There are two types of exercisers: the lone wolf, and the groupie. While I totally identify as the former (having friends around while I work out is distracting to me!), I know plenty of people whose fitness routines thrive when they have a familiar face around for encouragement. Sound like you? If so, bookmark these exercises, call up your sister from another mister, and put each other to work just in time for Spring Break!
*photography by Molly Winters; fitness tutorial by Hollie Collins-Dean of MOD Fitness; outfitting from Outdoor Voices; featured image from Nike.com
Reverse Chair
- Stand back-to-back with your friend, interlacing your arms at the elbow. Keep your chest proud and collarbones wide. Root your feet firmly into the ground through the heels.
- Actively pressing your backs into each other all the way through the tailbones, slowly walk your feet out until your hips are in line with your knees and knees are stacked directly on top of your ankles.
- Move down and up one inch, continuing to press into each other’s backs.
- Repeat for 3 minutes, or as long as you can! Slowly come back to your starting position by walking your feet back under your hips.
Forward Chair
- Stand facing each other, grasping at the palms with one arms crossing over the other. Stand close enough so that your elbows are by your side.
- Extend arms straight as you lower your hips in line with your knees, pressing firmly into the ground through your heels. Extend your tailbone behind you, pull your abdominals in tight, and stay wide through your chest.
- Move up and down one inch together. Repeat for 3 minutes, or as long as you can. Slowly pull each other back to standing and repeat.
High Five Roll-Up
- Lay flat on your backs with your feet towards each other, ankles interlaced. Hover your arms one inch above the floor, extending long towards your friend.
- Inhale and on your exhale, pull your abdominals in tight to the spine as you slowly roll your body up and reach your arms over head. At the very top, reach as tall as you can and sit up as straight as you can, and give each other a high-five!
- Keeping your arms overhead, roll yourself back down to the floor, articulating through your spine. Repeat 10x.
T-Reach Balance Challenge
- Stand next to each other, hip to hip, facing opposite directions. Tighten your core as you slowly hinge forward at the hips and lift one leg off the floor. Only raise your leg as high as you can lower your upper body.
- As you are hinging forward, reach your arms in front of you and lightly hold onto your friend’s leg to help you lower your upper body parallel to the floor, until you are each making the shape of a capital T.
- Tighten your glutes to pulse your lifted leg up and down one inch. This is very challenging! Try for 10 reps, then slowly come back to standing before trying again.
Partner Bridge
- Lay flat on the floor with feet towards each other. Lift your feet off the floor and press your heels into each other’s, making a 90 degree angle at the knees and the hips.
- Press hard into each other’s heels and slowly lift your tailbones off the floor, engaging through your hamstrings and glutes. Only come as high as you can lift your hips without letting the middle of your backs come off of the floor.
- Slowly lower back down to the starting position and repeat 10x.
Side Plank Reach
- Lay on your sides, one hip on the floor with forearm supporting your upper body. Legs and hips are stacked directly on top of each other, creating one long line. Reach your top arm towards each other and press your palms into each other.
- Engaging your obliques, press your hands into each other and lift your hips off the floor. Lift and lower the hips an inch, keeping the rest of your body still.
- For an added challenge, hold the hips high and still while raising your top legs off of your bottom legs. Hold the position for 10 seconds before slowly coming back down to the floor.
Bob and Weave
- Stand with your feet wider than your hips and angled out on the diagonal. Lower your tailbone down towards the floor, engaging your thighs.
- Make fists with your hands and bring them to cheekbone height.
- Each person hinges all the way to the right while extending your left arm long towards each other, “dodging” each other’s jabs.
- Pull your upper body back to center using your obliques and your arm back to cheekbone height. Switch sides and repeat 25x. .
