Form Friday: Banded Full Burpees

Happy Form Friday, my Friends! Today I will be reviewing the Banded Full Burpees! This is a fun exercise! If done properly, the band will actually do a lot of the work for you and make your full burpees easier! But, you have to be set up properly! Let's do that.

GETTING INTO POSITION

• Very simple here: Make sure you are using a rather thick band. This will allow you the support you need.
• Get into the band and place it around your hips.
  TIPS: Throughout this exercise, keep your legs and feet at a wide-stance for several reasons: 1) This will give you more stability. 2) This will keep the band at your hips. 3) This will keep your shorts or pants from sliding down. (Eek!)
• Set the tension by stepping away from the wall.

THE MOVEMENT

• Once you're ready to go, flex your abs and squeeze your glutes. This will protect your lower back.
• Get into a low squat position.
• Exhale as you use your feet to push off of the floor. TIP: Make sure you are driving straight out. DO NOT jump up or curl down.
• Once your hands hit the floor, perform a push-up in.
• After your push
• up, bounce right back up into a standing position.
  TIP 1: If you have enough tension, the band will pull you back up! If you do not have enough tension, you will find yourself crawling back up. TIP 2: Create more tension by stepping away from the wall.
• Repeat more repetitions immediately.

MODIFICATIONS

• If you are new to this exercise, it is normal for it to feel awkward. Keep practicing and make sure you have a quick pace. The more you do it, the more comfortable, and smooth, your motion will become.
• If it still seems too difficult, focus on creating more tension. Step away from the wall to achieve this.
• Lastly, if you have any toe or foot injuries and are unable to push off on the floor with your feet, you can substitute this banded cardio exercise with another one, such as High Knees.
• For High Knees, keep the tension on your band.
• Run in place while driving your knees up as high as you can.

That concludes this week's Form Friday video. If you know anyone that could benefit from PFT's blogs and videos, please share! Until next time, make each day AWESOME!