It can get easy to follow a workout program that keeps you in your “comfort zone”.
We all know what that means—exercises that you know and trust, that you’ve taken the time to get really good at. It’s true, certain people may have “go-to” exercises that can give them good cosmetic results, and no one knows your body better than you yourself. But when it comes to stuff you haven’t tried, or at least haven’t tried enough, it’s another story altogether.
In my experience, I’ve noticed that most intermediate trainees tend to shy away from the tough stuff. Since folks who aren’t beginners often carry plenty of muscle, the main reason for shying away from movements comes from the fact that limited mobility bars them from doing it well, or doing it strongly.
These are my top three exercises that deserve your attention, not only for the health of your joints and muscle tissue, but also because getting good at them will mean gains galore. Read on, if you’re man enough.
Exercise 1: The FULL Clean
This is an exercise that combines coordination, timing, strength, power, and mobility and flexibility all into one movement. The reason why the word “full” is capitalized in the subheading is because many lifters (and crossfitters, which I don’t categorize in the same ballpark) will perform hang cleans for reps as a conditioning tool.
Getting strong, fast, and mobile enough to “dive” under a heavy bar and catch it in a full front squat position changes the game, and also gets the legs stronger.
Mobility matters for this movement, so performing exercises to warm up the shoulders and hips would be a good place to start.
Spiderman Walks:
Shoulder “dislocates”:
After that, pay attention to your mechanics of the actual movement. Good cleans ask for a triple extension—that means a full recruitment of the posterior chain to fully extend the ankle, knee and hip joints. Getting used to this pattern will enable you to pull more with your body, and less with your arms, especially from the start of the lift. Practice this drill to embed it into your muscle memory.
Triple extension drill:
Having a good front squat will help this lift also, so generally practicing that movement will enable you to keep the elbows up, and achieve the correct bottom position for the movement.
The finished product of an awesome clean will look something like this:
Get ready for a set of awesome traps as a by-product of learning these bad boys.
NEXT: Exercise 2 >>
Exercise 2: Overhead Squats
Nothing asks more of your body’s overall joint integrity than a solid set of overhead squats. To be good at them you need:
Use the mobility drills listed in the prior section to get prepared for the movement, and the rest is all technique.
Step 1: remember the bar path. When holding the weight overhead, it’s important that the bar travels in a straight line as the movement occurs. That means the bar should always be centred right over the ankle at all times. If it starts to shift forward or backward, you can be sure that it will fall to the floor under heavier loads. Having good mobility plays a huge role in this, because the less you have, the more you’ll have to contort your body (in a bad way) to maintain the proper bar position and balance.
Step 2: apply tension on the bar. It’s one thing to simply hold the weight overhead while squatting, and it’s quite another thing to ensure all the upper body muscles are doing their share to contribute to the move. Squeeze apart on the bar as though you intend to rip it in half. The outward force your hands create will spark up the postural muscle and keep your upper body nice and tight through the lift. Don’t lose tension!
Step 3: Keep the reps low. It’s a tough thing to do high reps with the OH squat, simply because there are several muscle groups that are holding an isometric contraction the entire time, and they’ll fatigue quickly due to limited blood flow. More sets of fewer reps would be a smart way to go here.
Here’s a quick tutorial on the overhead squat, with a few other tips:
NEXT: Exercise 3 >>
Exercise 3: The Z Press
This exercise is simply executed: Sit flat on the floor and perform a barbell shoulder press.
Unfortunately, most people’s mobility restricitons make the execution much easier said than done. The lack of ability to have a tall spine while sitting is surprising to say the least, and is a huge indicator of poor structural integrity. As is the theme of this article, hip and shoulder mobility work will come in handy. Here are a couple of cues for the Z press:
•Try to sit on the hamstrings, and not the butt, to avoid lower back rounding •Press the bar in a straight line overhead, so that the weight is loaded properly over the spine, and the head is through the “window” you create with the arms overhead. •Stay tall. Never let the ribcage drop towards the floor.
Here’s a Z press in action to see what I mean:
Learn to Move Right, and Gains will Come
The common thing about all 3 of these movements is that they all require healthy, mobile joints to perform them well, and pain and injury free. If you’re not good at them, don’t brush it off and stick with the things you’ve become proficient at. Take these red flags as eye-openers that there are areas of your fitness in which you need improvement—and yes, mobility, flexibility and coordination are all components of fitness. Try ditching the endless sets of single joint isolation movements, and learn to really MOVE well with some load, starting with these tips. Your body will thank you by way of 72 hours of deep muscle soreness!
