locked. Pull in your abdominals; keep your shoulders back, down, and not
rounded; and pull your chest up. Bending your elbows, lower your butt to the
ground and then push yourself back up until your elbows lock again. Repeat.
If you find that you can’t lower yourself all the way to the ground and still
come back up, lower just half the distance to the ground and do as many that
way as you can.
Triceps kickback
Not to be exceedingly obvious, but this exercise works your triceps! Stand to
the right of your weight bench, holding a dumbbell in your right hand with
your palm facing in. Place your left lower leg and your left hand on top of the
bench. Lean forward at the hips until your upper body is at a 45-degree angle
to the floor. Bend your right elbow so that your upper arm is parallel to the
floor, your forearm is perpendicular to it, and your palm faces in. Keep your
elbow close to your upper arm. Pull your abdominals in and relax your knees.
Keeping your upper arm still, straighten your elbow behind you until your
entire arm is parallel to the floor and one end of the dumbbell points down.
Slowly bend your arm to lower the weight. Repeat. On the second circuit, do
the exercise with your left arm.
Leg-strengthening stations ...............................................................
Because your warm-up, cooldown, and travel between stations is leg-intensive,
you don’t need to include a lot of leg-strengthening exercises in your circuit
routine. The exercises in this section, however, are some of our favorites.
If you have a weight bench with attachments at your disposal, you can add
leg extensions, leg curls, leg presses, and any other exercises the machine
supports.
Step-ups
Step-ups work nearly every muscle in your leg, as well as your butt muscles.
To do this exercise, you need a step — one of the steps on the bottom of a
stairway can work well. However, buying a step-aerobics platform and placing
two sets of risers underneath the platform (to a height of 10 to 12 inches)
may be more convenient (because it’s portable). You simply keep walking or
running up and down the one step. Step up on one step and then bring the
other leg up on that step, too. Then step back down, following with the other
leg. Then up the step again, then back down, and so on.
Single-leg squats
Single-leg squats work your butt and upper legs and help develop balance.
Stand on your right leg at the edge of the step, so that the instep of your right
foot comes right to the edge of the step and your left leg is dangling off the
Chapter 15: Circuit Training for Fitness and Fun 243