The 25 Most Powerful Exercises From the 21-Day Shred
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Power Moves
The 21-Day Shred is back, and better than ever. We’ve expanded and upgraded the original edition to pack in more workouts, challenges, and special recipes, and now it’s available for both iPhone and iPad devices. No iOS? No stress, you can still get a copy of the PDF.The following are 25 of the most powerful exercises that you will see in The 21-Day Shred.SEE ALSO: 15 Ways to Gain Lean Mass
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Squat
Set up in a squat rack or cage. Grasp the bar as far apart as is comfortable and step under it. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and nudge the bar out of the rack. Step back and stand with your feet shoulder width and your toes turned slightly outward. Take a deep breath and bend your hips back and then bend your knees to lower your body as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Push your knees outward as you descend. Extend your hips to come back up, continuing to push your knees outward.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: The Build Muscle, Stay Lean Meal Plan
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Overhead Press
Set the bar up in a squat rack or cage and grasp it just outside shoulder width. Take the bar off the rack and hold it at shoulder level with your forearms perpendicular to the floor. Squeeze the bar and brace your abs. Press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward and shrugging your traps as the bar passes your face.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad.No iOS? Get a PDF copy.SEE ALSO: Gain 10 Pounds in a Month: Food Selection
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Weighted Pullup
Attach a weighted belt to your waist, hold adumbbell between your feet, or if you can’t complete your reps with weight, use body weight alone. Hang from a pullup bar with hands just outside shoulder width. Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: Training Techniques for Greater Muscle Growth
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Bench Press
Grasp the bar just outside shoulder width and arch your back so there’s space between your lower back and the bench. Pull the bar out of the rack and lower it to your sternum, tucking your elbows about 45 degrees to your sides. When the bar touches your body, drive your feet hard into the floor and press the bar back up.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: Max Mindset: Increase Your Mental Intensity
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Seated Cable Row
Attach a straight or lat-pulldown bar to the pulley of a seated row station. Sit on the bench or floor with your feet against the foot plate and knees slightly bent. Keeping your lower back flat, bend forward at the hips to grasp the bar and row it to your sternum, squeezing your shoulder blades together in the end position. Extend your arms and feel the stretch in your back before beginning the next rep.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: Gain Greater Mass With Drop Sets
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Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with feet hip width. Push your hips back and, keeping your lower back in its natural arch, bend your torso forward, lowering until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, bending slightly at the knees as needed. Squeeze your glutes as you come back up.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: Get 25% Stronger in 12 Weeks
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Trap-Bar Deadlift
Use a trap bar and stand with feet hip width. Bend your hips back and grasp the handles. Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, drive through your heels to stand up straight and extend your hips and knees.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.SEE ALSO: Fatigue Fighting Super Stack
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Incline Dumbbell Row
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree incline and lie on it chest-down. Grasp adumbbell in each hand and draw your shoulder blades back and together as you row the weights to your sides.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: Raise Your Testosterone for Greater Muscle Growth
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Swiss Ball Plank Circle
Place a Swiss ball on the floor and get into pushup position with your hands on it. Now lower your forearms to rest on the ball, keeping your entire body in a straight line with abs braced. Use your elbows to roll theball in a circular motion, clockwise and then counterclockwise, as if you were stirring a pot.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: 8 Ways to be an Alpha Male by Tomorrow
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Dumbbell High Pull
Hold dumbbells in front of your thighs and bend your knees and hips so the weights hang just above your knees. Explosively extend your hips as if jumping and pull the weights up to shoulder level with elbows wide apart, as in an upright row.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.SEE ALSO: 12 Laws of Fat Burning
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Front Squat to Press
Hold the dumbbells at shoulder level and stand with feet shoulder width. Squat as low as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Come back up and press the weights overhead.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.SEE ALSO: 6 Ways to Burn More Fat
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Snatch-Grip Rack Deadlift
Set up as you would to deadlift, only do so in a power rack, resting the bar on the safety rods at about two inches below your knees. Grasp the bar wide, hands about double shoulder width. Extend your hips and stand up, pulling the bar to in front of your thighs.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: Achieve Your Bodybuilding Goals with Chicken
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Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press
Lie back on a flat bench holding dumbbells. Press them both over your chest and then lower one of them to your side. Press it up and then lower the other hand. That’s one rep.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.SEE ALSO: 4 Lean, Protein Packed Game Meats for Grilling
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Inverted Row
