No-Equipment Strength Session

Stand tall with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your toes turned slightly out. Let your arms hang by your sides or reach them forward for balance. Set your weight evenly across the middle of each foot and draw your ribs down so your torso stays braced.

1. Inhale — send your hips back and down, bending at the hips, knees, and ankles together as you begin to lower.
2. Continue lowering until your thighs reach a depth that suits you, keeping your chest lifted and your knees tracking over your toes.
3. Exhale — drive evenly through both feet to stand back up, extending your hips and knees to return to the start.

• Send the hips back first, as if reaching for a seat behind you.
• Keep your knees tracking in line with your toes rather than caving inward.
• Keep your heels grounded and your weight through the middle of each foot.
• Keep your chest lifted and your spine long throughout.

Start in a high plank with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width and your fingers spread. Stack your shoulders over your wrists and reach back through your heels so your body forms one straight line from the crown of your head to your feet. Draw your shoulder blades down your back and brace your core so your hips neither sag nor pike up.

1. Set your position with your elbows soft and your gaze just ahead of your hands.
2. Inhale — bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the floor, keeping your elbows angled back at roughly 45 degrees to your ribs.
3. Lower until your chest hovers just above the floor, keeping your body in one line.
4. Exhale — press the floor away and straighten your arms to return to the starting plank.

• Keep your body in one straight line — squeeze your glutes and brace your core so your hips don't sag or lift.
• Guide your elbows back toward your hips rather than flaring them straight out to the sides.
• Move your chest and hips as one unit; lead and finish the movement together.
• Exhale as you press up, inhale as you lower.
• Drop to your knees to keep a straight torso line if the full plank breaks your form.

Step one foot forward into a staggered stance, with your feet about hip-width apart side to side and a stride's length front to back. Lift the back heel so you rest on the ball of the back foot. Stack your torso tall over your hips with your weight centered between both legs.

1. Inhale — bend both knees to lower your back knee straight down toward the floor.
2. Lower until your front thigh reaches a depth that suits you and your back knee hovers just above the floor.
3. Exhale — press through your front foot to drive back up to the start, keeping your torso tall.
4. Complete your reps, then switch legs.

• Keep your front knee tracking over your foot as you lower straight down.
• Keep your torso upright rather than leaning far forward.
• Drive mainly through the front heel to rise.
• Keep your hips square to the front throughout.

Lie on your back on a mat with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart and drawn close to your hips. Rest your arms by your sides with your palms down. Set your lower back into a neutral position.

1. Inhale — press your feet into the floor and settle your ribs down.
2. Exhale — drive through your heels to lift your hips toward the ceiling until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
3. Pause at the top and squeeze your glutes.
4. Inhale — lower your hips back down to the mat with control.

• Drive through your heels to lift the hips.
• Stop rising when your body is in a straight line rather than overarching your lower back.
• Keep your knees pointing forward, in line with your feet.
• Squeeze your glutes at the top of each lift.

Lie on your side with your legs extended and stacked, one foot resting on top of the other. Set your bottom forearm on the mat with the elbow directly under your shoulder and the forearm pointing forward. Rest your top hand on your hip and lengthen through the crown of your head.

1. Press your bottom forearm and the side of your bottom foot into the floor and lift your hips until your body forms one straight line.
2. Stack your shoulders, hips, and ankles, and reach the crown of your head away from your feet.
3. Hold the position, breathing steadily and keeping your hips lifted and level.

• Press your bottom shoulder away from your ear so it stays broad and supported.
• Stack your hips vertically; don't let the bottom hip drift toward the floor or roll forward.
• Keep your head in line with your spine rather than dropping it toward your shoulder.
• To reduce the load, bend your bottom knee and rest that shin on the mat, holding the line from head to that knee.

Start face-down and set your forearms on the mat with your elbows directly under your shoulders and your forearms pointing forward. Tuck your toes under and lift your hips until your body forms one long line from the crown of your head to your heels. Draw your belly gently in and set your gaze at the floor just ahead of your hands.

1. Press your forearms and toes into the floor and lift your knees, holding your body in one straight line.
2. Draw your navel toward your spine and squeeze your glutes so your hips neither sag toward the floor nor pike up toward the ceiling.
3. Hold the position, breathing steadily into your ribs and keeping your midsection from dropping.

• Keep your neck long by gazing just ahead of your hands rather than dropping your head or lifting your chin.
• Press the floor away through your forearms so your shoulders stay broad, not collapsed between the blades.
• Hold one straight line from head to heels; if your hips start to sag or lift, reset the position.
• Breathe evenly throughout rather than holding your breath to brace.
• To reduce the load, lower your knees to the mat and hold the same straight line from head to knees.