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Need Some Variety in Your Training? This is for you…
That’s me in these pictures below. I’ve been coming up insane stuff in the gym for more than 30 years. I have a degree in Physical Education covering advanced physiology, kinesiology, biomechanics and anatomy, I’ve been a personal trainer for 27 years… and I’ve been training at home in my basement with simple equipment for the past 19 of those 30 years.
This is what I do…I’ve helped THOUSANDS of people just like you get incredible results from basic equipment…
…and I’m about to give you access to my dementia :).
Get 53 unique exercises that will help you increase your muscle mass and strength quickly and overcome exercise monotony instantly!
This exercise will build your
biceps FAST, even when nothing else seems
to work! You’re
using your ENTIRE bodyweight and placing
it directly on your biceps…all with just a small
adjustment to the setup of the normal
chin-up exercise.
I call it
the Nilsson Curl because it’s really what I’m all
about…it’s completely opposite to what
you’re supposed to do, it uses equipment
in ways it was never intended, it’s a
little bit nuts and it works twice as
well as the normal stuff!
To
do this one, you’ll need some basic equipment…the
setup I’m using is a couple of bars set
in the power rack. This
exercise requires some good strength
to start with…to do this one,
you should be able to perform at least
8 to 10 normal chin-ups.
So
set one bar up as high as the J hooks can be set, then set the safety rails
about 18 inches or so below there…you
can adjust the height as needed for your
arm length. Set the second bar on the
rails, pushed up against the uprights
of the rack.
If
you’re using a rack that has thinner rails,
you can do this one by setting both rails on one side of the rack so that
they look like ladder rungs and you’re
all set.
Now
grip the top bar…your forearms will
be braced against the bottom bar (just FYI, you can use a barbell pad if the bottom bar digs into your forearms too much during the exercise).
Now, using bicep power,
pull yourself up.
Since
your forearms are braced and blocked during
this chin-up movement, your lats actually
become secondary movers and your BICEPS
become the primary movers.
Pull
all the way up until you hit full contraction
at the top. You want to keep your upper
body vertical to keep the tension focused
on the biceps.
Hold
at the top then lower yourself under control,
especially as you come towards the bottom
and reverse direction. DO NOT slam yourself
down into the bottom position or try to
reverse direction quickly. If you feel
yourself coming down too fast, let go
of the bar and drop to the ground.
The
Nilsson Curl, used regularly in your bicep
training, will help you add some serious
size to your arms and improve your chinning
strength as a side bonus!
The next evolution of the “Best Exercises,” this book is packed with unique, new exercises for your entire body that take your development to the next level.
This exercise
is a killer combination of three different methods of resistance for targeting your chest.
First,
you’re going to be doing a regular push-up (on your fists)…pretty straightforward.
Second,
you’re going to be holding two handles attach to the low pulleys of a cable cross-over
machine in your fists while you’re doing the push-up. These
pulleys will be actively trying to pull your hands apart while
you’re doing the push-ups, forcing your pecs to contract constantly and directly laterally while they’re also being used
to push your body up.
Third,
on each rep, you’re going to balance on one fist then bring one
handle underneath and across your body. This adds MASSIVE tension to the
extreme inner pec area.
Combine
all these into one exercise, and you’ve got a DEADLY chest movement that will light up your pecs like crazy.
First,
set the handles on the low pulleys and set a fairly light weight
on the first time you do it. Kneel down and grab one handle
then go over and grab the other.
Get
into push-up position on your fists, bring the cables into the
middle. Set your feet out wide to increase your base of support
for when you’re on one fist.
Come
down into the bottom position of the push-up then push back up.
Now
the fun part…while balancing on your left fist, bring the
cable underneath and across your body, squeeze and hold for
a second or two.
Bring
your hand back out and set it down again.
Drop
down and do another push-up then come back up and bring the
OTHER hand under and across and squeeze.
Repeat
until either you or your chest is screaming!
If you want insane core strength, crunches are NOT going to cut it. You need exercises that focus on the DEEP muscles of the core where true total-body power comes from. These 90 new core exercises will build a core in you like a brick wall.
You’re going to hate me for this one…this is one of my very favorite “secret weapon” core training exercises. And when you’re done, you’re going to feel like you can punch through a brick wall.
It’s a relatively simple-looking concept on the surface…you’ll be doing a single-arm dumbbell bench press while at the same time doing a single arm cable pulldown/row.
As you’re pushing the dumbbell UP, you’re pulling the cable DOWN.
However, even though you’re doing a back and chest exercise, as I mentioned, that’s NOT the focus of the exercise.
What you might not see at first glance is the INCREDIBLE core cross-tension you’ll get when you execute a push and a pull at the same time. In order to stabilize the core while doing two opposing movements, your deep core muscles (obliques and transverse abdominis) will be pushed to the limit.
This is honestly one of THE best core exercises I’ve ever found. And it’s going to develop incredible core strength in you.
