Dumbbell Squats

Squats with Dumbbells : You will need a set of 5- or 8-pound dumbbells . Stand with your feet hip-width apart holding the weights. Slowly squat down as if you were going to sit in a chair and then squeeze your glutes and stand up again. You'll repeat these squats for 1 minute. Keep your weight back over your heels. Don't let your knees pass in front of your toes and make sure to keep your shoulders rolled back. Over time, increase the weight until you can do the squats with 10-pound dumbbells . Then you should be strong enough to add a jump to the squat . As you're straightening your legs, jump up so that your feet come 2 or 3 inches off the floor. Land softly back in a squat position. It's important to land with your knees bent so your joints don't absorb the shock of the landing. When you're ready to make this move more difficult, add a 2-second pause to the squat phase. After landing, hold the squat position for 2 counts before jumping up again. Dumbbell Squats target your abs, thighs, hamstrings, and glutes.

Lunges with Dumbbells : You'll need a set of 5- or 8-pound dumbbells . Stand with your feet, hip-width apart, holding a weight in each hand. Lunge forward with your left leg. Then straighten your legs. When you lunge, your right knee should come to about an inch above the ground without touching it. Keep your torso perpendicular to the floor with your weight evenly distributed between your legs. Align your front knee over your front ankle and keep your weight back on your heels instead of on your toes. Continue these lunges for 30 seconds before switching sides and doing another 30 seconds on the other leg. When you're strong enough to progress to phase 2 of this exercise, hold the dumbbells at shoulder height, palms facing front. Lunge forward with one leg, then bring your feet back together and lunge forward with the

Rotation lunges with dumbbells : You'll need a set of 8- or 10-pound dumbbells for this exercise. Pretend your standing in the middle of a clock face with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step out behind you with your right foot to 5 o'clock. Now, come up and step back with your left foot to 7 o'clock. Continue alternating sides for 8 to 10 reps. Remember to keep your torso perpendicular to the floor as you lunge back. Bring your back knee almost to the floor and be sure to keep your front knee over your ankle. The rotation lunge targets your gluts, thighs, abs, and hamstrings . For a bigger challenge, try lifting your front knee when you come forward and balance on one leg for 2 or 3