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The 3 Best LOWER AB Focused Planks

The 3 Best LOWER AB Focused Planks

by | Apr 3, 2022 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief, Travel Workouts, Workouts

Looking to mix up your core training and find something you really feel working those abs, especially the lower abs, while also helping you avoid an achy lower back?

Then you’re going to love these 3 amazing plank variations.

Planks can be both great isometric exercises, but also more dynamic movements to target and strength our abs.

And with some specific variations, we can target that lower portion of the rectus abdominis even more!

That’s why I want to show you 3 ways to use planks to target those lower abs…including one move that is a great untraditional and challenging plank option even if you can’t do traditional planks due to shoulder issues!

And at the end I’ll share a great quick burner layout so you can use these 3 moves at the end of your workout!

 

3 Lower Ab Focused Planks

1: Dolphin Planks

If you really want to target your lower abs, you need to include exercises that utilize the posterior pelvic tilt.

This tilting of the pelvis, tucking the hips toward the ribs, really engages that lower portion of the rectus abdominis while also working your glutes. And it is a great way to learn how to brace to protect your lower back from aches and pains as well.

While you can use the posterior pelvic tilt in a plank as an isometric hold, doing a plange plank, you can also include this tilting as a dynamic movement during the plank.

This dynamic plank variation using the posterior pelvic tilt is the Dolphin Plank and a great way to challenge your abs.

You will use that tuck up to engage those lower abs, but also challenge your abs to protect your spine as you test out your spinal extension, slightly dropping your hips toward the ground.

This forces your abs to brace as you extend, but be mindful you don’t end up simply engaging your lower back!

To do this move, set up in a plank from your forearms and toes with your feet together. Make sure your shoulders are stacked over your elbows and your upper back is engaged so your shoulders aren’t shrugged.

Drive back through your heels as you flex your quads to hold in a nice straight line. To improve your base, you can widen your feet out to shoulder width.

Then tuck your pelvis under toward your ribs, rounding through your entire spine even to tuck. Do not push your butt up in the air and end up shifting your shoulders back behind your elbows.

You really just want to round through your spine as you tuck your hips toward your ribs, engaging your abs and glutes.

Even think about drawing your belly button in as you exhale to pull your abs in hard.

Then begin to lower back down into that plank position. As you lower though, try to go a little past that straight line as if extending to slightly drop your hips.

You want to feel your abs almost FIGHTING against you lowering to prevent your back from really arching.

You’re testing out your ab brace as you extend.

Then tuck right back up, tilting your pelvis again.

Do not push backward as you do this movement. Keep your shoulders stacked over your elbows.

Pause in each position to really feel your core working. Really move slowly through the movement to focus on feeling your abs.

If you feel your lower back, either modify to the static plange plank hold or use an incline.

To modify this move an incline works best. The higher the incline the less pressure or strain there will be on your shoulders and even core so you can really focus in on those abs working.

You can also do this starting on your hands and knees but be conscious that, while it may look like the cat cow stretch, you are truly engaging your abs to round up. I like to call this variation the vomiting cat because I want my clients drawing in their abs as if trying to really hollow out their belly!

2: Lower Ab Plank

This move is not a traditional hands and feet or forearms and feet plank. But it is an amazing core isometric hold and a move that is great to target those lower abs.

I personally call it a Lower Ab Plank so wanted to include it as an option because often when people have shoulder injuries and can’t do planks they feel a bit lost about what options are out there.

So if you need to take your upper body and shoulders out of the equation, this is a great option to target those lower abs…although don’t forget about using the incline as well to regress moves and build up!

This exercise is advanced though and you need to have mastered that basic pelvic tilt hold to brace so you don’t feel your lower back or hip flexors only working.

To do the move, you will lie on your back with your arms down by your sides or hands behind your head.

To start you can raise your legs straight up toward the ceiling and tilt your hips towards your ribs to press your lower back into the ground. Or you can start with your knees bent to really set up the posterior pelvic tilt before extending your legs.

Maintaining that pelvic tilt, lower your legs down so they are only an inch or two off the ground and hold. Better to even hold up a few inches higher to keep that ab brace and even squeeze your glutes.

Focus on really bracing those abs as you hold.

If you feel your lower back taking over, raise your legs up higher or even bend your knees. You can even start with just one leg extended.

