Tag: FITNESS
5 Best Exercises You Can Do at the Gym, According to Personal Trainers
These Are The Best Exercises According To Fitness Trainers
No matter who you are, where you are from, or what you do, you’ll need some guidance and coaching when you start working out. Since everyone starts at a square zero in the gym, you want to stay clear of the bro scientists and look for advice from pros with a track record.
Every fitness noob wants to know how they can jump ahead in their muscle-building conquest. While there are no shortcuts in bodybuilding, we’ve put together a list of five exercises that are endorsed by certified personal trainers to boost your muscle gain.
Push-Ups
We’re sure you’ve seen pigeon-chested people in your gym who’ve been doing all the fancy TRX, dumbbell and machine exercises but to no effect. And then there are some dudes who credit push-ups for their bulging pecs.
According to Ben Booker (Second Chance Fitness), the great thing about push-ups is that there are so many variations of the exercise that anyone can do it – no matter their experience level.
Squats
We’re sure you’re not surprised at finding the squats on this list. The squats are the king of leg exercises and have Mike Dewar of J2FIT Strength and Conditioning as their backer. the squats are a functional (multi-joint) exercise and can help with building overall strength, stamina, and conditioning.
Performing the exercises mentioned in this article with the correct form is of utmost importance. Using incorrect posture or momentum can result in an injury and keep you out of the gym for weeks.
Burpees with a Jumping Knee Tuck
If you’ve never tried the burpees before, you’re in for a surprise – a big painful surprise. Burpees are one of the major reasons why CrossFit athletes are in great shape and conditioning.
Patrick Frost (Nike Master Trainer) recommends performing the burpees with a jumping knee tuck over the vanilla version. The jumping knee tuck works the abs while the burpees give the extra metabolic push.
Cable Face-Pulls
Cable face pulls are one of the most underutilized shoulder building exercises. They can help in developing boulder shoulders as they work your medial and posterior deltoid heads.
As per Ridge Davis (Ridgid Fitness), the cable face-pulls are a great exercise for correcting rounded shoulders and poor upper-body posture. If you spend long hours looking at your phone or sitting at your computer, don’t skip these.
Deadlifts
We’ll be summing up the article with another compound lift. “The deadlift is one of the best exercises when you’re looking to build muscle and practical strength—so, basically, the two main reasons you work out,” says Mike (J2FIT).
Even better than that, though, developing the ability to handle heavy loads has been shown to boost anabolic hormone levels and increase muscle synthesis, which can help your body reach peak performance levels.
Which is your favorite exercise? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
How The Deficit Deadlift Enhances Your Overall Deadlift
Deficit deadlifts can create better range of motion for increased growth to only enhance our overall deadlift.
We all know the deadlift is one of those big three powerlifting exercises, but there are variations to try like deficit deadlifts that can work wonders for our gains. By putting these into our routine, we work to tackle all issues related to strength, range of motion, and explosivity by working with an elevated surface and giving ourselves a nice added challenge. Deficit deadlifts are certainly not something you want to forget for they enhance your overall deadlift, and other lifts for that matter, greatly.
The deadlift as a whole allows for better strength and growth in the legs and low back as you seemingly lift a massive amount of weight in a test of mental will and sheer strength. This lift also works on balance and stabilization with an increased sense of staying grounded, as your feet must be firmly planted to keep from causing unwanted pain and injury. With deficit deadlifts, you only work to enhance all of these and then some.
Let’s take a look at deficit deadlifts and see what’s so great about this deadlift variation. From what it is, to muscles worked, and the benefits surrounding this lift that affects your overall growth and deadlift performance, adding deficit deadlifts into your routine may prove to be the answer for all your lifting wants and needs.
What Are Deficit Deadlifts?
Deficit deadlifts are any type of deadlift that requires the athlete to be on an elevated surface, most likely two blocks or raised pads. The point of this is to increase range of motion and create a challenge to the lift so you see maximum gains. The height of the elevated surface depends on certain things like your height, arm length, flexibility, and amount of desired weight lifted. The higher the elevation becomes, the more difficult the lift can be. This can be done with the traditional deadlift, sumo deadlift, and others (1).
Muscles Worked
The deadlift exercise as a whole tends to work many muscles and is considered to be a great full body lift. A traditional deadlift can work muscles like your lats, traps, quads, hamstrings, core, and forearms. But when you put this lift into a deficit, the main muscles change and put more strain on the posterior chain muscles, including your hamstrings, quads, and lower back. As a result, form and taking proper care when it comes to amount of weight lifted is very important as you look for the best out of each and every lift.
Benefits Of Deficit Deadlifts
When it comes to performing deficit deadlifts, the benefits of this great lift will prove to be effective in the long run. With increased range of motion, you start to get the most out of each lift in terms of growth and overall performance. Benefits of deficit deadlifts include:
Increased growth: Really work to build hypertrophy in your legs and back by giving your muscles a good chance at growth.
Better range of motion: The elevated surface allows for better range of motion to work those muscles differently (2).
More time under tension: With greater range of motion, you increase time under tension, putting your muscles through more strain and giving them the option to grow.
Better speed off the floor: Increase explosivity off the floor for better power output and development that will translate over into performance (3).
Reinforce form: By having to really focus on technique to avoid unwanted pain and injury, when it comes to performing regular deadlifts, you will be better off (4).
Change it up: By adding in deficit deadlifts, you work to change up your workout routine to add variety so your muscles are constantly being worked differently.
How To Perform Them
Here are the steps for performing the deficit deadlift:
Set the platform or tool you are using for the elevated surface on the floor and set up your bar.
Standing with your feet around shoulder width apart, set yourself up on the elevated surface.
Grab the bar with your desired grip, lower the hips, and engage your core as you start to feel the weight you’re about to lift.
When ready, drive the weight off the ground and perform a traditional deadlift exercise. Be sure to keep your core engaged and your body tight with no rounding of the back.
Gently lower back down and repeat for your desired number of reps.
Featured Supplement For Deficit Deadlift Gains
When it comes to these big lifts and our ability to really see that desired growth and performance, having solid supplementation will prove to be very effective. For many of us, the staple supplements tend to take over our shelf, including things like a pre-workout, protein powder, and multivitamin. Others like fat burners or testosterone boosters can work wonders for those of us who need an extra boost to fat loss or testosterone levels, but when looking to seriously bulk and increase strength and size, we should look no further than to creatine to get this job done (5).
Kaged Muscle CreaClear
Code GENIRON10 For 10% Off
Kaged Muscle CreaClear is perfect for muscle building and increasing strength and size. With zero artificial colors or flavors, this product contains no banned substances and will work for your bulking and recovery needs.
Kaged Muscle CreaClear is the perfect muscle building creatine supplement for anyone looking to improve strength and size while still optimizing recovery between workouts. As a great product to accelerate muscle gain and bulking, this will help fuel muscle strength and power, reset for better muscle recovery, and aid in high-intensity work with increased focus. With zero artificial colors and flavors, this product contains no banned substances and is a fantastic creatine monohydrate on the market.