I can promise you, if you’ve never done heavy cross-core tension training before, your deep abdominal muscles will be feeling it for DAYS. That means start with more moderate weights than I’m using in the demo here and work up to it.
First, you’ll need a flat bench, a high pulley with a single handle and a dumbbell. Set the bench perpendicular to how you’d “normally” set it for a press, beside or under the high pulley. You’re going to be lying with just your upper back on the bench.
I’m using a 105 lb dumbbell and about 110 lbs on the pulldown part. You’ll need to do a little practice to get the weight balance right for yourself. The dumbbell should be something you can press for at least 8-10 reps, then balance the pulldown load according to the dumbbell you’re pressing (about even or a little bit more than the press is good).
Pick up the dumbbell in your right hand, sit on the end of the bench and rest the dumbbell on your right thigh.
There are two ways to get into position for the exercise, depending on your setup.
If you are able to lower the handle down (either using an adjustable-height pulley or a length of chain), set it at a point where you can lie on the bench and reach up and grab it.
If you can’t adjust the height, you’ll need to reach up and grab the handle FIRST, before you lie back on the bench (it’s a bit trickier, so practice it with lighter weight first).
Lie back on the bench with your upper arm resting on the bench.
This turns the press into almost a “floor” press done on the bench. This is much easier for getting the dumbbell into position and performing the exercise. It’s also going to allow you to use heavier weight, which allows you to put more cross-loading on the core.
This exercise is not about working the chest or the back…it’s about MAXIMUM torque on the core.
Now reach up and grab the single cable handle and set your feet out wide (important especially with heavier weights).
This should be simultaneous. And this is where you’ll start to feel the incredible cross-tension on the core!
At this point, you will feel like a giant is clawing at your entire midsection and/or wringing you out like a big, wet towel. The cross-tension is ridiculous.
As you press/row, try and keep your feet on the floor, however, there will likely be some movement in the lower body as you try to prevent being twisted in half.
With the pulldown/row part, you’ll want to keep your elbow coming down in beside your body…not a wide-grip row position, more like a close-grip row. This is important for balance.
Press all the way up and pull all the way down as far as you can. We’re not necessarily looking for full range of motion on the pull…just enough to get that massive cross-tension.
Now just lower the dumbbell and let the cable come up and repeat.
I like to keep to lower reps on this one…(4-6 reps). The core responds better to lower reps and resistance, especially if you want to build power and explosiveness, so start with moderate resistance but definitely work your way up.
On each rep, rest your upper arm on the bench, similar to a floor dumbbell bench press.
To finish the exercise, let your upper arm rest on the bench and release the cable handle.
Reach over and stabilize the dumbbell with the left hand, too. Then just shift your legs around to a kneeling position, then move the dumbbell to the floor (easier to see in the video).
I recommend taking a rest period in between that and switching up to work the other side. Your core especially will need it. You’ll get more out of the other side by waiting for some recovery (at least a minute to 90 seconds) before hitting the opposing movements.
It’s going to look exactly the same only with sides reversed.
I would suggest performing two sets on each side.
If you’ve never really felt your deep abdominal muscles after training THIS exercise is going to change that!
(Side note: do your best not to sneeze for the next few days…trust me on this…the deep core soreness you’re going to get from this one will be intense.)
If you’re training at home with minimal equipment, this is the book you need. It covers 277 exercises using just a barbell, dumbbells and a bench.
This is a back exercise that doubles as an upper arm exercise…I actually came up with this one as a way to do a compound exercise for the biceps that wasn’t a pull-up.
So to do this, I basically focused on what made the barbell row hit the arms more…this is accomplished by moving the hands in right close together on the bar.
This results in greater elbow flexion during the movement (ie. the arms bend more) which means the upper arms take more of the brunt of the exercise.
This one DOES still hit the back (especially the teres major, rhomboids and posterior delts) because it is a rowing movement. But you’ll really feel the focus on the upper arms – more the brachialis rather than the biceps because the hand position makes it work like a neutral-grip hammer curl type of exercise.
You can work up to a relatively heavy load for this exercise, because the back muscles are involved strongly. I’ve got 185 lbs on the bar for this one.
Step up and grab it with an overhand grip – hands very close together in the center of the bar. They don’t need to be touching but should be within an inch apart.
Now lift the bar up to the bottom start position of the row – lower back arched and tight, knees bent, core tight.
Row the bar up into your abdomen – whatever track feels best to you. Note the bend in the elbows as I get to the top (flexion). This is a lot of load on the upper arms using a weight you’d have a hard time doing a reverse curl with.
That’s the movement…just row until your arms are toasted. It allows you to use your back muscles to push your upper arms to the limit.
I find exercises like this so useful for building arms because I find arms respond better to heavier-weight movements. It’s the heavy rowing, pressing, chins and deadlifting movements that really build serious arm size.
This is a great way to target a row for building arm size.
You will be amazed at what you can do with a power rack…everything from barbell squats to exercises for pretty much every single muscle group in your body. It’s the most versatile piece of training equipment you’ve got!
