Kettlebell training is rarely given the credit it deserves. Unless you’re speaking to iFit trainer Hannah Eden, that is. 

“Kettlebells are my favorite training tool,” she says. “They’re so fun to use, and they’re a great way to build strength, develop power and work the cardiovascular system.”

Eden also likes how you can’t go through the motions when training with a kettlebell. 

Or in her words: “You have to be dialed in and focused on what you’re doing, otherwise you’re going to drop a weight on your head.”

To help you avoid that fate, she’s shared six of her favorite foundational kettlebell moves in this video for the Onnit Academy, describing in detail how to execute them with immaculate form. 

The kettlebell deadlift and squat in Eden’s video can be performed as standard muscle-building exercises where the weight is moved at a fairly consistent speed. 

Whereas the kettlebell swing and clean require explosive power to move the kettlebell. 

When performing these exercises, the location of the kettlebell’s handle means you’re rarely holding the weight at its center of mass. It’s continually pulling your body off balance, forcing stabilizing muscles in your core and around your joints to put in a shift as they work to maintain optimal body positions. 

That’s why Eden describes working with kettlebells as an “unconventional, ballistic” form of training. It will develop your stability, coordination and power, strengthening your muscles and joints to create a more robust, athletic body. 

So, next time you’re in the gym, consider giving the squat racks the cold shoulder as you make a beeline for the kettlebells in the corner. You can put what you learn in the video into practice with this beginner kettlebell workout or one Coach’s many kettlebell workouts.

If you find doing endless crunches particularly torturous, you’ll be pleased to hear there are alternative exercises that will build core strength without being nearly as unpleasant. Meet the Pilates roll-up. It may not be as well-known as the crunch, but the roll-up is arguably even better at building strength in your core.

In the roll-up, you gradually move from lying on your back to sitting with your spine curved forward and your arms reaching forward. It’s performed slowly and with control, meaning there’s no momentum and you can’t help your abs by pulling on your head or neck. 

Although it’s hard work, I find the mindful movement can make it feel almost meditative, as you focus on peeling your spine off the mat. 

The slow and steady pace required in this exercise means your core muscles spend more time under tension. Studies such as this one published in the Journal of Physiology suggest that the more a muscle is loaded with tension to the point of fatigue the greater the protein synthesis, which can lead to muscle growth.

“The roll-up is one of my favorite exercises to do and to teach,” says Pilates instructor Millie Shiers, who teaches mat and reformer classes at Core LDN. “Practicing the roll-up can improve the flexibility of your spine and increase your abdominal strength. The roll-up also teaches your body how to control spinal articulation.”

How To Do The Pilates Roll-Up

Lie on your back with your legs extended and together, and feet flexed (toes pointing up to the ceiling). Extend your arms up with your palms facing your feet. As you exhale, lift your head and chest, slowly peeling your spine off the mat and reaching your arms forward. As you do so, slowly peel your spine off the mat. Once you’re reaching as far forward as you can, take an inhale to pause, then exhale and use your abs to gently roll down again, articulating your spine back onto the mat.

“Focus on squeezing your legs together and sliding your ribs towards your hips as you roll up,” says Shiers.

Roll-Up Modifications

If the full roll-up is too intense, there are plenty of ways to make it easier as you develop the strength to do the whole movement. “You can modify the roll-up with props to make it more accessible,” says Shiers. “One way to do this is to wrap a band around your feet and hold either end of the band—the band acts as an extra abdominal muscle. Another prop you can use is ankle weights to give you a bit more support in anchoring your lower body to the mat.”

“I also like to teach modified versions of the roll-up without props,” says Shiers. “For example, I will get clients to practice both halves of the roll-up separately—the forward flexion and then rolling down—until they can smoothly lift their body with no momentum.”

To fully master the roll-up, there are clever cues to help you do it as effectively as possible. “In Pilates, we love to make exercises as challenging as they can be by ensuring you properly connect to your muscles,” says Shiers. “To really feel the roll-up, think of pushing your heels away from you and drawing your ribs back in the opposite direction. This opposition will help you connect to your abs.”

A lot of people deal with aches and pains in their back, and the time spent hunched over desks, and mobile phones, as well as lounging on the sofa for box-set marathons only exacerbates the issue.

Incorporating mobility and strengthening back exercises into your routine is one of the best ways to support a healthier spine. Daily stretches can also help keep your spine mobile, as well as provide relief if you're experiencing tightness or tension. 

If you’re in need of some go-to stretches to mobilize your back muscles, try the five level 3 personal trainer and yoga instructor Emily Mouu shared in her Instagram Reel. Mouu also provided some extra form tips exclusively with Coach, so you can get the most out of each exercise.

A few of the stretches in this routine are twists and rotations, which encourage the spine's natural range of motion, according to Mouu. This includes the first stretch in the routine, the seated reach-over. “Sitting comfortably, with one knee bent and one leg extended, take your opposite arm to the knee that’s bent then reach your other arm over to the side. Take it to wherever feels good,” says Mouu.

Exercises like the down dog chest to thighs are great for stretching and strengthening the muscles in the back, and opening up the chest, shoulders and back, helping to ease aches and pains. Mouu recommends thinking of a downward dog as moving your body into “an upside down V shape”. Then, to do the exercise, “lift up onto your toes, bend your knees and squeeze your chest to your thighs,” she says.

Puppy pose is another yoga exercise in this routine that you might not have tried before, but it’s great for releasing the muscles in the back. “Begin in tabletop on your hands and knees with the palms of your hands underneath your shoulder blades and your knees underneath your hips,” says Mouu. “Walk your hands as far forward as you can, keeping your hips over your knees. When you can’t walk your hands any further forward, exhale and take your head and chest towards your mat."

Try to do these exercises a few times a week to increase your mobility, maybe at the start of the day or after working out. You can also try these back stretches and these exercises to relive back pain.

The push-up is one of the most common bodyweight exercises programmed into full-body and upper-body workouts, but it’s not a movement most people can do without building up strength first.

Thankfully, this is relatively straightforward to do once you know how. “Building up the muscles necessary for a push-up involves targeting the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core,” says Amanda Place, personal trainer and founder of Sculptrition.

You can do this by using other exercises to develop the muscles used to perform the movement combined with practicing easier push-up variations, such as a negative push-up where you only perform the lowering portion of the movement as slowly as you can, an incline push-up where you place your hands on a raised platform, or a push-up on your knees.

“Aim to practice push-up variations and related exercises at least three to four times per week,” says Place. “Consistency is key to building strength and muscle endurance. Track your progress and gradually increase the number of repetitions or the difficulty of the exercises as you get stronger.”

Here are four strength exercises Place recommends to improve your ability to perform push-ups or help you achieve your first one. It’s also worth familiarising yourself with our expert guide to proper push-up form.

1 Plank

“Planks help strengthen the core muscles, which are crucial for maintaining stability during a push-up,” says Place.

Lie on your front, brace your abs and lift your body off the floor, supporting yourself on your forearms and the balls of your feet, with your elbows under your shoulders. Keep your body in a straight line from your shoulders to your heels.

2 Dumbbell bench press

Lie on your back either on the floor or on a bench, with your feet on the floor, holding dumbbells by your chest, with your upper arms at a 30°-45°angle to your torso. Extend your arms to press the weights up, then lower under control to the start.

3 Overhead triceps extension

Stand or sit on the end of a bench holding the head of a dumbbell in both hands above your head with your arms fully extended. Keeping your elbows pointing forward and your upper arms still, bend your elbows to lower the dumbbell behind your head, then extend your arms to return to the start.

4 Cable flye

Attach D-handles to the high anchor points on a cable machine and stand in the middle of the weight stacks. Move forward until there is tension in the cables and your hands are out to the sides at shoulder height with a slight bend in your elbows. Adopt a staggered stance and engage your core, then bring the handles in front of you. Pause, squeeze your chest muscles, then return to the start under control.

How’s your posture? Did you catch yourself slouching as you read that? If there’s room for improvement you should try barre. Barre is a challenging style of workout that combines ballet-inspired movements with Pilates-style strength work. It’s a tried-and-tested combination for improving your posture.

Qualified barre instructor Gen Greensted runs online barre program The Barre Coach and offers classes from her studio in Cobham in the UK. As well as explaining how barre can help with posture, she has also shared a five-move barre workout with Coach so we can all work on improving our posture.

“Barre workouts focus on alignment, balance and core strength, all of which play important roles in improving posture,” says Greensted. “The emphasis on controlled movements and maintaining a neutral spine helps strengthen these muscles while also promoting flexibility and mobility—all components of good posture.”

Five Barre Exercises For Posture

If you want to see changes, you’ll need to do workouts like this one regularly. “I’d aim to incorporate posture-focused workouts like Barre classes into your routine two to three times a week,” says Greensted. “With this level of consistency, you’ll start to notice you are standing taller and moving with more ease in day-to-day life in as little as four weeks. Beyond the physical benefits, improved posture can have an amazing impact on your mental and emotional well-being, giving you a greater sense of confidence.”

1 Barre-style bent-over row

Reps 10-12 each side

Stand with your feet hip-width apart holding a pair of light dumbbells (1-3kg). Step one foot back to adopt a staggered stance for a little extra glute work in this exercise. Hinge at your hips to bring your chest forward, keeping your back flat and core engaged. Bend your elbows and pull the dumbbells towards your ribcage, squeezing your shoulder blades down and in towards your spine. Lower the weights with control and repeat. Make sure you switch legs and repeat the exercise if you opt for the staggered stance.

“This is great for targeting your upper back and core while working on shoulder blade stability,” says Greensted. “It helps counteract the effects of sitting for extended periods.”

2 Barre-inspired Superman variations

Reps 10-12

Lie face down on a mat with your legs straight and arms stretched out in front. 

Keeping your neck in a neutral position (chin very slightly tucked, looking down at the floor), slowly lift your arms and legs a few inches off the floor, engaging your back, glutes and core. Hold at the top, squeeze your shoulder blades down and in towards your spine as you bend your elbows and pull them towards your feet, your hands passing the top of your head. Extend your arms in front and lower your arms and legs to the mat. You can progress this exercise by holding a resistance band, held shoulder-width apart in your hands.

Come up onto all fours and perform a few cat/cows (spinal extension and flexion) after you’ve finished this exercise to get some movement back into your spine.

“This exercise is all about strengthening your lower back, core and glutes, all key muscle groups in improving posture,” says Greensted.

3 Static lunge with chest opening

Reps 10-12 each side

Kneel on your mat then place one foot on the floor in front of you and your weight slightly shifted forward so your front knee is over your ankle. Hinge forward from your hips so your chest moves closer to your front thigh and tuck the toes of your back foot under. Bring both hands to the side of your head with your elbows pointing forward and round your shoulders slightly.

Take a deep breath in, and as you exhale, push up through your front leg until your back knee comes off the floor into a lunge and open up across your chest by pulling your elbows wide. Return to the start with your knee on the mat and repeat, moving slowly and with intention.

“This exercise is amazing for building total-body stability as you’ll have to work hard to find your balance,” says Greensted. “You’ll build glute strength, core stability and work on opening across your chest and reducing any forward rounding of your shoulders.”

4 Four-point leg extensions with resistance band

Reps 10-12, then 10-12 with reduced range, each side

Begin on all fours with your shoulders over your wrists, hips over your knees and your pelvis in a neutral position. Secure your long resistance band to the floor under both hands and loop the middle part around the back of one flexed foot. Inhale as you hover your knee off the mat. Exhale, engaging your core and squeezing your glute as you extend your leg back, finishing with your heel in line with your hip.

Repeat this exercise for the 10-12 reps, then perform the same movement but reduce the range of movement by half, so you’re extending your leg, then bringing it only halfway back, completing another 10-12 reps. Then switch legs.

“This exercise is great for shoulder and core strength and stability while building glute strength and working on hamstring flexibility, all of which are important for improving overall posture,” says Greensted.

5 Four-point arm and leg extension

Reps 10-12

Start on all fours with your shoulders over your wrists, hips over your knees and your pelvis in a neutral position. Place one hand on the side of your head with your elbow out to the side and slide the opposite leg back until it’s extended with your toes pointed, touching the floor.

Take a deep breath in and lift your back leg while drawing the opposite elbow a little higher towards the ceiling. As you exhale, slightly round your back and pull your knee and elbow in towards your core, engaging your core muscles as you do so. Inhale to return to your extension.

“This exercise is all about stability,” says Greensted. “It helps build core and glute strength, while opening your chest and helping reduce forward rounding of your shoulders.”

We hope you never experience knee pain, because it can not only stop you from working out, it can feel so uncomfortable it disrupts your everyday activities.

It’s always worth seeking help from a qualified practitioner if you have acute knee pain, but if you have low-level aches, one of the best ways to reduce your knee pain, or to avoid it altogether, is to strengthen the muscles that support the joint.

Physical therapist and run coach Bonnie Wilder recently shared an Instagram Reel with three exercises she prescribes for knee pain and I got in touch with her to find out more.

“These exercises are best for muscular associated knee pain, which is usually an achy or dull pain, arthritis and any type of sports injury such as ligament sprains,” says Wilder.

To perform these exercises, you’ll need a kettlebell or another type of free-weight, something to elevate your heels on such as a weight plate, and a short resistance band.

Wilder recommends performing three sets of 10 reps for each exercise, but you’ll need to repeat these exercises regularly and increase the difficulty by using a heavier weight or completing more reps to see a reduction in knee pain.

Take a look at Wilder’s Instagram Reel where she demonstrates each of the exercises.

The exercises in this routine will target the quadriceps, the muscles located at the front of your thighs, and the glutes—the large muscles in your buttocks.