Lifting your head to perform an upper body crunch can both make the move harder, but also help by flexing your spine.

Make sure to breathe and focus on engaging those abs, keeping that tilt. You do not want your lower back taking over. If it does, your lower back and not your lower abs are getting worked by this move.

Better to modify and focus on those abs than do a harder variation where you compensate!

3: Body Saw

Extended planks or long lever planks have actually been shown to increase ab activation over the traditional plank, especially of the lower portion of the rectus abdominis.

That’s why it’s key to include some extended plank positions in your routine.

You just want to be very conscious you don’t overload your neck and shoulder OR let your butt start to hike up in the air as you do these moves.

One great dynamic way to include the extended plank position in your routine over simply holding is with the Body Saw.

The great part about this plank variation, like with all plank variations, is you can also modify this move off an incline.

And if you have wrist issues you can do it from your forearms or you can also give yourself more space and change things up by doing this movement from your hands to work your arms more!

To do the basic Body Saw plank from your forearms, set up in a plank position from your forearms and toes with your feet close together and elbows under your shoulders.

You want a nice straight line from your head to your heels. Make sure to engage your back to support your shoulders and make sure they aren’t shrugged.

Then begin to walk your feet backward, taking small steps. Keep your body in a nice straight line and don’t let your hips sag toward the ground.

Lengthen through your triceps and shoulders as you walk back.

Walk back as far as you can while keeping your core engaged.

Then walk your feet back forward until you are back in the standard plank position. You do not need to walk more forward than simply back so your shoulders are over your elbows.

Make sure you feel your abs bracing as you extend back. Do not push your butt up in the air or let your hips sag toward the ground.

Repeat walking back out.

Remember you can modify the move off an incline to reduce the strain on your upper body and core.

To advance this move as well, you can also add in sliders, sliding back instead of walking. That reduces traction and even makes that pull back in so much harder! Just make sure you can control the move before progressing!

SUMMARY:

Using these 3 plank variations you can really work your abs while targeting that lower portion of your rectus abdominis even more!

To use these as a workout….

Lower Ab Burner:

Set a timer for 20 seconds per move starting with the Body Saw then the Dolphin Plank and ending with the Lower Ab Plank.

Rest 20 seconds between rounds to make sure you can really focus on bracing hard each round and complete 2-3 rounds through.

You want to focus on short intervals so you can engage everything hard over just focusing on holding for longer and letting your lower back or hips become overworked!

The BEST results happen when our diet and our workouts WORK TOGETHER!

Check out my RS Formula for FABULOUS results:

–> 3-Step RS Formula

 

Don’t Skip This BICEP EXERCISE

Don’t Skip This BICEP EXERCISE

by | Mar 20, 2022 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Suspension Trainer

We don’t cheat intentionally, but it is easy at times to let momentum help us out. I see this happening a lot on bicep curls.

And while isolation exercises like bicep curls are key if you have a stubborn area and want to create better muscle hypertrophy or growth, if you can get a little extra core benefit from a movement isolating an area, why not!?

That’s why I love the Suspension Trainer Bicep Curls.

This move not only work the bicep from a more shoulder flexed position over the normal curl that works the Bicep with the shoulder extended, but it can also help you avoid using momentum while also improving your core stability!

The shoulder flexed position makes this curl a good one to include because, while we often think of the biceps impact on the elbow, flexing that joint, the bicep does also weakly assist in shoulder flexion.

And we’re missing out if we don’t consider all joint actions when training a muscle. Also, different degrees of shoulder flexion do impact the amount of bicep activation.

So while you may keep in your traditional bicep curls starting with your arms hanging down, starting from 90 degrees of shoulder flexion is a great complement to that basic move!

How Do You Do The Suspension Trainer Bicep Curl?

To do the Suspension Trainer Bicep Curl, hold a strap in each hand with your palms facing toward your head. Wrap your thumb around to tightly grip the handles and feel your fingers all engaged.

Walk your feet forward toward the anchor point so you are leaning back. The closer to parallel to the ground you get, the harder the move will be.

As you gauge your incline, start with less of one to focus on isolating those biceps, especially if you’re used to doing inverted rows and are close to parallel.

Lean back with your arms out straight in front of you and your shoulders flexed to 90 degrees. When you curl in, you will want your pinkies to end up by your temples.