The version of the dumbbell bench press I’m going to show you here today is the ULTIMATE beach body exercise.
This going to force continuous tension on your chest while placing TREMENDOUS tension on the abdominals as well… (you’ll see why in a second).
The Back-Off-Bench Press is a unique movement for the chest that LOOKS like a standard dumbbell bench press…until you look a little closer. You’ll be doing the bench press with your upper back hanging off the end of the bench.
And while it is true that you’ll be forced to use less weight than in a normal bench press, I found this technique basically FORCED the pecs into continuous tension. I got a GREAT pump using lighter dumbbells and hit the core at the same time (and especially the rectus abdominis six-pack muscles).
This exercise is really the ideal beach body exercise…chest, abs and arms all in one shot.
Don’t let that “beach body” thing fool you, though…this exercise is VERY tough and actually very valuable. Its definitely one I’m going to be including in my training more often.
To perform this one, you’ll need a few things for the set up…dumbbells (they don’t need to be heavy), a bench and something to brace your legs under. I used a power rack with a loaded barbell set on the rails to brace my legs on and that worked perfectly (Smith machine will actually be useful for this). You can also use just about anything else you can think of that you can brace your legs under…even a partner pushing down on your knees, if that’s what you’ve got.
Here’s what my setup looked like…a flat bench inside the power rack with the barbell set in the rails at about hip height. You’ll need to adjust the bench position under the bar, depending on how it feels when you’re doing the exercise. I’ve got the bar basically over the midpoint of the bench.
The first time you do this, start with LIGHT weight until you get a feel for the exercise. If you’re using the rack setup, just set a couple of plates on the bar to keep it from coming up.
This is one of the ONLY times I’ll ever recommend you set your feet on a bench for bench pressing…in a normal press, you need the stability of your feet on the floor. In this version, your knees will be locked under the bar, giving you stability there.
Grab your dumbbells. I’m using a pair of 65 lb dumbbells in the demo here. Stand up and set the dumbbells on end on your thighs.
Sit down on the bench then shuffle yourself forward so that your hips are a bit closer under the bar. Again, you’ll need to experiment to get the position right for you.
Raise one leg up and brace it under the bar. Then get the other leg up. If you’ve got a partner to hand the weights to you, this will be even easier – just get into position on the bench first, then have them hand the dumbbells to you.
Lie back on the bench and feel for where your upper back is. With the moderate weights I’m using, I had the end of the bench right in the center of my shoulder blades. Make sure you have at least that much of your upper back off the end of the bench.
Now bring the dumbbells back and into position for the bench press.
THIS is where your abs are going to fire HARD and stay contracted HARD for the duration of the exercise. Its also the reason why the pecs are going to be contracted continuously…your back has nothing to brace on, therefore even at lockout, the pecs are forced to contract to stabilize and hold the weight.
Taking the back support away places HUGE demands on the entire upper body.
Now press up. Do this exercise at a moderate pace, under control the whole way. You’re using lighter weight so go for FEEL with this one and squeeze the pecs at the top. Your abs will contract no matter what you do here.
The first time you do this, the weight will be something you’ll need to adjust. Go up to about half of what you’d normally use for a heavy set of dumbbell bench press and do 6 to 8 reps with it.
When you’re done, you can either just drop the weights to the floor (which most gyms don’t like), or move them back up onto your thighs then use your knee-bracing to do a sit-up.
Then just stand up and set your dumbbells down and you’re good.
Like I said, try it with a lighter weight the first time you do it but definitely give it a try if you’ve got the equipment to do it – I was very impressed with how strongly this targets the pecs and the core.
It’s a nice alternative when maybe your joints are a bit beat up for doing heavier benching and you still want a strong pec workout or if you want to get the incredible abdominal work you’ll get from it without the repeated spinal flexion of a crunch or sit-up movement.
If you want six-pack abs, rock-solid core strength and a wasp-tight waist, the 77 extraordinary exercises in this book are going to completely change the way you work your abs.
This
exercise is basically a combination of three exercises…all
of which are very effective at torching your abs individually.
When put together, the abdominal tension you can achieve is
downright incredible.
To
perform this one, all you need is a patch of floor-space and
an empty barbell (padding for your upper back is optional).
Lay
down on the floor with the bar just behind your head. Reach
back and grap the bar with an overhand grip, about shoulder-width
apart.
Now
raise your legs up until just your upper back is in contact
with the floor. You should have some bend in the waist here
and your elbows should be bent about 90 degrees. There is very
little abdominal tension at this point in the exercise.
Next,
under COMPLETE CONTROL, begin to lower your body, from the shoulders
down, towards the floor.
This
part is similar to the Dragon Flag…it’s not a true
Dragon Flag because the body isn’t fully straight and there is movement. That being said,
if you have VERY strong abs, and you can actually maintain a
straight body position on the way down, go for it.