“Bulgarian split squats and heel-elevated squats target the quads which are a critical component for reducing knee pain,” says Wilder. “This is because the quads attach to the patella [the kneecap] and help improve stability and reduce unwanted movement.”

The final exercise is a hip clock, which targets a specific part of the gluteus muscles. "The hip clocks work by improving the side glute—the glute medius—which stabilizes the knees and reduces translation [movement] of the knees inwards,” Wilder says. “This improves stability as well and keeping the knees in alignment.”

Try incorporating these movements into your routine a few times a week, and once you’ve built strength with these exercises, move on to these knee-strengthening exercises and these preventive runner’s knee exercises.

Whether or not you’ve tried yoga, you’ve probably come across a move known as downward-facing dog. It’s often used in the warm-up before fitness classes and it’s one of the best movements for stretching and strengthening your hamstrings, hips and shoulders.

To do a downward dog, begin on your hands and knees, then move your hips up and back, and extend your legs to form an inverted V with your body. 

It seems simple, but it’s a pose that requires flexibility and mobility. Some people will find it uncomfortable to begin with while others will be unable to bring their heels to the floor. 

I asked Helen O’Leary, physiotherapist and clinical director at Complete Pilates, what you can do to improve your range of motion and make the movement more comfortable.

“It is important to realize that it may not be possible for everyone to touch their heels to the floor simply due to their own genetic makeup and what range they have within their skeleton,” says O’Leary.

Even if you’re one of those people, moving your feet closer to the floor in the downward dog pose is a good goal to set yourself, in order to get the most out of the exercise.

“Generally to improve your downward dog, you need to do mobility work around your calves, the backs of your legs and the lower back,” says O'Leary.

O'Leary recommends dynamic exercises instead of static stretching to strengthen and lengthen the muscles in the back of your body. Here are three to get you started.

1 Romanian deadlift

Reps 8-12

Hold a barbell or two heavy dumbbells in front of your thighs and stand with your feet hip-width apart. Keeping a slight bend in your knees, a straight back and the weight close to your body throughout, push your hips back to lower the weight until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, then push through your feet to return to the start. Aim to lower slowly and return to the start powerfully. 

2 Thread the needle

Reps 4-5 each side

Start on your hands and knees. Thread your right arm between your left arm and leg, rotating your torso to reach as far to the left as you can. Bend your left elbow so that your right shoulder reaches as close to the floor as possible. Return to the start then repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep.

3 Lateral lunge

Reps 8-12

Stand with your legs wider than shoulder-width apart. Bend your right knee and sit your hips back as you lower to the right, while keeping your left leg extended. Push through your right foot to return to the start and repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep. 

David Beckham has shared a look at how he trains his abs with an Instagram video which shows him working through a set of hanging knee raises, under strict instruction from trainer Bobby Rich.

The exercise’s name doubles as a form guide: hang from a pull-up bar, then use your core muscles to raise both knees so your thighs pass beyond parallel with the floor. 

In the video, Rich can be heard giving the technique cue “knees up to your chest”, although Becks’ caption suggests he had more pressing matters on his mind—namely, the state of his headline-grabbing ’do. If I had hair that nice that would be my primary concern, too.

Benefits Of Hanging Abs Exercises 

Performing abs exercises on a pull-up bar is great for breaking away from the monotony core training can entail—planks, crunch variations, you know the drill. Your mid-body muscles are in for a real test too.

“You’re definitely focused on your rectus abdominis because you’re going into a flexion, but instead of flexion from the top like with a crunch you’re flexing from the bottom,” says Wendy Batts, regional master trainer for the National Academy of Sports Medicine. 

However, she warns this move isn’t for beginners. Not only do you have to be able to control your body through spinal flexion, but it also requires you to hold your bodyweight. And that’s not all.

To hit the intended range of motion, you need to be able to hang with a neutral spine. If your lower back arches (an anterior pelvic tilt), you have to move your spine to neutral before moving to flexion, and that extra movement is called compensation.

“If you can do it without compensation then I tell people it’s a great exercise,” she explains. 

“But you really need to make sure you have good lat extensibility, because if you don’t and you’re hanging you’re going to be in an anterior tilt. 

“The lower back will arch, and during this exercise you’re trying to have it do the opposite. This means you’re really not going to get full activation [of the muscles] because you have to go through a compensation first.”

If you struggle with this exercise, try starting with a knee-up, or a reverse crunch to knee-up as demonstrated below (rotation optional). 

However, if you have the strength and stability needed to do this exercise properly, Batts says it can be a great tool for developing core strength. 

“There are a lot of different variations to make it harder; sometimes one knee up at a time so you have to hang longer, or there are different rotational movements while doing it. 

“I have our athletes do it where they’ll raise their knees, kick their legs out, hold this position, and then come down. 

“There are a lot of variations to this one exercise that you can progress someone to. You just want to make sure they’re doing it correctly first, then you can have a ton of fun with it.”

If you run regularly, you’ll be familiar with the aches that are part and parcel of this high-impact sport. One of the areas that tend to get stiff is the hips—no great surprise given the important role the muscles around the hips have in running.

Most people turn to hip stretches to reduce stiffness, but this deals with the symptoms, rather than the cause.

“Stretching your muscles may provide temporary relief, but it won't build up the hip's capacity to tolerate more load, whereas strengthening will,” says physiotherapist and certified running coach Richelle Weeks. 

“When running, your glute medius and minimus—the glute muscles on the outside of your hip—can take two to three times your body weight in peak force with every step,” says Weeks.

“Sometimes, if your glutes are not strong enough to handle this impact, they can start to feel quite tight, especially towards the end of a long run or after a hard workout.”

Recently, Weeks also posted an exercise to her Instagram, which targets the hip rotators, strengthening them so that they’re protected from this impact. 

Take a look at Weeks' Instagram Reel where she demonstrates the move.

“For this exercise place a mini band around your feet and a ball or yoga block between your legs,” says Weeks. “Keep your hips and knees at 90° as you rotate your feet out as far as possible.”

Try to hold the end position for 3-5 seconds and then three sets of six reps.

For more on how to build a body that can better handle the rigors of running, read this expert guide to strength training for runners.

If you’ve been walking past the kettlebell racks every time you visit the gym, it’s time to start including this type of weight in your routine.

Certified PT Adam Sinicki (aka The Bioneer) has shared six of his favorite kettlebell exercises for building full-body fitness, and it’s a great selection. 

The exercises—the kettlebell swing, front rack squat, Cossack squat, halo, floor press and single-arm bent-over row—can be combined into a total-body workout, too. 

Try using them as a circuit, performing 8-12 reps of each one in turn for three rounds (or 8-12 reps on each side, if it’s a unilateral movement like the single-arm row).

“[Kettlebells will] build your strength in ways other tools just can't,” Sinicki writes. “You'll be stronger at weird angles, for longer.”

This is because, unlike with a dumbbell or a barbell, you’re rarely holding a kettlebell in its center of mass. Particularly during dynamic exercises like the kettlebell swing, the momentum of the weight will pull you off balance, challenging your core and other supporting muscles to keep you stable. 

These dynamic exercises also allow you to rack up plenty of reps, to train your muscular endurance and raise your heart rate. You can even try variations of Olympic weightlifting moves like the snatch and clean and jerk with a kettlebell to develop explosive power too. 

I especially like that Sinicki’s selection works your body through all three planes of motion: sagittal, frontal and transverse. They incorporate up and down (sagittal plane) side-to-side (frontal plan) and rotational (transverse plane) movements to develop full-body functional strength and mobility. 

As Sinicki says, there are still some areas where dumbbells and barbells reign supreme. Performing floor presses with dumbbells rather than kettlebells will save your forearms, and if you want a heavy-loaded leg exercise you’ll struggle to beat the barbell back squat. 

But I agree that kettlebells should be a part of any workout plan, offering plenty of benefits and variations to upgrade your training. If you’ve never used kettlebells before, start with this beginner kettlebell workout. 

Get help deciding which kettlebell to buy with Coach’s guide to the best kettlebells.

If there’s a set of muscles that I think people neglect, it’s the pelvic floor and believe me when I say you want to be training these muscles.

Essentially, the pelvic floor muscles act like a sling, supporting the pelvic organs including the bladder and bowel, as well as the vagina and uterus in women. When these muscles are weak, it can lead to incontinence and even prolapse, as well as other issues.

When the pelvic floor muscles are strong, it can result in improved posture, a speedier recovery from childbirth, less chance of incontinence and even better sex!

“The pelvic floor muscles are also part of our bigger set of core muscles,” says my PT, Will Duru, “so strengthening them can help to strengthen your overall core too and your lower back.”

Although exercises such as Kegels are often associated with women, because hormones, pregnancy and childbirth can affect these muscles, men can also suffer from a weak pelvic floor so keeping them strong is important for everyone.

Will and I did a quick pelvic floor workout recently, and although it looks simple, if you move slowly enough through the exercises, I assure you, you will feel it the next day. 

1 Glute bridge with medicine ball hold

Sets 5 Time 5-10sec

Hold a medicine ball between your legs just above your knees, lift into a bridge position and hold. Press your knees together and squeeze your glutes. 

2 Plank into bear

Sets 3 Reps 10

Start in a high plank position. Keeping your core engaged and back flat throughout, step your feet in one at a time so your knees are bent to 90°, but keep your knees off the floor. Step your feet back one at a time.

3 Toe tap

Sets 3 Reps 10

Throughout, make sure the bottom of your lower back is touching the floor. This will require more core engagement as your foot gets closer to the floor. Move slowly to get more from the movement.

4 Glute bridge with band

Sets 3 Reps 10

At the top of the glute bridge, press both knees out so there is resistance in the band. Then slowly roll your back down, vertebrae by vertebrae. 

5 Kneeling exhale and inhale

Sets 3 Reps 10

The most simple pelvic floor exercise you can do can also be tricky to get right. As you inhale, expand the abdomen and rib cage and take in air, then exhale, and allow your stomach to soften and deflate. Breathe deeply and slowly.

“Breathing plays a crucial role in training the pelvic floor,” says Will. “Proper breathing is a key component of muscle contraction. Through mindful inhaling and exhaling, you can effectively contract your pelvic floor muscles.”

Hugh Jackman has been preparing to resume his role of clawed crusader Wolverine for Deadpool 3 and his gym sessions were no joke.

The Australian actor recently shared a snippet of his training, showing him tackling what looks like a biceps curl mechanical drop set, all while receiving barked orders from his trainer’s dog Andy.

In the clip, Jackman hits a set of standing EZ-bar curls before leaning over and immediately getting to work on a series of bent-over EZ-bar curls using the same weight. 

But what does this achieve? By getting him to switch his body position, Jackman’s trainer Beth Lewis changes the point of the movement at which his biceps are under the most load.

A standard biceps curl will feel most difficult as your forearms pass the point of being parallel with the ground, whereas a bent-over biceps curl is most challenging at the top of the rep. This shifts the stimulus of the move by hitting the biceps from a different angle, delivering a colossal pump.

And the results are on display for all to see: Jackman’s arms look huge. 

Deadpool 3 is released on July 26 this year and it will be Jackman’s first outing as Wolverine since 2017’s Logan. 

Fans are also excited to see him star alongside a similarly-jacked Ryan Reynolds, with the duo having stoked a fake feud for the last 15 years. 

Despite being friends, the pair have taken light-hearted pot-shots at one another since meeting on the set of X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009. Now they’re set to reconvene in the MCU, audiences are expecting big things (and they’re not talking about Jackman’s biceps). 

There are so many different exercises to choose from, it can be difficult to know which movements to spend your limited training time on.

That’s why I was intrigued by physiotherapist Sam Caddick’s ringing endorsement of the Cossack squat in a recent Instagram post, so I spoke to him to find out more.

According to Caddick, the Cossack squat is one of the best tests of strength and mobility, as it recruits a wide range of lower-body joints and muscles.

“The reason why I love this drill so much is because it brings in the four mechanics of the lower body,” says Caddick. “These are ankle mobility (dorsiflexion), knee flexion—driving the knee over the toe—as well as working into a deep hip-flexed position and working through the adductors, testing the groin strength and length.

“It’s also a great way of working through the lateral movement pattern, so left to right.”

What’s more, it's also a unilateral exercise, which means you’ll be working on one leg at a time, ensuring both are equally as strong and mobile.

So what’s stopping you from adding it to your leg workouts? Probably the fact that it requires greater mobility than many of us possess, which is why Caddick’s Instagram post is so helpful. Watch him demonstrate several regressions to help you get started.

“To regress the drill, use a band strapped around something [such as a squat rack] to lean back on so you're able to get further and deeper into the motion,” says Caddick. “You can always use your hands to support you on a block to help you get further into the position. Or use a weight as counterbalance which should reposition the torso so you’re able to get deeper into the stretch.”

If you have limited ankle mobility, Caddick recommends raising one heel on a wedge or a block, so you can move deeper into the exercise.

Once the movement comes easily, Caddick has also provided progressions too. “You can straddle wider and you can add additional load in the form of a kettlebell or a dumbbell and hold it in a front-loaded position at the chest.”

If there’s one exercise that feels beyond most gym-goers, it’s the pull-up. It makes sense that they’re one of the toughest moves to do. After all, you’re lifting your entire body weight.

“Consistency, patience, and progressive overload are essential principles for mastering the pull-up,” says Ali Malik, a personal trainer and founder of Fit Labs Kensington.

Our four-week pull-up workout plan for beginners sticks to those principles, but if you’re keen to speed up your progress or lay strong foundations while you wait for a home pull-up bar to be delivered, Malik has recommended a few exercises that will help you strengthen the muscles you need to do a pull-up.

“Incorporate pull-up-specific exercises into your routine at least two to three times per week, gradually increasing intensity, volume, and resistance over time,” says Malik.

