This weekend’s exercise is a low-impact move that works the buttocks (glutes) and backs of the thighs (hamstrings). Strengthening these areas has many benefits, some of which might surprise you.

One feature you’ll appreciate about the Lower Body Aligner is that it can be easily incorporated into your daily chores, such as cooking, housecleaning, or any other standing activity. All you need is a countertop, a table, or a similar surface to rest your hands on.

Let’s get started!

Why:

Typically, exercises that target the glutes and hamstrings are intended to give a toned appearance. While this is definitely a benefit of the Lower Body Aligner, there is much more to having strong hamstrings and glutes than just enhancing your appearance. Below are some of the surprising functional benefits.

Advantages Of Strong Glutes

• Pelvic stabilization is not possible without strong glutes. When you jog, run, or walk, these muscles keep the pelvis aligned and help propel you forward. Hip extension is enhanced, and the torso and legs depend on the glutes for proper form during exercise. Proper alignment and form, of course, prevent injury.
• Problems with the Achilles tendon, shins, knees, and even the iliotibial band (the thick band of connective tissue that runs from your hip to just below your knee) can be directly related to weak, tight, or unbalanced glutes.
• Once again, this is due to the glutes’ role in body alignment. When they are weak, other muscles must compensate, such as those in the lower back, calves, and thighs. These muscles just aren’t designed to function as the glutes, and they can become weak, tight, and unbalanced as they try to “prop” up weak glutes.
• The psoas muscles become strained when the glutes are not strong. The main function of these muscles is to flex the hips. When stressed, they can cause lumbar vertebrae compression and back pain. In short, strong glutes stabilize and support your back.

Advantages Of Strong Hamstrings

The hamstrings are the group of muscles in the back of the thigh. They include the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus, which form protruding tendons at the back of the knee. These muscles extend the hip, flex and rotate the knee, and are innervated by the sciatic nerve.

• Strong hamstrings are essential for stabilizing the knees and allow you to jump, run, and switch directions without injury or stumbling. The hamstrings work in opposition to the quadriceps on the front of the thighs, so strong hamstrings are essential for balancing the tension between these muscle groups.
• You’ll get far more out of your bone-building, high-impact exercises if your hamstrings are strong, allowing you to jump higher with less risk of injury.
• Without toned, flexible hamstrings, your posture suffers. Tight hamstrings pull your pelvis down and forward into a “swayback” stance, disrupting the curvature of the entire spine. Weak or loose hamstrings can result in a rounded-out lower back and a slumped posture.

This weekend’s exercise takes care of both these muscle groups, providing lower body alignment and strength.

How:

Find a countertop, windowsill, chair back, or something similar that’s stable and, ideally, a little higher than your waist.

1. Place your hands on the countertop or similar structure and lean forward.
2. Lift one leg up behind you, keeping your foot flat and your heel toward the ceiling. Your knee on the lifted leg should be bent.
3. Keeping the lifted leg bent, press your heel up toward the ceiling and then bring it back down slightly, but not all the way down. “Pump” the lifted leg up and down with small, rapid, but deliberate movements.
4. Continue lifting the heel up and down for 30 to 60 seconds. Switch legs and repeat on the other side for another 30 to 60 seconds. Feel free to adjust the time to fit your needs and comfort level.

Try the Weekend Challenges below to complete your lower-body workout:

Build Your Lower Body And Much More With Densercise™

The Weekend Challenges focus on specific muscles and bones so you can reap the benefits of working those areas of the body. The Densercise™ Epidensity Training System also takes this approach but goes further. Rather than one exercise per week, Densercise™ gives you a series of bone-building moves to be practiced three times a week, targeting the entire skeletal system with emphasis on fracture-prone areas.

Densercise™ is specifically designed to build bone strength and density, and to help you reap the countless benefits of regular exercise. In conjunction with the Osteoporosis Reversal Program’s clinical nutrition plan, Densercise™ is an effective tool in your fight against osteoporosis.

Take Exercising For Your Bones to the Next Level!

Learn the 52 exercise moves that jumpstart bone-building – all backed by the latest in epigenetics research.

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As always, feel free to share your thoughts about today’s exercise by leaving a comment below.

Have a great weekend!