Many of us lift weights for the aesthetic perks. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting six-pack abs and monster quads purely for the sake of having them to show off. But, there are a heck of a lot more great reasons to put your time and efforts in to building strength and muscle all over. “A strong muscle is a resilient muscle,” says strength coach Dan Trink, C.S.C.S., owner of Trink Fitness. The same goes for strong bones, tendons, and ligaments. Translation: strengthening your body—the right way—helps to make you resilient to injuries, whether gym-induced ones or stuff that could befall you outside the gym walls. Hence why total-body strength training is a requisite in any decent exercise program. Strength training not only increases muscle mass (which is a great shock absorber when you’re running, jumping, or getting slammed by left tackle), but it spurs bone growth, improves joint stability and mobility, and wards off potentially side-lining muscle imbalances, Trink says. “That’s one of the great things about strength training. You can control what you train and how much work you do. A playing field or court is random and chaotic; a gym is like a lab and you can make sure that each muscle group gets trained appropriately. When this type of balance occurs, your risk of injury is much smaller.” Click through for 10 strength training moves you must do to build coveted muscle all over—that, by default, bulletproof your whole body. SEE ALSO:The 30 Best Back Exercises of All Time>>
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Dumbbell Farmer’s Walk
“This is an amazing exercise to make you strong all over from your little toes to your knees, hips, back, and shoulders since you are moving the load with each step,” says exercise physiologist Mike T. Nelson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.Instructions: Grab a pair of heavy dumbbells, one in each hand. Stand tall and walk forward, taking short steps. Keep your chest up and shoulders back.SEE ALSO:The 30 Best Shoulder Exercises of All Time>>
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Single Leg RDL
Guys often miss their glutes and hamstrings. The RDL corrects that. Plus, by putting you on one foot at a time, it improves your balance as well as ankle and hip stability, says Dean Maddalone, C.S.C.S., director of the Professional Athletic Performance Center in New York.Instructions: Stand on one leg, holding a dumbbell in the opposite hand. Bend at your hips to lower your torso until it’s parallel to the floor. Squeeze your glutes and push though your hips to return to standing. Perform all reps on one side, then repeat on the opposite side.SEE ALSO:The 30 Best Leg Exercises of All Time>>
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Side-Lying External Rotation
The shoulder is on of the more mobile (and potentially unstable) joints in the body. This exercise works your rotator cuff muscles to keep everything strong and in place, Maddalone says.Instructions: Lie down on one side with the hand closest to the floor supporting your head. With your other hand, hold a dumbbell in front of your stomach. While keeping your elbow glued to your side, rotate the dumbbell upward until your forearm is completely vertical. Perform all reps on one side, then repeat on the opposite side.SEE ALSO:The 30 Best Abs Exercises of All Time>>
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Back Squat
The strength-training staple increases mobility and strength through the hips and thighs to reduce the risk of knee and other lower-body problems down the line, Maddalone says.Instructions: Grab a barbell with your hands as close together as is comfortable, and come under the bar to rest it on your traps. Lift it off the rack, step backward, and stand with your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes turned out slightly. Push your feet outward (but don’t actually move them) as if you’re trying to spread the floor with your feet. Keeping your torso up, bend your hips and knees to lower your body as far as you can to the floor. Extend through your hips and knees to return to standing.SEE ALSO:9 Exercises for Massive Forearms>>
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Plank
By targeting your transverse abdominis, your deepest abdominal muscle, the plank is vital to developing trunk stability and preventing lower back injuries, Maddalone says. Feel free to mix things up with variations if the traditional plank isn’t intense enough for you.Instructions: Get into a pushup position, then bend your elbows to rest your weight on your forearms, your elbows directly beneath your shoulders. Your body should form a straight line from head to heels. Brace your core and hold for as long as you can.SEE ALSO:5 Ways to Bolster Your Plank for a Stronger Core>>
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Pull-up