Your body should be in a nice straight line from your head to your heels.

Do not let your hips sink toward the ground or your back arch. Keep your core tight and your chest pressed out.

Flex even your feet to engage your legs and help hold that plank position as you perform the curl.

Then, keeping your elbows at shoulder height, curl your hands in toward your forehead.

You want to focus on ONLY moving from the elbows, isolating those biceps to pull.

As you curl your arms, make sure your body stays in a nice straight line.

Once you bring the handles to your forehead, slowly extend your arms back out.

Do not extend your shoulders and lower your arms. You want to just extend at the elbows. Make sure to keep your body in a nice straight line as you move.

Then repeat the curl moving slowly.

Walk your feet forward more to move more parallel to the ground or slow the tempo of move down to advance it!

You can think even a 3-5 count in. Pause in at your forehead then a 3-5 count back out.

You can also advance it and make your core work hard to avoid rotation by doing a single arm curl instead of the bilateral move.

SUMMARY:

Isolate those biceps as you work your core with this amazing Suspension Trainer Bicep Curl.

It’s a great way to really force yourself to avoid using momentum or swinging to curl and a great way to work those biceps from a more shoulder flexed position.

What’s your favorite bicep curl variation to include?

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Target Your LOWER ABS – The Best Lower Ab Exercise You Aren’t Doing

Target Your LOWER ABS – The Best Lower Ab Exercise You Aren’t Doing

by | Mar 13, 2022 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Workouts

Now my favorite comment I get any time I post anything to work the lower abs is…

“You don’t have lower ab muscles.”

And that’s true. There is no specific lower ab muscle.

But you CAN target that lower portion of your rectus abdominis to a greater extent with specific moves, especially bottom up exercises.

Just like you can target the upper portion more as well with more top down focused moves.

So if you’re looking to target that lower portion of your rectus abdominis while even strengthening your pelvic floor and TVA more, I want to share a movement variation I think is often under utilized.

But before I do I do just want to mention a few bonus tips to help you really achieve that lean, flat stomach.

That lower abdominal region is an especially stubborn one to lose fat from.

And 100% diet is key. And consistency in dialing in our macros past the point we often want to quit as losing that last little bit of stubborn belly fat is hard.

But if you truly are struggling with losing that last little bit, this tip may be the missing piece from your training routine.

And it does involve something we’ve been told is impossible….

Spot lipolysis aka SPOT REDUCTION! GASP!

Yup. You can spot reduce an area…not in the way we’ve always tried to, but it may be that key little tweak when you’ve got everything dialed in.

How do you do this?

Try including this underrated ab exercise, or an exercise for the stubborn area you want to target in your strength workout. Include it even as part of a finisher.

When we work a muscle, we mobilize more fatty acids from the surrounding tissues.

So if we do this focused ab work to mobilize the fatty acids in the surrounding tissues and then include low intensity steady state cardio after, we can utilize the mobilize fatty acids.

Aka we can help ourselves lose more fat from our lower abdominal region!

(For more on Spot Lipolysis, clic HERE!)

If you’ve been struggling with that last little bit of stubborn fat and want to strengthen your lower abs, try this Hanging Posterior Pelvic Tilt with Squeeze as part of your workout finisher even adding in a nice walk after to cool down!

How do you do the Hanging Posterior Pelvic Tilt with Squeeze?

Hanging leg raises and knees to elbows are both great lower ab exercises. Yet too often we use them in a way that only ends up overworking our hip flexors.

It’s because we ignore the essential component that makes any leg raise movement really target our lower abs – the posterior pelvic tilt.

That’s why I love this hanging ab exercise – because it focuses on that essential pelvic tilt component.

And by adding in the leg squeeze, which in turn engages your adductors, you can even help yourself better activate your pelvic floor and lower portion of the rectus abdominis.

To do this move, start hanging from the bar from a ball or block between your upper thighs right above your knees. Grip the bar hard with all of your fingers evenly and engage your back to help you stabilize, slightly depressing your shoulder blades.

Then, squeezing the ball or block, tuck your pelvis toward your ribs. You’re basically rounding your lower back.

Your legs will come forward but you do not want to really bend at the hips.

You’re using your abs, and even your glute max to perform that slight spinal flexion to tuck your pelvis under.

