Everyday Paleo (59 page)

As your chest touches your thighs at the top of the sit-up, touch hands or high-five with your partner.

As you slowly lower your back toward the ground, keep your arms positioned straight overhead. This will ensure that you are ready to use your arms to help with another repetition.

After you return to the start position, repeat the movement.

Partner Leg Raises

In addition to being a great movement for working the tummy muscles, this exercise is also a fun way to work together with your partner. Just make sure to take turns.

MUSCLES USED: Abdominals, Iliopsoas

With your partner laying flat on his back, position your feet to either side of his head so he can grab your ankles for support.

As your partner tightens his tummy and leg muscles and swings his legs upward, position your hands out in front of your body to catch his feet. It is important to keep your arms bent in order to absorb the upward momentum of your partner’s legs.

As your partner’s feet touch your hands, absorb the impact by moving your arms toward your body, increasing the resistance the closer his feet get to your stomach. The goal here is to gradually stop the upward momentum of his legs.

Move your arms forward and push your partner’s legs back toward the ground. His job is to resist the push, allowing him to reverse the momentum of his legs before they touch the ground. To ensure that he is able to make a tight and controlled decent, do not push his legs too hard.

Having not been pushed too hard, your partner should be able to stop the decent of his legs so that they come to rest just a few inches off the ground.

Once again, your partner raises his straight legs upward and you catch his feet in your hands. After doing several repetitions, trade places.

Partner Ball Toss (Underhand)

A medicine ball is a great exercise tool to have around. If you don’t already have one, they can be purchased at most sporting goods stores or online at www.cathletics.com. I recommend the Rage brand, and starting with a four- or six-pound ball. As you will discover, there are many ways to put this simple piece of equipment to use. In the sequence below, I demonstrate a simple ball drill that is excellent for warming up your body prior to a workout. It’s another movement that kids love. However, if your child is still small, you’ll want to use a soccer ball or basketball instead of a heavy medicine ball.

MUSCLES USED: Quadriceps, Gluteals, Hamstrings, Biceps, and Deltoids

To begin this movement, stand about 10 feet apart from your partner and face one another. In this sequence, my partner begins with the ball, so he pushes his fanny back and squats down, keeping his torso upright and his tummy and back tight. Notice how he grips both sides of the ball, and how it is positioned between his legs and directly under his shoulders.

As your partner swings his hips forward, he uses the power generated by his fanny and legs to propel the ball forward into the air. To prepare to catch the ball, outstretch your arms.