Price: $19.99
Use code GENIRON10 for 10% off!
Check out our list of the Best Creatine Supplements for more great muscle building products!
Wrap Up
Deficit deadlifts have the ability to really enhance our overall deadlift so we see those gains we want most. By working with an elevated surface, not only do we target range of motion, but also time under tension which can lead to better growth. Give deficit deadlifts a try to add variety and a challenge to your workouts. You won’t be disappointed by the results.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Lanham, Sarah N.; Cooper, James J.; Chrysosferidis, Peter; Szekely, Brian; et al. (2019). “Exercise Technique: Deficit Deadlift”. (source)
Gadomski, Stephen J.; Ratamess, Nicholas A.; Cutrufello, Paul T. (2018). “Range of Motion Adaptations in Powerlifters”. (source)
Thompson, Brennan J.; Stock, Matt S.; Shields, JoCarol E.; Luera, Micheal J.; et al. (2015). “Barbell Deadlift Training Increases the Rate of Torque Development and Vertical Jump Performance in Novices”. (source)
Berglund, Lars; Aasa, Bjorn; Hellqvist, Jonas; Michaelson, Peter; Aasa, Ulrika (2015). “Which Patients With Low Back Pain Benefit From Deadlift Training?”. (source)
Francaux, M.; Poortmans, J. R. (1999). “Effects of training and creatine supplement on muscle strength and body mass”. (source)
How Steve Cook Works Out To Tone & Shred His Physique
This workout from Steve Cook will help enhance all toning and shredding needs to give you that desired physique you want most.
Steve Cook is a bodybuilder and fitness model who has worked closely with bodybuilding outlets to promote better lifestyles for all. With an inner drive and resilience to tackle anything that comes his way, Cook knows just what it takes to achieve a desired physique that others will certainly envy.
For so many of us, we are constantly searching for that one workout to boost all of our gains. Whether it be certain exercises or just a bit of variety to our existing one, too often do we fall into the trap of repeating the same workouts and not seeing the gains we want most. But looking to professionals and those bodybuilders we know and love and can be game changers to our workouts as we seek the best for ourselves and our physiques. Why not take a page from someone like Steve Cook’s book to really boost all areas of the growth you want most.
As a real fitness icon and someone serious about their body and physique, this workout from Steve Cook will give you the diversity you want while challenging you to be better all around.
Full Name: Steve Cook
Weight
Height
Date Of Birth
205-215 lbs.
6’1’’
12/10/1984
Profession
Era
Nationality
Bodybuilder, Fitness Model
2010
American
Cook has always known what he needed to do, especially with influences around him that have always sought the best for his interests. With years of experience and a number of bodybuilding and figure competitions on his resume, he knows exactly what it takes to achieve that aesthetic others will certainly envy and you will certainly be proud of.
About Steve Cook
Steve Cook is a fitness model, bodybuilder, and social media influencer who uses his platform to help those around him better themselves. Introduced to fitness at a young age, with his family being highly active individuals, that passion to work hard and find what you love was instilled in him early on. Finding bodybuilding in high school, he used this as a tool to get stronger for other sports, but realized that fitness would be a great career to get into. He has competed in a number of competitions and has a loyal fan base who uses his workouts to better themselves and transform their bodies. Taking notes from someone like Steve is exactly what we need for he’s been there and done that countless times before.
Steve Cook Training Routine
This workout includes a host of exercises with great variety with the focus of hitting as many exercises per week as possible. Working on avoiding the same routine has proved to be incredibly beneficial as this causes some muscle confusion and allows for better growth overall. Playing around with rep ranges, rep tempo, and sheer volume is also something Cook pays attention to. Cardio will happen a couple times a week to get the blood flowing and heart pumping but he doesn’t overdue it with cardio to keep those valuable gains intact.
Workout #1 – Chest
Exercises
Sets
Reps
Incline Cable Fly
3
10
Smith Machine Incline Bench Press
3
10
Dumbbell Bench Press
3
10
Barbell Press
3
8
Decline Push-Up
3
12
Dumbbell Fly
3
10
Workout #2 – Shoulders
Exercises
Sets
Reps
Overhead Barbell Press
3
10
Single Arm Dumbbell Press
3
12
Upright Row
3
10
Rear Delt Fly
3
10
Lateral Raise
3
12
Cable Shrug
3
15
Reverse Pec Deck Machine
3
10
Workout #3 – Legs
Exercises
Sets
Reps
Box Squat
3
8
Lunges
3
12
Glute Bridge
3
15
Leg Curls
3
12
Seated Calf Raise
3
15
Leg Extension
3
12
Hack Squat
3
10
Stiff Leg Deadlift
3
10
Calf Press On Leg Machine
3
10
Workout #4 – Arms
Exercises
Sets
Reps
Dumbbell Shrugs
3
10
Dumbbell Curls
3
12
Cable Pushdowns
3
10
Triceps Extension
3
12
Landmine Press With T-Bar
3
10
Concentration Curls
3
10
Hammer Curls
3
10
Seated Triceps Press
3
10
Workout #5 – Back
Exercises
Sets
Reps
Barbell Bent Over Row
3
10
Deadlift
3
8
Lat Pulldown (Wide Grip)
3
10
Wide Grip Cable Row
3
10
Seated Lat Pulldown (Close Grip)
3
10
One-Arm Dumbbell Row
3
12
Featured Supplement
When it comes to looking for the best supplements around, having a quality routine will most definitely be something to include in your entire regimen. Whether it be a protein powder to capitalize on growth and recovery or a fat burner to shed that stubborn belly fat, you are well on your way to achieving all of your goals. To power you through any workout, consider a top tier pre-workout to boost all areas of your gains by providing energy and muscle pumps so you can burst through any fatigue.
Performance Lab SPORT Pre
Performance Lab SPORT Pre is a high-quality pre-workout free of additives designed to increase nitric oxide in the blood, improve endurance by hydrating your muscles, and enhance strength training, weight loss, and overall performance.
Performance Lab Sport Pre is another high quality pre-workout supplement available to the public at a great price point. Performance Lab Sport is one of the most rigorously scientifically vetted brands and all of their pre-workout products are free of synthetic additives (which might dehydrate the muscles), non-GMO, and vegan friendly. Sport “Pre” increases nitric oxide in the blood to support the oxygenation of muscles during workouts, improves endurance by hydrating the muscles, and enhances both anaerobic and aerobic exercise by increasing ATP reductase for the best benefits out of strength training, weight loss, and performance.
Price: $39.00
Check out our list of the Best Pre-Workout Supplements for more great products!