Squeeze the ball hard as you tuck.

Think about pulling your core in as you tuck. You’re not just drawing your belly button toward your spine but even thinking about pulling your pelvis in toward each other as you tuck toward your ribs.

To help you really brace, focus on that exhale as you tuck.

As you do this move, focus on that exhale to expel all the air you have and contract that core as you perform the pelvic tilt to feel your TVA even engaging as a corset around your middle to brace.

Really pause with each tilt to focus on engaging your abs as hard as you can before slowly relaxing.

To help you really avoid too much swing, grip the bar hard and engage your lats.

This is a very challenging move as simple as it may seem.

To modify the fully hanging variation, keep your toes down as you hang, even losing the block or ball squeeze to be able to better focus first on the tilt.

If you have any upper body issues or simply can’t yet fully hang and control the exercise, you can also modify by doing this off the ground, holding onto a pole overhead or on a bench holding onto the end.

To progress the move when you’re fully in control of the posterior pelvic tilt, you can keep the squeeze and start to do even the full knees to elbows. But only progress as you can fully control the move and feel that mind-body connection being used to create that ab shakeage!

SUMMARY:

Remember you need to focus on feeling your lower abs working to get the full benefit of this move. If you instead only feel your lower back or hips, you need to modify.

Sometimes we need to regress to progress!

The 3-Step Fat Loss Formula if you’re ready to reveal those abs…

–> 3-Step RS Formula

The Right Way To Get A Strong Lower Back (4 exercises)

The Right Way To Get A Strong Lower Back (4 exercises)

by | Feb 27, 2022 | Blog, Butt, Core, Exercises, Functional Fitness, injury-featured, Pain Relief

Many of us have thought to ourselves, “My lower back is so weak” when we’ve been suffering from lower back aches and pains.

We feel it during ab movements or deadlifts and think that we feel it because we need to strengthen it.

But what if the problem isn’t that your lower back is weak?

What if the issue is that it’s actually OVERWORKED?

This is all too often the case when it comes to our lower back.

The muscles there become overworked due to our daily postures which have created mobility restrictions and underactive abs and glutes.

So all of that strengthening you’re trying to do, all of those superman you’re doing, may actually be perpetuating the issues making them worse instead of better.

Instead you may need to be working on your hip and thoracic mobility while activating your abs and glutes to protect your lower back from being overloaded.

Remember the point of pain isn’t always where the problem started. And feeling a muscle work during a move may not be because it is weak. Instead it may be working when it shouldn’t and become overloaded.

So if you’ve been feeling your lower back during moves and thought, “I need to strengthen it,” try including these 4 moves in your warm up routine instead! And stop overworking your already overloaded lower back more!

Exercise #1: Thoracic Foam Rolling

If one area is lacking in mobility, we will seek out mobility from another area to compensate.

Because we often lack proper thoracic extension due to hunching over our technology or driving in our cars, we tend to compensate for this lack of extension by arching our lower back during exercises.

If you’ve ever felt your lower back during overhead pressing movements or bent over rows or back flyes, you may be arching your lower back in an attempt to maintain a neutral spine because of your limited thoracic extension.

That’s why it’s key we work to improve our thoracic extension to avoid seeking out mobility from our lumbar spine to compensate.

That’s why I love peanut foam rolling. It’s a great way to relax those muscles that may become tight along our spine while improving our thoracic extension.

To do this move, you can use a peanut, which can easily be made by taping two balls together or tying them in a sock. Lie on your back placing the peanut in your mid-back with a ball on either side of your spine.

Place your hands behind your head, pulling your elbows open as you relax over the peanut.

Breathe and hold for a second, then crunch up and relax back down. Do a few of the crunches, extending back over, before moving the peanut up your spine.

You can also reach your arms up overhead and sweep them open and out to your sides before crunching up to stretch out your chest further.

But focus on breathing to relax as you hold and allow your spine to extend over the roller.

To progress this move, you can use something like the Simple Mobility tool which has a larger diameter and will require more spinal mobility to relax over.

Exercise #2: Bench Hip And Quad Stretch with Rotation

Tight hip flexors, and a lack of hip and spinal mobility in general can lead to you overusing your lower back as you then aren’t able to properly engage your glutes or even your upper back and abs.

