American Cheerleader

It’s hard not to get inspired by the buff bods and athletic prowess of the Winter Olympics athletes. Why not add these Olympic sport–style exercises into your next workout?

John Rowley, the Director of Fitness and Wellness at the American Institute of Healthcare & Fitness, has outlined below the best tips to score an Olympic Gold Medal body. Many of these exercises can even be done from your own living room, while cheering for your favorite team!

Speed Skater Lunges: With your hands on your hips, stand with feet shoulder-width apart, head up and torso erect. From there, step with your right leg straight out to your side, as deep as you can go without moving your left foot. Plant your right foot and bend your right knee to 90 degrees. Then, flexing the muscles of your thigh, push yourself back up to a standing position and repeat the movement with your left leg. Alternate side to side until you’ve completed at least 10 reps per leg.

Body-Weight Squats: Put your hands on your hips. From a standing position, feet about shoulder-width apart, squat down until both knees reach 90 degrees. As you lower yourself, keep your lower back slightly arched, head up, and stick your glutes out as if you were going to sit in a chair. Also, be sure that your knees aren’t out past your toes as you descend—if they are, you’re not moving your glutes back far enough on the descent. Once you reach the bottom position, flex your quads, hamstrings and glutes to power yourself back up to a standing position and then repeat.

Cross Country Lunges: Lunge across the living room moving your arms as if you are cross country skiing, or go to the steps and take two at a time with a lunging movement, moving your arms as well to tone your quads, hams and glutes.

Parallel “Bars” Dips: Grab two chairs and do dips in between the chairs for a great upper body work out.

Bicycle Abs: Lie on your back as though you are about to do a regular crunch, then lift both legs up so that they are a few inches off (and parallel to) the floor. Then, just as you would do a normal crunch, lift your shoulders off the floor but twist one elbow inward, and at the same time bring your knee in having it meet at the middle with the knee opposite to that elbow. Return your knee and shoulder to their original positions, and the next crunch should be used with the other elbow and knee. It looks like you are riding a bike but including your upper body.

Hand Stand Push-Ups: You can start with regular push ups, then put your feet up on a chair and increase the angle until you are doing push ups from the hand stand position. Great Pole Vaulters do this. This works your chest, shoulders and triceps muscle.

Run Stadium Steps: Don’t have a stadium?  Walk or run the steps at home. This works your quads, hams, calves and glutes and is also a great cardio vascular work out. You can also go up sideways.

Have you been watching the Winter Olympics in Vancouver? What’s your favorite Olympic sport? Comment below!