Wrap Up
This workout from Steve Cook is one to surely fire up those muscles to grow so you see the desired gains you want most. With a great variety of exercises and variability to enhance all areas of your gains, using this workout and really grinding in the gym will give you an aesthetic that others will certainly envy. Be sure to look into high-quality supplements as well for they will only help enhance any and all gains to growth and recovery. Give this workout from Steve Cook a try and see what it can do for all of your goals today.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Steve Cook Instagram
Best Adductor Exercises For Hip Strength & Mobility
Work for better hip mobility and strength with these great adductor exercises.
Our hip strength and mobility is key and certain adductor exercises can work for our benefit when looking to maximize everything we want out of all movements. When it comes to building strength and working on that prime mobility, looking at certain exercises to challenge us but also support us can prove worthwhile in the long run. Let’s take a look at some adductor exercises and see what these can do for our overall training and performance goals.
What Are The Adductor Muscles?
Your adductors are a group of muscles in your inner thigh responsible for movements such as pulling your legs together. Your adductor muscle group consists of individual muscles being: the adductor magnus, the adductor longus, the adductor brevis, the adductor minimus, the pectineus, and the gracillis. Having strong and stable adductors will work wonders for both sport specific and functional movements (1).
Benefits Of Strong Adductors
With strong adductors you work to tackle any movements or lifts you need with the comfort of knowing exactly how these muscles work and that they will be strong enough to handle it. Benefits of strong adductor muscles include:
Improve functional movements: Work to protect yourself against unwanted pain and strain with everyday movements by having strong adductors.
Prevent injuries: We all want to stay healthy and strong adductors will not only prevent injuries against themselves but muscles around them also (2).
Promote hip mobility and extension: As pivotal movers, your ability to move your hips will prove to be worthwhile in the long run, as well as focusing on extension (3).
Strengthen hips and legs: With stronger stabilizer muscles, your overall strength will improve (4).
Better athletic performance: For those sport specific needs, strong adductors can aid in better sport specific movements.
Better rotational power: Rotate your hips better with these stronger muscles so they aren’t as weak.
Best Adductor Exercises
These top adductor exercises will offer variety to your workouts and can be used as either warm-up stretches or exercises in your workout itself. By focusing on these muscle groups, you challenge yourself to strengthen an often times overlooked muscle.
1. Glute Bridge Squeeze
The glute bridge squeeze is a great exercise to strengthen all the muscles in this area and will work to take care of both your pelvis and your back. The adductors are worked through the extension of the hip.
Using a foam roller, medicine ball, or something similar to these, place the object in between your legs and lay on your back. Your knees will be bent. With your core engaged, squeeze the object as you lift your glutes off the ground. Pause at the top and gently lower back down.
2. Side Leg Raises
Side leg raises are great for they can be done with just your bodyweight and primarily work your adductors. You can use weights or bands if you want and maintaining proper alignment is key.
Laying on one side with your legs straight out, position yourself so you are comfortable. Raise the top leg high and pause at the top for a few seconds. Lower back down and repeat for your desired number of reps before switching to the other side.
3. Clamshells
Clamshells are similar in general motion to the side leg raises, although a bit different in positioning. A great inner thigh exercise, it can be done with weights or bands, or just bodyweight.
Lay on one side with your knees bent and lift the top leg as far as it will go. Hold for a brief pause and lower back to the starting position. Repeat for your desired number of reps.
4. Cossack Squat
The Cossack squat is one of those strength training exercises to give you more strong, stable, and comfortable stability when working both your adductors and abductors. It will train your body a bit differently for that added challenge.
With your feet around hip width apart, shift your weight onto one leg. As you stay in the upright position, hinge your hips back slightly but only as far as your range of motion will allow. Drive your foot through the floor and return to the starting position.
5. Foot Elevated Side Lunge
This exercise will see an elevation of one foot as you dip into a lunge. It is a great exercise to strengthen the adductors while being in a lengthened position to test range of motion.
Place one foot on a bench or step stool and step your other foot a good distance away so you can straighten the elevated foot. Lunge towards the foot that is planted on the ground and keep your core engaged and back neutral. Return to the starting position and repeat for your desired number of reps.
How To Prevent Injury
Working these muscles, or any muscle for that matter, can lead to that unwanted pain and soreness. If you don’t take proper care off the bat then this can escalate into injury that you just don’t want or need. Warming up will prove to be key before any workout to get those muscles primed and ready to go. For those looking for an extra boost, a pre-workout supplement is certainly something to consider. Any static or dynamic stretching will really boost all the gains you want most.
Immediately after exercise, stretching and using tools like foam rollers can greatly benefit your pain alleviation. A protein powder is a great post-workout supplement for it can not only enhance growth but also aid in that valuable recovery you want most. With muscles like your adductors, you want to make sure you are giving these the care they need so they can fully function and work for your benefit without any pain.
Wrap Up
These adductor exercises will work wonders for building up those potentially overlooked and weak adductor muscles so you can get the most out of each and every workout. By working on strengthening these muscles, you alleviate any unwanted pain and strain that may come your way so you can thrive both with sport specific movements and those that are more functional. Really get the most out of your performance with these great exercises and you won’t be disappointed by the results.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Hrysomallis, Con (2009). “Hip Adductors’ Strength, Flexibility, and Injury Risk”. (source)
Crow, Justin F.; Pearce, Alan J.; Veale, James P.; VanderWesthuizen, Dan; et al. (2010). “Hip adductor muscle strength is reduced preceding and during the onset of groin pain in elite junior Australian football players”. (source)
Brooks, Toby; Cressey, Eric (2013). “Mobility Training for the Young Athlete”. (source)
Haroy, Joar; Clarsen, Benjamin; Wiger, Espen G.; Oyen, Mari G.; et al. (2019). “The Adductor Strenghening Programme prevents groin problems among male football players: a cluster-randomised controlled trial”. (source)
Build Bigger Quads with Bad Knees
Build Bigger Quads with Bad Knees
If “bad knees” is your excuse every leg day, I apologize in advance. You can’t use it as your crutch anymore. Depending on the severity of your knee pain (i.e. a legitimate injury vs. aching every time it rains), rest assured you can still train your quads and continue to see gains.
General Guidelines When Training with Knee Pain
• Refer out. Go to a doctor or other health professional to get a second opinion. An MRI would be ideal but can take weeks if not months to book. In the meantime, see a specialist. Take what they say into consideration and blend it with a smart approach to training.
• If it hurts, stop. This is your body telling you something’s off. Learn to listen to these signals.
• Train around it. There’s always something you can do. Knee pain is not an excuse to stop training. Find what works for you and do it (knee-friendly exercises are included in this article).
• Train your hamstrings and glutes. Most people overtrain their “mirror muscles” and undertrain their posterior chain. Strengthen your glutes and hammies for better knee support.
• Train your ankle mobility. How often do you walk into the gym and see people working on their ankle mobility? If this actually happened, knee pain would be far less common. The more mobile and strong your ankles are, the better your knees will feel.
