heels. Do 15 reps.

Donkey Kick Crossover

• Start on all fours (hands under shoulders, knees under hips).
• Keeping right knee bent, flex right foot and lift knee to hip level.
• Lower right knee to outside of left knee, then diagonally lift it back to hip level.
• Do 15 reps; switch legs. Repeat.

Curtsy Lunge with Lift

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, hands on hips.
• Lunge back with left leg, crossing left foot behind right; bend both knees 90 degrees.
• Push off with left foot to bring left bent knee to hip level in front of you.
• Hold for 2 counts; return to curtsy lunge.
• Do 15 reps. Switch legs and repeat.

Plie Squat with Frog Jump

• Stand with feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out 45 degrees.
• Squat, keeping knees above ankles.
• Stand up. Do 15 reps.
• Then do 15 more reps, jumping between squats.

Donkey Side Kick

<ul

• Start on all fours (hands under shoulders, knees under hips).

• Keeping right knee bent 90 degrees, lift right knee out to side at hip level.
• Straighten right leg, point toes, then lower foot to floor.
• Lift leg back to hip height. Bend knee and return to start.
• Do 15 reps. Switch legs; repeat.

Curtsy Lunge with Roundhouse

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, fists in front of chest.
• Lunge back with left leg, crossing left foot behind right; bend both knees 90 degrees.
• Push into right foot as you lift left leg, kicking it in an arc out to the left side.
• Return to curtsy lunge.
• Do 15 reps; switch legs and repeat.

Diagonal Leg

• Keeping hips lifted throughout, bring left knee out to left to untuck foot, then extend leg diagonally up to left.
• Return left foot to tuck position. Do 20 reps. Switch sides and repeat. Do 2 sets.

Side-Lunge Butt Kicker

• Push off right foot to stand on left leg as you bend right knee to bring foot toward butt, reaching left hand behind you to tap right foot. Quickly return to side lunge.
• Do 20 reps. Switch legs and repeat. Do 2 sets.

Thigh Trimmer

• Lift bent left leg diagonally behind you toward right.
• Swing left knee back down toward left.
• Do 20 reps. Switch legs and repeat. Do 2 sets.

Golf Swing

• Return to standing, balancing on left leg as you swing extended right leg diagonally across body to left (lift right leg as high as you can).
• Quickly return to squat. Do 20 reps. Switch sides and repeat. Do 2 sets.

Split Squat

• Stand with back facing a chair (about 2 feet away), hands on hips, and bend left leg behind you to place top of foot on chair seat.
• Squat, bending right leg 90 degrees with knee over ankle. Make it harder: After each full squat, do a half squat, bending just 45 degrees.
• Do 15 to 20 reps. Switch legs and repeat. Do 2 to 3 sets.

Sissy Squat

• Stand with feet hip-width apart with right side next to a chair, right hand holding seat back.
• Rise up onto toes (heels off floor) and bend knees 90 degrees as you lean torso back 45 degrees (so that body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders, abs tight.)
• Return to standing on toes. Do 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.

Pistol Squat

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, fists in front of chest with elbows bent; lift right foot forward a few inches off floor, foot flexed.
• Squat, bending left knee 90 degrees, as you lift right leg to hip level in front of you. Make it easier: Let right heel hover close to floor.
• Do 15 to 20 reps, then switch sides and repeat. Do 2 to 3 sets.

Goblet Squat

• Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes turned out, holding handle of a single dumbbell vertically with both hands in front of chest (like a goblet), elbows bent out to sides.
• Squat, bending knees 90 degrees. Make it harder: Holding weight in place, jump up slightly as you rise out of squat, landing with knees soft.
• Do 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.

Three-Way Lunge

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, hands clasped in front of chest.Lunge forward with left leg (knees bent 90 degrees); return to start.
• Lunge left leg out to left, toes facing forward, and bend left knee 90 degrees. Return to start.
• Lunge backward with left leg to complete 1 rep. Repeat sequence with right leg.
• Do 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps, alternating sides.

Good Morning

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding ends of a single dumbbell in each hand; bend elbows by sides to bring weight under chin.
• Keeping legs straight and maintaining arm position, press butt backward as you hinge forward at hips until back is near parallel to floor.
• Return to standing. Do 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.

Single-Leg Dead Lift

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing front of thighs.
• Hinge forward at hips 90 degrees as you lift extended left leg behind you so that body is parallel to floor from head to left heel, arms hanging down.
• Return to start. Do 15 to 20 reps. Switch sides and repeat. Do 2 to 3 sets.

Hamstring Curl

• Lie faceup on floor, arms by sides, legs extended with heels pressing into a folded towel on floor.
• Slowly pull heels toward butt as you lift hips off floor until knees are bent 90 degrees and body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
• Slide legs forward to return to start.
• Do 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.

Calf Raise Three Ways

• Stand with balls of feet on bottom step of a staircase, heels hanging over edge, hands on hips.
• Turn toes inward. Lift heels high, then lower them slightly below level of step. Do 15 to 20 reps.
• Next, turn toes out 45 degrees; repeat.
• With toes forward, stand on left leg only, bending right leg behind you; repeat lifts. Do 15 to 20 reps. Switch legs; repeat. Do 2 to 3 sets of series.