View Full Version : Exercises you SHOULD be doing.
Okay so... prowrestler did a post about strict overhead presses a while ago. He is right, a lot of people have forgotten / just don't do them. And those people are missing out.
Another exercise you should be doing- Power Cleans: They spark incredible growth in your quads, hams, front hip flexors, traps & glutes and it hits your forearms, shoulders, and erectors (lower back) , as well as improve your vertical jump and sprinting speed.
The explosiveness is great for anyone doing any competitive sports.
You can add them in on a leg day, because you aren't going to be doing nearly the amount of weight as would be heavy for your legs.
Give em a try and as long as your forms down, and your going as heavy as you can, you'll make significant gains.
Deadlifts: No brainer- do em or you'll regret it at some point.
Front Squats: You do back squats, these are better- your legs are doing all of the work, you're not doing a goodmorning at the bottom of your rep, there's much less risk of back injury. Your QUADS are the focus of the exercise instead of your hips. The only problem with them, is that you can back squat more than you can front squat... well get stronger quads and learn to hold the bar and you'll be front squatting near your regular squat numbers. repping out weight I can do with both I can do more on front squats than back, because the problem becomes grip and not leg strength at higher weights.
YOUR QUADS WILL GROW doing these.
Pull ups: Yeah, you do pull ups. But you don't do them right. Slow that shit down, throw some weight on, and will someone other than me do them to fucking failure for god sakes. No wonder noone I see has a back... You want a V? Do your pull ups right, do them controlled, get your chin above the bar, and do them till you litterally can't do them anymore. Then wait a minute, and do them again... and again... and again... Grow a pair and your back will BLOW UP.
/rant on
I've yet to see anyone other than me and the people I train with do weighted lunges or even a simple box squat.
I'm starting to realise that a lot of the people I see in the gym are wasting their time, they're either in there doing arms every day, or chest arms and shoulders, and even then, they're not doing the exercises correctly, or they do squats too and just putting a ton of weight on a bar and moving a half an inch and then they wonder why they're not making any gains in strength or size, there's only so much you can get out of a shitty ROM lift.
I know I'm probably preaching to the choir here, hopefully you got something out of this.
BryanSmash!
11-28-08, 5:43 pm
While I agree that these five lifts are important, what defines whether or not someone should do a particular lift is based on that individuals situation (flexibility, training experience, age, body mechanics and injury history, etc), not because someone has observed the masses performing them incorrectly or not all.
Hell, I'd love to see the Bent Press come back into style, but that's never going to happen, and I'm okay with that.
A better course of action here would be to become a Personal Trainer at your gym and show your clients how to perform these lifts correctly. Then everybody wins.
I agree with this post.
Pullups are way underrated at my college gym. Everyone is bench, bench, and db curls. I can't wait for my 6 week bulk program to finish to start doing power cleans again.
Currently I am doing the 20x DL/Squat, 12x BP, 15x Standing Rows, 12x Military press 3x a week. Just finished my second week in and I am already being complimented on my back.
Pizzalamp
11-28-08, 7:05 pm
great thread
You forgot the cable curls.
:)
Factory
11-28-08, 10:04 pm
While I agree that these five lifts are important, what defines whether or not someone should do a particular lift is based on that individuals situation (flexibility, training experience, age, body mechanics and injury history, etc), not because someone has observed the masses performing them incorrectly or not all.
Hell, I'd love to see the Bent Press come back into style, but that's never going to happen, and I'm okay with that.
A better course of action here would be to become a Personal Trainer at your gym and show your clients how to perform these lifts correctly. Then everybody wins.
I'm not saying that people should do them because most people don't, I'm saying that people should do them to promote large gains in size and strength. Most people don't do them, I'm just letting the people of this forum know that they should be doing them, if they are able. I'm not saying that these lifts should be popular, I'm just saying, that if you want gains, these lifts will help, and you may have overlooked them.
P.S. I'm not trying to start a flame war, just letting you know what my intent was.
BryanSmash!
11-28-08, 10:09 pm
I'm not saying that people should do them because most people don't, I'm saying that people should do them to promote large gains in size and strength. Most people don't do them, I'm just letting the people of this forum know that they should be doing them, if they are able. I'm not saying that these lifts should be popular, I'm just saying, that if you want gains, these lifts will help, and you may have overlooked them.
P.S. I'm not trying to start a flame war, just letting you know what my intent was.
Its all good man. Just throwin in my two cents on the subject.
More exercises should be added to this list...
Anything you push away from your body too, you need to pull towards your body.
For example
Vertical Push/Pull = Strict Press/Pullups
Horizonal Push/Pull = Bench Press/Barbell Row
Squats, Deadlifts, Barbell Rows, Strict Presses, Pullups, Dips, and Bench Presses are all I preform in my routine. They have provided me with excellent results.
Good post bro. Solid, true information.
redskin 344
11-30-08, 12:01 pm
Front squats are the shit!
"Sissy" squats? Yeah, they'll do but Zercher (Zerker - popular alternative spelling) squats, now those are a manly quad exercise but nothing (read NOTHING) will displace the standard old barbell back squat for lower body mass gain. Zerkers are a good staple to keep, though. I prefer Zerkers in place of Hacks, but it still remains a supplemental movement. BUt bang on, mate, you're mind is in the right place, so I'll give you one thumb up.
great post.