Things to Avoid When Training with Knee Pain
• Plyometric exercises. High-impact plyometric exercises are a no-no (at least for now).
• Ballistic movements/sprinting. Similarly, running or other ballistic movements should be avoidedgiven the sheer pressure put on the knees. Your knees absorb about 8-12 times your bodyweight per stride when running. That’s a lot of force to be put on a joint with pre-existing pain.
• Olympic weightlifting. The Olympic lifts are often caught in a deep squat position with a high level of reflex out of the bottom of the lift. The springing motion out of the hole combined with heavy weights isn’t a great situation for your knees (at least for now).
• Forward and back lunges. Lunging forward then pushing your weight back to your starting position tends to put force on the front of the knee (particularly around the patellar tendon). That said, they aren’t evil. But they do place more sheer force around the knee when compared to reverse lunges.
• Max effort deep squats. Put your ego aside for a moment and take a break from the max effortsquats. All things considered, you can still squat onto a high box and alleviate some of the demand on your knees.
Knee-Friendly Exercises for Bigger, Stronger Quads
1. Airdyne
Yeah, cardio sucks. But the Airdyne is a great way to pump blood to your quads during your warm-up while keeping your knees in a stable position. The higher your seat, the less your knees have to bend. Find a height that works for you so you can pedal without knee pain. Do a steady 3-5 minutes before lifting. You should be sweating and feel your quads blow up when you’re done.
2. TKE (Terminal Knee Extension)
This subtle movement packs a punch provided you do it optimally.
Loop a resistance band around a squat rig or something sturdy and have the other end behind your knee. Back up until you feel the band pull your knee forward and perform the TKE by bending your knee slightly and extending it. You should be focusing on your quad/VMO as much as possible here.
Perform 15-20 reps for 2-3 sets each side at the beginning and end of your workouts.
3. Monster Walks
Glute work isn’t a common line of action when dealing with knee pain, but it should be. Stronger glutes improve hip and thigh alignment, reducing the sheer force placed on the knee.
Insert monster walks.
You can perform monster walks laterally (side to side) for glute engagement, or backwards for quad destruction.
For glute engagement, place a Hip Circle around your knees and bend them slightly with your feet pointed forward. Take small steps to the side while keeping constant tension on the band. Resist the urge to let your knees cave in by keeping your hips externally rotated and press out against the band throughout your set.Take 5-10 steps to the right then 5-10 steps to the leftfor 3-4 sets.
The second option is to place the band around your ankles and walk backwards with small micro steps, pumping blood to your quads. Take 10-20 steps backwards for 3-4 sets.
4. Box Squat
Squatting onto a box takes a lot of the pressure out of your knees while providing depth indication. The box (or bench) should be high enough so your hip crease is slightly above your knee when you sit onto it (i.e. your thigh should be higher than parallel with the floor). This will allow you to continue to squat relatively heavy provided you don’t feel any pain in the knees when doing so. That said, this isn’t an excuse to use an absurdly high box and crank out max–effort-ego-quarter squats. Find the range of motion you can perform a pain-free squat in and load it accordingly.
5. Reverse Lunge
Reverse lunges just feel better on the knees, given the relatively vertical angle of the tibia (shin). Granted, your knees have to travel past your toes for most daily and athletic activities. But as mentioned, forward/back lunges tend to put more sheer force on the knees overtime (especially if you have pre-existing knee pain). For this reason, I tend to favour reverse lunges in most of my programming.
6. Reverse Sled Drag
Attach a TRX or suspension trainer to a sled. With your arms straight, hips back, and core braced, walk backward with small micro steps. This is similar to a loaded high-rep TKE and minimizes the force placed on the knees while brutally attacking the quads.
You can perform reverse sled drags at the beginning of your workouts as part of your warm-up or at the end as your finisher.
The Workout: Putting It All Together
A1. TKE (Terminal Knee Extension): 3 sets of 15-20 each leg
A2. Lateral Monster Walks: 3 sets of 10 each direction
Rest 30-45 sec after A1 and A2 have been completed.
B. Box Squat (High Box): 3 sets of 6-10
Rest 2-3 min between sets.
C. Reverse Lunge: 3 sets of 8-12 each leg
Rest 1-2 min between sets.
D. Reverse Sled Drag: 3 sets (walk full length of turf strip and back)
Rest 1-2 min between sets.
Additional Considerations
• Always warm up beforehand. This goes without saying and should be a ritual for all of your workouts, whether or not you have knee pain.
• Ankle mobility between sets. Limited ankle mobility is usually the leading cause of knee pain. Get those reps in and work it in between sets.
• Soft tissue work for quads/IT band between sets. More often than not, rolling out your IT band will help reduce your knee pain. Include it in your warm-ups and do it between sets to maximize recovery.
• Shy away from the leg extension machine. Meatheads love the leg extension given the direct pump it provides for the quads. It’s also a big no-no when overused in conjunction with pre-existing knee pain. Stay away from it (at least for now).
Summary
Knee pain sucks but it’s not an excuse to sit on your ass. Treat it as an opportunity to strengthen your weak areas and train smarter moving forward.
Benefits Of Hip Thrusts And Why Bodybuilders Should Do Them
This exercise can enhance strength while also providing for great support and increased performance.
For those looking to build serious size and strength in their behind, the hip thrust exercise is definitely one to consider putting into your workout regimen. This glute exercise is designed to improve strength, speed, and power by working to get your hips in a solid and stable place for increased training and performance. Since your glutes are one of the more powerful muscles in the body, an undeveloped glute muscle can really hurt all of your goals. Weak glutes and unstable hips will seriously affect many lifts, especially the big three powerlifts we all so desperately want to put up big weight on.
With the goal of building lower body strength and muscle, hip thrusts will tone your lower half as well as serving as a highly beneficial exercise for aesthetic and performance. The glutes play a role in everything we do, so what would be the point in neglecting them? Even if you aren’t going for that big butt to show off, it is still important to know that weak glutes are hurting all those other lifts you want to see progress with.
Let’s dive into hip thrusts, a great glute exercise designed for strength, speed, and power. We’ll take a look at muscles worked, the benefits of this exercise, and how to perform it, as well the differences between the glute bridge and hip thrust exercises. Knowing just what to do to increase your training and performance is one step closer to attaining that beastly strength you want to have.
Muscles Worked With Hip Thrusts
The main muscles worked with the hip thrust are your gluteus maximus and gluteus medius. But virtually all of your lower body muscles are worked from your quads, hamstrings, and hips, as well as your core, which serves a pivotal role in providing great balance and support (1).
Benefits Of Hip Thrusts
Hip thrusts provide a host of benefits that will serve you well in terms of increasing strength, speed, and power. After hearing what hip thrusts can do for you, you will most certainly want this in your workout routine.