I
also want you to look at the barbell…it’s now coming up off
the ground. The weight of the empty bar is not enough to fully
counterbalance the weight of your lower body coming down, and
it’ll start coming up. THIS is the pullover part and it’s going to
add even MORE tension to the rectus abdominus (six pack abs)
as you bring your legs down.
Continue
lowering your legs until your lower back is flat on the floor.
At this point, the bar should be a few inches off the ground.
Keep
lowering your legs until your feet are just a few inches off
the ground. Now HOLD this position for a few seconds.
One
of the major benefits of holding the bar off the ground behind
you is that it does have enough weight to counterbalance your
legs at this point and take stress off the lower back in the
bottom of the leg raise position.
Now
for the hard part…(yeah, as if the other stuff wasn’t hard
enough). Bring your legs back up until your lower back is flat
on the floor. The barbell should still be held off the ground.
DO
NOT USE ANY MOMENTUM during this entire raising phase. None.
Here’s
the important part…
Instead
of focusing on raising the legs at the hip (as in a normal leg
raise), I want you to focus on raising the legs pivoting from
the BOTTOM OF YOUR RIB CAGE.
Imagine
as though your hips are locked into position and they can’t bend…and
the only place your body CAN bend is in the upper ab area. From
here, the shoulders/upper back will be the only part of you
touching the ground again.
And
yes, THIS is the most brutal part of the entire exercise.
Come
all the way back up to the start position, with the legs pointed
up to the ceiling and the bar resting on the ground. Take a
short breather…it’s the only break you’re going to get. Then
go again.
The tension
you can develop in the abs with this exercise is absolutely incredible…it’ll TORCH your
six-pack abs AND your lower abs at the same time.
Learn 53 unique, plateau-busting pec exercises that will get you out of ANY chest training rut you’re in. Want a great chest? DONE. Want a bigger bench press? Get it HERE.
The inner chest, however, can be tough to really hit effectively with
free weight.
What
you’re going to do is a set of bench press where you’ll be shifting
your grip first inwards then back outwards DURING the set. The
result is EXTREME tension on the inner chest (along with plenty
of work on the triceps as you move your grip in closer).
First,
set up in the power rack as you normally would for a bench press,
with the safety rails just below chest height. If
you’re using a free-weight bench station, use a spotter.
Set
a light weight on the bar…and by light, I mean LIGHT. I’m
using 135 lbs on this one – it’s about 50% or so of my 1 RM
at the time I’m writing this. Trust me, it’ll be PLENTY..we’re looking for targeted muscle tension here, not maximum loading.
Grip
the bar as you would for a normal bench press rep. Unrack the
weight into the top position of the press.
Lower
the bar to your chest.
Rest
the bar on your chest and shift your grip slightly inwards.
I find the best way to do this is to rotate your elbows inward,
which shifts where the bar rests on your palms. Then rotate
your elbows outward to shift the rest of your hand over. It’ll
probably move your grip over about a half an inch or so.
The
evil part is this…you’re doing this shifting while maintaining
tension in your upper body and holding your breath, to keep
the rib cage and trunk stabilized. It’s also another reason you
want to use light weight.
It’s not so hard the first few reps but it gets BRUTAL by the
end of the set.
The
other evil part (yep, there’s more than one) is that on EVERY
single rep, you’re starting from a dead stop. The grip shifting
takes away ALL the elastic tension you get in a normal press.
This forces the muscles to do all the work…and if you’re not
used to that, prepare to be humbled.
Once you’ve got your grip shifted inwards a bit, press the bar up.
Lower
the bar back down then repeat the inward grip shift.
Then
press up.
Then
lower and shift inwards again. This inwards shifting while under
tension helps activate the inner chest aspect, while the closer
grip fires them.
Keep
repeating this cycle until your hands are in a close-grip bench
press position, about shoulder-width apart.
Now
for the final evil part…
The
close-grip position is basically the weakest version of the
bench press exercise. So to push everything that much further,
we’re going to shift our hands back OUT to the normal bench
press position.
You’re
going to repeat the same idea as above only doing the opposite,
moving your hands outwards.
As
you move your hands outward, your pecs will contribute more
to the movement and the leverage will get better..you’ll be a bit stronger, allowing you
to keep going until you hit that final position.
And if you’re up for it, you can then repeat the inwards/outwards cycle AGAIN.
Discover 145 of the most unique and powerful back exercises you’ve never seen before! This book covers the upper, middle and lower back as well as the traps and neck. If your back is lacking, THIS is the book you need.
This
exercise is a chin-up variation that puts the majority
of the load onto one arm at a time. It’s
different from most one-arm chin-up versions in that you’re
still basically using two arms but the other one is braced directly
out to the side.
This
allows you to stabilize your body and provide some assistance
during the bottom part of the movement (not much at the
top).
And
it’s TOUGH 🙂 You’ll need to be able to do at least probably
10-15 regular chin-ups before you’ll be able to do even just a few
reps of this one.
I’m
doing this one using the chin-up bar in my power rack and just
gripping onto the upright out to the side at about head level.
A Smith machine
with the bar set high would do the trick here, too.