Set a barbell in a power rack (or use a Smith machine) at about hip height. Lie underneath it and grab it with hands about shoulder- width apart. Hang from the bar so your body forms a straight line. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull yourself up until your back is fully contracted.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: 8 Great Tips for a Better Bench Press
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Floor Press
Lie on the floor with a dumbbell in each hand. Your palms should face each other and your triceps should be resting on the floor, but not your elbows. Explosively press the dumbbells up. Lower them until only your triceps touch the floor. Pause for a moment and then begin the next rep. Increase the weight gradually each set.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: Essential Moves for Strength Training
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Pullover
Lie on your back on the floor and hold onedumbbell overhead with both hands. Press the weight over your chest and then reach back over your head, bending your elbows only slightly. Continue until you feel a stretch in your lats, and then pull the dumbbell back over your chest. Take a deep breath every time you lower the dumbbell behind you.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.SEE ALSO: The Ultimate Leg Training Workout
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Plate Pressout
Hold a pair of light weight plates together, smooth side out, between your palms right in front of your chest. You should look like you’re praying. Squeeze the plates together, focusing on your chest, and press them out in front of you until your arms are extended. Flare your lats and pull the weights back to your chest. Complete your reps and then, on the second set, press the weights downward from your chest at a 45-degree angle. On the third set, press them upward at a 45-degree angle.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: Attack Your Quads with this Intense Leg Workout
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Pause Squat
Set up in a squat rack or cage. Grasp the bar as far apart as is comfortable and step under it. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and nudge the bar out of the rack. Step back and stand with your feet shoulder width and your toes turned out slightly. Take a deep breath and bend your hips back, then bend your knees to lower your body as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Push your knees out as you descend. Hold the bottom position for two seconds, then extend your hips to come back up, continuing to push your knees outward.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.SEE ALSO: 3 Keys to a Bigger Bench Press
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Single-Leg Extension
Lock one leg into a back extension bench and cross your hands in front of your chest, or if possible, hold a weight plate against the back of your head. Allow your torso to bend forward so that your hips are bent almost 90 degrees, but do not lose the arch in your lower back. Extend your hips so that your body forms a straight line.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: Top 10 Squat Mistakes
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Lying Lateral Raise
Set an adjustable bench to a 30-degree incline and lie on it chest-down with a dumbbell in each hand. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and raise your arms out 90 degrees to your sides so your palms face down in the top position.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.SEE ALSO: 3 Reasons You’re Not Ripped
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Behind-the-Back Cable Curl
Attach a D-handle to the low pulley of a cable machine, grasp the handle in your left hand, and step forward (away from the machine) until there is tension on the cable and your arm is drawn slightly behind your body. Stagger your feet so your right leg is in front. Curl the handle but do not allow your elbow to point forward.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: The Only Way to Get a Rockin Six-Pack
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Neutral-Grip Overhead Press
Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level with palms facing each other and elbows pointing forward. Brace your core and press the weights straight overhead. At the top, shrug your shoulders and hold for a second.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.SEE ALSO: Six-Week Power Abs Routine
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Raise Complex
Hold dumbbells at your sides with palms facing you. Raise the weights up in front of you to shoulder level with thumbs pointing up. Complete 12–15 reps and then raise the weights out to your sides 90 degrees (bend your elbows a bit as you lift). Complete your reps and then switch to a lighter pair of dumbbells. Raise them out to your sides and up to ear level with straight arms and thumbs pointing up. Hold this position 30 seconds. Squeeze your glutes to help support you.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.SEE ALSO: 5 Ways to Fine Tune Your Diet for Sharper Abs
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Bentover Row
Grasp the bar overhand at shoulder width and let it hang in front of your thighs. Bend at the hips and lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor. Bend your knees a bit to take tension off your hamstrings. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull the bar to your belly.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: Never Commit These 10 Deadlift Mistakes
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Hang Clean
Hold the bar at shoulder width in front of your thighs and bend your hips and knees so that the bar lowers to just above your knees. Now explosively extend your hips as if jumping while at the same time shrugging your shoulders and pulling the bar straight up in front of your torso. As the bar reaches chest level, bend your elbows so that your palms face the ceiling and catch the bar at shoulder level, upper arms parallel to the floor. Bend your hips and knees as you catch the bar to absorb the impact and then stand up straight.Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy. SEE ALSO: How to Lift a Car
The 21-Day Shred is back, and better than ever. We’ve expanded and upgraded the original edition to pack in more workouts, challenges, and special recipes, and now it’s available for both iPhone and iPad devices. No iOS? No stress, you can still get a copy of the PDF.
The following are 25 of the most powerful exercises that you will see in The 21-Day Shred.