Doing a pull up with hands in a neutral position puts less stress on the shoulder joint and works on strength to protect your shoulders, Maddalone says. Instructions: Starting from a dead hang, squeeze your shoulders and core to pull your elbows down your sides until your collarbones reach the bar. Then, slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position.SEE ALSO:9 Ways to Amp Up Your Pull-Ups>>
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Palloff Press
This exercise zeroes in on your core’s stabilizers, which are critical not only to generating power, but to keeping your spine stable while doing so, Trink says.Instructions: Attach a D-handle to a cable station, hold it at your sternum, and stand far enough away from the machine that you feel tension in the cable. One shoulder should face the machine. Then, press the weight straight out in front of you, making sure your body doesn’t wobble or turn to one side. Hold the position for two seconds, then slowly return your hands back to start.SEE ALSO:8 Reasons Your Biceps Are Flat>>
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Power Clean
Focusing on the posterior chain—hamstrings, glutes, back—is important. “These muscles tend to get overlooked yet they have a great deal of importance in athletic performance,” says Trink.Instructions: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a barbell in front of your shins, your hands wider than your legs and your knees bent. Your head should be up, your shoulders back, and your back flat. Then, quickly straighten your knees and hips at the same time. When your legs are almost straight, shrug the bar upward to your chest and then drop your body under the bar, like a squat, so that it comes to rest on the front of your shoulders. Keep straightening your knees and hips to bring yourself to standing. Then, to return the bar to start, lower your body to the ground and release the bar from your shoulders.SEE ALSO:How to: Power Clean Technique for Power>>
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Plate Curls
Apart from building your biceps, this curl variation increases strength in your hands, thumb, and wrist to protect the easily sprained areas, Nelson says.Instructions: Take a standing lunge stance, and grab a weight plate by its end so it hangs down to one side of your body. Keeping your elbow locked at your side and your shoulder stable, squeeze your bicep to raise the weight to your shoulder. Keep your wrist straight throughout the entire movement. Perform all reps on one side, then repeat on the opposite side.SEE ALSO:7 Curls for Bigger Biceps>>
11 of 11
Hanging Leg Raises
This high-intensity bodyweight movement strengthens your core for better stability as well as your hip flexors, which are commonly weak from working hours spent sitting, Trink says.Instructions: Hang from a pull-up bar with your legs together. Keeping your back straight, bend your knees, and crunch them toward your torso until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Pause, then slowly return to start. For an extra challenge, keep your legs straight (pictured above) and try to reach your feet to your shoulders.SEE ALSO: 5 Total-Body Benefits of the Push Press>>
Many of us lift weights for the aesthetic perks. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting six-pack abs and monster quads purely for the sake of having them to show off. But, there are a heck of a lot more great reasons to put your time and efforts in to building strength and muscle all over. “A strong muscle is a resilient muscle,” says strength coach Dan Trink, C.S.C.S., owner of Trink Fitness. The same goes for strong bones, tendons, and ligaments. Translation: strengthening your body—the right way—helps to make you resilient to injuries, whether gym-induced ones or stuff that could befall you outside the gym walls.
Hence why total-body strength training is a requisite in any decent exercise program. Strength training not only increases muscle mass (which is a great shock absorber when you’re running, jumping, or getting slammed by left tackle), but it spurs bone growth, improves joint stability and mobility, and wards off potentially side-lining muscle imbalances, Trink says. “That’s one of the great things about strength training. You can control what you train and how much work you do. A playing field or court is random and chaotic; a gym is like a lab and you can make sure that each muscle group gets trained appropriately. When this type of balance occurs, your risk of injury is much smaller.” Click through for 10 strength training moves you must do to build coveted muscle all over—that, by default, bulletproof your whole body.
“This is an amazing exercise to make you strong all over from your little toes to your knees, hips, back, and shoulders since you are moving the load with each step,” says exercise physiologist Mike T. Nelson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.
Instructions: Grab a pair of heavy dumbbells, one in each hand. Stand tall and walk forward, taking short steps. Keep your chest up and shoulders back.