Pull
yourself up with your chin-up arm, using the other to assist
as needed. Here’s the cool thing…even if you’re pulling as
hard as you can with that side arm, the leverage it has is so
bad that it’s not going to help much even when you’re trying!
This really forces that working arm to take the brunt of the load.
Come
up as high as you can…as you come to the top, you can even
exert some downward pressure on your side arm to help push yourself
up a bit.
Do
as many reps as you can on one side then take a short rest before you work the other side. BOTH arms contribute to the movement and if you jump right over to the other side, you won’t get as many reps due to fatigue.
If
you’ve built some good strength with regular chin-ups, this
is a great exercise to take it to the next level. One-arm chin-ups
are a hallmark of serious bodyweight strength. This is an excellent transition exercise to help you develop the strength to perform a free-hanging one-arm chin-up.
This book is packed with 68 amazing exercises for biceps, triceps and forearms. If you want big, ripped, head-turning arms, these are the key exercises that will get the job done.
If you want BIG arms, you MUST develop your Triceps…and they need serious workload to build substantial mass and strength. They can take a beating and kickbacks just won’t cut it. If you want big, strong arms, you need to press, and you need to press HEAVY.
The standard Close Grip Bench Press is normally done with a barbell, taking a shoulder-width grip on the bar while keeping your elbows tucked in beside your body while you press.
One of the problems you might encounter with the Close Grip Barbell Bench Press is shoulder joint pain…the closer-in position can put more stress on the joints, especially when the hands are in the normal pronated grip on the bar. There is also a strong tendency for the elbows to flare out, putting even MORE stress on the shoulders.
We’re going to fix both of those problems with this exercise.
In this version, you’ll be using a pair of heavy dumbbells and performing the close grip press exercise in a very specific way…a way designed to put even GREATER muscle-building tension on the triceps throughout the exercise.
Start by grabbing a pair of dumbbells and sitting on the end of the bench, holding them on end on your upper thighs.
Now lie back on the bench, bringing the dumbbells with you, keeping them in that neutral (palms facing in) position.
Once you’re lying fully back on the bench, the dumbbells will be in the bottom position of the exercise.
You should be in the standard “locked-in” bench press position here…knees bent about 80 degrees in order to facilitate leg drive, core nice and tight, chest puffed out and shoulder blades tucked tight in behind your body.
And HERE is the small adjustment in form to increase the tension on the triceps…note how the dumbbells are tilted slightly down towards my head. This small tilt puts increased stretch-tension on the triceps at the bottom of the movement while shifting focus more onto the triceps.
Now, press up to the top, focusing pushing with the heels of your hands. KEEP that slight tilt all the way to the top. This will help maintain tension in the triceps even all the way to lockout.
If your goal is tricep mass, aim for a set of 6 to 8 reps. If your goal is strength, work in the 2 to 5 rep range. I generally recommend 3 to 5 sets of this exercise.
Big arms don’t come easy…this is one of the key exercises that will help you get it done.
Shoulders can be a tough muscle group to develop…and that’s where these exercises come in…76 of the most powerful (and insane) shoulder exercises you’ve NEVER seen before!
I love exercises that use equipment not only in ways you’ve
never thought they could be used in but exercises that make
equipment out of things you never really even thought WERE equipment!
That’s
the beauty of this exercise…it’s a lateral raise done with
a towel and a weight plate. You’re going to string a towel (at
least 2 to 3 feet long, ideally) through the center hole of
a weight plate (I’m using a 25 lb plate).
Then
you’re going to grip onto the ends, with the plate hanging down
in front of you. Now
you’re going to do a lateral raise, bringing your hands up and
out to the sides as you raise the plate up.
Because you’re also straightening out the towel, you’re getting
direct sideways resistance on the side delts, which makes for
VERY effective tension on your side delts.
Come
up until the plate is at your upper chest and hold for a moment. The plate will come in contact with your upper chest.
Your upper arms should be almost horizontal and your forearms
will be up a bit higher.
This
is a simple way to essentially double the effective tension
going onto the side delts when performing a lateral raise. You
get the up and down resistance of gravity then the lateral resistance
from the effort of straightening out the towel.
If your leg training has hit a rut, you need to switch things up. Learn 154 unique, new exercises to target your quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves with laser precision.
One of the BIGGEST problems you’re going to run into with your squats and lunges is that you don’t have the power you SHOULD have coming out of the bottom of the exercise (a.k.a. “the hole”).
The reason is that you’ve likely focused on leg exercises that rely on elastic muscle tension to a great degree to come out of the bottom. In the short run, it will allow you to lift more, but in the LONG run, it will severely limit the amount of weight you can move.
This
exercise is going to work almost everything in your lower body, all in one shot. And all you need is a single set of dumbbells.
This exercise forces your muscles to do ALL the work by taking
away ANY hint of elastic/rebound help out of the bottom of the
split squat position. And no elastic tension means more MUSCLE tension, which means more efficient muscle growth and greatly improved strength out of the hole for you.
