Or, Spend $10 at Lowes and Up Your Game.

As far as I know Valerie Waters is a VERY good trainer, and she is without doubt VERY successful.

She should get ALL credit for thinking up using furniture sliders as exercise equipment.

I’m sure someone did it before her, but she popularized it.

So, in this age of the internet guru “inventing” exercises and programs and that jackassery, I’m just trying to give credit where it’s due.

Thanks Val.

To the Point:

Once you have some training/ strength under your belt, you should go to Lowes (it’s not that I dislike Home Depot, it’s just that they don’t have the right size…ie. the BIG ones) and spend $10.

Don’t sweat it, you’ll get a four pack.

Why I like the Sliders:

This is very scientific, so get your thinking caps on…..

They kinda-sorta recreate a slideboard

However, I would not try the side to side hockey stride (what she’s doing in the picture above) slideboard thing with sliders.

Favorite Slider Exercises

Slider Reverse Lunge:

This exercise is CRAZY HARD, if you do it right<———-it works like that, with these “exercise things”, a lot.

The key is to move from the hip and keep virtually no pressure on the back foot.

This is actually less like a lunge and more like a deadlift when done correctly.

From these guys mindmusclegreatness.com, but we all know it came from Mark Rippetoe

If you maintain a vertical, or near vertical shin and “pull” the hip over the top you’re essentially getting all hip extension and very little knee flexion….

The blue line is supposed to be the hip coming over the top of the knee. 

Just like a deadlift, the shin stays nearly vertical with the hip driving the motion….

This is a great movement for those who have issues deadlifting or have knee pain and need to limit Tibial shear and train with a vertical shin.

Contrary to the currently popular internet, I train one person a day but have a swell website, thing…..

NOT EVERYONE SHOULD DEADLIFT

For some folks, the risk just isn’t worth the reward. <——granted I think it’s a small population that this is the case.

Key Points:

• Toe in the middle of the slider.
• Pressure in the midfoot to heel of the front foot.
• Initiate movement from the HIP, pushing back behind the knee.
• Maintain a vertical, or very near vertical shin.
• Sit back into the hip, bend the back knee keeping pressure OFF of the back toe.
• Make sure you keep the ribs down through the movement.
• Drive the front heel down and pull the heel under you (keeping the shin vertical).
• Pull the HIP over the top and stand on it<——this means use your azzzz to drive and finish the motion.

Slider Pushups:

Stay tight, abs and butt tight, shoulders in the joint if you get soft, you’re probably going to drive into your lower back and it’s gonna feel awesome.

This will SMOKE your shoulders, chest, triceps and abs.

Key Points:

• Get tight
• Reach out but keep tension on both hands.
• Squeeze your butt HARD, especially at the bottom.
• Be aggressive off of the bottom, if you’re slow, you’re done.
• Drive the close and into the ground
• Pull the outstretched hand back, don’t just try to slide it back.

Slider Flys:

It’s just like the slider pushups, except you don’t reach out, you reach to the side, and it’s harder…….

But all the basics are the same.

The only thing you need to make sure of is that you KEEP TENSION on the chest/ shoulders/ arms.

Sometimes people want to reach out extra far and will either lose a good elbow angle and get too “flat” or will go lower than they can handle and lose tension.

If this happens, you’ll know it, cause you wont come back up.

Slider Hamstring Curls:

There is a good chance that the first time you do this, you’ll cramp up.

It’s awesome because unlike most leg curls, this exercise works the hamstrings across both the knee and hip-joint.

Strive to keep a straight line shoulders through the knees, this means the glutes and abs must stay tight.

Keep pressure on the hamstrings the entire time and DIG the heels into the ground and PULL through the starting position.

Key Points:

• Ribs down and stay down.
• Butt tight.
• Everything lowers and rises together. It shouldn’t be multi-stage.

Body Saw:

Once again….

GET TIGHT.

Keep constant ab and glute tension.

If you don’t.

This happens…

Stole the original pic from Pinterest here 

It’s called hanging off the low back, and it’s bad.

Key Points:

• Find ab tension at the start, don’t wait till you’re moving.
• When your abs fire, squeeze your butt to lock in the hips and keep squeezing.
• Reach out from the shoulders. Only reach as far as you can keep tension and hips in line with the shoulders.
• Pull through the top.

You don’t have to but I like to have something to hold onto.

I feel like I can reach farther and do more quality reps than if I’m relying on pulling myself forward with by digging my arms into he floor. <—-you can file this under No Sh@t Sherlock.

Slider Mountain Climbers:

These aren’t too bad, until they are.

I don’t really like these as a stand alone exercise.

They’re too easy for most people who can do them correctly unless you do looooong sets and they get boring.

Plus do people really need more hip flexion?

But, but, but…

These are an awesomely deceptive “metabolic conditioning” exercise when done for multiple reps with a short rest period.

Key Points:

• Hands under the shoulders, elbows locked.
• Flat back, hips in line with the shoulders.
• Hip stays flat, the low back NEVER rounds/ unlocks.
• Chest up, head in neutral.

Focus on being smooth and holding the line BEFORE worrying about speed.

Plus…..DON’T DROP THE HEAD EVER..

Keep it in neutral.

Remember: The body follows the head.

You drop the head you’ll probably round the shoulders.

Round the shoulders, you’ll probably come unlock at the low back and unpacked at the shoulders.

Annnnnnnnd, your reps from hence forth will suck.