That’s why stretches to improve your hip extension and spinal mobility are key.

Too often if our hip flexors are tight, we end up feeling moves that should be felt in our glutes in our lower backs and quads. Not to mention we can develop hamstring synergistic dominance where our hamstrings start to become overworked instead of our glutes working when they should!

To address both limited hip and spinal mobility, I love this Bench Hip and Quad Stretch With Rotation.

To do this move, place one foot up on a bench or chair behind you and half kneel on the ground with that back knee down and front foot flat on the ground. Move out far enough that you can squeeze that back glute to drive your hip into extension while keeping that front knee aligned over that front ankle.

In this half kneeling position, place both hands down on the ground even with your front instep.

In this position it is key you squeeze that back glute to drive that hip into extension or you lose out on the hip flexor stretch. Having your back foot up on the bench flexes your knees to stretch your quads at the same time.

Then lift your hand closet to your front foot to rotate toward that front leg. As you rotate your chest open, don’t just move at your shoulder. Focus on engaging your upper back to rotate your chest open.

Reach up toward the ceiling then place that hand back down on the ground. Then lift your other hand up to rotate away from that front leg. You may find it harder to rotate one direction, especially away from the front leg.

Make sure to keep that back glute engaged the entire time to stretch your hips and engage your upper back to help you twist and rotate.

Do not let yourself rock out on that front foot and cheat, seeking out mobility from other areas!

Move slowly and work for about 30 seconds per side even before switching legs.

To modify, you can place your back foot on a block instead of up on a bench. You can also place that back foot on a wall if you don’t have a bench.

If you can’t kneel due to knee issues, do this from a runner’s lunge position, even modifying with your hands up on an incline.

Exercise #3: 3-Way Hip Circles

The best way to protect your back is to strengthen your glutes and your abs so they brace to help protect your spine so your lower back isn’t doing all of the work!

That’s why this 3-Way Hip Circle activation move is so important to include. It not only helps mobilize your hips, but also works on your core engagement, activating your glutes, abs and even obliques.

Avoid leaning away or rotating your pelvis as you focus on moving just at the hip joint.

In this drill you want to pause in each position as the donkey kick will target your glute max while the fire hydrant will target your glute medius and the knee tuck will engage both your hip flexors, but especially your abs if you focus on drawing in your belly button as you pull in to tuck.

By also fighting the urge to lean away you’ll feel those obliques working to keep your hips level toward the ground.

To do the 3-Way Hip Circles, start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet.

Then, keeping your knee bent to about 90 degrees, kick one leg back like into a Donkey Kick. You may slightly abduct the leg to better engage the glute, but do not let the knee rotate open. Focus on stopping the move with your glute over arching your lower back to lift up higher.

Pause here even assessing if you feel your glute. If you feel your hamstrings, relax your foot or even kick slightly out. And make sure your hips stay level to the ground.

Then, without bringing your knee back down, circle it out to the side into a Fire Hydrant position. Do not bend your arms or lean away to try to get the leg up higher.

Pull your knee in line with your hip, keeping your knee bent to about 90 degrees. Focus on keeping your lower leg about parallel to the ground. Do not let your foot flare up higher. Feel the side of your butt working to hold the leg up.

Pause here then tuck your knee straight in toward the elbow on the same side.

Pull your abs in as you crunch and don’t be afraid to flex slightly through your spine. Focus on those abs working as you drive your knee into your arms.

Pause then repeat the move kicking back into that Donkey Kick position.

Move slowly focusing on avoiding rotation or arching of your lower back as you kick back.

Complete all reps on one side before switching.

You can not only modify this move but also simply add variety to it and a balance challenge, by doing this standing. You can also do a straight leg kickback if you really struggle with arching your lower back or your hamstring compensating.

The key is making sure you actually feel the glutes working. Because doing the right moves, without feeling the correct muscles working may only perpetuate the problem over correcting it!

Exercise #4: Pelvic Tilt Balance March

Improving your pelvic stability to properly be able to brace your abs during movement is key if you want to avoid lower back overload and injury.

It’s why the Pelvic Tilt Balance March.

It is far from an easy move but it is a great way to engage your TVA or transverse abdominis while working your rectus abdominis and obliques to stabilize.

Just make sure you advance it slowly over rushing it.