“While calisthenics exercises like pull-ups and bodyweight rows are excellent for building functional strength, incorporating weight training exercises like lat pull-downs, rows and deadlifts can provide additional muscle stimulation and variety to your training regimen,” says Malik.

Here, he shares a variation of bodyweight and weighted exercises to help you achieve your first pull-up or improve the number of reps you’re able to do.

1 Negative pull-up

Why “This eccentric phase of the movement helps build muscle strength and control, which are essential for performing full pull-ups,” says Malik.

How Use a box or a step to get into the top of a pull-up position, with your chin above the bar and your hands gripping the bar shoulder-width apart. Lower yourself as slowly as possible until your arms are fully extended.

2 Band pull-apart

Why “Strengthening the muscles responsible for scapular retraction, such as the rhomboids and lower trapezius, is crucial for pull-up success,” says Malik.

How Stand holding a resistance band in front of you around chest height with your arms extended and your hands shoulder-width apart. Move each hand out to either side as far as you can. Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades before returning to the start under control. 

3 Face pull

Why This is another exercise to strengthen scapular retraction.

How Set up a cable machine with a double rope attachment fixed at eye level. Face the anchor and hold the handles with an overhand grip, palms facing the floor, Step back until your arms are extended at chest height and the cable is taut. Pull the handles towards either side of your face, then rotate your forearms to vertical, your elbow should be at a 90° angle. Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Slowly return the handles to the start.

4 Lat pull-down

Why “Incorporating lat pull-downs and rowing exercises into your strength training routine can target the same muscle groups used in pull-ups, such as the latissimus dorsi, biceps and upper-back muscles,” says Malik. “Gradually increasing resistance and volume will contribute to overall pull-up strength.”

How Sit in a lat pull-down machine and hold the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your palms facing forward. Pull the bar down towards your chest. Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades. You can move backward slightly but don’t swing your torso to generate momentum to move the weight. Return the bar to the start under control.

I often deal with stiffness in my upper body. And if there's one area that tends to be particularly tight and achy, which I suspect might be the case for many people, it's my back.

I work a desk job, so I spend most of my time sitting down, often hunched over my laptop, which inevitably puts pressure on my back.

My fairly stationary working day paired with some tough upper-body workouts I've done recently meant that my back was very stiff last week. So I was excited to see an Instagram Reel by physiotherapist Sam Caddick with one exercise designed to relieve discomfort and stiffness in the back.

Take a look at Caddick’s Reel where he demonstrates the move.

I got in contact with Caddick to find out more about the movement. “I really like this stretch because it works through hip rotation, lengthening and loading the outside of the glutes while working on opening the quadriceps and the bigger muscles around the hips,” says Caddick.

I decided to try this stretch first thing in the morning, as this is when my muscles feel the most stiff. I normally don’t stretch as soon as I wake up—I usually head straight to the gym or my kitchen table to start work—so I tried this for a few days to see if it helped with achiness in my back.

“This drill is super handy because it requires no equipment so you can do it at home or even in the office, which is great especially if you spend a lot of time sitting at your desk,” says Caddick. “Hold this as a passive stretch for up to two minutes if you can tolerate it, to get the most out of the stretch.”

This stretch primarily targeted my hips, but it also opened up my shoulders and the muscles in my upper back, which felt great. It revealed that I wasn’t as flexible as I thought and I could feel my muscles protesting as I moved my leg forward.

Holding the stretch for up to two minutes was difficult, as I felt extremely tight. But after about a minute, I settled into the stretch a bit more and my entire body felt more relaxed afterward, particularly the muscles in my back and upper body.

Caddick stresses in the Reel’s caption that there's no one move to fix back pain. Incorporating back exercises, back stretches and mobility exercises into your routine can help, but seeking professional help is the best way to deal with the issue for good.

However, if you're anything like me and you're looking for a quick way to relieve your symptoms, this exercise could do the job. I'll be coming back to it as a quick way to mobilize my hips and upper-body muscles in the morning and throughout the day.

The push-up is one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do, and possibly the most well-known exercise of all. However, there’s a difference between knowing an exercise and knowing how to execute it perfectly to get the most from the movement, and if you take the time to nail your technique with the push-up you’ll increase its effectiveness.

One of the most important things to pay attention to when performing push-ups is your elbow position, because how much you flare your elbows during the exercise will change the muscles you’re predominantly targeting during the move.

I spoke to Alasdair Nicoll, personal trainer and tutor at The Fitness Group, which provides personal training courses, to get his advice on how to do a push-up and his top tip for elbows position was to think about forming an arrowhead with your upper body.

“You want to make sure that the direction in which the elbows are traveling is right,” says Nicoll. “You don't want them traveling out to the side because that’s going to put unnecessary stress through the shoulder.

“If we were to look over the top of the person, we’d want to see an arrow shape from the head down to both elbows. They should be angling back at pretty much a 45° angle. That would be optimal for prioritizing the chest, and will also help to get a full range of motion through the chest.”

You’ll find more of Nicoll’s tips in our push-up form guide. And once you’ve nailed your technique, dive headfirst into this 30-day push-up challenge and build up to doing 100 push-ups in one go.

For most mere mortals, abs exercises using just your bodyweight, like sit-ups and leg raises, provide enough of a challenge to encourage muscle growth and increase strength. But some, especially those looking to take their six-pack to the next level, might need to recruit additional load to keep them growing.

Enter the cable crunch. This bodybuilding favorite uses the cable machine to make the crunch exercise much more challenging. That may sound great, but it’s not the easiest movement to master and you should exercise caution before adding it to your abs workouts. 

For the dos and don’ts of this exercise we spoke with Eddie Baruta, global head of gym floor personal training at Ultimate Performance, and Cara D’Ozario, PT and owner of CGM Fitness. 

How To Do The Cable Crunch

The cable crunch is not an entry-level exercise. “It’s tough to execute because you have to really anchor your legs and hips in position to effectively target your abs,” says Baruta. When practiced correctly, he says, your primary focus should be on “bringing your rib cage towards your pelvis”. Nothing more, nothing less. 

The most common version of this tricky exercise is practiced facing toward the cable machine. For the facing away variation, see further down the page. 

The Set-Up

Connect the triceps rope attachment to the highest pulley. Start with a light load on the weight stack as you get familiar with the movement. Kneel facing the anchor point and hold either end of the attachment by your shoulders with the rope just behind your head. 

The Crunch

Lengthen your body to avoid slouching, and lock your pelvis and legs in position. Take a breath in, then slowly curl your torso forward, focusing on bringing your rib cage towards your pelvis to engage and shorten your target muscles. It’s only a small movement and you should feel the muscles working hard.

The Return 

Pause for a second at the point of maximum contraction, then slowly uncurl your torso to lengthen your abs muscles until your body is fully upright, exhaling as you go. All the power and control for the exercise should stem from your core muscles rather than your legs, hip flexors or arms.

Cable Crunch Benefits

Cable Crunch Risks

If the cable crunch is performed incorrectly, you’ll certainly know about it. “You’ll probably start to feel tension build up in your lower back,” says Baruta. If that’s the case, park your ego and reduce the weight on the stack so you don’t do any damage. 

Common Cable Crunch Mistakes

The cable crunch exercise requires good body awareness and a solid base level of fitness to get right—or else it could easily go wrong. Here are the most common mistakes our coaches see gym-goers make.

1. Harnessing Momentum

“One of the most common mistakes I see with the cable crunch—and with most abs exercises generally—is when people misuse momentum,” says Baruta. To fix this, he urges you to think about “lengthening your abs instead of allowing the weight to pull you back up” during the eccentric phase of the lift.

Baruta also suggests matching the tempo of the concentric phase of the move with that of the eccentric section. For example, two seconds down, two seconds up. “That will teach you to properly connect with the muscles you’re trying to recruit,” he says.

Once that’s mastered, you can then slightly accelerate the concentric phase of the lift to see how that changes the emphasis of the exercise. 

2. Shifting Your Hips 

Another common mistake is involving your hips in the movement. “They should remain stable throughout,” says D’Ozario. Otherwise, instead of challenging your abs, you’ll end up shifting all the emphasis to your hip flexors. 

Only crunch as low as you can without shifting your hips out of position, either forward or backward, and if your shoulders get anywhere near horizontal you’ve gone way too far. 

3. Straining Your Neck

One other common error D’Ozario has spotted is when people strain their neck in trying to generate power to initiate the move. “As you crunch forward, keep your chin tucked in to your chest,” she recommends, just like you should with standard crunches and sit-ups. 

Cable Crunch Variations

While there are many crunch variations to consider once you’ve mastered the basic crunch, here we’ll concentrate on variations of the cable crunch.

Facing-away cable crunch 

A simple variation to the classic cable crunch detailed above is the facing-away version. This means the pulley is set up slightly behind you, meaning you can more easily reach full extension at the top of the exercise. 

“The facing-away option is better if you can effectively anchor your legs and hips in position,” says Baruta. “You’ll then be able to shorten the muscles more effectively and feel the contraction in the right place. If the set-up is optimal, this will allow you to load the muscle where it is strongest, then allow it to drop off a little bit where you are weakest.” 

Standing cable crunch

For people who struggle to kneel, you can attempt this exercise standing up. Again, you need to focus on locking your hips and pelvis in position to effectively target the abs muscles. 

About Our Experts

Not all exercises are created equal, and some deserve a spot in your workout plans more than others. 

To start establishing a hierarchy, I asked top personal trainer Ollie Thompson which three moves he prioritizes above all others, and his answer wasn’t the often recommended trio of barbell exercises—the back squat, bench press and deadlift. 

Instead, he served up some surprising yet worthy exercises to help you elevate your training. 

These include “the king of single-leg strength exercises”, an “effective and accessible variation” of a back-building staple and a loaded carry to set you on your way to a “robust, pain-free, and well-functioning body”.

Three Strength Training Exercises No Plan Should Be Without

1 Split squat 

“I consider the split squat to be the king of single-leg strength exercises,” says Thompson. “I’m a big advocate of single-leg strength exercises because they translate to everyday life. When we walk, run, jump and play sports, we’re predominantly using one leg at a time.

“There are many split squat variations that you can try; they all work your legs in slightly different ways and have their own benefits. 

“The traditional split squat shown here is a straightforward variation that almost anybody can do to strengthen their glutes and quads while building more robust knees, hips and ankles.”

Brush up on your technique with our guide to how to do a split squat.

2 Suitcase carry

“The suitcase carry is just one of many carry exercises that I love to use with clients, and it’s definitely more challenging than it looks,” says Thompson. 

“The suitcase variation in particular—walking with a weight in just one hand—challenges your core laterally, helping to build spinal stability and improve the relationship between shoulders, rib cage and pelvis, which is important for a robust, pain-free and well-functioning body.”

Find out more about loaded carries, including how to do this one-arm variation.

3 Incline bench row 

“A rowing exercise needs to be in this list, and the chest-supported dumbbell row is one of the most effective and accessible variations,” says Thompson. 

“Building a strong upper back is crucial to not only help us to move and function well, but also can help mitigate any lower back pain.”

Read our form guide to the incline bench row.

The pull-up is one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do, but it’s also one of the hardest. Even getting to the stage of being able to pull yourself up once is cause for celebration, and once you can reel off a few pull-ups in a row there are always ways you can go about improving your form.

To help you out on that front, I spoke to Alasdair Nicoll, personal trainer and tutor at PT-course provider The Fitness Group, for his advice on how to perfect your pull-up technique once you were able to perform a few reps of the move unassisted.

It’s fair to say Nicoll’s top tip was a surprise because it’s to not think about pulling yourself up during the movement.

“Instead of thinking about pulling yourself up, I suggest people think about driving their elbows down into their hips,” says Nicoll. “What’s going to happen is your lat muscles and your upper-back muscles, like the rhomboids and traps, take over.”

When you think about pulling yourself up, Nicoll says, you put more strain on your biceps, but placing the emphasis on your back muscles means you get the intended stimulus from the exercise. “You’re also going to find that you have much more control of the movement,” says Nicoll

You can find more of Nicoll’s tips for the move, plus advice on how to build up to a pull-up if you’re not yet able to do one unaided, in our pull-up form guide. 

Our beginner pull-up plan will also help you build up to doing a full set of proper pull-ups by the end of a 28-day training plan.

Explore our top-rated picks in our guide to the best pull-up bars.

If you spend a lot of time sitting (and who doesn’t?) whether that’s at a desk, in a car or even on the sofa, you may well find your hips are prone to tightness. As I sit typing this, I can feel a niggling discomfort in the front of my hips—a sign I need to stand up and move my hip flexors. While stretching can offer reprieve, Pilates offers more than a temporary fix to this problem.

I spoke to Pilates teacher and sports therapist Chiara Boswell, founder of SW4 Pilates in London, to see what she recommends for tight hips.

“Tight hips are such a plague!” says Boswell. “Most people suffer from it. I see a lot of people with this issue, professionals who spend most of their day sitting, which makes their hips flexors short, tight and weak. At the same time the hamstrings and glutes and deeper muscles at the hips are also getting weaker as we sit on them for so long.”

And it’s not just the sedentary among us who suffer from tight hips. “There are also very active people such as runners and gym-goers who suffer from tightness at the hips, and this comes down to the muscle activation that occurs at the hip flexors,” says Boswell. “Again, these people might be sitting most of their day and then get up and run, those tight quads are not really helping the situation. That’s when Pilates can help.”

You might be thinking, ‘Surely a bit of stretching can fix that?’. I often imagine that a few deep breaths in pigeon pose will sort out tightness in my hips, but according to Boswell, that’s not enough to make a real difference. “Stretching will help you for about 15 minutes but it is not a long-lasting solution, even if you do it regularly,” says Boswell. “To change the tightness at a neurological level—because tightness is a nervous system response—we need to teach muscles to activate differently.”