Set up in a squat rack or cage. Grasp the bar as far apart as is comfortable and step under it. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and nudge the bar out of the rack. Step back and stand with your feet shoulder width and your toes turned slightly outward. Take a deep breath and bend your hips back and then bend your knees to lower your body as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Push your knees outward as you descend. Extend your hips to come back up, continuing to push your knees outward.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Set the bar up in a squat rack or cage and grasp it just outside shoulder width. Take the bar off the rack and hold it at shoulder level with your forearms perpendicular to the floor. Squeeze the bar and brace your abs. Press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward and shrugging your traps as the bar passes your face.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad.No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Attach a weighted belt to your waist, hold adumbbell between your feet, or if you can’t complete your reps with weight, use body weight alone. Hang from a pullup bar with hands just outside shoulder width. Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Grasp the bar just outside shoulder width and arch your back so there’s space between your lower back and the bench. Pull the bar out of the rack and lower it to your sternum, tucking your elbows about 45 degrees to your sides. When the bar touches your body, drive your feet hard into the floor and press the bar back up.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Attach a straight or lat-pulldown bar to the pulley of a seated row station. Sit on the bench or floor with your feet against the foot plate and knees slightly bent. Keeping your lower back flat, bend forward at the hips to grasp the bar and row it to your sternum, squeezing your shoulder blades together in the end position. Extend your arms and feel the stretch in your back before beginning the next rep.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with feet hip width. Push your hips back and, keeping your lower back in its natural arch, bend your torso forward, lowering until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, bending slightly at the knees as needed. Squeeze your glutes as you come back up.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Use a trap bar and stand with feet hip width. Bend your hips back and grasp the handles. Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, drive through your heels to stand up straight and extend your hips and knees.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree incline and lie on it chest-down. Grasp adumbbell in each hand and draw your shoulder blades back and together as you row the weights to your sides.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Place a Swiss ball on the floor and get into pushup position with your hands on it. Now lower your forearms to rest on the ball, keeping your entire body in a straight line with abs braced. Use your elbows to roll theball in a circular motion, clockwise and then counterclockwise, as if you were stirring a pot.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Hold dumbbells in front of your thighs and bend your knees and hips so the weights hang just above your knees. Explosively extend your hips as if jumping and pull the weights up to shoulder level with elbows wide apart, as in an upright row.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Hold the dumbbells at shoulder level and stand with feet shoulder width. Squat as low as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Come back up and press the weights overhead.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Set up as you would to deadlift, only do so in a power rack, resting the bar on the safety rods at about two inches below your knees. Grasp the bar wide, hands about double shoulder width. Extend your hips and stand up, pulling the bar to in front of your thighs.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Lie back on a flat bench holding dumbbells. Press them both over your chest and then lower one of them to your side. Press it up and then lower the other hand. That’s one rep.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Set a barbell in a power rack (or use a Smith machine) at about hip height. Lie underneath it and grab it with hands about shoulder- width apart. Hang from the bar so your body forms a straight line. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull yourself up until your back is fully contracted.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Lie on the floor with a dumbbell in each hand. Your palms should face each other and your triceps should be resting on the floor, but not your elbows. Explosively press the dumbbells up. Lower them until only your triceps touch the floor. Pause for a moment and then begin the next rep. Increase the weight gradually each set.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Lie on your back on the floor and hold onedumbbell overhead with both hands. Press the weight over your chest and then reach back over your head, bending your elbows only slightly. Continue until you feel a stretch in your lats, and then pull the dumbbell back over your chest. Take a deep breath every time you lower the dumbbell behind you.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Hold a pair of light weight plates together, smooth side out, between your palms right in front of your chest. You should look like you’re praying. Squeeze the plates together, focusing on your chest, and press them out in front of you until your arms are extended. Flare your lats and pull the weights back to your chest. Complete your reps and then, on the second set, press the weights downward from your chest at a 45-degree angle. On the third set, press them upward at a 45-degree angle.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Set up in a squat rack or cage. Grasp the bar as far apart as is comfortable and step under it. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and nudge the bar out of the rack. Step back and stand with your feet shoulder width and your toes turned out slightly. Take a deep breath and bend your hips back, then bend your knees to lower your body as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Push your knees out as you descend. Hold the bottom position for two seconds, then extend your hips to come back up, continuing to push your knees outward.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Lock one leg into a back extension bench and cross your hands in front of your chest, or if possible, hold a weight plate against the back of your head. Allow your torso to bend forward so that your hips are bent almost 90 degrees, but do not lose the arch in your lower back. Extend your hips so that your body forms a straight line.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Set an adjustable bench to a 30-degree incline and lie on it chest-down with a dumbbell in each hand. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and raise your arms out 90 degrees to your sides so your palms face down in the top position.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Attach a D-handle to the low pulley of a cable machine, grasp the handle in your left hand, and step forward (away from the machine) until there is tension on the cable and your arm is drawn slightly behind your body. Stagger your feet so your right leg is in front. Curl the handle but do not allow your elbow to point forward.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level with palms facing each other and elbows pointing forward. Brace your core and press the weights straight overhead. At the top, shrug your shoulders and hold for a second.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Hold dumbbells at your sides with palms facing you. Raise the weights up in front of you to shoulder level with thumbs pointing up. Complete 12–15 reps and then raise the weights out to your sides 90 degrees (bend your elbows a bit as you lift). Complete your reps and then switch to a lighter pair of dumbbells. Raise them out to your sides and up to ear level with straight arms and thumbs pointing up. Hold this position 30 seconds. Squeeze your glutes to help support you.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Grasp the bar overhand at shoulder width and let it hang in front of your thighs. Bend at the hips and lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor. Bend your knees a bit to take tension off your hamstrings. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull the bar to your belly.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
Hold the bar at shoulder width in front of your thighs and bend your hips and knees so that the bar lowers to just above your knees. Now explosively extend your hips as if jumping while at the same time shrugging your shoulders and pulling the bar straight up in front of your torso. As the bar reaches chest level, bend your elbows so that your palms face the ceiling and catch the bar at shoulder level, upper arms parallel to the floor. Bend your hips and knees as you catch the bar to absorb the impact and then stand up straight.
Get the full program on your iPhone or iPad. No iOS? Get a PDF copy.
