Sandbag Lift, Squat and Press Combo

I have no video of this yet - but it's an easy movement. You pick up a sandbag from the floor, then press it above your head. Then bring it back down to your chest and hold it there, resting it on your pecks. Do a squat. Then put the sandbag back down. That is one rep. ... Read more

Dumbbell Snatch

The video shows this being done with great form.

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Handstand Push Ups

Against the Wall

Raise-Assisted

The video shows me using barbell plates to create a defined point I can lower my head to. This makes it easier to gauge progress. You can use anything you like - you may prefer to find something softer if you are not confident about lowering yourself slowly!

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Push Ups (Press Ups)

Push ups and their many variations are a great addition to a flexible training program. I've never been in a hotel room where you couldn't find room to do this exercise. There are many variations, which can be as easy or as hard as you want. Some of these are shown by these videos and links - I will post a wider variety in due course.

Basic Push Up

I have removed the basic push up video because it now includes an annoying commercial at the start. Instead, take a look at the weighted push up video in the next section. This shows how a correct push up inludes a full extension at the top - something people rarely do, but which really adds to the value of the exercise. This last bit of extension is sometimes done in isolation, and called a 'scapula push up.'

Weighted Push Ups

Close-Grip Push Ups

These emphasise your triceps. Also known as the 'triangle push up', apparently.

Inverted (Decline) Push Ups

You can do these by elevating your feet. There are two variations I have used.

Inverted 'Pike' Push Ups - where you flex at the hips to place more emphasis on the shoulders. With this approach it is actually possible to use a flat wall, maintaining your feet in place by pushing backwards with your hands.



Normal Inverted Press Ups - where you maintain the rigid body position as with a regular press up. This isn't the best form I have ever seen, but I like the fact he's doing it outside rather than in a gym.

Plyometric (Explosive) Push Ups, with a Clap

This guy has good form, I reckon. I have seen videos of people doing 2 and 3 claps, or even claps behind the back - but in most cases they appear to flex at the hips to obtain the height (and therefore time) necessary to do this. I am not sure what the point is - I would rather do fewer claps and leave the hips out of it.

Jack La Lanne Push Ups

These also give your abs some work to do!

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Cleans / Power Cleans

Barbell

This is a good video of the strict technique, but my view is that you can choose to involve as little of your legs as you choose according to how much emphasis you want to put on them. As a rule, the heavier the weight, the more you will need the legs.

Single-Arm Dumbbell

This is a slightly unusual video, but it's the only one I could find that illustrates what I believe to be a single-arm dumbbell clean. Some people seem to think other, more controlled, rear-delt targeting movements can be classed as cleans. I disagree.

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Muscle Ups

I think this exercise, strictly speaking, should be done using gymnastic rings. I will find a video of this being done, but for now am focusing on the version that uses a bar, since that is what I do.

Using a Bar

This is the basic form using a bar - he does swing a little bit, but not enough to classify this as a 'kipping' muscle up (see lower down.)

Jump-Assisted Using a Bar

I don't have a video of this, but essentially this involves standing on a box under a bar and jumping into the movement so I can provide additional momentum to allow me to perform the muscle up. By reducing the size of the box, then the extent to which I rely on a jump, I hope to progress towards the unassisted version.

Swing-Assisted, Uneven Muscle Ups Using a Bar

This was how I achieved my first muscle up - by swinging and then doing an uneven muscle up so that my strongest arm took priority. In other words, I just did my damnedest to get up there. Now I can work backwards from here and try to tighten up the form.

Partial

These are a lot like dips - you start in the normal end position - arms straight. Find a wall or other platform and then get yourself into the position as if you had just done a successful muscle up on it. Then lower yourself as far down as you can go whilst still comfortably then pushing back to the straight-armed position. To progress, increase the depth to which you go before pushing up. ... Read more

Dumbbell Swings

Single Arm

If you also watch the reflection of this dude in the mirror, you can figure out the full movement. I picked this because this is exactly how I perform the exercise. Like this guy, I also tend to use it as a finisher.

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Sandbag Clean and Throw

Use the technique shown here to clean the sandbag, then throw it into the air as high as you can, slightly forwards, so that it doesn't come back and hit you. This adds a plyometric (explosive) element to the movement you cannot get with a dumbbell or barbell because of the damage you would cause if you released them!

Clearly you need a sandbag that's not so heavy that it cannot be thrown - the one being used in the clean and jerk video is perhaps a little heavy... ... Read more

Two-handed, Single Dumbbell Lift and Press

This is a home-spun exercise, although that's not to say no one else has thought of it before. The video shows me executing a couple of reps. I just invented it independantly. No doubt someone, somewhere has done it before. The key is to be methodical about each step, especially the change in grip on the way up and down.

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Bench Press

Barbell Bench Press

I don't the barbell anymore because I found it aggravated my shoulder over a period of time. I was told that there were better grips I could use, but I opted instead to go for dumbbell bench press, so never got a chance to see if that would work.

Dumbbell Bench Press

I have been doing this in preference to barbell press for a while now. I find that allowing my wrists and arms to find their own preferred planes of motion has eliminated various overuse injuries I used to get with barbell work.

