Here are 3 somewhat unconventional exercises that would be well worth your time to include in a program.
One Arm Floor Press: Upper Chest Builder Extraordinaire
This exercise DESTROYS your upper chest more so than just about any other pressing exercise.
Key Points:
At Set Up:
- Legs Straight out, knees flat.
- Press your heels into the ground.
- Shoulders “packed” pinched together and pulled down(chest up).
- Push the “open” elbow into the ground.
- Crush the dumbbell.
- Forearm straight at start, elbow at 90 degrees.
Pressing:
- Drive the shoulders down
- Press OVER the chest
- No Rotating
On the Way Down:
- Soft to the bottom, tap lightly.
- All the way down, elbow or triceps should COMPLETELY STOP at the bottom.
- Stay “tight” don’t relax.
Be aggressive when pressing, just like any movement don’t purposely press slowly.
This is also a really good movement for desk jockeys and others who have shoulder pain associated with pressing.
Plus: Don’t breath out on the bottom, keep your breath in on the bottom, breath in and out at the top.
Reverse Slider Lunge: Get Your ASS in Gear
Key Points:
At Set Up:
- Stand tall, LOCK the non-slider leg out.
- Light pressure on the slider….LIGHT.
- Weight in the non-slider heel, do NOT rock back….pressure.
On the Way Down:
- Break first from the non-slider (front) side hip.
- Stay tall, don’t lean excessively far forward.
- Try to maintain as vertical a shin as possible.
- Keep pressure off of the back foot, allow the back knee to bend.
On the Way Up:
- Staple the front knee, try not to let it move forward.
- Dig through the heel, driving the knee back and hip forward.
- FOCUS on HIP DRIVE!
- Keep pressure on the slider LIGHT.
- Stand tall, lock out the knee and hip.
Really focus on only using light pressure on the slider, just enough to stay in contact, not enough that you’re pushing into it.
Focus on using the glutes and hamstrings to drive the hip forward, this exercise is a great posterior chain builder.
Real Row: The Definition of Tension
Key Points:
At Set Up:
- Give yourself some “base”…widen the feet to about hip width or slightly more.
- Get in a push-up plank position.
- Get tight, sqeeze the glutes, quads, abs tight, shoulders tight and grip like hell.
When pulling:
- Keep CRUSHING the dumbbells.
- Pull through the ribs (like any other row).
- Keep TIGHT! (Abs, glutes, legs).
- No rotation.
On the Way Down:
- Control the weights, control the dumbbells to the bottom.
- Tap lightly.
- Stay tight while transitioning.
Really focus on total body tightness and try not to rotate, this is as much a CORE exercise as it is a Lat/ Upper back exercise.
You’ll see this exercise demonstrated on the interwebzzz and the model rotates…..This is WRONG and defeats the purpose.
You can also do this with Kettlebells and it’s better…..
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