Dips - you want your pecs, tri's and shoulders to get BRUTALLY stronger? get a chain around your waist, load some plates and get DIP on those parallel bars. stop decline benching, throw the cable cross machine out the window and get yourself a chain and plates. that's all you'll ever need.
redskin 344
11-30-08, 6:24 pm
Will doing front squats provide the same overall gains like regualar squats and deads do?
calcaneous
11-30-08, 6:47 pm
Will doing front squats provide the same overall gains like regualar squats and deads do?
they hit your quads very very nicely, but, i just feel like you cant power yourself out of ATG like a normal back squat.
i keep front squats as my last exercise and do high-rep with 135.
Will doing front squats provide the same overall gains like regualar squats and deads do?
Do your regular back squat work, then move onto Zerchers as your second exercise, then drop by and thank me.
redskin 344
11-30-08, 9:12 pm
Do your regular back squat work, then move onto Zerchers as your second exercise, then drop by and thank me.
Alright. Back Squats it is
mritter3
11-30-08, 9:40 pm
nice post, these exercises are a good foundation of any workout regimen, but your not the only one who does them, nice post for those who don't though.
I hate front squats, as I screwed up my wrist trying to do them, holding the bar conventional. I was just going by photos I found online and obviously I screwed up.
Plan on adding them into my leg routine again anyhow, just this time using a arms crossed hold.
Will add 'em in with "normal" squats and Zurchers.
I'm going to love Mondays even more now.
Histo55
12-01-08, 11:36 am
agreed....way to many people in my college gym i see doing curls, bench, tricep extensions....what happened to when people would do excersices that involved more than one muscle group like dead lifts, dips, pullups, squats etc.......fuckin frat guys only doin arms and bench on fridays LOL....i get a kick out of it....
ironshaolin
12-01-08, 11:48 am
What about the clean and press? The clean and jerk? Snatch? Hang power snatch? Snatch grip deadlift? I'm just throwin some more out there.
Here's a good one. Get a pair of gymnastic rings and do pullups and dips with those. Now you take a good excersise, and take away the stability of doing it on something solid. You ever see the arms on those gymnasts? I bet they're pushin at least 18 inch arms, and they don't even lift weights. OR...
Glute/ham raises. On a REAL glute/ham bench. Most commercial gyms don' thave one fo these, but if it does, USE IT for your hams.
Another of my favorites is the one arm barbell curl and press. Do a hammer curl with a barbell instead of a dumbell, then press it overhead.
What about the clean and press? The clean and jerk? Snatch? Hang power snatch? Snatch grip deadlift? I'm just throwin some more out there.
Here's a good one. Get a pair of gymnastic rings and do pullups and dips with those. Now you take a good excersise, and take away the stability of doing it on something solid. You ever see the arms on those gymnasts? I bet they're pushin at least 18 inch arms, and they don't even lift weights. OR...
Glute/ham raises. On a REAL glute/ham bench. Most commercial gyms don' thave one fo these, but if it does, USE IT for your hams.
Another of my favorites is the one arm barbell curl and press. Do a hammer curl with a barbell instead of a dumbell, then press it overhead.
Certainly no man can deny brute Animal-ness of all these fine exercises (I LOVE the glute/ham raise . . . oh, and gotta send a shout out to the reverse hyper-extension, too). Bro, are you going Jan 4th to the first Long Island ABC??
Certainly no man can deny brute Animal-ness of all these fine exercises (I LOVE the glute/ham raise . . . oh, and gotta send a shout out to the reverse hyper-extension, too). Bro, are you going Jan 4th to the first Long Island ABC??
I'm goanna make the trip out there, hopefully we can get a big turn out and show em what we're about
I'm goanna make the trip out there, hopefully we can get a big turn out and show em what we're about
Good chance I may actually make that one myself - in fact, fuck it, I'm comin'.
agreed....way to many people in my college gym i see doing curls, bench, tricep extensions....what happened to when people would do excersices that involved more than one muscle group like dead lifts, dips, pullups, squats etc.......fuckin frat guys only doin arms and bench on fridays LOL....i get a kick out of it....
hey there, im no frat guy and i do arms on friday nights, when everyone else is out gettin their drink on.
like the idea of throwin zerchers after reqular squats.... think i might have to try it tonight.
whats the ratio though? back squats:zercher squats as far as relative strength. as well as the form, from what ive seen on youtube it looks like a wide almost sumo stance.
shizz702
12-02-08, 8:52 pm
Good thread here, I agree with it, and I do most of the mentioned lifts in here. Squats, front squats, power cleans, deadlifts, and barbell compound lifts in general are always staples in my routines.
hey there, im no frat guy and i do arms on friday nights, when everyone else is out gettin their drink on.
like the idea of throwin zerchers after reqular squats.... think i might have to try it tonight.
whats the ratio though? back squats:zercher squats as far as relative strength. as well as the form, from what ive seen on youtube it looks like a wide almost sumo stance.
Today when I did them it was about 2:1 or 2.5:1, first time on the zerchers though.