You don’t want your lower back to take over or your hip flexors to be doing all the work.

To do this move, place a larger foam ball or pilates ball right under the top of your butt.

You want to balance on this ball, pressing down into it with your arms down by your sides, palms pressing into the ground.

Then bend your knees to about 90 degrees, bringing them into that tabletop position. Better to have them slightly out than to tuck them more into your chest as that will make it easier.

Balancing here, slowly touch one toe to the ground, fighting the urge to rotate. Raise that leg back up then touch the other toe down.

Focus on bracing those abs and not letting your abs dome out or your lower back arch. If it feels like too much, bring the ball up slightly higher.

To advance from here, you may bend your elbows or even raise one or both arms off the ground. This will give you less of a base to assist with stabilizing.

But only progress as you’ve earned it. Better to modify and really feel those abs working!

Move slowly with this move and even consider starting without the ball to master that posterior pelvic tilt progression if you haven’t!

SUMMARY:

Too often our lower back becomes overworked due to hip and spinal mobility restrictions and weak or underactive abs and glutes.

But because we consistently feel our lower back during moves, we assume it is actually weak and instead try to do more to work it.

This only perpetuates the problem.

So make sure you’re also working to improve those mobility restrictions while strengthening supporting muscles so your back doesn’t become overloaded.

Remember where the point of pain is isn’t always where the problem started! And injury doesn’t only mean an area is weak!

Use these 4 moves in your warm up, even just spending 30 seconds per move to start to help you avoid those lower back aches and pains!

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The Most Underrated BODYWEIGHT Leg Exercise

The Most Underrated BODYWEIGHT Leg Exercise

by | Feb 14, 2022 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Exercises, Functional Fitness

Too often we only think about progressing movements to build muscle by adding loads.

However, you can build muscle by creating progression in other ways especially if you don’t have any tools at your disposal.

If it challenges you, it will change you.

So if you’re only training with bodyweight but want to strengthen your legs?

You’ll want to try this amazing move, and one of my favorite bodyweight leg exercises we often aren’t doing – The Airborne Lunge!

Before I go over how to do this move, I want to highlight other ways you can create progression without loads all of which can be done with this great lunge variation.

One, you can use unilateral movements over bilateral moves.

Two, you can create more instability, through changing the surface you’re performing the move on or even the base of support you have, such as doing a fully single leg movement.

Three, you can change up tempo. You can slow down the whole movement, parts of the movement or even speed the move up and make it more explosive. You can even slow down one part and speed up another. Or you can even add a pause or hold.

Four, you change up the range of motion you’re working through. Increasing the range of motion of a move can make it more challenging. It is also a great way to make sure you’re working to maintain the mobility you build through your other prehab work!

It’s key to remember we can find ways to progress movements and build strength and muscle even when we don’t have weights.

So if you’re training at home or when you travel and need to progress the basic bodyweight leg exercise, try this Airborne Lunge Variation.

It’s a great move if you even want to build up toward that pistol squat!

The Airborne Lunge:

The Airborne Lunge is a great bodyweight glute and leg exercise that can help you build up to that full pistol squat even with a more hip dominant movement pattern.

It is however a deceptively hard move.

To do the Airborne Lunge, stand tall and shift your weight to one foot, bending the other knee to bring your heel up toward your butt. You want to keep that foot pulled toward your butt so you only touch your knee down when you lower.

Then sit your butt back to hinge at the hips as you bend your standing knee to drop your back knee down toward the ground. You will lean forward as you hinge, but do not round over. You are leaning forward to counterbalance your weight and sit back.

Touch your knee to the ground gently without letting that raised foot touch down.

Do not reach that raised leg back too far or you will get too spread out. Your standing knee may travel over your toes. This is NOT a bad thing and this ankle mobility is required to build up toward the full pistol squat. Just make sure you’ve pushed your butt back to load your glutes while keeping that standing foot, and especially your heel, firmly pressed down into the ground.

Lightly touch your back knee down, then drive back up to standing. Do not push off that knee or the raised foot.

You want the entire movement to be powered by that standing leg.

Stand tall at the top and squeeze that standing glute. Try not to touch the other foot down.

Repeat the move again, sitting your butt back to hinge as you bend that standing knee to lower down.

