FITNESS
A BOUTA LEX A
“ActionAlexa”is aninternationallypublishedcelebritytrainer,sportsmodeland
nutritionandlifestylecoachwithover 15 years’experiencein thehealthandfitness
industry,andhasworkedwithNZ’sworldchampionrugbyteam,theAllBlacks.She
hasqualifiedfortheIronman70.3WorldChampsandwasnamedas oneof theFive
Toughest Trainers in Asia during her seven-year stint in an MMA gym in Hong Kong.PURPOSEFULMOVEMENTNUMBER 5:
THEBULGARIAN
SPLITSQUAT
Thebilateraldeficitis a real
thing.Whetherit’sa strengthor
stabilityissue,mostpeoplehave
a dominantsidewhenlifting.
Sinceyou’reonlyasstrongasyour
weakestlink,it makessenseto
try andevenup the playingfield
tobothimprovestrengthandsize
gainsandhelppreventagainst
injury.Giventhatourlocomotion
isprimarilysingleleg,it makes
it prettydamn“functional”to
trainonone.Therearea heap
ofsinglelegexercisesoutthere,
butmy“go-to”istheBSSand
if you’veeverdoneonebefore
you’llappreciatethatyoushould
probablyprepareyourselftobe
unabletotakea dumpforthe
nextfewdayssincethewhole
sittingdownsituation might
be compromised.
aboutbulletproofingthe body,
thisfullbodyexercisethatforces
youtoengagetheentiretyof
thecorethroughout,should
be a non negotiable.■PURPOSEFULMOVEMENTNUMBER6:
THETURKISH
GETUP(TGU)
Themajorbenefitof the TGU
isthatit challengesshoulder
stabilityandstrengthwhile
movingthroughmultipleplanes
ofmotion—anterior,lateral
andoverheadpositions—
allwhiletransitioningfrom
lyingtokneelingtostanding.
If “functional movement”is
Ditchthewobbly
surfaces,plantyourfeet
onthegroundandmove
someweightsaround.
That’s functional!