You’re going to accomplish this by switching legs in the kneeling
position at the BOTTOM of the movement, coming back up on the
opposite leg that you came down on.
Start in a standing position. Come
down into the bottom position with one leg back…this part
is a Reverse Lunge.
Bring
your front leg down and kneel on both knees. Now
swing the OTHER leg forward and around and get into the split squat position on that other side.
From here, you’re starting the exercise from a TOTAL dead stop with ZERO elastic tension in the muscles to help. When you come back up, you’ll discover just how extremely demanding this is on the glutes and hamstrings.
Now, come
up to the standing position again.
From there, step back and down with the same leg you just stepped up with and repeat the cycle in reverse.
If you consistenly fail out of the bottom of the squat, you need to develop power out of the hole…and this exercise is one of THE best choices you can make for forcing your entire lower body to work from a dead stop. It will hammer your quads, glutes and hamstrings HARD all in one movement with practically NO setup time required.
Discover 85 powerful exercises using your own bodyweight as resistance. Forget the gym…you’ll be able to sculpt your ideal physique without ever setting foot in one!
This is a
simple variation of the push-up that’s going to give you three
major benefits…
1.
It puts more tension on one arm at a time, similar to a regular one-arm
push-up, only focusing more on the chest than on the triceps,
which regular one-arm push-ups tend to do.
2.
It puts a great stretch on the other non-working pec as you’re
coming down into the push-up.
3.
By putting more tension on one arm, you’ll be using more resistance than just plain bodyweight on both arms,
making this exercise more effective for building muscle mass.
In
order to perform this one, you’ll need to be able to do at least
15 to 20 normal push-ups.
You’ll need a bench or a chair or even just stairs…basically
anything you can set your other hand on that’s about a foot
and a half off the ground or so. I’m using just a regular flat
bench.
Set
one hand flat on the bench and the other hand on the floor a
few feet away from the bench. Keep your body stiff and straight as you would for a normal push-up.
Now
lower yourself down.
As
you can see, my left side is getting the brunt of the load,
which works the left pec more. My right arm is being placed
in a great pec-stretch position as I come down
to the bottom.
The
other good thing is that this stretch position is done against
resistance (because that pec is also supporting your bodyweight).
As you push up, that right pec will also contribute to the movement
somewhat, so it’s not a true one-arm push-up where the whole
load is on one side.
The
second side you do, you’ll not get as many reps since you’ll
already be fatigued from the first side. It’s fine to take your regular
rest period between sides, if you want, in order to keep things
more even.
This is a great mass-and-strength-building version of the push-up that you can do just about anywhere!
Mass training is just plan FUN…which is why I put together 119 of my favorite “beast building” exercises that will pile slabs of bigger, stronger, muscle mass onto your body FAST.
There are two main purposes for this variation of the Stiff-Legged Deadlift exercise.
1. It’s going to thoroughly overload the
top range of motion of the exercise with VERY heavy weight. The glutes and hamstrings are VERY strong muscles and respond very well to heavy loads. This is going to improve your strength in the regular SLDL and conventional deadlift by increasing the neural drive and connective tissue strength in the hamstrings and glutes.
2. This exercise can be adjusted to work the upper back VERY strongly, by forcing those muscles into a peak-contracted position THEN performing the exercise. This helps develop upper back mass AND improve deadlift form by strengthening the muscles that preven the back from rounding over.
Set up
in the rack with just an empty bar at first. You’ll
need to determine the height at which to set the rails before
you start loading the bar.
You
want to hit the top 6 to 10 inches of the movement where
you’re slightly bent at the waist.
Setting the rails so the bar starts a few inches above the knee
is perfect.
Once you
get the bar height set, load a bit of weight on there. Use
less than you’d normally do for Stiff-Legged Deadlifts off the floor. Practice
a few reps to see how it feels.
You want
to keep your lower back arched and tight, along with your
core. The movement should come from the hamstrings, lower
back and hips – no quads. This isn’t a partial regular deadlift
– it’s a Stiff-Legged Deadlift.
IMPORTANT!! To get maximum upper back involvement in this exercise, at the start of the movement, grip the bar, lock your arms straight, then pull your chest DOWN towards the bar (while keeping your arms locked straight). This engages the muscles of your upper back, putting them into that peak contracted position, while also putting a solid arch into your lower back.
Once you’re locked into this position, THEN you’re ready to pull. The movement should come from the hamstrings with glutes contributing more as you come to the top of the exercise. You’ll be pulling the bar up with your upper back locked into that peak contracted position, which puts MASSIVE muscle-building tension on those upper back muscles.
On EVERY
rep, set the bar back down on the rails and reset your back position.
This is critical once you start using maximal weights.You’ve
got to reset the support structures and spinal column and
take a breath to prepare for the next rep.
Because
you can use such a heavy load on this one, hold your breath until you’re vertical.
This is for spinal stability. It’s a short movement so holding
your breath won’t make you pass out but you’ll
need it so your core stays solid for optimal spinal support.