The range of motion on this move and the instability of the unilateral movement make it a challenge. To progress it further, you can increase the ROM, by performing the lunge with your standing leg up on something so you have to sink deeper.

Or you can change up the tempo, slowing things down, even pausing at the bottom.

However, you can also modify this movement by reducing the range of motion and touching your knee down to a block or box. You can also reduce the instability by holding on to something to help you balance.

But this unilateral move is a great way to build strong legs and glutes, correct imbalance and progress your bodyweight training WITHOUT adding loads!

And it’s a great way to perform a more hip dominant exercise that can help you even build up toward that full pistol squat as well!

SUMMARY:

Just remember, if it challenges you it will change you. Muscle growth and strength increases come from forcing our muscles to adapt to a challenge!

My Most Hated Video – Stop Exercise Shaming!

My Most Hated Video – Stop Exercise Shaming!

by | Feb 8, 2022 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness

You know why there are so many different perspectives out there in fitness?

Because there are a ton of different things that can work based on your needs and goals.

Are some of them a bit far out there and only work for those rare few?

Yup. But as my husband was told growing up because of his weird approach in baseball, “You don’t tweak the freaks.”

Now while I’m not encouraging you to go find the strangest thing possible to test, I do think it is key we start to embrace the opportunity in different perspectives and see these differing opinions as a chances to learn and improve.

Over simply demonizing moves or opinions as wrong.

I can’t tell you how many times early on I “wrote off” a cue or training technique because it didn’t fit the “tribe” I was in at the time.

This ultimately held me back from becoming as strong and as fit as I could be as efficiently as possible.

It’s why I can deadlift more now than when I won the MA/RI State Powerlifting Championship.

It’s why I’m leaner now than when I fought tracking and focused only on “eating clean” and restricting arbitrary foods.

We need to seek to learn and even challenge our own perspective with differing opinions. This is the way we can find little tweaks to make to help ourselves personally improve and create the Frankenstein program right for us.

Because ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL.

Now I bring this up because of the interesting comment chain I read on my Underrated Arm Exercise.

Let’s get one thing straight about what creates results and helps you build muscle…

If it challenges you, it will change you.

Heavier loads are only ONE way to create progression and muscle hypertrophy.

Muscles grow stronger and bigger in response to a challenge that forces them to adapt.

Time under tension using different tempos, changes in range of motion, changes in tools used, changes in the exact movement pattern and your postures, all can create a new stimulus and challenge for your muscles.

And all of these can force your body to have to adapt and grow.

Progression can be simply created from doing the SAME BUT DIFFERENT!

And that’s why I love that amazing arm exercise.

It isn’t just a bicep move. It isn’t just a basic tricep extension. It isn’t just an overhead press.

It works your entire arm in one movement.

And there are so many ways you can vary and tweak it to match your specific needs.

Now I wanted to address a few “concerns” people raised to hopefully share a different perspective on things and help guide you to determine if this move has benefit to YOU personally…

First concern…

Now what if one muscle is weaker and limits the weight you can use?

Many people mentioned that one of the muscles involved was stronger than the others so that they felt like they needed to use different weights on each move to truly challenge each muscle group.

There is definitely ALWAYS a limiting factor in movements. It is why for especially stubborn areas, as I mention in the full video, you may at times still include isolation exercises.

However, these same people vilifying this move because a muscle required for the movement may be stronger than another also love bench press and do push ups and pull ups and squats.

In all of these compound, multi-joint movements, there is a limiting factor. Be it your shoulders or triceps or chest on bench, something impacts the loads you can move.

It doesn’t still mean you don’t get results from it and that you can’t create progression to create hypertrophy.

Not to mention the actual technically ideal strength ratio between your triceps and biceps SHOULD be 1:1. So if you have a huge difference between the two that is actually something you may want to work on.

And it is probably based on what you’ve trained or utilized more.

Technically the triceps accounts for around 55% of upper arm muscle mass, while the biceps takes up about 30%. While many mentioned their biceps being stronger, this is likely due to preferential training.

And although the triceps are a bit bigger than the biceps, both are equally important. As antagonists, an equal strength ratio can be key.

So maybe more of us need moves like this that force us to work BOTH muscle groups more evenly.

Not to mention both the triceps and biceps play an important role in our overall shoulder health. Why not work them at the same time we also get the benefits of an overhead press!