Hip thrusts benefits include:
Better lower body lifts: By strengthening your legs and core, big lifts like the squat and deadlift will improve and those personal records will really start to show (2).
Increase power: Provide more explosiveness with stronger, more stable hips for better jumping and launching ability.
Enhance speed: With more power, your speed will greatly increase, especially the initial burst. This is great for sport specific movements.
Promote stability: More solid hips will promote stability by keeping you more grounded and solid with form to avoid any unwanted pain and injury (3).
More toned behind: The more you enhance your hip thrust, the more toned your glutes will be adding to your overall aesthetic.
How To Perform The Hip Thrust Exercise
Here are the steps to follow to perform a proper hip thrust:
Choose an elevated surface, most likely a bench and rest your back against it. Your feet will be flat on the ground and your knees bent upwards. Your back will be resting on the bench just between your mid-back and shoulder blades. With your chin, drive through your feet until your quads are parallel to the floor. Your legs will be at a 90-degree angle. Squeeze your glutes at the top, hold for a moment, and return to the starting position.
When looking to add weight to this exercise, rest a barbell with your desired amount of weight across your lap. Perform the same motions as above, only this time you will really feel the weight as you drive through the hips.
Difference Between Hip Thrust & Glute Bridge
Another common exercise performed to enhance glute strength is the glute bridge. The glute bridge is very similar to the hip thrust only you lie on the ground as opposed to being elevated on a bench. Typically used as a bodyweight exercise for warming up, the glute bridge is also a solid exercise to consider adding into your routine (4).
While both may be great exercises for enhancing your training and performance, each has its own respective benefits for you. The glute bridge is a great warm-up exercise while the hip thrust will really enhance strength and mobility given its greater range of motion. The glute bridge is a good exercise for those without equipment but if you have access to a bench and a barbell, plus some weights to throw on the ends, the hip thrust is a better exercise for building strength, speed, and power. Since you are moving with a greater range of motion, your muscles are worked to a greater degree thus increases time under tension and greater working of those muscle fibers.
All in all, both exercises are awesome to perform and both should be included in your routine. Either as a warm-up or strength builder, you can reap the benefits of both to seriously enhance training and performance.
Wrap Up
Hip thrusts for bodybuilders are a great exercise to include in your routine for they really work to enhance strength, speed, and power, all things you want to see in your training and performance. Whether its for increasing those big lifts, providing better balance and posture for a solid lifestyle, or working on toning for that stellar aesthetic, the benefits of hip thrust should not be overlooked. The option to use weight or not is completely up to you, but if you have access, a barbell can enhance those gains even more. In addition to hip thrusts, pairing them with a glute bridge exercise can double your gains and improve your confidence. Don’t neglect your glutes for they are vital to your health and fitness and really work with hip thrusts to see what this exercise can do for you today.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Neto, Walter; Vieira, Thais; Gama, Eliane (2019). “Barbell Hip Thrust, Muscular Activation and Performance: A Systematic Review”. (source)
Bird, Stephen; Barrington-Higgs, Benjamin (2010). “Exploring the Deadlift”. (source)
Holcomb, William R.; Miller, Michael G.; Rubley, Mack D. (2012). “Importance of Comprehensive Hip Strengthening”. (source)
Tobey, Kelcy; Mike, Jonathan (2018). “Single-Leg Glute Bridge”. (source)
10 Benefits of the Clean and Jerk
The Olympic Lift That Develops Strength, Size, and Fitness
While the Olympic lifts are challenging in terms of execution, there are distinct benefits associated with regularly performing both the clean & jerk and snatch.
The clean & jerk is a highly technical lift that requires explosive power, speed, strength, agility, mobility, stability, and proprioception.
The action required in the clean & jerk utilizes practically every muscle in the body as well as placing a large demand on the body’s nervous system.
Clean and Jerk Technique
While performing the clean & jerk will bring about an array of benefits, care is advised. The clean & jerk technique is tricky. If you are new to exercise, start light and be willing to spend time refining your technique.
1) First Pull
Start by assuming a hip-width stance and place both feet directly under the bar. Drop down to the bar and, using an overhand grip, place the hands slightly wider than shoulder-width.
Drop the hips down, engage the core muscles, lift the chest and squeeze between the shoulder blades before initiating the pull. In this position, the shoulders should be in front of the bar.
When pulling, focus on driving the heels through the floor and extending only at the knees. As you pull, ensure that the bar stays as tight to the body as possible.
2) Second Pull
The second pull begins when the knees are fully extended and the bar is just above the height of the knees. As you move into the second pull, the bar should begin to significantly accelerate.
Having extended at the knees in the first pull, the knees should then begin to move forward so that the trunk assumes a more vertical position.
Once again, the bar should stay tight to the legs as it moves up the thigh and the core should remain engaged throughout.
3) Third Pull
The third pull is initiated when you assume the power position. The power position is when you are standing almost vertically with a slight bend in the knees and hips with the bar in contact with the crease of the hips.
To drive the bar upward in a vertical path, triple extension should occur. This is a rapid and simultaneous extension of the hips, knees, and ankle.
When the bar makes contact with the hips, it should then be aggressively pulled upward. A combination of triple extension and upper body pull will drive the bar upward.
As the bar rises, you should quickly drop down into a squat in order to catch the bar on the front of the shoulders. Once the bar has been caught, you must then powerfully drive through the heels to a standing position.
4) Jerk
For the jerk, drop the elbows and widen your grip on the bar slightly. Push the chest up and engage the core before initiating the jerk.
There are two jerking methods. For the full jerk, very rapidly dip at the knees and hips and simultaneously fully extend at the elbows to lock the bar overhead and stand.
For the more complicated split jerk, dip and shoot one leg out in front and one behind the body while driving the bar overhead. Take a moment to stabilize and then walk both feet to a standing position.
Clean & Jerk Benefits
Due to the vast number of muscles and fitness components that are challenged with the clean and jerk, there are many significant adaptations that will occur as a consequence.
1) Strength Development
The first and most evident benefit associated with the clean & jerk is the benefits in regards to strength capacity.
The movement patterns of the exercise require the muscles of the upper and lower body to go through multiple concentric and eccentric contractions.
When the clean & jerk is performed to a good standard and follows progressive overload principles, muscular strength can significantly improve.
Improving the strength of muscles throughout the body will not only lead to a greater clean & jerk, it may also have a knock-on impact on a range of other pulling and pushing resistance exercises.
In terms of raw strength development, the clean & jerk is more beneficial than the snatch. This is simply because a greater amount of weight can typically be lifted for the clean & jerk.
This does not mean that the clean & jerk is superior to the snatch in any way, rather, if strength development is the goal then the clean should be prioritized over the snatch.
2) Cardiovascular Health
While you may not see the clean & jerk as cardio exercise, research conducted on Olympic lifting has indicated that there are a number of cardiovascular responses associated with these types of exercises.