Here’s a direct side view.Again, first pull your chest down towards the bar to lock in your upper back muscles and get an arch in the lower back.
Then, engage the hamstrings and begin the lift.
Remember
to keep that bar close to your thighs all the way up.
This is a GREAT exercise for developing the posterior chain while putting major tension on the upper back muscles using maximum weight.
These unique exercises will help you blast through any fat loss plateaus you might be stuck in. Your body adapts FAST…keep it guessing with these metabolism-cranking exercises!
This is
a great combination exercise that will hit every major muscle group (and most of the minor ones) in your entire lower body. This is important because one of the real keys to fat loss through weight training is involving the big muscles of the legs and, basically, doing a lot of work.
For this
exercise, you’ll need a bench (or a Step platform) and some form
of resistance, such as dumbbells.
You’ll be combining two lower body exercises, transitioning smoothly from one to the other…first you’re
going to do a step up onto the bench then when you step back
down, you’ll immediately drop back into a reverse lunge.
It’s a
challenging exercise both from a strength and cardio perspective, PERFECT for fat-loss training.
Grab
a pair of dumbbells and stand in front of the bench. Set your
left foot up on the bench.
Now step
up onto the bench. DO NOT
set the other foot on the bench at the top…you want to just
stay on the left foot.
Now step
your right foot back down onto the floor. Now you’re
going to bring your LEFT foot back into the reverse lunge.
Come all
the way back down until your knee is on or near the ground.
Then come all the way back up to setting your left leg on the
bench. Then repeat the sequence.
Do your reps with your left
leg on the bench then switch and lead with your right leg
on the bench. You can do this on alternating sets (with rest
period in between) or you can go straight to the right leg immediately after a rep with your left leg leading.
The sequence of movement is exactly the same.
That’s the exercise! It’s an
excellent one for hitting pretty much your entire lower body
in one exercise, making it a very time-efficient and effective exercise for fat loss.
These exercises are targeted for fighters…or people who want to train and look like fighters! These 173 unique exercises will improve conditioning, punching and kicking power, core strength and overall explosiveness.
This is an amazing exercise, especially if you’re an MMA fighter, wrestler
or other martial artist where you need to train and develop
your body to exert power and leverage while you’re on your back
on the ground. It’s
going to hit the lower abs, adductors, and chest
all at the same time.
It’s
a One-Arm dumbbell Floor Press done with your feet/legs
wrapped around a pole or beam. So instead of pushing with your
leg, set out to side, you have to use your core and adductors
to oppose the force of the dumbbell press and lock your body
into the movement.
Once
you see it in action, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
If you’re an MMA fighter, this is one you HAVE to try. It’ll
develop strength and power and train your ability to USE that
strength and power when you’re on your back covering up with
your legs locked around your opponent.
For this exercise, you’ll need a solid pole or object (I’m using
the upright of my power rack) and a dumbbell. I’m using an 85
lb dumbbell – pick something you can easily do for one-arm dumbbell
bench press the first time you try this one. You can move up
quickly from there once you get an idea of how the exercise
works.
Now
set with your butt right up close to the pole and your feet
on either side of it. Lay down then slide your butt right up
close to the pole. Next, lock your legs onto the pole by crossing
your feet.
When
doing this one, I like to have my “working side” leg
hooked over top of the other leg, e.g. pressing with the right
arm, lock the right leg over the left, around the pole.
Now
reach over and grab the dumbbell with both hands (this isn’t
the exercise…this is just getting the weight into position). Hold
the dumbbell on your chest then get it into your right hand.
Bring
your arm down and to the side and set your upper arm on the
floor. Clamp your legs on HARD then get ready to press. Your
other arm is out to the side for balance.
Press
the dumbbell to lockout. This is the hard part and the reason
why you should start light. It’ll take some serious tension
in your adductors and lower abs to keep your body straight while
pressing the dumbbell up.
Do
4 to 6 reps on one side then lower the dumbbell to your chest
and switch hands. Switch your feet over at the same time so
your left leg is locked over top.
Now
move the dumbbell off to the side and go again.
As
you can see, this is a PERFECT exercise for developing ground-strength
for MMA fighting. You’ll be developing power when flat on your
back with your legs wrapped around something and you’ll learn
how to USE that power.
If
you’re not an MMA fighter, this is a great core and adductor
exercise in general. It’s not going to hit your chest incredibly
hard because you’re forced to use a lighter weight than you
could use for normal pressing, but chest development isn’t really
the goal of this one anyway…it’s the ground-based power development and anti-rotational core strength.
Learn the secrets of combining multiple types of resistances to get DOUBLE and even TRIPLE the results out of every single set you do. This is maximum training efficiency and it will take your physique to a whole new level!
This is an exercise you have to see in action to believe…it’s one
of the BEST single chest exercises I’ve ever found. It literally
attacks the pecs from just about EVERY angle in one single exercise.
You will need some specialized equipment for this one…, a pair of dumbbells, a cable cross-over machine or bands (optional
are two ankle straps, for your wrists).
