Technique Tip: The Commando

Start with hands directly underneath your shoulders in high plank position. Ensure your core is activated and belly drawn in. Go down to low plank, by dropping to one arm at a time onto your forearms; push back up to high plank, one arm at a time, and repeat.

Ensure - your body and back forms as straight and as flat a line as possible / your neck is in line with your spine / act as though you're pushing the ground away through your triceps each time you return to high plank / hands stay facing forward on both the way up and down/ engage your abdominals to assist you in bringing yourself up and down between high and low plank / throughout the exercise, aim for as little movement as possible at your hips and torso.

JESS'S SOUL FOOD CHICKEN SOUP

Now that we're into the winter months, we're in the market for soups. We dreaded soup as kids because we felt it wasn't a proper 'meal', so we're BIG on a super chunky, hearty soup - one that requires chewing! This is easily reheated for lunch, and leftovers can be frozen and reheated for another meal.

JESS'S SOUL FOOD CHICKEN SOUP
INGREDIENTS
8 chicken drumsticks / 1/2c soup mix / 1/2c barley / 1L chicken stock / 4c water /
1 leek / 1 carrot / 2-3 stalks celery / 1 brown onion diced / 2 cloves garlic / Salt & pepper to taste / olive oil

METHOD
Heat olive oil in a big pot; add finely diced onion and garlic, and roughly diced carrot, leek and celery. Cook until onion starts to soften and becomes fragrant. Add chicken stock and water. Add chicken drumsticks and bring to boil. Once boiling, add barley and soup mix. Season as desired (feel free to throw in a bay leaf or two here), and allow to simmer for 45-60 minutes or until barley is cooked. Remove chicken, shred meat off bones, and add chicken meat back into the soup. Simmer for 5 more minutes and serve. Serves 4-6 (adding more chicken or liquid where desired).
A Mama Mizzi tip: 'a small can of creamed corn adds to the flavour of the soup'.

Technique Tip: The Squat

The squat is a knee dominant exercise, meaning your knees are the main flexor in the movement. The squat is also a compound movement, recruiting many muscles in the body in order to perform it (abs, even!). Squats can be great for strengthening the muscles surrounding the knees and hips - when performed correctly.
Poor squat form can include heels coming off the ground, knees bowing in, excessive back arch (hyperextension), rounding the back (hyperflexion), or leaning too far forward.

Keeping knees behind the toes, sit down and back as though taking a seat into a chair and sitting back into the hips / eyes look forward and the chest is up / while knees track in the direction of toes, ensure knees don’t go over or in front of toes / weight is placed in the back of the foot as you sit down into the position and drive back up / ensure the back stays straight (even try having arms held out straight in front for further guidance) /when advancing to a squat jump, push from the back of the heel, flick hips forward at the top of the jump and ensure a soft landing onto the heels / ensure a soft landing by allowing the body to go straight down into the squat movement on reconnecting with the group, and alleviating impact on knees.