And instead of simply writing this move off because one area is stronger so the weight doesn’t challenge it as much, why not tweak the exact version of the move you do?

You could slow down the tempo, especially of the eccentric portion of the exercise component you wanted to make more challenging.

You can do an extra rep in that piece of the movement even, performing two curls to one overhead tricep extension.

And on top of all of this, we have to remember that our hypertrophy goals may all be different. Not all of us are training for a bodybuilding competition nor super experienced lifters.

We may not need to use isolation moves to truly challenge those muscles. 

It’s why we need to understand that different moves may be right for different training experiences and goals!

Now the second concern…

Why use a hybrid movement?

It seems like a lot of people confused what a compound movement is for a hybrid movement.

To get the best results, I believe we need to use a diversity of movements.

While compound moves are the most time efficient and key for overall functional strength as you’re working more muscle groups at once, for those stubborn areas that sometimes need extra focused work, isolation moves are key.

If a client comes to me wanting to really build muscle, but short on time, I may completely forgo any isolation movements to start. We want to think “bang for their buck” in their workouts.

However, a more advanced lifter who has an area that refuses to grow or change. Maybe you opt for a progression focused on more isolation movements than you would usually do.

The key is you’re embracing the options.

Same goes for hybrid movements – which are movements that combine multiple different movements into a single flow.

A hybrid movement CAN have isolation exercises included.

A bicep curl is still an isolation exercise for the bicep even if you combine it in a flow with an overhead press (which is a compound movement) and then an overhead tricep extension (another isolation movement).

So by doing this flow you aren’t wasting any time doing a bicep curl then a tricep extension.

You’re also getting in the BONUS of an overhead press which works not only your shoulders but also your triceps before that overhead tricep extension.

More time under tension for those muscles! You’ll be surprised by how much you feel that burn adding up!

Another benefit of hybrid movements is the increased energy demands because you are working more muscles in a short amount of time. Especially when usually you’d be doing say 8-12 reps of just a very isolated movement. This can be good to get more benefit in less time if you’re trying to keep your training sessions short!

While you may be thinking why not just superset tricep extension and bicep curls? You have to consider the change in rest you’ll actually be giving the areas. While yes it is only one curl to one overhead extension, the rest between each is shorter than doing your 10 reps of curls before your 10 reps of tricep extensions.

Not to mention you’re then not working in that overhead press at all!

I also called this an UNDERRATED arm move not the BEST arm exercise or the best tricep or bicep move. This move hits the entire arm which you can’t say about those other isolation moves. Not to mention underrated means not valued highly enough, which I believe this move clearly isn’t.

And often the people not seeing the value, haven’t even tried it.

So instead of writing it off, like I feel far too many have done, try it to actually SEE whether it benefits you. You may be surprised.

Now…even with all of this you may decide the move is not “underrated” as an arm exercise (note I didn’t say bicep or tricep or shoulder exercise, but arm exercise).

You may not include it. But why not see opportunity in this movement to allow yourself to be open to options and improve your training.

You may find at some point it does come in handy…I can’t tell you how many times something I decided not to use I’ve brought back in special circumstances or with a client who really needs it.

Think about this…

What if you only have one weight?

Not everyone has a whole gym full of weights.

This is a great way to make use of that one weight in a time efficient matter if someone has 20 minutes to train and wants to spend most of their workout on those key compound lifts and movements.

What if an area IS stronger, but someone likes the look of this move?

Why not even hold in one position as the other arm goes through the movement? You could hold a curl halfway up as the other arm goes through for added bicep work.

SUMMARY

Instead of just writing a move off…Why not find ways to even TWEAK the basic move? Whether it’s changing tempo, making it a unilateral move, adding in holds…There are so many ways we can adjust moves to match our needs and goals.

We have to remember that not everyone has the same needs or goals or even training situation and experience.

So instead of just writing a move off, why not learn who or when it could benefit someone? You may find it ends up being the missing piece to your training!

Too often I see the same people who are labeling moves as bad or pointless, struggling to achieve the results they want. And it’s because they aren’t open to new perspectives, instead sticking by the mantra of their fitness tribe.

Don’t hold yourself back from achieving the results you want. Be open to progression through the same but different. See opportunity in different ways of doing things even if they aren’t right for your needs or goals!

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