One specific study found that after 8-weeks of training, resting heart rate, VO2 max, and blood pressure all substantially improved (1).
The Olympic lifts require the bar to travel a great distance, from the floor to an overhead position. After performing a few reps, you will notice that how taxing these movements really are on the cardiovascular system.
3) Anaerobic Performance
The ATP-CP system is the energy system that is primarily responsible during the clean & jerk. This system produces a great amount of energy required for short bursts of explosive activity.
Optimizing the ATP-CP through training can help to facilitate a greater performance in sports which involve explosivity.
For example, sprinting is an activity that requires a quick burst of energy for a short duration. By performing the clean & jerk regularly, sprinting performance can be improved.
4) Reversal of Metabolic Disease
There is clear research to indicate that regularly lifting weights and enhancing strength levels can help to reduce and even revert metabolic syndrome (2).
Metabolic syndrome refers to a number of life-threatening diseases and conditions including diabetes, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
5) Core Strength
One of the most understated benefits of the clean & jerk is the impact that it has on core strength. A major amount of core strength and stability is required to hoist and hold the bar overhead.
In order to keep the trunk upright during the entire movement, the core muscles must work extremely hard and are subject to a great degree of stress. As a result, the core muscles rapidly adapt and increase in strength and definition.
Not only will increasing your level of core strength and stability facilitate a greater performance, but it will also improve posture and reduce the risk of sustaining an injury to the trunk and extremities.
6) Motor Skills
Motor skills refer to all movements and actions carried out by the muscles under control of the nervous system. By increasing the efficiency of your motor skills, you can move and perform more effectively.
Due to the complexity of the Olympic lifts, the clean & jerk is an excellent exercise for refining motor skills and facilitating better movement.
More specifically, the clean & jerk teaches the body to move simultaneously as a unit which can lead to significant adaptions to the nervous system and can improve proprioceptive abilities.
7) Balance and Proprioception
One of the most demanding parts of both Olympic lifts is catching the bar in an overhead position and requires balance and coordination.
While improving balance and coordination will be of great benefit in the gym, studies have found a potential link between balance capabilities and longevity.
Interestingly, a 13-year study found that those with poor balance were five times more likely to die during the 13-year period in comparison to those who had good balance (3).
8) Vertical Jump Performance
The Olympic lifts have been well documented to rapidly increase vertical jump performance (4). There are many similarities between the vertical jump and the Olympic lifts which may help to explain the link.
By gradually increasing the weight of the clean & jerk, the muscles will adapt at a rapid rate and lower extremity power will increase which will lead to a better vertical jump.
For those who participate in a sport which involves jumping, sports like basketball, volleyball, and soccer, the clean & jerk should be performed regularly to bring about improvements in jump height and athletic performance.
9) Endocrine Response
As discussed earlier, the clean & jerk places such a large amount of stress on the body. In fact, there are few exercises that compare to the clean & jerk in this aspect.
When subject to this level of stress, the body will release a number of hormones, such as human growth hormone and testosterone, which will facilitate muscle hypertrophy and strength gains.
10) Improved Aesthetics
Because practically every muscle in the body is recruited during the clean & jerk, performing this exercise regularly can help to improve muscle definition throughout the body.
While it is undoubtedly a superb full-body developer, the clean & jerk will specifically develop the glutes, quads, abdominals, and shoulders.
Final Word
As highlighted, the clean & jerk is one of the greatest multi-joint exercises that can be performed. While the clean & jerk technique is challenging, it is an exercise that is worth learning and performing on a regular basis.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References:
1 – Stone, M. H.; Wilson, G. D.; Blessing, D.; Rozenek, R. (1983-09). “Cardiovascular responses to short-term olympic style weight-training in young men”. Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Sciences. Journal Canadien Des Sciences Appliquees Au Sport. 8 (3): 134–139. ISSN 0700-3978. PMID 6640815.
2 – Strasser, Barbara; Schobersberger, Wolfgang (2011). “Evidence for Resistance Training as a Treatment Therapy in Obesity”. Journal of Obesity. 2011. doi:10.1155/2011/482564. ISSN 2090-0708. PMC 2931407. PMID 20847892.
3 – Cooper, Rachel; Strand, Bjørn Heine; Hardy, Rebecca; Patel, Kushang V.; Kuh, Diana (April 29, 2014). “Physical capability in mid-life and survival over 13 years of follow-up: British birth cohort study”. BMJ (Clinical research ed.). 348: g2219. doi:10.1136/bmj.g2219. ISSN 1756-1833. PMC 4004787. PMID 24787359.
4 – Hackett, Daniel; Davies, Tim; Soomro, Najeebullah; Halaki, Mark (2016-07). “Olympic weightlifting training improves vertical jump height in sportspeople: a systematic review with meta-analysis”. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 50 (14): 865–872. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2015-094951. ISSN 1473-0480. PMID 26626268.
How Pause Squats Seriously Strengthen Your Legs
Pause squats are great for developing more explosive power and increase that quad strength beyond belief.
Squats are a great way to tackle any and all strength goals and pause squats are that extra boost to help get you there. By working on the pause at the bottom, you really work on muscle growth and the ability to stay poised under so much weight. When it comes to building up that leg strength, any and all needs regarding power and explosivity can be taken care of and you will greatly benefit from pause squats.
Squats on the whole will boost not only leg strength, but also aid in any power and explosivity for sport specific and functional movements. While also enhancing balance and stability, you will feel more grounded for whatever big lift comes your way. Pause squats should absolutely be in your routine and you will benefit greatly from strategically placing these somewhere in your training plan.
Let’s take a look at pause squats and see what these can do for all of our gains. From what they are, to muscles worked, and the many benefits, we’ll also show you how to do them effectively to maximize all of your gains.
What Are Pause Squats?
Pause squats are very similar to the traditional squat except that a pause at the bottom, usually around 2 seconds, makes this squat unique. The pause will really emphasize your quads and make you think about keeping your body as engaged as possible for proper form and injury prevention. Once at the bottom, it is important to drive straight up to maximize power as much as possible. A great variation of the traditional squat, pause squats can transform any workout.
Muscles Worked
Pause squats will work a number of muscles with direct similarities to the back squat. For you lower body muscles, your quads, glutes, hamstrings, adductors, and calves all see work as these will help not only move the weight, but provide for better balance and stability as well. Your lats will see some work done as well as your core, which is vital for extra stability and preventing your body from any injury that may occur. Pause squats really put an emphasis on the quads as these are required for really pushing that weight up.
Benefits Of Pause Squats
For pause squats, pushing that weight and really emphasizing the pause portion will prove to have great benefits to your gains and strength training goals. Whether these be physical or mental benefits, pause squats can help you tackle any and all of your lifting wants and needs.
Benefits include:
Increased hypertrophy: With increased time under tension and a real strain under the bar, your muscles will have no choice but to grow for better time under tension (1).