Even if you work out a lot you may have weaknesses you’re not aware of that can affect your hips. “I’ve had toned and muscular people coming to my classes and shaking with the strain because their body is not used to holding those muscle contractions,” says Boswell. “And they’ve left my classes feeling more supple and mobile.” Something we’d all like to feel, I’m sure.

Pilates Exercises For Tight Hips

1 Single-leg circle

Reps 5 in each direction, on each side

Lie on your back, with your legs extended and arms by your sides. Lift your right foot up towards the ceiling, keeping your leg as straight as possible. Rotate your right leg so that your right kneecap is pointing towards your right shoulder. Try and keep this external rotation for the whole movement.

Slowly circle your leg anticlockwise, lifting your right hip slightly off the mat as your leg crosses over to the left side and resting your hip on the ground when the leg is out to the right. Inhale as you circle downwards and exhale as you circle back up to the start. Do five circles then change direction. Repeat on the other side.

2 Shoulder bridge

Reps 5

Lie on your back with your knees bent, arms by your sides, and feet flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart. Exhale as you tilt your pelvis upwards and roll up through your spine, one vertebra at a time, pushing down through your feet so your body is in a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Hold at the top as you inhale, and then exhale to roll down. Make sure you’re pressing your arms down into the ground to support your spine throughout.

“This is a great stretch for tight quads and a fabulous activation exercise for the hamstrings, which are often weak,” says Boswell.

3 Lying side-kick

Reps 5 in each direction

Lie on your side with your legs straight and a little in front of the line made by your torso. Prop your head up with your hand and lean on your elbow. Raise your top foot to hip level. Slowly move your leg forward, keeping your lower back in a neutral curve, and pulse once at the furthest point. Reverse the movement and continue backward. Repeat for five reps in total.

Then raise and lower your top leg for five reps for five reps. Finally, add some ronde de jambe, or big circles, keeping your leg straight, for five reps in each direction.

4 Heel beats

Reps 5 breath cycles

Lie on your front with your legs extended, your upper arms out to the sides and elbows bent and your forehead resting on your hands. Keep your head and upper back relaxed. Stretch your legs away from you so they float off the mat slightly. Externally rotate your legs, so your knees point slightly out. Open and close your legs, beating your inner thighs together, keeping the movement small and fast. Inhale for a few beats, exhale for a few beats. Aim to do five breath cycles, then relax completely onto the mat.

Boswell has contributed two more Pilates sessions you may like to try: six Pilates core exercises and Pilates for back pain.

Being able to touch your toes is a mark of flexible hamstrings (the muscles that run right down the back of the thighs to the knees), as well as flexibility in your lower back, glutes and ankles. But if you spend a lot of time sitting down, you may have tight hamstrings and find it difficult to reach your hands lower than your shins when you keep your legs straight. 

It’s not just a point of pride to be able to touch your toes. Improving your flexibility can make day-to-day movement feel easier, potentially reducing pain in the back and the hips, too. And if you take part in sports or lift weights regularly, better flexibility will also have a positive impact on your performance.

Physiotherapist and clinical director of SJC Physio Sam Caddick recently shared an Instagram Reel with three exercises to address tight hamstrings.

Take a look at Caddick's Instagram Reel where he demonstrates the three moves that will help you develop the ability to touch your toes.

To start, Caddick mobilizes the posterior chain, the muscles that run down the back side of your body, with the inchworm.

Next, is the good morning, which Caddick says will build length and strength in your hamstrings. In Coach’s guide to good morning form, the exercise is performed with your weight distributed between both feet, but Caddick adopts the B-stance, moving one foot slightly behind the other and raising the rear heel.

Caddick finishes with eccentric single-leg hamstring curls. Take your shoes off and find a hard surface with some slip. Go into the top of a single-leg glute bridge with your heel on the floor and slowly push your heel away from you. Pause and hold at the end of your range.

Add these three exercises to your routine and you’ll gradually see improvement in your hamstring strength and flexibility. To vary the challenge, incorporate these hamstring exercises and hamstring stretches as well.

I’m aware that having a strong core is important, but I rarely spend time focusing on training it. I spoke to Pilates instructor and founder of SW4 Pilates, Chiara Boswell, about how to connect to my core and build strength from the inside out.

She tells me that most people mistakenly think working your core means working your abs. “The core actually starts from your pelvic floor,” says Boswell. “It goes all the way up the spine, and it includes the diaphragm, which is attached to the intercostal muscles. The core is where movement starts.”

“Pilates is the best way to strengthen the core, as we work on breathing in a very specific way,” says Boswell. “It’s called diaphragmatic breathing and it is very important for stability, spinal stiffness and functional mobility.”

You might be tempted to think that core work can be tacked onto the end of a session now and then, but no. “You should train your core every time you train. When you breathe, you activate it. You lift something heavy, you’re training it.”

“If you look at exercises like a list of things to do, targeting certain muscles in turn but you forget to teach the body how to integrate those moves into everyday life, things won’t change,” says Boswell. “Core work should be integrated into movement as a whole.”

Once you’ve taught your body what it feels like to awaken your core, you’ll be able to engage it properly with every movement you do. “To find that connection and integration I would start with exercises focused on breathing,” says Boswell. Then you can move on to more challenging exercises that work the whole body in an integrated way. Below are six movements to try, beginning with a basic breathing exercise.

Pilates Exercises To Strengthen Your Core

1 Lateral breathing

Breath rounds 5

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the mat. Relax and breathe normally. “Notice the flow, where does it go?” says Boswell. “Most likely to the base of your neck and collar bones. As you keep breathing try and exhale a little deeper.”

It can help to imagine an elevator traveling from the base of your pelvic floor up through your abdomen as you exhale. “You want to feel a gentle squeeze but not so hard that it changes your posture on the mat.” As your exhale gets deeper and longer, your inhale increases too. “Start to direct your inhale to the sides of your ribcage, allowing it to expand like an accordion,” says Boswell. “As you get more familiar with the movement at the ribcage try and direct the breath all around your ribcage and even down into your belly—let it expand like a balloon.”

2 The hundred

Breath rounds 10

Lie on your back with your legs extended and pressed together. Prepare by inhaling deeply and as you exhale lift the head, shoulders and legs off the mat. You should form a boat shape.

Begin pumping your arms up and down, moving from the shoulder, with straight arms. Inhale for five arm pumps and exhale for five, breathing deeply. Continue for 10 breath cycles.

3 Roll-up

Reps 5

Lie on your back with your legs extended, arms extended overhead. Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, bring your arms up, tuck your head and start to roll up, peeling your spine off the mat one vertebra at a time, reaching your arms towards your feet. Inhale again and, as you exhale, slowly roll back down to the starting position.

4 Single-leg stretch

Breath rounds 8

Lie on your back with your knees bent, shins parallel to the ground. Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, lift your head, neck and shoulders off the mat. Extend one leg while simultaneously bringing the opposite knee to your chest and placing your hands just below the knee. Switch legs in a fluid motion, keeping your head, neck, and shoulders lifted off the mat, inhaling for a count of two and exhaling for two.

5 Double-leg stretch

Reps 8

Lie on your back with your knees bent, shins parallel to the ground, and your hands holding onto your ankles or shins. Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, extend both legs straight, keeping them off the mat, while reaching your arms overhead to a 45° angle. Circle your arms around to the sides and hug your knees into your chest, returning to the starting position.

6 Spine stretch forward

Reps 5

Sit up straight on the mat with your legs extended in front of you, feet flexed, and arms reaching forward. Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, initiate the movement from your lower abdominals, rolling your spine forward one vertebra at a time. Reach towards your toes, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings. Inhale to return to the starting position.

Dealing with backache has become an annoyingly regular part of my life and I blame working at a desk causing tightness in my hips.

Regular mobility work is one of the best things to do to reduce and prevent general lower back pain, but it can be difficult to find the time and motivation to go to regular yoga classes or spend lots of time stretching.

Dr Stephanie Ridgway, a physical therapist, recently posted an Instagram Reel sharing one exercise that she says will increase hip mobility and strength for people dealing with lower back pain.

The move is called the prone scorpion and it doesn’t require any equipment, so I decided to try it every day for five days to see if it made any difference.

Take a look at Dr Ridgway’s post, where she demonstrates the move.

The movement involves lying on your front with your arms out to the sides, bending one knee and, while keeping your chest and shoulders on the floor, twisting your hips so the foot of the bent leg moves up and over to tap the floor on the opposite side of your body. Dr Ridgway recommends doing 2-3 sets of 10 reps on each side.

The good news is that the prone scorpion immediately reduced tension in my lower back. I found it difficult to keep my chest on the floor while touching my foot on the floor at first, but my muscles eventually relaxed and I improved my range of motion as I moved through the reps.

I usually performed this exercise during a break from work and I noticed that my hips felt more open and my lower back less achy when I sat back down to work.

However, my aches and pains returned later in the day and I think I’d have to do this move regularly for more than five days, along with some other hip mobility exercises and lower-back exercises, to see significant improvements.

Have you ever felt intimidated by the TRX bands in the gym? If you’ve never been shown how to set up and use them, it can be hard to know where to start and what to do. I’d like to use them but I give them a wide berth—when I see them I draw a blank.

Luckily, master trainer at The Gym Group, Jenni Tardiff talked me through using TRX bands—the best-known brand of suspension trainers—and gave me four simple exercises to try.

It’s quite natural to be wary of unfamiliar gym equipment. This is partly what “gymtimidation”—feeling nervous about working out in a gym environment—is about. It includes worries about being judged, not being fit enough, not knowing what to do, how to use the equipment or what to wear, and being afraid to ask questions.

“Not all gyms have TRX bands and it’s not a common piece of equipment compared with dumbbells, so it’s normal to feel unsure and they can seem scarier,” says Tardiff. “With the right guidance and practice, the TRX can be a useful and versatile addition to your fitness routine.

“TRX can provide a full-body workout, improve stability and core strength, and it’s adaptable for any fitness level.”

Four Simple Exercises Using TRX Bands

1 TRX row

Adjust the bands to mid-length—about waist height— and stand facing the anchor point with your feet hip-distance apart. Hold the handles and lean back—the further forward you position your feet the more challenging it will be. Lengthening the bands will also make the move more challenging.

Pull your body towards the handles, using your back muscles. Keep your elbows close to your sides and pause at the top before lowering yourself slowly with control. Keep your body in a straight line and your core engaged.

2 Pistol squat

Adjust the bands to mid-calf length or a little higher if you don’t have the range to squat low. Face the anchor point, hold the handles and extend one leg in front of you. Lower your body into a squat position, keeping your extended leg off the floor. Push through your heel to return to the starting position. When you’ve completed your reps, switch to the other side.  

3 Half-range pull-up

Adjust the bands to mid-length or slightly higher. Stand facing the anchor point with your feet hip-distance apart. Hold the handles and bend your knees so you are almost sitting on the floor. Lean back with your elbows slightly bent. Using your back muscles, pull your chest towards the handles. Pause at the top, then lower yourself back down slowly and with control.

4 Plank to pike

Adjust the bands to mid-calf length. Place your feet in the handles and adopt a high plank position with your arms extended, hands directly under your shoulders and your body in a straight line. Engage your core and lift your hips towards the ceiling, forming an inverted V. Return to the high plank position under control.

Once you’ve mastered these moves, expand your repertoire by working your way through this list of the best TRX exercises, reaping the many benefits of this often-overlooked piece of equipment. Dig into our TRX coverage and you’ll find plenty of workout routines as well.

TRX bands are a great addition to a home gym too, because they don’t take up much space. “I love that you can use them pretty much anywhere,” says Tardiff. “So if the sun is shining and you feel like working out in the park, you just need to find a spot to hook it up,” like a sturdy tree branch or pull-up bar in a park gym. Our guide to the best suspension trainers will help you choose some bands to use outside of the gym.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed when you start strength training—there are so many moves and different ways of training. But if you have a few reliable exercises to fall back on whenever you have time to train, the building blocks will be in place for an effective exercise regime.

We asked five top personal trainers from fitness apps WithU and Mvmnt what their best beginner exercises are, plus some tips on how to perform the moves well.

You can use these exercises to put together workouts that will help you get fitter and stronger, and learn some of the foundational movements every exercise plan needs.

1. Squat

Two of our coaches picked the squat as their number one move for beginners: Rory Knight, director of fitness at WithU, and Carrie Baxter, PT at WithU. Here’s why they rate the squat so highly.

Why it’s great “The squat is effective because it utilizes multiple major muscle groups,” says Knight, “plus, it’s a movement that you perform daily, often without realizing, meaning it has added functional benefits. 

“Squats are also easily adaptable depending on your experience. For example, using a chair for support as you gain confidence with the movement, before moving on to an unsupported squat.”

Baxter has another reason why the squat is great for beginners. “With two feet firmly on the floor you don’t have to test your balance, so you can work on building confidence with the move while feeling stable,” says Baxter.

Watch how to do an unweighted squat

How to do it Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with feet pointing out to the sides slightly if comfortable. Brace your core and push your hips back and bend your knees to lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor, then push through your heels to come back up to standing.

Top tips “If you’ve never performed a hinge movement like a squat before, it’s a really good idea to start with a box or chair to sit back on to help guide your body back and down,” says Baxter. “Start by working to half range, then build up to full range of motion as you master the technique.

“When learning to squat, it’s also important to push your knees out to protect them. Try to feel the movement in your glutes [the muscles in your backside] rather than the quads [the front of your thighs]. The best way to maintain correct knee alignment is to practice bringing awareness to your feet and ensure you’re pushing weight evenly through the entire foot—the big toe, little toe and heel—throughout the exercise.”