Guys often miss their glutes and hamstrings. The RDL corrects that. Plus, by putting you on one foot at a time, it improves your balance as well as ankle and hip stability, says Dean Maddalone, C.S.C.S., director of the Professional Athletic Performance Center in New York.
Instructions: Stand on one leg, holding a dumbbell in the opposite hand. Bend at your hips to lower your torso until it’s parallel to the floor. Squeeze your glutes and push though your hips to return to standing. Perform all reps on one side, then repeat on the opposite side.
The shoulder is on of the more mobile (and potentially unstable) joints in the body. This exercise works your rotator cuff muscles to keep everything strong and in place, Maddalone says.
Instructions: Lie down on one side with the hand closest to the floor supporting your head. With your other hand, hold a dumbbell in front of your stomach. While keeping your elbow glued to your side, rotate the dumbbell upward until your forearm is completely vertical. Perform all reps on one side, then repeat on the opposite side.
The strength-training staple increases mobility and strength through the hips and thighs to reduce the risk of knee and other lower-body problems down the line, Maddalone says.
Instructions: Grab a barbell with your hands as close together as is comfortable, and come under the bar to rest it on your traps. Lift it off the rack, step backward, and stand with your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes turned out slightly. Push your feet outward (but don’t actually move them) as if you’re trying to spread the floor with your feet. Keeping your torso up, bend your hips and knees to lower your body as far as you can to the floor. Extend through your hips and knees to return to standing.
By targeting your transverse abdominis, your deepest abdominal muscle, the plank is vital to developing trunk stability and preventing lower back injuries, Maddalone says. Feel free to mix things up with variations if the traditional plank isn’t intense enough for you.
Instructions: Get into a pushup position, then bend your elbows to rest your weight on your forearms, your elbows directly beneath your shoulders. Your body should form a straight line from head to heels. Brace your core and hold for as long as you can.
Doing a pull up with hands in a neutral position puts less stress on the shoulder joint and works on strength to protect your shoulders, Maddalone says.
Instructions: Starting from a dead hang, squeeze your shoulders and core to pull your elbows down your sides until your collarbones reach the bar. Then, slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position.
This exercise zeroes in on your core’s stabilizers, which are critical not only to generating power, but to keeping your spine stable while doing so, Trink says.
Instructions: Attach a D-handle to a cable station, hold it at your sternum, and stand far enough away from the machine that you feel tension in the cable. One shoulder should face the machine. Then, press the weight straight out in front of you, making sure your body doesn’t wobble or turn to one side. Hold the position for two seconds, then slowly return your hands back to start.
Focusing on the posterior chain—hamstrings, glutes, back—is important. “These muscles tend to get overlooked yet they have a great deal of importance in athletic performance,” says Trink.
Instructions: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a barbell in front of your shins, your hands wider than your legs and your knees bent. Your head should be up, your shoulders back, and your back flat. Then, quickly straighten your knees and hips at the same time. When your legs are almost straight, shrug the bar upward to your chest and then drop your body under the bar, like a squat, so that it comes to rest on the front of your shoulders. Keep straightening your knees and hips to bring yourself to standing. Then, to return the bar to start, lower your body to the ground and release the bar from your shoulders.
Apart from building your biceps, this curl variation increases strength in your hands, thumb, and wrist to protect the easily sprained areas, Nelson says.
Instructions: Take a standing lunge stance, and grab a weight plate by its end so it hangs down to one side of your body. Keeping your elbow locked at your side and your shoulder stable, squeeze your bicep to raise the weight to your shoulder. Keep your wrist straight throughout the entire movement. Perform all reps on one side, then repeat on the opposite side.
This high-intensity bodyweight movement strengthens your core for better stability as well as your hip flexors, which are commonly weak from working hours spent sitting, Trink says.
Instructions: Hang from a pull-up bar with your legs together. Keeping your back straight, bend your knees, and crunch them toward your torso until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Pause, then slowly return to start. For an extra challenge, keep your legs straight (pictured above) and try to reach your feet to your shoulders.
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