And just fyi, you can do this exercise very effectively with just the dumbbells and cables/bands. To perform the “triple” version I’m showing here, you would also need a pair of chains..
This
type of training is based on the principles of combining multiple
forms of resistance to better match the strength curves of exercises
and better target different angles of pull within those exercises.
This
is a Hybrid exercises that hits THREE types of resistance in
one movement…it’s insanely powerful!
First,
set a flat bench in between the two low pulleys. Set your dumbbells
down at the foot of the bench and attach your chains onto the
handles. The trick here is to hook the chains on the side of
the handles towards the bench so that when you pick up the dumbbells,
your pinks are against the chains. This will have the chains
hanging from the outside edge of the dumbbells so they don’t
contact your arms during the movement.
The
chains I’m using are just a couple of car tow chains that I
picked up at the hardware store. They came pre-made with hooks
on the ends. What I’ve done here is clipped the ends back onto
itself, up near the hooks so that more chain links will be off
the ground during the movement, increasing the resistance.
Attach the two ankle straps onto the low pulleys (the straps should
be at their biggest setting so that you can slip your hands
in and out easily). Get your hands into the ankle straps…you don’t need much weight on the pulleys.
Now
sit on the end of the bench and grab the dumbbells.
Get
the dumbbells into position on your thighs.
Now
lie back on the bench.
Then
press the dumbbells up.
Here’s why this combination is so powerful…
First,
you’ve got the dumbbell bench press. It’s a great movement on it’s own
but you lose tension at the top of the movement and
the majority of the tension comes at the bottom.
Second,
you’ve got the cable flye. This exercise is perfect for focusing
on the contracted position of the pecs, where the hands come together at the top…it has basically zero
effect on the bottom/stretch.
Third,
you’ve got the chains. The strength curve of the bench press
is such that as you press up, the leverage gets better and you
can move more weight. By attaching chains to the dumbbells, as
you press them up, you lift more and more chain links off the
ground, increasing the resistance being lifted.
As
well, as you press the dumbbells up and bring the hands together, you’re adding inwards-tension
from the cable pulleys AND some upwards tension as well.
This
triple combination of tension is RIDICULOUSLY good for your pecs.
They won’t know what hit them.
If you’ve got the equipment, this is an exercise you HAVE to
try. I mean it.
And
if you don’t have chains, you can do this one with just the dumbbells and cables, or a set of bands.
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I stand behind these exercises 100%. I’ve tested and used every single exercise in this book. They flat-out work.
However, if these exercises aren’t for YOU, no problem. Just let me know and I’ll give you back every penny.
Answer: My first thought is “Who cares, you’re training at home :)”
But if you decide to use these exercises at a regular gym, I will tell you that they ARE going to make you look different…in several ways. You’ll look different in that these exercises are not “normal” exercises and you will look different while you’re doing them. And you’ll look different in that your physique will start looking much better after you starting doing them!
Answer: Absolutely. The title of this book has “home gym” in it because I wanted to put together a book using only very basic free weight items that a person might have available at home. Any gym is going to have equipment that will work GREAT for these exercises…and give you a lot more variety in terms of weight selection.
Answer: Definitely. I will tell you up front, while my primary audience is men with most of my books and programs (which is why what I write tends to focus on the male perspective), women can absolutely use them as well. The exercises in this book will work just as well for women as they will for men!
Answer: Age is just a number…the REAL key is training age. Some of these exercises are more appropriate for advanced trainers…some will work great for beginners, too. It doesn’t matter if you’re a teenager or if you’re in your 50’s, 60’s, or 70’s, these exercises are tested and safe. That being said, personal responsibility is key with any sort of training. If you don’t feel confident with an exercise, then definitely don’t do it.
Answer: The beauty of this book is that you can basically take any of these exercises and drop them into just about any program you like! However, different exercises are more appropriate for different goals and will give you different results. For example, the Lying Side Dumbbell Flye that I showed above could be subbed in for a pec deck or cable cross-over, but I wouldn’t use it to replace a pressing movement in a program.
Answer: Not at all! Use the ones you like (or have equipment for). This book is a reference guide to give you ideas to help you get more out of the equipment you’re working with at home.
Answer: There may be ways around that that I can help you with. Definitely contact me at my Helpdesk and I’ll see how we can work with what you’ve got! The exercises in this book use dumbbells, a barbell and a bench…sometimes as resistance and sometimes as apparatus. My goal is to give you as many good options to train with as possible.
If you’re working with limited, basic equipment and want to not only maintain what you’ve got but actually make REAL PROGRESS in your training, the exercises in this book will do it for you.
Conventional exercises will only get you so far, especially if you’re limited in what you can do and how much weight you have access to. The exercises in this book will hit your muscles in ways you NEVER thought possible in a home gym setup.
If you’re serious about your training, this is a collection you need to get right now and put to work immediately.
(FYI, this is an ebook collection, available for instant download right after you purchase!)
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