“My game-changing tip is to remove your footwear and perform the exercise barefoot,” says Knight. “We have thousands of nerve endings in our feet that enhance the recruitment of our muscle fibers. To create more engagement, think of each foot as a tripod and look to grip the floor with your big toes, little toes and heels. By doing this you should feel stronger, more balanced and connected when you squat.”

See more tips in our explanation of how to squat. 

2. Glute Bridge

The bridge was picked by Jo-Leigh Morris, Pilates instructor at Mvmnt.

Why it’s great “The glute bridge is my go-to bodyweight exercise because it engages the glutes, hamstrings and hip flexors—the stabilizers of the posterior chain [the muscles which run along the back of your body],” says Morris. “The glute bridge is great for beginners because you’re in a stable position with both feet on the floor, so there’s no need to worry about balance. 

“Once you’ve mastered a glute bridge, it’s also a great warm-up exercise before a lower-body workout.”

Watch how to do a glute bridge

How to do it Lie on the floor with your knees bent so your feet are flat on the floor close to your buttocks. Lift your hips so that your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. Hold this position for a moment then lower your hips to the floor.

Top tip “The most important thing when performing a glute bridge is that the movement is powered by your glutes via hip extension, and not your lower back,” says Morris. “My top tip to ensure this happens is to slightly tuck your tailbone under, thinking about pulling your belly button towards your spine. This will help you create a neutral spine. Engage your core throughout the exercise as you drive your hips up to maintain the correct posture, target the right muscles and protect your lower back.” Find more top tips with our glute bridge form guide.

3. Dead Bug

The dead bug was picked out as one of the best beginner exercises by Omar Mansour, coach at WithU.

Why it's great “The dead bug is a great entry-level exercise for strengthening the deep muscles in your core,” says Mansour. “It’s accessible for beginners because you’re in a stable position on your back and you can perform the exercise slowly as you learn the technique. 

“The dead bug is also a great way to learn how to brace your core, which is a foundation for strength training which requires core control.”

Watch how to do a dead bug

How to do it Lie on your back with your arms extended and pointing up, and your legs lifted and knees bent at a 90° angle. Squeeze your core and lower one arm behind your head and lower and extend the opposite leg until both limbs are just above the floor. Return to the start then repeat on the other side.

Top tip “The most important thing is to brace your core to ensure you’re working your abs and not your lower-back muscles,” says Mansour. “You can do this by keeping your whole back pressed into the floor throughout. Think about driving your belly button down and checking throughout the move that your back isn’t arching. Breathe out as you extend your arm and leg, and breathe in as you bring them back to help maintain core stability.” Get more tips with our dead bug form guide.

4. Burpee

One of the best bodyweight exercises that people love to hate is the burpee, which is the choice of Faisal Abdalla, PT at Mvmnt.

Why it’s great “While it may not be everyone’s favorite exercise, the reason the burpee is my number one exercise for beginners is that they’re very, very effective!” says Abdalla. “A burpee is a compound full-body movement, meaning you work many of your main muscle groups across your whole body in one go. 

“The burpee is particularly effective for beginners because it’ll build muscle and increase your cardiovascular fitness. Plus, if you want one move that makes you feel like you’ve done a great workout, burpees are it!”

Watch how to do a burpee

How to do it From standing, place your hands on the floor in front of you and jump or step your feet back so you’re in a high plank position. Your hands should be under your shoulders, your arms extended and your body should form a straight line between your neck and heels. Then jump or step your feet back up to your hands, stand up and jump into the air lifting your arms above your head.

Top tip “A burpee is a challenging movement because it’s a full-body exercise that requires coordination, speed and power,” says Abdalla. “To start with, don’t focus on the speed element of the exercise, that will come once you’ve mastered the technique. Start slow, and adopt a rhythm that works for you while you familiarize yourself with the correct hand and foot placement. Once you’ve got this in the bag, you can make the exercise more dynamic by increasing speed and power. This is when you’ll start to feel the benefit!” For help mastering the finer points of the movement, read our burpee form guide.

Recently I asked five personal trainers and coaches from the WithU and Mvmnt fitness apps to share their best beginner exercises, and two of them picked the air squat. That’s not a big surprise because the squat is undoubtedly one of the best bodyweight exercises for people of all fitness levels and a great move for beginners to get to grips with.

More of a surprise was the top tip Rory Knight, director of fitness at WithU, gave to help beginners improve their squat.

“My game-changing tip is to remove your footwear and perform the exercise barefoot,” says Knight. “You have thousands of nerve endings in your feet that enhance the recruitment of your muscle fibers. To create more engagement, think of each foot as a tripod and look to grip the floor equally with your big toes, little toes and heels. By doing this, you should feel stronger, more balanced and connected when you squat.”

The squat is an exercise that you can work on no matter how experienced you are in the gym. Even if you regularly squat using heavy barbells it’s worth doing some barefoot air squats to regain that connection to the ground and ensure the foundations of your technique are sound.

If you are starting from scratch, Knight also recommends using something for support while you learn the movement.

“Use a chair for stability as you gain confidence with the move, before moving on to an unsupported squat,” says Knight.

If you’re keen to improve your form, then our 30-day squat challenge is a good way to stay motivated and give yourself a short-term goal while you practice good squat technique. The challenge builds up each day so that by the end you can do 250 unweighted squats—no mean feat—whether you’re doing them barefoot or not.

The core is one of the most important muscle groups in the entire body. It impacts the way you move in everyday life and a stronger core can help to reduce back pain and improve your posture. These muscles also come into play in optimizing sports performance and different styles of training.

With this in mind, it’s a good idea to treat core training like other strength workouts and use weights to fire up your muscles and build strength. “Bringing weight into core exercises adds an extra challenge and increases the load on the body,” says personal trainer Tess Glynne-Jones.

Glynne-Jones recently shared a workout on Instagram with three kettlebell exercises designed to target the midsection. “You can start by doing all of these movements with your bodyweight and to progressively add load over time,” says Glynne-Jones. “Rather than adding loads of reps and increasing volume, especially if we want to make a workout more strength-focused, it’s a good idea to think about how much weight you can lift rather than how long you can move for.”

Take a look at Glynne-Jones’ Instagram Reel where she demonstrates each exercise. She’s also shared some form tips exclusively with Coach.

The first move is a tall plank transfer (often called a plank drag) for 16 reps and three rounds. “The main thing here is to make sure your hips aren’t moving, so try to fight rotation,” says Glynne-Jones. “Push the floor away with your hands when you’re in your tall plank and make sure the pelvis is tucked under so that your lower back doesn’t arch. Try and keep your hips square and don't be afraid to choose a heavy weight for this exercise.”

The next exercise is a Russian twist—an oblique exercise you might have come across before. Go for 20 reps and three rounds. “Start with no weight and once you feel like you can perform the movement well enough, bring some load in," says Glynne-Jones, adding that you should be able to do this exercise confidently with weight before lifting your feet off the floor.

The final exercise is a pull-over. “I love these because they help to target the lats, and work the shoulders and upper body, as well as the entire core,” says Glynne-Jones. “Control the position of your spine and pelvis—your core should be working hard to keep you in a neutral position. Think about pulling your belly button towards your spine, then up and underneath your ribcage, and try not to let your lower back arch.”

Glynne-Jones also recommends starting without a weight for this exercise. Once you can move through the reps without arching your back then you can do it with a weight.

These are exercises to come back to regularly, gradually increasing the load over time. You can do it as a core-focused finisher or as standalone moves incorporated into your regime. Follow the principles of progressive overload and it will eventually lead to increased muscle mass and strength in your core.

So you want bigger biceps, but dumbbell curls alone aren’t delivering the results you desire? It’s a familiar story.

One possible solution is to add more variation into your biceps workout, something you can do with the help of certified strength coach Melissa Kendter.

She shared with me one of her training tricks for building bigger biceps, the four-in-one biceps curl, a tougher take on 21s.

How To Do The Four-In-One Curl

Pick a pair of fairly light dumbbells and perform 10 dumbbell curls, followed immediately by 10 partial curls from the bottom of the rep to your belly button, pausing at the top of each rep. Next complete 10 more partial reps, this time covering the top half of the rep from the belly button to your shoulders. Finish with 10 more full reps.

Benefits Of The Four-In-One Curl

Progressive overload, or gradually making an exercise more difficult over time, is a tried-and-tested technique for building strength and muscle. So surely you should work on using heavier dumbbells for your next set of curls? This can work, but adding weight to a lift isn’t the only way to make it more challenging—you can also increase the time the muscle is under tension for. 

“It keeps your biceps under tension for 40 reps, since it’s really four exercises in one,” says Kendter. 

She recommends starting with “a weight you know you can keep under tension for a prolonged period.” This will be relatively light, but you should still be prepared for your biceps to feel on fire during the final few reps. Play with a few different weights to find one that works for you, and gradually increase it as your strength increases.

Once you plateau with this routine, try one of these curls workouts, which includes the bodybuilding favorite run-the-rack workout, or graduate to this arm workout plan.

Squats come in a variety of shapes and sizes: the conventional (back squat, front squat), the advanced (overhead squat, squat clean) and the alternative (sumo squat, zombie squat). But one variation which may not be on your radar is the hack squat. 

Popularized over a century ago and named after its creator, weightlifter and wrestler George Hackenschmidt, it allows you to squat a heavy weight without putting quite as much load through your spine. This makes it an attractive option for anyone with back issues. 

It can be performed with either a barbell or a hack squat machine. Both methods target the large quadriceps muscles on the front of your thighs, and knowing how to master this technical lift could take your leg day gains to the next level while saving your back from the rigors of the squat rack. 

To explore the ups and downs and dos and don’ts of the hack squat, we spoke to Eddie Baruta, global head of gym floor personal training at Ultimate Performance. 

Barbell Hack Squat Vs Hack Squat Machine

How To Do The Hack Squat

How To Do The Barbell Hack Squat  

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and heels elevated on a pair of small weight plates or heel wedges. “The idea here is to enable your knees to travel forward to help target the quads,” says Baruta. “Elevating your heels allows for an upright torso, full knee flexion at the bottom of the movement and a straight bar path from start to finish.” 

Baruta says it can be challenging to start this exercise from the floor. Instead he recommends setting the bar up in a squat rack positioned just lower than full arm length when standing. Start light as you familiarize yourself with the technique required to take the bar out of the rack and drop into the squat.

Start with your back to the racked bar, and drop into a partial squat to grasp the bar with an overhand grip, palms facing behind you. Retract and depress your shoulder blades to straighten your back, puff out your chest and inhale to brace your core. From here, keep your gaze focused in front of you and stand to lift the bar out of the rack. 

With the bar clear of the rack, bend your knees to lower into a squat, allowing the bar to travel straight down, while keeping your torso upright. “When it’s executed correctly, your hips shouldn’t travel back,” says Baruta. “You want the barbell to move up and down vertically in a straight line, rather than have to travel around your legs.” 

Bend your knees to lower as far as you feel comfortable. Don’t feel you need the bumper plates to tap the floor each rep. From the deepest position, drive through your midfoot and heels to return the bar to the start position in one smooth motion, exhaling as you stand. Once all reps are completed, carefully lower the bar into the rack. 

How To Do The Resistance Machine Hack Squat

Hack squat machines vary, but in general this kit should comprise a fixed platform for your feet, a fixed backrest to take your weight and shoulder pads with handles to press against.

The platform should angle your feet optimally so there’s no need to raise your heels any further. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, grasp the handles and inhale to brace your core. Unlock the machine to take the weight, then bend your knees to lower slowly into a squat.

From here, drive through your midfoot and heel as you exhale to smoothly press your body away from the platform and straighten your legs. “Aim to flex your knee fully and maintain a neutral spine throughout,” says Baruta, adding that you ideally want to reach a squat depth that allows you to close the gap between your hamstrings and calves. 

Another thing to consider with bilateral movements is joint stacking, he says. “When pushing, you have to align your ankle with your knee and your upper leg with your lower leg [rather than letting it travel in or out] to avoid any damage to the knee. To achieve this, you might need to widen your stance to allow for your biomechanics.” 

Common Hack Squat Form Mistakes

Bouncing At The Bottom Of The Rep

For all the benefits of the fixed backrest, it can prove a problem for anyone with even slightly limited mobility in their ankles, knees or hips. That’s because at the bottom of a squat, it’s common for the lower back and tailbone to round, or curl under—known as a “butt wink” in bodybuilding circles. 

When pushing considerable weight, this can compromise the vulnerable lumbar joints and risk common back problems like a slipped disc. A flat backrest exacerbates this risk because it alters the natural curvature of your spine. 

The most important thing to bear in mind is to take extra care at the bottom of the hack squat exercise, says Baruta. Avoid “bouncing” in and out of this deep squat position, and focus on a controlled concentric and eccentric phase of the exercise. 

Pressing Through The Forefoot

While elevating your heels with bumper plates allows you to target your quads effectively, your focus should still be pressing through the midfoot and heel throughout this exercise to avoid placing extra strain on your knee joint and the patella tendon. 

If limited ankle mobility makes this feel impossible, try the resistance machine version of this exercise, or one of the hack squat variations listed below. 

Hyperextending The Knee 

Another all-too-common mistake Baruta warns against is overextending your legs at the top position of this exercise, whether performing it with a barbell or resistance machine. “Focus on moving throughout all phases of the lift with control,” he says. Don’t rush your reps or snap into a hyperextended position at the top of the exercise. 

Hack Squat Progressions, Regressions And Variations

Wall sit 

A beginner-friendly regression, this isolation exercise replicates the 90˚ knee bend and upright torso technique required in the bottom of the hack squat. Lean against a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart, heels down. Slide down the wall until your thighs are parallel with the floor, keeping your back in contact with the wall and core and glutes engaged. Hold this position, breathing normally as long as your thighs will allow. 

