The Circuit

Hold the dumbbell vertical at chest height. Feet shoulder-width, toes slightly out. Sit into the squat — chest tall, knees tracking toes. The goblet position forces you to keep your torso upright, which loads the quads and forces core engagement. Don't rush the descent.

Hinge at the hips, not the waist. Bar/dumbbells stay close to your legs throughout. Feel the hamstrings load on the way down — that's your cue you're hinging correctly. Soft bend in the knees, neutral spine the whole way. Drive hips through at the top, glutes squeeze.

Long stride, back knee drops close to the floor without crashing into it. Front knee stays stacked over ankle. Torso stays tall — resist the urge to lean forward. If adding dumbbells, hold them at sides and let the legs do the work. Good for unilateral strength and hip stability.

Dead hang to start. Posterior pelvic tilt — tuck your pelvis under before you raise. Pull knees toward chest using your abs, not just hip flexors. Lower slowly — the descent is where you earn it. Avoid swinging. If these are easy, progress to straight-leg raises.

Face away from the cable, rope between legs. Hip hinge — let the cable pull you back as you load the hamstrings. Drive through with your hips, squeezing the glutes hard at the top. This is a hip hinge pattern, not a squat — keep the knees relatively soft. Fantastic posterior chain finisher.

Start in a solid forearm plank — ribs down, glutes on, no sagging hips. Drive your hips up into a pike, pressing forearms into the floor, pulling your navel toward your spine. Pause at the top. Lower back to plank under control. Every rep should feel like you're fighting to stay rigid. Can do on a stability ball for extra challenge.

From knees, roll out slow — go as far as you can hold tension without your lower back collapsing. Pull back using your abs, not your arms. Keep glutes on throughout. If you don't have an ab wheel, use a barbell or a dumbbell on its side.

Hold a weight plate or dumbbell at your chest. Feet flat or anchored. Come all the way up, lower slowly — 3 count down. Don't use momentum. The weight should make 15 feel genuinely hard by rep 12.

Side plank on forearm, feet stacked. Dip your hip toward the floor — controlled — then drive back up, squeezing the oblique at the top. Keep hips stacked, don't rotate. 15 per side with no rest between sides.