Lost and forgotten exercises…(and some you may never have tried)

Walk into a modern health spa today and you could be forgiven for thinking you’d stepped into a nice comfortable living room, such is the range of machines and gadgets available to make life and training ever so comfortable. Whilst the participation in “resistance” training is becoming larger by the day, those who simply “lift weights” to get bigger and stronger are becoming less and less.

I suppose it’s natural progression that as the century rolls on, human beings get lazier and lazier, looking for easier ways to achieve their objectives.

However, as many of us know, there are no easy ways to build a strong, muscular, efficiently-functioning physique, only hard work will do that.

So rather than scour your gym looking for the latest weird and wonderful machine that was designed to make an uncomfortable exercise comfortable (so comfortable I see some guys falling asleep) try taking your training up a notch. Ditch the comfortable machines, pick up the heavy iron and start growing!

Following are some exercises you may never have done, seen or heard of before. Give them a try, it may provide the growth impetus your body has been looking for.

- Power Shrugs

This is a great exercise I picked up from my friend Gavin Laird. Gavin runs a very popular strength training website and is somewhat of an expert on all things iron and heavy!!

I have always lacked thickness in my upper back and decided to contact Gavin regarding a remedy. He suggested that I try power shrugs…and they’ve worked!

It’s really a strongman/power lifting support exercise, but works great for inclusion in a Body building routine. All you need is a power rack, an Olympic barbell and loads of weight. Simply fix the pins in the rack so they are set at just above knee level. Load the weight on the bar and in a partial dead lift fashion, stand up straight with the bar. However rather than stopping the movement once the arms are locked, continue upwards in a shrugging motion until you traps are fully contracted. The movement is basically a half dead lift into a shrug, but the momentum you gain from the initial pull, allows you to use heavier weights and get a larger range of motion, resulting in increased muscle fiber recruitment.

- Clean and Press

No doubt you’ve all heard of this exercise, but I bet seldom use it within their training programs. I like to use a rack for this and perform the clean (first part of the movement) from mid-shin level. Make sure to keep the elbows high during the clean, this is the biggest mistake those performing the clean for the first few times make. The first part of the movement is all about speed from A to B. Thrust with the legs, hips and glutes and pull the bar onto the front delts, from there you can perform one or two movements. Either do a traditional Barbell press, or perform a push-press by using the knees to accelerate the barbell into the semi-lockout position and from there use the delts and triceps to complete the press.

- Barbell Straddle lift

This is a superb movement for the glutes, quads and to some extent the hamstrings. Again all you need is a barbell. Simply set the barbell on the floor and load the weight on (beware you will have to start very light with this exercise, maybe 5-10kg per side for most of you). Then place one foot in front of the bar, over the centre of the barbell, with the other foot directly in a line with the front foot, only on the nearest side of the barbell. So basically your feet will be in a position similar to when performing a lunge. Squat down with the heels firmly on the floor and pick up the bar. From the beginning position use the quads and glutes to push up and the bar will come to rest by the upper region of your groin when the movement is completed.

The Barbell straddle lift is a superb exercise for the glutes and quads and one seldom performed.

For personal on-line training and email consultations, contact Jason.rickaby@uk-muscle.com

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