Use better form: These can promote better form and allow you to focus heavily on the proper technique.
Get stronger at the bottom: By pausing at the bottom, you will increase your strength and balance even under so much weight.
Less knee pain: Less touch and go reps and more time under control will limit the amount of knee pain you suffer from pause squats.
Better mental toughness: By loading the bar with so much weight and having to pause under that weight, you will strengthen your mental toughness to push past anything.
Nice variation: Pause squats offer a nice variation to change up your routine and give your squats a different perspective.
How To Perform Them
Here are the steps for performing pause squats. While they are very similar to traditional squats, the real difference is the pause at the bottom.
Set yourself under the bar with your feet around shoulder-width apart and rest the bar on your shoulder blades.
When ready, engage your core and gently lower into a squat position, keeping your back neutral and body fully braced.
Once at the bottom, hold a pause for around 2 seconds. Keeping your core engaged here is imperative as you seek the most out of your balance.
In a controlled movement, drive towards the top to complete the squat.
Repeat for your desired number of reps.
Featured Supplement For Huge Gains
For great exercises like pause squats, having a solid supplement behind you is imperative. Whether that be a pre-workout to boost energy and gains or a fat burner to shed that unwanted stubborn belly fat, you’re body composition and muscle mass will change. Something like a good multivitamin can boost your overall health and wellness by pumping you with the essential vitamins and minerals. But a protein powder is exactly what you need after pause squats to see that desired growth and recovery occur.
Transparent Labs ProteinSeries 100% Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate
Code GENIRON10 For 10% Off
Transparent Labs 100% Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate is organic, non-GMO, and gluten-free, boasting a great formula for a top protein powder. With nothing artificial added, this is a clean protein that is easier on your stomach.
Transparent Labs 100% Grass-Fed Whey boasts an impressive array of eco-friendly accomplishments. It’s organic, non-GMO, and gluten-free. There are no artificial sweeteners — a rarity in a world full of whey protein powder, which are almost always filled with chemical flavorings to disguise the chalkiness of protein. There are also no artificial colorings or preservatives added. If you have a sensitive stomach, allergies, or just care about the environment, this is an excellent choice for you and your body weight goals and is easy to digest compared to a whey concentrate.
Price: $59.00
Use the promo code GENIRON10 for 10% off! Check out our individual review for Transparent Labs 100% Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate here!
Check out our list of the Best Protein Powders for more great protein supplements!
Wrap Up
Squats are essential to have in your training routine and pause squats are exactly what you need to thrive inside and out of the gym. By focusing on strength and allowing you to become more comfortable with so much weight under you, pause squats will improve your confidence and give you a nice variation to try. You won’t be disappointed by the results when you put your mind and body through pause squats and these will be effective for any sport specific or functional needs.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Gullett, Jonathan C.; Tillman, Mark D.; Gutierrez, Gregory M.; Chow, John W. (2009). “A Biomechanical Comparison of Back and Front Squats in Healthy Trained Individuals”. (source)
Comfort, Paul; Kasim, Peter (2007). “Optimizing Squat Technique”. (source)
Chandler, T. J.; Wilson, G. D.; Stone, M. H. (1989). “The effect of the squat exercise on knee stability”. (source)
Pasiakos, Stefan M.; McLellan, Tom M.; Lieberman, Harris R. (2015). “The effects of protein supplements on muscle mass, strength, and aerobic and anaerobic power in healthy adults: a systematic review”. (source)
10 Pec-Popping Push-Up Variations
10 Pec–Popping Push-Up Variations
Push-ups are underrated and underperformed. Although the benefits are clear, they’re often forgotten in the vast selection of programs out there. Walk into the gym any given Monday and you’ll see a lot of benching with little to no push-ups happening. That’s a problem.
Why you should be doing more push-ups:
• Increase Relative Strength. Your relative strength is your ability to move your body through space. Strive for a decent balance of both relative strength and free weight exercises in your program.
• Shoulder Health. Push-ups are a closed-chain exercise, where your hands are fixed in place and don’t move while pushing against an immovable object (in this case, the floor). This allows your scapulae (shoulder blades) to move freely as opposed to benching, where they’re fixed in place against the bench.
• Space/Equipment Efficiency. No gym? No problem. You can pump out push-ups pretty much anywhere you have floor space.
• Core Work. Contrary to popular belief, push-ups are more than just an upper body exercise. They require full body engagement while your core works hard to stabilize your torso throughout your set.
• Variety. Variety is one of the most important factors when building muscle. There are tons of push-up variations you can do.
The last point is the focus of this article. Push-ups can become monotonous if you’re only doing one variation. You need variety in your exercises in order to elicit adaptation and continue to see gains. Plus, it keeps your workouts engaging and motivating.
10 Pec-Popping Push-Up Variations
1. Isometric Push-Up
Your muscles can contract concentrically (when it shortens under load), eccentrically (when it lengthens under load), and isometrically (when there is no change in joint angle under load).
Isometric push-ups are one of the most effective ways to increase total time under tension without any added resistance. What’s more, they’re a great way to practice optimal technique and reduce potential cheating.
Version 1: Perform a single rep for a 30-45 sec hold at the bottom (your chest should be an inch or two off the floor).
Version 2: Perform multiple reps with shorter holds(ex. 6-8 reps with 3-5 sec isometric at the bottom position).
2. Pec-Poppin Push-Up (DeFranco Variation)
This gem is one I borrowed from Joe DeFranco. If you have trouble feeling your pecs during push-ups, look no further. The previous variation showed an isometric contraction in the bottom portion of the push-up. Here, you’ll be adding an isometric contraction at the top.
How to do it:
• Start in a full push-up position and “pull” yourself down to the floor by pressing your hands down and back into the ground.
• Once you reach full depth, press back up until your arms are locked and hold.
• At the top, “drag” your hands together without actually moving them and hold for 2-3 seconds (squeeze your pecs as hard as you can while you hold).
10 reps is all you’ll need if you’re doing them right.
3. Eccentric Push-Up
It’s common to see lifters focus their effort on the concentric phase of exercises and completely neglect the eccentric. While a slow eccentric phase isn’t always warranted (ex. during a max effort deadlift), at times it can be a great way to increase your muscles’ total time under tension. I mean, if Arnold and Yates incorporated it into their training, there’s gotta be some benefit to it.
Since you’re stronger during the eccentric (lowering) phase of the push-up, you can handle more resistance and a slower tempo. And when it comes to building muscle, tempo is one of the most important training variables.
Tempo for exercises is like cooking times for recipes.If you take your chicken out of the oven 10 minutes early, it’s going to be inedible. Similarly, if your muscles aren’t under load for adequate time, adaptation and hypertrophy won’t occur.
Version 1: Perform a single rep for 20-40 sec. Add a weight vest or plate for extra resistance.
Version 2: Perform multiple reps with shorter eccentric phases (ex. 6-8 reps with 3-5 sec eccentric).