Kettlebell hack squat 

An advanced progression, this free-weight exercise demands immense control, balance, mobility and should be considered only if your knees have a clean bill of health. Rather than using weight plates under your heels, the goal is to perform this full move with heels elevated off the floor, balancing on the balls of your feet. Keep your feet close together and hold one kettlebell behind you in both hands. With heels lifted, slowly lower until your knees are bent 90˚, then drive up to stand.

Bodyweight hack squat

This is a slight regression on the kettlebell version. Perform the same exercise, with heels elevated throughout and your weight balanced on the balls of your feet, but without the added load of a kettlebell. Only when you can flawlessly execute three sets of 10 reps should you carefully begin to introduce weight. 

Sissy squat

This is another advanced quad-focused exercise that can be performed with just your bodyweight, or with a sissy squat machine, which can be found in most commercial gyms. For the machine version, position your calves firmly against the rest and your feet locked in tight to the shin pad. Lean back slightly to place tension on your quads, then slowly lower into a squat until your knees bend 90˚. Engage your quads to straighten up again, but keep leaning back slightly to maintain tension in the front of your thighs. 

Leg extension 

“The hack squat targets the quad muscles in their mid range,” says Baruta, noting that it generates a different stimulus than experienced with quad isolation exercises like the leg extension. 

Sit up straight with your back tight to the backrest and knee in line with the machine’s pivot point. Position the pad on top of your shins, keeping your ankles in a neutral position rather than dorsiflexing your feet. Maintain a greater than 90˚ bend at your hips so that you can effectively target the quads through their full range. From this here, squeeze your quads to extend your legs, pause, then slowly return to the starting position. 

About Our Expert

Interest in glute training has been growing steadily for the last 10 years and considering the glutes—the anatomically correct name for the muscles in your butt—are the biggest muscle group in your body, that’s no bad thing.

The glutes are actually made up of three muscles: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. Together, they are responsible for powering a variety of movements, including leg extension (lifting your leg back), abduction (moving your leg out to the side), and internal rotation of the hips (turning your foot inwards). The glutes also play an important role in maintaining your posture and stabilizing the hip joint and pelvis to keep you balanced, as well as walking and running. 

While there is a long list of glute exercises to choose from, and anyone’s training benefits from variety, research earlier this year identified the exercises that stimulated each glute muscle the most.

A study published in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal ranked a range of hip-focused exercises by their peak muscle force for each gluteal muscle. The study found that the loaded split squat, bodyweight side plank and loaded single-leg Romanian deadlift are the best exercises for targeting the gluteus maximus, the gluteus medius and the gluteus minimus respectively. They beat unloaded and 12-rep-max loaded versions of the single-leg squat, single-leg hip thrust, banded side step, hip hike, and side-lying leg raise.

It caught the eye of physiotherapist and strength coach Alec Hewstone who shared those three top exercises for the glutes in an Instagram Reel, writing that it’s “a nice blueprint for some programming essentials to hopefully keep you out of the physio clinic and performing your best!”

I asked Hewstone to tell me more about each movement. “The split squat is putting the glute max into its lengthened phase, which stimulates maximal hypertrophy and strength changes,” says Hewstone, comparing the exercise to the glute bridge, where the gluteus maximus is in its shortened range.

“With the split squat, the torso needs to move straight up and down. A cue that I often use is to imagine that your torso is trapped in a tube,” says Hewstone. “Think about touching your back knee towards the floor rather than arbitrarily bending both knees at the same time. Go as low down as you feel like you can while maintaining a good pelvic position.”

The second exercise is the side plank, which ranked highest in the study for strengthening the gluteus medius.

“The side plank is one of the best exercises that people can do in terms of hip, lower-body and back health, and prevention of muscular and skeletal pain and symptoms,” says Hewstone, who adds that you get the most activation with the top leg raised.

Finally, the study found that the single-leg Romanian deadlift is the best exercise for working the gluteus minimus. “The single-leg Romanian deadlift requires you to stabilize the pelvis while leaning the trunk forward,” says Hewstone.

“Hold the dumbbell in the opposite hand to the working leg for maximal muscle engagement,” is Hewstone's top tip for good form.

According to Hewstone, strengthening the glutes is not just for gym-goers. It’s also important for people who work desk jobs and spend a lot of time sitting down. “When sitting down, the glute muscles are in slightly lengthened ranges for prolonged periods, which is a long-term, gentle chronic passive stretch to that muscle,” Hewstone explains. “This can lead to relative glute weakness.”

Are you looking for more glute-focused workouts? If you are a member of the gym, try this glute workout or booty workout, or alternatively, buy a set of booty bands and use this resistance band glute workout.

Alan Ritchson packed on 30lb of muscle in eight months to play the title character of Prime Video’s hit show Reacher. With the unveiling of season two’s first few episodes last week, it’s clear he’s spent the time between seasons packing on even more muscle.

To prepare for the first season, “I built a gym in my house and all I did was eat and work out,” Ritchson told USA Today in a recent interview. Ahead of the show’s return, his aim was to pack on more muscle, “solidify what was there and to shape it.”

Bulking up was a change of piece for Ritchson, who’s prior exercise routine saw him running 13 miles-a-day in an attempt to stay slender enough to play a range of roles. “My body wants to be big,” he told USA Today.

While you might not have the same body type as Ritchson, or the chance to spend your nine-to-five clanking iron, you can use your time in the gym wisely and make some smart tweaks to a muscle-building workout plan. 

Before a one-off Reps Like Reacher class at Barry’s Bootcamp in London, Barry’s shared a selection of exercises from the show’s stunt coordinator Buster Reeves.

Take a look at the nine dumbbell exercises below, then add them into your training as you see fit—either as added volume on a set training day, or combine them and decide on a rep scheme for a full-body dumbbell workout in their own right. 

1 Champagne press

 Reeves says “The champagne press that will create separation through the center of the chest and build pecs like plates of armor!”

How to do it Sit on a bench with your feet wider than hip-width apart to create a stable base and press two dumbbells together in front of your chest. Keeping the dumbbells touching, extend your arms overhead and move your head between your biceps. Lower the dumbbells slowly.

2 Renegade row to T push-up

Reeves says “The renegade row, push-up and twist combination will target your chest, back and abs in one move.”

How to do it Start in the high plank position, holding dumbbells. Your hands should be under your shoulders and your body should form a straight line from head to heels. Lift one dumbbell to your torso, lower it under control, then repeat on the other side. Bend both elbows to lower your chest to the floor, then push back up powerfully, lifting one dumbbell and twisting your torso to raise the dumbbell above you, extending your arm, and turning your head to look at the dumbbell above you. Lower the dumbbell to the floor under control then repeat on the other side.

3 Russian twist

Reeves says Reacher’s fighting style involves a lot of elbows, which means plenty of rotation so his core needs to be rock solid.

How to do it Sit holding a dumbbell by your chest. Bend your knees and lift your feet just off the floor. Engage your core and lean back slightly. Rotate your torso and the dumbbell slowly to one side, then the other side.

4 Single-leg dumbbell glute bridge

Reeves says “The power for fighting also comes from your legs and glutes. Work with a heavy dumbbell to target the glutes.” 

How to do it Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor holding two heavy dumbbells on your hips. Lift one foot off the floor, and with push through the other foot to raise your glutes until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knee. Lower under control. Do all the reps on one side then switch sides.

5 Lunge with rotation

Reeves says “Reacher has big legs for a tall guy. Work yours with a lunge with dumbbell rotation to target two areas— legs and core stability.”

How to do it Hold a dumbbell in both hands by the ends and raise it to shoulder height. Step forward with your right leg and bend both knees until your rear knee is just above the floor. Rotate your torso to the right. Reverse the movements to the start. Repeat on the other side.

6 Bent-over row and reverse flye

Reeves says A set of 10 bent-over rows reps followed immediately by 10 reverse flyes reps, on repeat for two minutes will help build a deep back just like Reacher for that ‘tight T-shirt around the shoulders, baggy around the waist’ look.”

How to do it Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding light dumbbells. With a slight bend in your knees, hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight. To perform a bent-over row, raise the dumbbells to your torso, leading with your elbows, and lower under control. To perform a reverse flye, lift the dumbbells to the sides, keeping a slight bend in your elbow throughout. Lower under control.

7 Bent-over row to triceps kick-back

Reeves says “If you want the Reacher look, you need a wide back and triceps peeking out of the T-shirt. A bent-over row with medium dumbbells into a triceps kick-back will target the ‘nightclub’ muscles that personify the Reacher physique.”

How to do it Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding medium-weight dumbbells. With a slight bend in your knees, hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight. Raise the dumbbells to your torso, leading with your elbows, then extend your arms to move the dumbbells behind you. Reverse the movements under control to the start.

8 Front raise

Reeves says “Create mid-delt shoulder caps just like Reacher by tweaking a regular frontal raise. Instead of lowering dumbbells all the way down to the waist, restrict your range of motion to be between chest and forehead height. 

How to do it Stand holding two dumbbells and raise them to chest height with your arms extended. Raise the right dumbbell to forehead height, lower under control, then repeat on the other side.

9 Dumbbell swing squat

Reeves says Finish by working your hips, hamstrings and lower back—again major Reacher muscles.

How to do it Stand holding dumbbells by your sides. Bend your knees and push your hips back to squat and at the same time raise both dumbbells to shoulder height. Try to make the movement fluid.

Reacher returns to Prime Video Friday December 15th

If there’s one area of the body it’s worth dedicating an extra bit of TLC to, it’s the hips. They bear the brunt of long hours sitting at a desk, at the wheel of a car or in front of the TV.

That’s certainly the case for me. I often notice that my hips are tight when walking or running, or while doing squats and lunges, plus, I think some of my lower-back pain is caused by tight hips. So I’m trying to incorporate mobility exercises for my hips into my daily routine.

I decided to try a quick and simple routine created by mobility coach Anthony Green. It only takes four minutes, so it was easy to fit into a break from my working day, and it’s only one stretch, done both dynamically and passively on each side of the body.

Dynamic stretches are great for activating the muscles and improving joint movement as well as muscle flexibility. Passive stretching is useful for improving flexibility and range of motion. Doing a combination of the two types of movement, as in this routine, is really beneficial.

Watch Green's Instagram Reel where he demonstrates the movement.

I've tried plenty of hip stretches before, but this one was new to me. As I moved into it I immediately felt a deep stretch in both of my hips.

As advised by Green, I moved in and out of the stretch for one minute and then held it for one minute before repeating on the other side. It certainly challenged my flexibility and my hip flexor strength too, and this is probably more of an advanced movement for people who already have fairly flexible hips. Try some of these other hip stretches if this one is too difficult. As with any stretch or exercise, it’s best to stop if you feel pain and seek in-person advice from a medical professional.

My hips felt looser and more relaxed after this four-minute routine and it felt like this stretch both strengthened and mobilized them, so I'll definitely be adding it to my routine.

Elliot Simmonds is one of the UK’s most successful CrossFit athletes, with three Games appearances and a third-place finish in the team division under his belt. But just six weeks before the 2022 CrossFit Games semi-finals, disaster struck in the form of a torn ligament in his back.

He had to stop training, but still competed, finishing in an impressive 12th place. Groin pain hampered him on his return to training and eventually Simmonds opted for surgery. “I had a full groin reconstruction,” says Simmonds. 

To build himself back to the level where he can compete, Simmonds, a WIT-sponsored athlete, has been working with his coach James Jowsey. “For the last 12 weeks I’ve been doing a single-leg session two or three times per week and a core session two or three times per week to try and rebalance everything,” says Simmonds.

“Here is a selection of exercises from those sessions which I have used to get me back to doing CrossFit movements again. These are all fantastic single-leg movements that anyone can incorporate into their training routine to help iron out any muscular imbalances, and improve your stability and strength.”

How To Do This Workout

The single-leg exercises have been arranged into four supersets and a finisher. However, you should take your ability into account and adjust the sets, time/reps and rest as appropriate. 

“Levels [you will be able to perform at] will vary for each exercise based on an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, so be cautious,” says Simmonds. 

Single-Leg Workout Overview

• 1A Short-lever Copenhagen hold 3 x 20-30sec each side
• 1B Single-leg high knee isometric hold 3 x 30sec each side
• 2A Bulgarian split squat isometric hold 3 x 2 each side with 10sec hold
• 2B B-stance Romanian deadlift 3 x 8 each side
• 3A Single-leg glute bridge isometric hold 3 x 10-20sec each side
• 3B Single-arm bear plank 3 x 30sec each side
• 4A Side plank 3 x 30sec each side
• 4B Hanging single-leg knee raises 3 x 10-20
• 5 Box pistol squat 1 x max reps each side

Single-Leg Exercises Form Guides

1A Short-lever Copenhagen hold 

Sets 3 Time 20-30sec each side

Lie on your side on the floor, side-on to a weights bench. Your lower forearm should be on the floor and your elbow directly underneath your shoulder. Bend the knee of your top leg to 90° and place your lower leg on the bench. Lift your bottom leg and hold it against the underside of the bench. Hold this position, keeping your body in a straight line. Repeat on the other side.

1B Single-leg high knee isometric hold

Sets 3 Time 30sec

From standing, raise your right knee until your right thigh is parallel with the ground. Hold this position, concentrating on staying upright, and avoiding leaning forward or backward. Repeat on the other side.

2A Bulgarian split squat isometric hold 

Sets 3 Reps 2 each side with 10sec hold

Stand facing away from a weights bench or box. Place the top of one foot on the bench behind you. Bend your knees to lower until your rear knee is just above the floor. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Push through your front heel to return to the start. Do two reps, then switch sides.