I just had to use this video of Ronnie Coleman to illustrate this exercise. Needless to say I usually use a little less weight!

One-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

I use this when I have no one to pass me the dumbbell and I want to use a weight which is too heavy for me to get into position on my own - I just use both hands to get the weight up, then switch to one hand for the reps.

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Headstand

The headstand is a basic gymnastic move. There are different variations - I have seen a number of videos showing a yoga version where you rest on your elbows. For now I am posting this single video of the basic headstand because it most closely approximates my approach and I have not yet attempted any other types.

Basic Headstand

This can be done with a wall for support or at least to catch you if you over-balance. You can also move into a and out of the headstand much more slowly - after a few consecutive slow headstands you can certainly feel it on your lower back and shoulders from the effort of stabilising.


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Shoulder Press

This can be done with dumbbells or a barbell, either seated or standing up. With a barbell, there is the question of whether to bring the bar to the front or the back of the neck. My experience has been that the behind-the-neck variation is awkward and can lead to injury especially if the bar brought all the way down to the traps.

The videos show a couple of the combinations.

When I was doing this exercise with heavy dumbbells, I found that if I allowed my upper arms to go below the horizontal position I developed injuries over time. People would tell me that I needed to get the full range of movement, but I am not convinced this is necessary.

These days I only do shoulder press with light weights as part of a circuit, usually standing up.

Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Seated Front Barbell Shoulder Press

Even though it has a bit of a muscle-head emphasis, I picked this video because it shows the arms going no lower than the horizontal, which as I mention above, I think reduces the likelihood of injury.

With Sandbag

As seen in the first few seconds of this video. If you are just using the sandbag to press and not for the other exercises they go on to do, then a heavier bag would be needed. Mine is 28kg and I can manage no more than 15 good reps from fresh.


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Planche

This is a gymnastics exercise. It's a great way to build front upper body strength but can be hard to master. The frog stand is the most basic form, shown here in this video. I will soon post more videos and links to articles that describe how to advance through the progressions.

Frog Stand

Dragon Door: tutorial on progressing through the front lever and planche.

Dragon Door: tutorial on planche for if you are making no progress! ... Read more

Floor Wipers

These give you an isometric chest and tricep workout (where the muscle is under tension but remains static) as well as an ab workout. The video shows this being done on the floor, but I often just do it on the weights bench because otherwise if my chest is already tired I can't get the barbell up (you need a certain amount of weight on there to provide the necessary counter-balance.) It can be a challenge to balance your body on the weight bench, but this forces you to make the movement controlled, which is no bad thing.


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Ab Rollouts

This is one of the toughest abs exercises I have ever done, but the good news is that although strict standing ab rollouts are tough, there are many variations that allow a progression. Here are some videos and links showing what you can do.

Standing Ab Rollout - videos (dumbbells and barbell)
From the Knees with Barbell - video
Standing Ab Rollout with Dropped Knees - video
Ross Enamait - homemade wheel and many rollout variations
Basketball Reverse Rollouts - video
Beast Skills - article - using a special ab wheel and some great tips on how to progress

Standing Ab Rollout Using dumbbells

Standing Ab Rollout Using Barbell

From the Knees with Barbell

Standing Rollout with Dropped Knees

Go to 2:00 in the video to see the exercise.

Ross Enamait's Video

Using his homemade wheels and showing just about every variation you can imagine.

Basketball Reverse Rollouts

These can be challenging - the difficulty in controlling the ball forces you to recruit a broader range of core muscles to execute the movement.


Standing Ab Rollout - videos (dumbbells and barbell)
From the Knees with Barbell - video
Standing Ab Rollout with Dropped Knees - video
Ross Enamait - homemade wheel and many rollout variations
Basketball Reverse Rollouts - video
Beast Skills - article - using a special ab wheel and some great tips on how to progress ... Read more

Crutch Balancing

As you can see, this is somewhat experimental, and really just something to pass the time at train stations and bus stops; but it is a demanding activity and would certainly build some strength in the upper body. I imagine a gymnast would be able to execture this with great skill.
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Clean and Press (or Jerk)

This is basically about getting an object above your head at arms length. It's basically a clean or power clean followed by pressing the weight above your head.

Whether or not you do a 'press' or a 'jerk' really depends on the extent to which you recruit your legs to give initial momentum to driving the weight above your head. It's a fine line. Just do what feels best for the weight you are using and let other people worry about semantics!

N.B. I am not including the snatch here - just pressing or jerking the weight above the head.

Barbell

Dumbbell

Sandbag

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Star Jumps / Jumping Jacks

Jumping Jacks are basically an easier version of the star jump. I find the former too light to have any tangible impact on my cardiovascular system, but for that reason it can be useful for recovery sets during circuits.

Star Jumps

Jumping Jacks

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Upright Row

Personally I favour cleans as a superior exercise - it hits similar muscles and is a more natural movement - but I do use upright row in circuits.

Barbell



Dumbbell - Alternating

I find alternating with dumbbells a much better way to get a good squeeze, and it feels more natural and less likely to injure. Getting a good rhythm going helps - this guy is doing it a bit slower than I do.




... Read more