The preacher curl is an exercise that gained popularity from Mr Olympia competitor Larry Scott and has often been in the program for many a body builder since then. It is a great exercise to help improve strength and size of the bicep. The important point of this exercise is that you must control the descent of the weight otherwise you run the risk of causing injury. Time under tension is key!
To mix up the stimulus of this exercise, you can perform this exercise using a low pulley instead of a dumbbell. In this case you will need to position the bench in front of a cable machine or pulley based piece of equipment.
Want to really target the shoulders – this exercise is a great way to isolate those deltoids!
The Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise is a clever alternative for those who do not have a machine based seated calf raise machine. In some ways this set up is actually better than a machine, mainly due to the knees being more free and the sensation of trying to lift your heels up and forward is slightly more effective!
The couch stretch is great for opening the hips by stretching out the quads and hip flexors. The main thing to remember with this one is that quite often people will be tight through these muscle structures so it may not take much to get that stretch happening. Each time you do it, try and increase the angle and positioning! This stretch is great for doing against the couch (hence the name) and also against a flat bench in the gym. Pop a rolled towel or pillow under that knee for comfort!
Dumbbell Press is a great exercise to progress to from doing your standard barbell bench press. It forces your muscles to work harder to stabilise the movement and means you get more engagement in your shoulder joints.
Tricep Dips are great because they can be done anywhere. At the gym, in the park, at home on a chair. The list of variations and locations go on. Some things to consider when doing dips though is that if you have any impingement issues with your shoulders, give dips a miss.
To increase the difficulty of this exercise, you can put weights across your lap to make it harder.
The silent stealthy killer! Pulse n Stands seem pretty good at first – not so much by the end! Just like sitting down in a chair, the Pulse n Stand is about engaging those glutes and hamstrings to control your descent and using your quad engagement at the correct part of the movement.
It is important to ensure that your knees don’t collapse inwards while doing this exercise and don’t forget to squeeze and engage your glutes otherwise your back will try and engage!
Managing the first modified plank where your knees are bent? Awesome? Let’s kick it up a notch with the level 2 of this exercise! With all planks, getting that posterior tilt or ‘hip tuck’ is vital for correct execution of this exercise.. because let’s be honest… if you’re going to endure a plank – you might as well make it worth the suffering! đŸ˜‰
Bench Press – One of the staples of the gym.. yet scarily enough – most people don’t know how to do it safely or effectively.
Things to note are that your connection to the ground through your feet and thus ability to engage your core will help your lift to no end. You should be able to lift your hips off the bench by pushing through your feet.
Bar positioning above the chest is very important. You want the bar to always be above the wrists, elbows and shoulders.
In this image, you can see that the forearms are vertical in from a side and front view. It is vital that you keep the weight stacked in this way to keep the lift about working the right muscles!
If the weight begins to be a struggle, by pushing into the floor with your feet, engaging your core and lifting your hips from the bench can aid in getting that last rep out!
Incline Curls are a great variation to the good old bicep curls. Due to laying on the incline bench, it means the angle of the shoulder to elbow still vertical but your torso now is at a different angle and it actually creates a stretch in the bicep. I also find this exercise to be great as it really shows if someone is ‘cheating’ with their curl. If you forearm ends up being vertical, it means you have shifted your elbows from their starting point. The only part of the arm that should stay vertical is your humerus bone (upper arm where you bicep is!).