2B B-stance Romanian deadlift

Sets 3 Reps 8 each side

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, then place one foot slightly behind the other. With a slight bend in your knees, push your hips back and hinge your torso forward. When your hands reach the middle of your shins, push your hips forward and return to the start. Do all your reps on one side, then switch sides.

3A Single-leg glute bridge isometric hold

Sets 3 Time 10-20sec

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Tilt your pelvis to press your lower back into the floor and, keeping the knee bent, lift one foot. Push through the grounded foot to lift your hips off the floor until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Hold this position for 10-20 seconds. Lower under control, then repeat on the other side.

3B Single-arm bear plank 

Sets 3 Time 30sec each side

Start on all fours with your hands underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips. Press through your hands and lift your knees off the floor. Lift and extend one arm in front of you. Hold this position for 30 seconds, using your core and glutes to stabilize you. Return to the start, then repeat on the other side. 

4A Side plank

Sets 3 Time 30sec each side

Lie on your side with one leg on top of the other. Your lower forearm should be on the floor and your elbow directly underneath your shoulder. Lift your hips so your weight is resting on your forearm and feet, and your body forms a straight line. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side.

4B Hanging single-leg knee raise

Sets 3 Reps 10-20

Hang from a pull-up bar using an overhand grip with your hands shoulder-width apart. Pull on the bar slightly and retract your shoulder blades, moving them back and down, so you are in an active position. Keeping the rest of your body as still as possible, raise your right knee until it’s higher than your hips, then lower under control back to the start. Repeat with your left knee. Continue alternating legs. 

5 Box pistol squat

Sets 1 Reps Max each side 

Stand on a 30in box with one foot close to one side and the other foot suspended over the side of the box. Keeping your hips square, bend your knee and push your hips back to lower the suspended foot slowly towards the ground until you’re in the bottom of a squat position (or as close to as you can manage). Drive through your planted foot to return to the start, and repeat until you can no longer perform a rep with perfect form. Repeat on the other side.

To make this move easier, you can use the side of the box to support the foot you’re lowering or reduce the distance you lower your foot.

The Turkish get-up isn’t a glamorous move. It’s not done at speed and you’re never going to use a head-turning weight, but adding this kettlebell exercise to my training resulted in serious benefits in and out of the gym.

It lifted the hood on my body and gave my workout-worn shoulders, elbows and knees a tune-up. These are areas I need in good working order for the Olympic weightlifting and gymnastic elements of my regular CrossFit training.

Over the past couple of months my coach has included it in my training at least once a week as an accessory movement. Most of the time I’ve completed three sets of six reps on each arm with a light weight, while on occasion I’ve been challenged to go heavier, using a descending 3-2-1 rep scheme across three sets.

Learning how to do this move isn’t a straightforward affair. The video above from regulated healthcare charity Nuffield Health is a good place to start and Coach also has a step-by-step guide to how to do the Turkish get-up.

I also found the form pointers in this video from Squat University’s Dr Aaron Horschig useful.

How The Turkish Get-Up Benefited My Training

It Strengthened My Shoulders

Shoulder stability—the ability of the surrounding muscles to hold the joint steady—is something I’ve been trying to improve for some time. That’s because it’s vital for everything from technical barbell exercises including the snatch and overhead squat to bodybuilding stalwarts such as the overhead press and bench press. 

Supporting a kettlebell overhead as you transition from lying on the floor to standing recruits the large and small muscles in and around the shoulder, such as the deltoids and rotator cuff, to keep the weight under control. 

By adding Turkish get-ups into my training I was able to strengthen these muscles, helping my shoulders feel more stable and robust—one-rep max bench, here we come.

It Added A New Dimension To My Core Training

Too often, people get fixated on crunches vs sit-ups when trying to strengthen their abs, when we all would benefit from broadening our horizons with hanging abs exercises, isometric holds and loaded carries, to name a few.

Rather than the stomach-focused burn of umpteen sit-ups, I could feel the muscles all around my abdomen being used which resulted in a welcome boost to my core stability.

My Barbell Lifts Benefited 

The Turkish get-up has helped my mobility and joint health, keeping me injury-free, and improved my core strength. Perhaps as a consequence I’ve also noticed an improvement in compound exercises like the barbell squat, clean and split jerk.

Since adding Turkish get-ups (and another unsung hero, heavy Bulgarian split squats) into my weekly plans, back squats have started to feel far easier and smoother, and my five-rep max has bounced up by 11lb.

I’ve also broken my stubborn 225lb split jerk PR by a few pounds—something I can’t help but feel my upgraded shoulder strength and stability has played a leading part in.

Anyone who regularly strength trains or runs will probably find that a specific area can get pretty tight. As well as working on your hip mobility with a range of hip stretches, it’s worth spending time doing exercises that are designed to strengthen the muscles around your hips. 

The hips are an area of my body that deserve TLC. I often experience aches in this area, especially after a day spent working at a desk. I’ve tried a series of resistance band stretches from osteopath Dr Andrew Harkin to help my hips before, so when I saw he had posted a new routine for building hip strength I saved it for later and tried it during my lunch break.

Take a look at Harkin’s Reel to see him demonstrate each of the four exercises. All you’ll need to complete this routine is a resistance band. Harkin uses an open-ended resistance band that’s been tied off, but a mini loop resistance band will also do the job (our guide to the best resistance bands has affordable options of both types if you’d like to get some).

I train for CrossFit a number of times every week, but let me tell you that the exercises in this routine are more difficult than they look and I found myself struggling to balance almost straight away, particularly on my left leg.

I have a long-term knee injury and to help move past it I have been dedicating time to single-leg strength exercises to make sure both of my legs are as strong as each other.

I completed eight reps of each movement on each side and my lower-body muscles were burning by the time I'd finished the workout. Harkin recommends repeating the workout two to three times a week to see the benefits. 

If you’re keen to continue strengthening your joints once the above routine has stopped delivering, add these physiotherapist-approved hip and knee exercises to your week.

Knee pain is fairly common, but that doesn’t mean it’s something you should ignore. A good way to start dealing with low-level knee pain is by doing exercises that are designed to mobilize the knee and strengthen the muscles around it.

If you’re not sure where to start, try this routine put together by musculoskeletal physiotherapist Alec Hewstone, which is designed to help people who are experiencing pain at the front of the knee or underneath it.

“Pain around the kneecap or underneath the kneecap is generally regarded as a condition called patellofemoral pain syndrome, or for the layman, runner’s knee,” Hewstone tells Coach.

“This kind of pain is usually exacerbated by going downstairs or sitting for extended periods,” he says.

Hewstone shared some straightforward leg exercises which can help reduce this type of knee pain, however, depending on the intensity of your knee pain, you might also need to see a physiotherapist. “If you feel genuinely concerned about your knee pain, particularly if it’s something you’ve had for a little while that may be worsening or at least not getting better, and which is stopping you from doing the things you enjoy, physio could help,” says Hewstone.

Hewstone adds that physio is important for anyone who has experienced trauma to the knee, such as twisting injuries, hyperextension injuries or any kind of blunt force trauma. “If you’re experiencing mechanical symptoms, such as the knee giving way and general instability, as well as any kind of locking or catching of the knee, these symptoms are more of an urgent appeal to see a physio,” he says.

However, for general knee pain that isn’t significantly impacting your life, incorporating some exercises into your routine that strengthen the muscles around the knee is a good way to reduce aches and pains, and improve the way you move.

Take a look at Hewstone’s Reel below where he demonstrates each of the exercises: the single-leg hip thrust, B-stance Romanian deadlift and front-foot-elevated split squat.

These are strength exercises and you may need a dumbbell or other weight to complete them effectively, depending on your ability.

Hewstone recommends doing 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps on each side, performed at a slow and controlled tempo. Gradually increase the load—whether that’s weight, reps or sets—over time.

“The exercises in this video are slightly more advanced in terms of rehabilitation, but anyone that goes to the gym or is active should be able to engage with these kinds of exercises,” says Hewstone. You can also try these preventative runner's knee exercises which can all be done with just your bodyweight if you’re finding the above movements difficult.

Hewstone says that it’s normal to experience some discomfort while exercising. “It’s absolutely fine to have discomfort while doing physiotherapy exercises as long as the pain and discomfort you’re experiencing goes back to how it was before you did the exercise within 24 hours,” says Hewstone.

If the pain is unmanageable while doing these exercises, however, stop and speak to a doctor or a physiotherapist.

Need help choosing? Our guide to the best dumbbells can help you decide.

Sometimes it pays to keep things simple when trying to improve your fitness, and if you’re looking to add just one exercise to your regular routine then Evie Cant, head trainer at F45 Camden, recommends the push-up.

“The one bodyweight move everyone should be doing is the push-up,” says Cant. “Push-ups work the upper body and core—more specifically the chest, triceps, biceps, delts, traps and abdominals, making it a killer all-in-one exercise.”

The reason Cant says we should all be doing push-ups is because even fairly active people don’t tend to exercise their upper body much through a normal daily routine.

“For the person that lives a relatively active lifestyle, walking and standing for part of the day, the lower half of our bodies get used a fair amount, however our arms don’t,” says Cant. “While it’s still crucial to train the lower half of your body with exercises like squats and lunges, adding a few push-ups into your daily routine can make a big difference.”

How To Do A Push-Up

“Start in a high plank position,” says Cant. “You want to have your shoulders over your wrists, arms straight and core engaged. Your back should be neutral, and your bum shouldn’t be high in the air or dropped towards the ground. Start with your legs straight and slowly lower your chest down to the ground. From there, push the ground away from you, returning to a high plank.”

If the standard push-up proves too challenging for you at first then start with the kneeling version of the exercise.

“Bend your knees and rest them on the ground when in your plank position,” says Cant. “The further away your knees are to your arms, the harder it’s going to be, so play around with how far away you can get them. 

“Once you’re finding kneeling push-ups easier, start working on some progressions. One step between a kneeling push-up and a full push-up is to lower your chest to the ground without the assistance of your knees. Once your chest is just above the ground, drop your knees and use them to assist you on the way up which is the hard part. Make sure this is a slow controlled movement and that you are not relying on gravity to drop your chest to the ground.”

How To Make Progress

“When starting out, aim to complete 3-5 push-ups, take a minute or two to rest and then do a further three sets of 3-5 reps with a minute or two of rest in between,” says Cant. “Slowly, you’ll be able to increase your reps to 8-10. 

“From there, rather than continue to increase your reps per set, consider incorporating some more resistance. You can do this by placing a weight plate on your back—though take great caution to not injure your lower back in doing so. Another way you can increase your resistance is using a resistance band. Put one hand in each end of the band and stretch it out over the top of your back.

Need help choosing? Our round-up of the best resistance bands can help.

“You can also have fun playing around with different types of push-ups. There are endless variations, but some key ones are diamond push-ups, single-arm push-ups, and pike push-ups.”

If you’ve even dabbled in CrossFit, you’ve probably come across the handstand push-up—a supreme test of upper-body strength, as well as control, balance and stability. You may think it’s out of reach, but not if you start at the beginning and take it step by step.

CrossFit coach Kayne Goldfinch has posted an Instagram Reel of seven steps which will lead you to the precipice of doing a handstand push-up (and our expert guide explaining how to do a handstand push-up can do the rest).

These progressions are suitable for beginners and are worth working on even if you never plan on kicking up to a wall. Mastering each progression will help you to build the kind of upper-body strength you need to do handstand push-ups.

"These progressions allow people to see where they are at, then gives them a road map to improve,” Goldfinch told Coach. 

The push-up and pike push-up progressions in the routine are as follows:

1. Strict push-up to three weight plates
2. Strict push-up to two plates
3. Strict push-up to one plate
4. Strict push-up
5. Elevated pike push-up to plate
6. Elevated pike push-up to abs mat
7. Elevated pike push-up to floor

Goldfinch says that you should be able to do 10 reps of each exercise before you move onto the next progression. “This helps create good technique and movement patterns,” he says. “It will also make it easier to progress to that next level by having built a foundation of strength.”

Prioritize the quality of your reps, ensuring your chest or head touches the plate, mat or floor, as appropriate, every time. “Keep your stomach muscles squeezed to keep your core tight,” says Goldfinch.

Practice these progressions at least once a week at the end of strength sessions. Aim for three sets of the progression you’re working at, trying to do as many reps as possible. Once you can comfortably hit 10 reps, move on to the next progression.

If you want to build muscle and if you know your way around the gym, one of the best tried-and-tested ways to achieve this is to follow a push/pull workout plan. That typically involves one workout of upper-body push exercises, another workout of upper-body pull exercises, and a final session of leg exercises. Rest and repeat.

Generally, pushing exercises target the major muscles of the chest, shoulders and triceps, which not only helps build strength, but can also benefit your posture. “Functionally, pushing helps you gain a range of motion and a level of strength that that allows you better perform day-to-day activities like lifting objects overhead,” says Jordan Fernandez, a personal trainer at Trainer Academy. 

“Pushing or pressing exercises can also improve bone health, reducing your risk of osteoporosis,” he adds. One study, published in 2012, noted that regular resistance training can increase bone mineral density by 1-3% and boost metabolic rate by 7% after 10 weeks. 

No matter your level of experience, building your training sessions around push and pull movements is a smart move to ensure balanced muscle and strength development. Here, Fernandez has listed seven of the best push exercises you should add to your upper-body workouts.

Seven Push Exercises To Include In Your Routine

Push-up

Begin in a straight-arm plank position with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Lower your chest until just off the floor, then push yourself back up.

Bench press

Lie on a bench under a barbell rack. Take the bar off the rack and lower it under control to your mid chest, then push it straight up until your arms are fully extended.