4. Full Stop Push-Up
Bring your chest to the floor and come to a full stop for a 1-2 sec. Keeping your body stiff as a board, push yourself back up as one tight unit (i.e. don’t let your chest rise up before your hips and vice versa).
The full stop push-up ensures you’re going to full depth and eliminates any potential cheating or momentum.
5. Decline Push-Ups
Decline push-ups are the bodyweight equivalent of inclined presses, with emphasis on the pec minor (upper portion of the chest). With most push-up and flat bench variations focusing on the pec major, this one is an essential part of your arsenal if you want to build a bigger, fuller chest.
6. Positional Isometric Push-Up
Positional isometrics are when you add segmented pauses throughout the entire range of motion an exercise. While isometrics don’t involve any movement, strength increases occur at roughly 10 degrees of either side of the joint angle. So if you’re feeling weakest at the bottom of the push-up, adding holds there will make you stronger in that position. Conversely, if you feel weakest at the top of your push-up, adding pauses there will make you stronger as you lockout.
How to do it:
• Start in a full push-up position and lower yourself ½ way and hold.
• Lower yourself to full depth with your chest an inch off the floor and hold again.
• Push yourself back up ½ way and hold one more time.
• Push yourself back up fully to your starting position and repeat.
Rep/set ranges are dependant on your goals and training history. In general, a 2-4 sec pause for 4-6 total reps is a good start.
7. Banded Push-Up
Banded push-ups are a great way to add accommodating resistance, whereby you’re increasing the resistance of the load throughout the range of motion. In other words, it gets harder as you reach the top of the push-up.
8. Med Ball Push-Up
The med ball push-up is like the bodyweight equivalent of a squeeze press (where you’re pushing the dumbbells into each other as you do a bench press). If you want to feel your chest light up during push-ups, look no further.
9. Pulsing Push-Up
Pulsing reps are basically 2 reps in 1. Go to the bottom of your push-up, come up ½ way, go back down to full depth, then push yourself up until your arms are locked. Adding the ½ rep places greater emphasis on your pecs as they’re working the hardest at the bottom of the push-up.
10. Kettlebell Push-Ups
Increasing the range of motion of your push-ups whereby you’re elevating your hands slightly is a sure-fire way to increase pec engagement. You can use kettlebells, plates, yoga blocks, or even a couple of thick books.
Summary
Push-ups (along with chin-ups) are the king of upper body relative strength exercises. Try each of these variations for 2-3 weeks at a time to battle the monotony of regular push-ups and continue to elicit adaptation for greater hypertrophy gains.
The Eight Best Bodyweight Exercises for Glutes
Glutes are made for bodyweight workouts. Sure, your rear end will benefit from long, heavy iron sessions of squatting and lunging that will produce a gluteus maximus worthy of its name.
But given the abuse our glutes take all day, it makes sense to perform bodyweight exercises for glutes, and not just during workouts. Most of us sit on our butts all day, which deactivates our glutes, tightening our hips and shortening our hamstrings, leading to all manner of muscular dysfunction, most notably back problems.
When we can activate our glutes, however, we can prevent this chain of pain and place our bodies back in proper alignment. One good way to start is by getting in the habit of activating (squeezing) your glutes, one cheek at a time, while standing in line or sitting in traffic. Get in the habit of squeezing your cheeks as you walk or climb stairs.
If you approach daily life as one big glute workout, you’ll be well on your way to muscular glutes and pain-free living.One study suggested that some of the most common exercises produce significant improvements in the glutes. With that in mind, here are eight of the best bodyweight exercises for legs.
Glute Squeeze
What it does: It activates the glutes.
How to do it: From a standing or sitting position, squeeze your left glute (butt cheek) and hold for two seconds. Release. Do a set of 10 on each side.
How many? Do these throughout the day and not just before a workout. Stand up once an hour at work and knock out a set of 10 on each side. Do them while sitting in traffic or while stuck in a meeting. Think of life as one continual glute workout.
Quadruped Rocking
What it does: This move is a combination of two familiar yoga poses: cow and child’s pose and provides a great stretch for the quads and hips.
How to do it: Get down on all fours and let the lower back sag. Push your hips back as far as you can, holding the lumbar arch. You should feel a stretch in and around the hips. Return to the starting position and repeat.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds rest between sets.
Glute Bridge
Why: It’s one of the best moves to improve the activation patterns of the glutes.
How: Lie face up on the floor with knees bent 90 degrees and feet on the floor. Squeeze your glutes and bridge your hips to the ceiling. Only your shoulders and hips remain on the ground. Hold for two seconds and then lower your hips toward the ground without touching. Repeat for a set of 10.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds rest between sets.
Inverted Hamstrings
What it does: This move forces you to fire (activate) your glutes. Practicing such movements becomes a habit while training and in everyday life.
How to do it: Balance on your right foot, keeping tummy tight,and shoulders back and down. Bend at the waist with both hands out to the sides and extend your left leg back as you fire the left glute. Your shoulder and heel should move together, forming a straight line. Return to starting position and switch legs, performing a set of 10 on each leg.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps per side.
What it does: Also known as a pistol squat, the single-leg squat challenges your balance and core stability, especially the glutes.
How to do it: Stand on one leg with that foot pointing straight ahead and the knee of the other leg slightly bent. Raise the non-supporting foot slightly off the floor. Lower to a squat, keeping the knee of your supporting leg centered over the foot.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds rest between sets.
Lateral Lunges
What it does: Lateral movement is important to sports and the motions of everyday life, but too often we ignore it in the gym. The lateral lunge hits the quads and glutes, along with the hamstrings.
How to do it: Step out to the right, keeping toes pointed straight ahead and feet flat. Squat down only your right leg, keeping the left leg straight. Squat as low as possible, keeping the left leg straight and holding for two seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat for a set of 10. Switch sides.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps (per side) with 30 seconds rest between sets.
Straight Leg Skipping
What it does: This move works your hamstrings and glutes while also challenging your coordination.
How to do it: From a standing position, lift one leg straight in front of you while you swing the opposite arm forward. Pull your heel down to the ground as the other arm and leg swing forward. Repeat for a set of 10.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps (per side) with 30 seconds rest between sets.
Squat Jumps
What it does: This move works the hips, knees, and ankles but the key is using your glutes to generate power.
How to do it: Stand with feet just outside the shoulders and hangs behind your head. Squat, keeping your knees behind your toes and squeezing your glutes. After holding this position for two seconds, jump vertically. Pull the toes to your shins in midair to prepare for landing. Land in the starting squat position, hold three seconds, and repeat for 10 reps. Be sure to land softly, with the hips back and down.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps.
Pete Williams is a NASM-CPT and the author or co-author of several fitness books, including Core Performance and Every Day is Game Day. His work has appeared in publications such as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, and USA Today.