How to do it: Go to a chinup bar and get into pushup position directly beneath it. Perform an explosive pushup [1] (so that you come up with speed), then, using the momentum, immediately jump upward and grab the bar [2]. Go right into a pullup [3]. That's one rep. Now drop to the floor and repeat. Do 10 sets of three reps, resting 45-60 seconds between sets.
The benefit: "This is a great exercise for those who can't do
strict pullups," says Todd Hamer, a strength coach at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. "This is one way to teach the body to do pullups correctly, while training a host of other muscles." If that weren't enough, the jump pullup also helps you develop explosive pushing, jumping, and pulling strength, all of which are important for a number of competitive sports-rock climbing in particular.
NEW MOVE #2
Alligator Walk
Use it in place of: The crunch.
How to do it: Place a 25-pound plate on the floor and get into pushup position, resting your toes on the plate [1]. (Note: You need to be on a surface on which the weight can slide; a thick rug may be difficult.) Keeping your back and hips in a straight line, "walk" your body forward on your hands, dragging the weight with your feet behind you [2]. Go for 20-30 yards. That's one set. Perform three sets, resting 90 seconds between sets.
The benefit: "This will destroy your abs," says Jason Ferruggia, a performance-enhancement coach based in New York City, "and pretty much the rest of your body." Keeping good pushup posture while dragging the weight is an awesome
core workout, while the power you'll need to generate in your shoulders to keep you moving will build eye-
popping deltoids. Try these for a week and you'll never call crunches an "ab workout" again.
NEW MOVE #3
The Inverted Row
Use it in place of: Any rowing exercise.
How to do it: Go to a Smith machine and place the bar at about waist height. Lie underneath the bar on the floor and reach up to grab it with an overhand grip just outside shoulder width. Your body should now be off the ground at a slight angle to the floor [1]. Keeping your hips in line with your torso, pull your body up to the bar, trying to touch your sternum to it [2]. Lower yourself slowly to the starting position. That's one rep. Perform two to five sets of eight to 12 reps, resting 45-120 seconds between sets.
The benefit: "You work all your major pulling muscles, but with even more emphasis on your core," says Sandy Joyce, C.P.T., a trainer in Randolph, Mass. A better alternative than your gym's various rowing machines, the inverted row will correct bad posture and build grip strength at the same time, both of which help you lift heavier on all other rowing exercises.
NEW MOVE #4
Single-leg Squat w/band
Use it in place of: The squat.
How to do it: Get a partner or sturdy apparatus and wrap an elastic exercise band around your right thigh, just above your knee. Have your partner stand to your left, holding the other end of the band so it's taut (if you're using an apparatus, tie the band to it and stand away from it until you feel tension). You should feel the band pulling your right leg to the left, so you'll have to fight to keep your balance. Now raise your left foot off the ground so that you're balancing on your right leg only [1]. Squat as deeply as you can, keeping your knee, foot, and hip vertically aligned [2], and then return to the starting position. That's one rep. Perform two sets of 12-15 reps on each leg, resting 45 seconds between sets.
The benefit: "As with a normal single-leg squat, you're getting a great leg workout," says Joe Stankowski, C.P.T., a trainer in Wilmington, Del. "But the additional resistance of the band will force your glute medius to work harder, which makes for a more defined outer portion of your butt-which helps keep the ladies happy." Reinforcing the glute medius will also improve your strength on regular squats and deadlifts, since it's a major stabilizer in both exercises.
NEW MOVE #5
Threading the Needle
Use it in place of: The reverse fly or lateral raise.
How to do it: Find a surface you can slide on (such as a waxed floor); place a towel on it. Get down into pushup position, but rest your knees on the floor and grab the ends of the towel with both hands [1]. Brace your abs, keep your lower back flat, and begin twisting your torso to the left, pressing your right hand into the floor while sliding it across and reaching it under your left arm (as if you were passing the towel like thread through the eye of a needle-in this case, the space between your arm and torso). Continue until your right shoulder touches the ground [2]. Reverse the motion to return to the starting position. That's one rep. Perform two sets of 10 reps on each side, resting 45 seconds between sets.
The benefit: "Not only does it blast the side and rear delts," says Giles Wiley, C.S.C.S., a strength coach in Westport, Conn., "it also works the abs hard and stretches the obliques and lower back." A trainer of mixed-martial-arts fighters, Wiley says his clients have found that threading the needle has made them more resistant to elbow and shoulder injuries.
NEW MOVE #6
The Towel Fly
Use it in place of: The bench press or chest fly.
How to do it: Use the same surface and towel as with the threading-the-needle exercise, and get into the same starting position-only start with your thumbs touching each other right under the center of your chest [1]. Bend slightly at the elbows (as in a dumbbell fly) and begin sliding your hands apart on the towel as you lower your chest to just above the floor [2]. Now reverse the motion, pressing yourself back up to the starting position. That's one rep. Follow the same set/rep guidelines as in threading the needle, or superset the two exercises back-to-back, resting 60 seconds between sets.
The benefit: "It's a great complement to threading the needle," says Wiley, "and the two of them give you a thorough upper-body workout." And, unlike when you're reclined on a bench doing a normal fly or bench press, with the towel fly, the stabilizer muscles in your chest and shoulders have to work like crazy, which helps build the stability you need to perform better pushups and lift heavier weights on all kinds of pressing moves.
NEW MOVE #7
Bentover Cable kickback
Use it in place of: The dumbbell kickback.
How to do it: Attach a bar to the low pulley of a cable station and stand facing the weight stack. Take a few steps backward until you feel tension on the cable, and step in front of the bar so that it's trapped behind your legs (the cable will run between your legs). Hold it with an overhand grip, and bend at the hips until your torso is about parallel to the floor [1]. Keeping your torso braced in this position, contract your triceps to straighten your elbows, driving the cable behind you [2]. That's one rep. Perform three sets of six to eight reps, resting 60 seconds between sets.
The benefit: "The cable allows for resistance at the beginning of the movement," says Nick Nilsson, C.P.T., a trainer in Grayslake, Ill.-something a regular dumbbell kickback won't do. "And your abs have to contract very hard to keep your torso from lurching forward." If you ever want a fast way to pump your triceps before a night out, this exercise will do it.
NEW MOVE #8
The Suitcase Deadlift
Use it in place of: Any deadlift variation.
How to do it: Place a barbell to the right side of your body as if it were a piece of luggage you had just set down. Crouch down into deadlift position (your lower back is arched) and grab the bar with your right hand in the middle so you can balance it when you lift it [1]. Squeeze the bar tight and perform a deadlift, standing up while trying to keep the bar balanced (don't let it dip forward or back as you raise it) [2]. That's one rep. Perform three sets of eight reps on each side, resting 60 seconds between sets.
The benefit: "It works the entire front and side of your upper torso harder than a conventional deadlift," says Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S., a strength coach in Toronto. The reason: You have to stabilize your spine and stay upright. "And it's a no-brainer that it improves grip strength," he adds.
