Exercise 3 - Squat

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Squatting is like a controlled fall back into your seat in a dark movie theatre. You hinge your hips as you move your body weight backwards. Rotate and squeeze your lower abs as you push back. To the rear with a cheer!

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• Get in Ready Set Position.
• Exhale and push both hips back while keeping your spine in neutral alignment.
• Engage your core while keeping your hips and knees parallel and facing forward.
• Maintain a neutral spine while keeping your chest held high.
• Center your head and neck over your shoulders, trying not to let your head tilt forward or
  cock back.
• Move your hips backwards, as though you were going sit back into a chair.
  Inhale.
• Keep your knees stacked directly on top of your ankles, shoulder-width apart.
• Align your knees and ankles so they are parallel and face forward.
• Don’t let your knees or ankles dive in or out
• Evenly distribute your body weight on all four corners of your feet.
• Equally ground your big toe, little toe and both sides of your heel.
• Lean your trunk forward to form a neutral spine from your head to your tailbone.
• Exhale as you push through your heels, returning to your Ready Set Position.

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After you have mastered the squat, then you can progress to work leg balance and learn the lunge.

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Exercise 4 - The Lunge

Once you have mastered the squat, it is time to progress to a more complicated single-leg squat, better known as the lunge. But you need to build the strength from the squat before you can lunge with safely and without any compensations.

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• Get in Ready Set Position.
• Exhale and push both hips back while keeping your spine in
  neutral alignment.
• Like in the squat, engage your core while keeping your hips
  and knees parallel and facing forward.
• Maintain a neutral spine while keeping your chest held high.
• Center your head and neck over your shoulders, trying not to
  let your head tilt forward or cock back.
• Move your hips backwards, as though you were going sit back into a chair.
  Inhale.
• Keep your knees stacked directly on top of your ankles, shoulder-width apart.
• Align your knees and ankles so they are parallel and face forward.
• Don’t let your knees or ankles dive in or out
• Evenly distribute your body weight on all four corners of your feet.
• Equally ground your big toe, little toe and both sides of your heel.
• Lean your trunk forward to form a straight line from the top of your head to the heel of
  your trail leg.
• Think knee over ankle. Don’t let your knee move in front of your toes.
• As you lunge back, shift your weight onto your front (or support) leg.
• Your body weight is centered over your front/lead heel.
• Do not put any body weight into the trail/back leg.
• In a proper lunge position, your trunk and trail leg forms a straight line. Your trail leg can
  tap the ground lightly for balance if needed.
• Do your hips stay parallel?
• Exhale as you push through your heels, returning to your Ready Set Position.

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Do 10 reps and then do a set of 10 reps with the other lead leg. Notice: “Is one side stronger than the other? Does one side have more range of motion?” If you find a weaker side, you need to build strength parity. So, then you do a second set of 10 reps on the weaker side. You will eventually progress to your ultimate goal of building balance.
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Always check for an imbalance. With consistent training, corrections happen quickly. Once you find your strength balance, it’s important to maintain it. Your body will quickly return to its out-of-balance state if you don’t make this strength training workout part of your weekly routine.

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Exercise 5 - Deadlift

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The deadlift is the next progression to build lower body strength. It is done with straight legs. Keep your knees soft without locking out your knees.

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• Get in Ready Set Position.
• Engage your core to increase spinal stability.
  
• Exhale as you hinge your hips and bend over.
  
• Keep your shoulders down and back.
  
• Maintain straight legs and keep the slight bend in the knees.
  
• Inhale and relax.
  
• Bend over deep enough to feel gentle pull in your hamstrings, gradually increasing the
  range of motion on each repetition.
  
• Exhale as you return to your Ready Set Position.

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Exercise 6 - Single-Leg Deadlift

Once you have practiced and built enough strength deadlifting, it is time to move on to a single leg deadlift.

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• Get in Ready Set Position.
  
• Engage your core to increase spinal stability.
  
• Exhale as you hinge your hips and bend over.
  
• Keep your shoulders down and back.
  
• Balance on one leg, keeping it straight without locking your knee.
  
• Maintain that straight leg while hinging at the hips by kicking your leg back and lowering
  your trunk simultaneously.
  
• Bend over deep enough to feel gentle tension in your hamstrings. Gradually increasing
  the range of motion on each repetition.
  
• Form a straight line from your shoulder to your heel on your back leg.
  
• Are your hips equal in strength? Are they parallel?
  
• Inhale as you hold your one-legged position
  
• Exhale as you return to your Ready Set Position.

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Do 10 reps on one leg, and then do a set of 10 reps with the other lead leg. Notice: “Is one side stronger than the other? Does one side have more range of motion?” If you find a weaker side, you need to build strength parity. Then, do a second set of 10 reps on the weaker side. You will eventually progress to your ultimate goal of building balance.

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Always check for an imbalance. With consistent training, corrections happen quickly. Once you find your strength balance, it’s important to maintain it. Your body will quickly return to its out-of-balance state if you don’t make this strength training workout part of your weekly routine.

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