5 Exercises You HAVE To Be Doing For A Better Body
There are hundreds of exercises you could be doing, but there are only a few you SHOULD be doing. Do these instead!
If you've been following me for a while you might remember I wrote a post called Everything You Need To Know About Training For Fat Loss?
(If you haven't definitely go check it out after this post. It's gold)
I mentioned a group of exercises I categories as Americano exercises
Americano, which is obviously a coffee, is my go-to brew
It's simple, to the point and get's the job done
No faff, no frills
Americano exercises are the exercises that just get the job done. They're not particularly fancy, but they're not supposed to be
They're there to get you unreal results, not to look cool on Instagram
As you're reading this I can guarantee someone, somewhere out there is videoing themselves performing what I call "frappa-crappa" exercises
You know the ones. Where they serve no real purpose except to elevate your heart rate and look slightly ridiculous in the process
Exercises like this are fine if you want to warm up, burn a few calories or you're just heavily into ketamine and dancing down your local high street at 2 in the afternoon high as a kite if your favourite pastime
(I'm not here to judge)
But, in terms of transforming your body, they don't really belong anywhere
So what do?
Great question. Let's go
GLUTE BRIDGES
For the 1% of blokes who follow me, this is true for you too
The glute bridge is the single most effective exercise for building a juicy bum
And let's be honest, a plump, shapely bum is attractive.. for both sexes!
The problem nowadays is that we sit a lot. We drive more, watch more, travel more and sit behind an office more
(Like me right now)
Sitting for long periods of time switches the bum muscles off
They fall alseep and lose their tone, shape and in general, become kinda useless
Glutes are extremely important muscles. They're one of the main driving forces for deadlifts, squats or just bending over to pick something up!
When they're asleep, other muscles pick up the slack (oh hey lower back pain)
So glute bridges are absolutely essential for a good looking, strong body
One of the main reasons why glute bridges are better than kickbacks, clams, fire hydrants on so on, is because you can lift a tonne of weight
Lifting heavy = sexy body
The more weight you can shift, the more muscle that needs to work and breakdown, the firmer and more shapely your body
So please don't use a weight that's barely heavier than a cup of tea when you know you can do more!
But of course start light and work your way up (:
HOW TO DO THEM
Lye on your back with your feet flat on the floor (like an old school situp position)
Place the weight (ideally a barbell) on your lap like a seatbelt
Hold the weight with both hands so it doesn't slide towards your face
Push your heels down and think about sliding your feet away from your body as you push your bum up
Make sure you're bracing your core the whole time so you don't arch your back at the top
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2. PUSHUPS
Why pushups? Why not a chest press machine or dumbbell presses?
The truth.. push-ups are harder
Push-ups work more muscles, support good posture and they get people strong
They work the chest muscles, triceps, shoulders and core (think about it, it's a moving plank)
For a lot of people, the press up is the forgotten exercise. It's been pushed to one side because of fancy gym equipment or weighted alternatives
When I trained to get as strong as I could I'd bench press a couple of times a week, over time my bench became pretty good
I felt and thought I was strong
But one day I decided to do a few cheeky press-ups as part of my warmup
I scraped 13-15 and was exhausted
I practised my press-ups and reduced my benching. I had better shoulder health and felt even stronger
HOW TO DO KNEE PRESSUPS
Drop down to an exercise mat on your knees. Walk your hands forward so your back creates a ramp shape. Place your hands directly beneath your armpits
Look slightly in front towards the floor and bend your elbows so they bend at roughly a 45-degree angle
Once your elbow's drop to just below a 90-degree angle, push the earth away with a strong stomach
3. DEADLIFTS
There's something so primal about the deadlift
Pick something up, put it down
I think that's pretty cool
As far as exercises go, there are little to none that will create as much muscle breakdown as the deadlift
You're literally working your whole lower body, abs, lower back, upper back, grip and even biceps to a degree
Deadlifts will tax your abs like you wouldn't believe, help your posture and sculpt your thighs and bum
They can be performed with dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells (the first two being ideal for beginners to intermediate)
The key to the deadlift's success is the load you can lift. Similar to the glute bridge, success comes from going as heavy as you can
So next time you're in the gym, find the heaviest bell you can find and just pick it for a dozen reps (and then do it some more!)
HOW TO DEADLIFT
A deadlift is one of those exercises you master over time, books thicker than this laptop have been written on just this one exercise, but I'll give you the basics for deadlifting a kettle or dumbbell
Stand over the weight, your feet shoulder-width apart (feel free to go wider)
Push you bum backwards as if someones pulling you back with a piece of rope
Sink your knees until you can grab the weight
Hold tightly, brace your abs and think about pulling your upper back up
As you reach the top, push your bum forward and squeeze as hard as you can
4. DUMBBELL CLEAN TO PRESS
You might not have seen this one coming
A clean to press is a full-body exercise, the basics are lifting a weight from the floor, to your shoulder and then pressing the weight over your head
In the process, your working a tonne of muscles which will all develop and tone over time but will also get you puffing pretty hard in the process
The clean from the floor involves you using the same muscles as with the deadlift but also annihilating your shoulders and triceps while cleaning and pressing the weight up
Toned shoulders provide an athletic look while also giving the appearance of a smaller waist so don't forget to work them!
HOW TO DO THEM
Stand over the weight, with one foot closer than the other
With the opposite side's hand, deadlift down and collect the weight
Deadlift the weight up quickly and bring the dumbbell across the body to the over the shoulder
Your elbow should be directly under the weight and the dumbbell should be snug into your chest and shoulder
Press the weight directly up, tensing your core as tight as you can
Slower lower back down to your shoulder, push your bum back and bring the weight back towards your opposite foot
5. STANDING SINGLE-ARM ROW
The back is without a doubt the most neglected muscle group with most beginner gym users
The problem is, when we look in the mirror, we can't see our back muscles
For this reason, a lot of people neglect their back, focusing more on their chests ( *cough* blokes) or legs (ladies)
The back muscles are absolutely essential to look better for a few reasons
For starters, a toned back is attractive, but it's also ridiculously important for good posture
Working the back muscles will stop the shoulders rounding forward (which really isn't a good look)
A taller posture, happier shoulders and an athletic-looking back! No more skipping the rows kay! They're just too important to be missed
I've also gone for standing rows because they'll work your hamstrings and core a lot harder
HOW TO DO THEM
Pick a leg and place it next to your weight, so the weight is on the inside of your body
With your other leg, take a huge step back (probably more than you think)
You can now rest your elbow on your knee - this will create a strong foundation
With your other arm, grab the weight really tight
Pull the weight backwards focusing on pulling from your elbows, ignore your hands as this will help engage your back muscles
Row until your elbow makes a 90-degree angle and then slowly lower, making sure your stomachs pulled tight and you're not shrugging
CONCLUSION
So there we have it
5 exercises that will hit every fraction of your body using nothing more than your body weight and a single dumbbell or kettlebell
You might be thinking; "But Ben, where are the squats, the lunges, the planks?"
These 5 exercises aren't the only fantastic exercises
They're just movements that I recommend you definitely add into your workouts
If you're looking to transform your body in the next 90 days and need a transformation program as well as guidance from myself every day, then there are two ways I can help you
If you're in the West Sussex area - Click Here for 1:1 Transformation Training
Alternatively, work with me online for a fraction of the price
As always, thanks for reading,
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