Dumbbell shoulder press

Sit on an upright bench or stand with a dumbbell in each hand. Start with the weights at shoulder level, palms facing forward, and press them overhead until your arms are extended.

Triceps dip

Using rings, parallel bars or the edge of a bench with your feet on the floor, lower your body by bending your elbows until they form a 90° angle. Push yourself back up.

Incline dumbbell bench press

Lie back on a bench that’s set at a 45° angle, holding dumbbells level with your chest, palms facing your feet. Press the dumbbells straight overhead, touching the ends together when your arms are extended. Lower under control.

Pike push-up

Start in a downward dog position with your hips high in the air and hands on the floor. Lower your forehead toward the ground by bending your elbows, then push back to the starting position.

Close-grip bench press

This move is similar to the bench press above but with your hands positioned close together, typically shoulder-width or slightly narrower to shift the emphasis to your triceps. 

Many of us, myself included, started doing sit-ups in pursuit of a six-pack. As a teen, I’d do hundreds in my bedroom—then wonder why I wasn’t Schwarzenegger-level shredded a few days later. 

More than a decade of training later, my fitness goals have changed. Now, I want a fit-and-functional body that can handle anything I throw at it, in and out of the gym, and my old sit-up-centric abs workouts no longer cuts the mustard.

Instead, my CrossFit coach has pointed me toward alternative core exercises, such as loaded carries. She’s not the only one who’s a fan of this type of movement.

“There’s a big difference between training your abs to show and training your abs to help you go,” the physical therapist Dr Aaron Horschig (aka Squat University) said in a recent Instagram video. 

According to Horschig: “Loaded carries are one of my favorite ways to build this usable core. You can perform them in easy, medium and hard versions, all of which challenge your body in the frontal plane.

“The real-world function of the core is to control spinal motion, and this is built with stability exercises. A strong core helps you get more power out of your arms and legs, have better posture and decrease your risk of injury when picking up loads,” he said.

This boosted stability can improve your form and performance on compound exercises like barbell squats and deadlifts, as well as helping you generate and transfer power more efficiently when playing sports, whether you’re throwing a football or swinging a racket. 

The farmer’s walk is among the best-known loaded carries, but it’s far from the only option. Horschig suggests finding a version that’s a suitable difficulty for you and trying “a few sets of 30-second to 45-second walks”.

The farmer’s walk is a beginner option, a suitcase carry is an intermediate variation or, for an extra challenge, try the bottoms-up kettlebell carry. You can also adjust the weight you use for each exercise to increase or decrease the difficulty. 

Try adding three sets of your chosen exercise to the end of your next strength training session for a comprehensive core workout. 

Get help choosing the right kettlebell for you with our guide to the best kettlebells.

Hands up if you’ve nodded along while gym-goers talk about a push/pull split, but never quite understood what that meant. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. It’s a training plan which involves three sessions. A workout of upper-body push exercises, one of upper-body pull exercises and a final legs workout.  

Push and pull exercises can also be combined in the same workout, often as a superset, to help build size and strength evenly across your upper body.

If your focus in the gym is the push-up, bench press and overhead press, then you you need to be careful not to neglect pulling movements that will target the back, biceps and forearms.

“Most pulling movements train the muscles that make up your posterior chain, which runs from your hamstrings up to the trapezius in your upper back,” explains Jordan Fernandez, a personal trainer at Trainer Academy. “This helps improve your overall posture by encouraging shoulder and thoracic spine mobility, counteracting a lot of the hunching that comes with sedentary jobs.”

Introducing more pulling exercises into your workouts will ease various aches and pains, as well as prevent injury. They also help develop core strength and stability, which in turn can remedy spinal issues and lower-back pain.

The functional benefits of pulling exercises are notable in and outside the gym, too. “Pulling exercises will enhance the strength of your grip, which will benefit all your other lifts and boost your grip strength for everyday activities like carrying your shopping,” says Fernandez.

Plus, if you play sports such as rowing, swimming, climbing or contact sports, pulling exercises are some of the most useful movements for improving the way you move.

Fernadez has listed eight of the best pulling exercises you should add to your regular upper-body workouts.

Eight Pull Exercises To Include In Your Routine

Pull-up

Grasp a pull-up bar with your hands shoulder-width apart and palms facing away from you. Retract your shoulder blades to engage your upper-back muscles, then pull your chest toward the bar until your chin clears it. Lower under control. This variation targets your middle and upper back muscles, while also strengthening your core muscles. 

Chin-up

Grasp a pull-up bar with your hands slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart and palms facing toward you. Retract your shoulder blades to engage your upper-back muscles and tilt your chest toward the bar. Pull your chest toward the bar until your chin clears it, then lower under control. This variation shifts the focus to the biceps as well as the upper back muscles.

Barbell row

Hold a barbell with your palms facing you and a slight bend in your knees. Hinge forward from your hips until your torso is almost parallel to the floor. Pull the barbell toward your lower rib cage, squeezing your shoulder blades together, then lower under control.

Dumbbell row

With a dumbbell in one hand and the opposite knee and hand on a bench, pull the dumbbell toward your hip. Switch sides and repeat.

Face pull

Using a rope attachment on a cable machine set at head height, pull the rope toward your face, then raise your hands until your forearms are vertical to target the smaller muscles in your upper back, while squeezing your shoulder blades together.

Lat pull-down

Sit in a lat pull-down machine or at a cable machine with a wide bar attachment. Grasp the bar with hands wider than shoulder-width apart and palms facing away from you, retract your shoulders, then pull the bar down to your upper chest. Control the ascent of the bar.

Inverted row

Set a bar at waist height using a Smith machine or a barbell in a squat rack. Lie with your chest underneath the bar and reach up to hold the bar. Keeping your body in a straight line, pull your chest toward the bar, squeeze your upper back muscles, then lower under control.

Landmine row

Load one end of a barbell into a landmine attachment and the other into a close-grip handle. Straddle the bar, facing away from the landmine attachment. Pull the bar toward your chest, squeezing your back muscles, then lower under control. 

I spend most of my working day in front of a computer screen and all that sitting puts unnecessary pressure on my back muscles, to the point where I’ve come to accept backache as a part of life. Lately, it’s started to affect my life more than I’d like. At times, I can’t get completely comfortable when sitting down. At other times I struggle to sleep due to a dull ache.

To try and ease my backache, I’m incorporating mobility exercises into my routine and discovered this session from Gabriele Saturno, a calisthenics coach and yoga teacher.

It involves three stretches that don’t require any equipment and Saturno suggests spending between 30 to 60 seconds on each exercise, so it only takes a few minutes. 

Watch Saturno’s Instagram reel below where he demonstrates each of the mobility exercises.

These movements will also boost mobility in your thoracic spine (in your upper back) and hips too, both of which support the lower back.

I had been sitting at my kitchen table for most of the day the first time I tried the routine and felt the muscles in my back relax as I worked through the movements. Because they’re so easy and straightforward, I think they’re a great option before you start work or to loosen up over a lunch break. They could also be performed before a workout.

Of course, while doing these exercises provided some immediate relief, I plan to do these back stretches, and others, on a regular basis and take action to improve my desk posture.

If this routine hits the spot, keep your back in good condition with more movement. These 10 exercises to relieve back pain are safe, simple and office-appropriate. We also have five mobility exercises for your hips to try.

Knee pain is incredibly frustrating when you are an active person. Whether running, going to the gym or even walking, it holds you back.

So it’s no wonder there are hundreds of videos online dedicated to preventing this from happening. As I trained for my first marathon, the lingering fear of injury and knee pain was ever present. 

To prevent this, I’ve been looking into knee exercises to strengthen my legs, which is how I came across this simple routine from coaching duo Vivienne and Mike Addo, level 3 PTs who go by Mr and Mrs Muscle online.

Vivienne told Coach that these low-impact moves will allow you to “continue moving, while building, or in some cases recovering and rebuilding your foundation.

“Knee pain can occur for many reasons: overuse, impact injury or muscle imbalances, for example. It is important to keep the joint mobile by including stretches and strengthening exercises.

“These exercises help provide support to the joint and ensure that the weaker/neglected muscles are strengthened. By strengthening them, they take more of an active role in sharing the load when we move.

“The stronger muscles or the muscles that are overworked become overloaded as a result of compensation or overuse. This is where pain and tightness around the knee joint tend to occur. So doing some of these exercises like the tibialis raises or calf raises—which are typically exercises people don’t do—can make all the difference in strengthening your legs and also your knee joints.”

I decided to try these exercises after my usual leg-strengthening workout. I followed the trainers’ recommended reps (four sets of 10-15 reps) and it took me less than 15 minutes to complete.

However, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t use these exercises if you’re experiencing knee pain already. If you are, it’s essential to get an in-person diagnosis from a medical professional, as consultant orthopaedic surgeon Ian McDermott explained when we quizzed him about runner’s knee.

If you’re looking for more ways to strengthen the muscles around your knee, try these preventive runner’s knee exercises, or add this low-impact knee-strength workout to your routine. 

While you build your knee strength, you could also use this YouTube playlist of knee-friendly workouts from Mr and Mrs Muscle. 

The traditional sit-up may have fallen out fashion to an extent, but its close relation the butterfly sit-up is a common sight in CrossFit gyms. That’s largely because the sit-up is often performed poorly, with people failing to engage their abs and relying on their hip flexors instead, but the butterfly sit-up takes your hip flexors out of the equation. The result? A more focused abs hit. 

So should you swear off the sit-up forever? Not so fast, says Ryan Horton, a strength and conditioning coach and sports scientist with more than 20 years’ of experience, who we spoke to to get an expert take on promising abs exercise.

How To Do The Butterfly Sit-Up

“For a butterfly sit-up, I’m going to lie on my back and bring my feet together with my knees bent,” says Horton. “I’m going to let my knees fall out to the side like I’m doing a butterfly stretch. 

“Then I’m going to use my abs to sit all the way up, then control myself back down. Rinse and repeat until all the reps are done.”

As with a standard sit-up, the position of your arms is secondary, but Horton recommends “putting your hands together, arms extended forward, so when you sit up you’re reaching through that empty void between the knees”. This way, you can tap the floor in front of your feet at the top of each rep, which ensures you’re moving through the full range of motion. 

To increase the difficulty, Horton recommends bringing your hands behind your head at the bottom of each rep.

Butterfly Sit-Up Benefits

By letting your knees fall to the side, butterfly sit-ups “take the hip flexors out of the movement,” says Horton. Instead, it’s “the groin that’s having to engage and become a little more active in stabilizing the lower body as the upper body moves.

“The groin is something a lot of people overlook. A butterfly sit-up isn’t going to solve all your groin issues, but it is a variation that offers a little bit of extra groin engagement.”

However, this isn’t the main reason Horton uses butterfly sit-ups with his clients. He programs several core workouts a week for the athletes he works with and the appeal of the butterfly sit-up lies in the variety it offers.

“It can add freshness to your workout by being something a little bit different so you’re not doing the same thing over and over again,” says Horton, “even if it’s doing a lot of the same work and has the same benefits as the original exercise. 

“From that standpoint, I think variations are always a good thing to throw into your workout.”

About Our Expert

If you work a desk job like me, the chances are that you probably have tight hips. This can cause a lot of discomfort, not only around the hips but in other areas of the body, such as the lower back. This is because when you have weak hips, the muscles and joints surrounding them have to take on extra load to compensate.

Quitting my day job isn’t really an option, so I’ve been on the hunt for simple ways to mobilize and strengthen my hips. Regular stretching that incorporates hip mobility exercises is one of the best ways to do this and I’m trying to spend five to 10 minutes stretching and mobilizing my body each day.

As part of that, I decided to try a routine by osteopath Dr Andrew Harkin that’s designed to relieve stiff hips. It’s only three exercises and all you need is a resistance band.

It involves two passive stretches and one dynamic stretch and it’s simple to do no matter your ability level. I did it first thing in the morning to wake up my body and warm up my joints before a day of work.

Watch the Instagram post below where Harkin demonstrates the exercises.

Hold the first two stretches for 60 seconds and complete 20 reps on each side of the band hip mobilizations.

I’d never tried any of the moves in this routine before and using a resistance band certainly intensified the stretches. I’m fairly flexible, and hypermobile in certain areas of my body, so sometimes I find it difficult to achieve a deep stretch with bodyweight exercises, but each of these three moves immediately opened up my hips.

Using a resistance band for these exercises also encouraged me to move deeper into the stretches as I held them, particularly with the passive movements. As my muscles got warmer, I realized I could actually move my legs further down during the groin stretch, with the band encouraging me to do so.

Taking time to stretch at the start of the day also helped me start my morning in a mindful and relaxed way, because I focused on my breathing while holding each of the stretches. Plus, it only took five minutes to do this routine, so it’s not as much commitment as a yoga or Pilates session.

If you’d like to try this session but don’t own a long looped resistance band, you’ll find our recommendations in this selection of the best resistance bands. It’s worth the outlay, especially because that type of resistance band is required for workouts that can improve your posture, like this resistance band shoulder workout.

If you’re ready to get serious with your upper-body training but don’t have access to a weights room, the pike push-up is a powerful bodyweight move that can produce major results. While it looks straightforward, don’t underestimate how challenging this workout can be. It’s one of the best shoulder exercises for stability and mobility, but also one that’s easy to get wrong. 

“The pike push-up has more in common with a handstand push-up than a regular push-up,” says Cody Mooney, a former CrossFit Games athlete and the director of performance for the mobility and recovery app pliability. “That’s because it’s done in an inverted position. You elevate your hips to create a triangle. This shifts the muscle engagement from your chest and triceps to your front delts. With the pike push-up, you can build a lot of strength within your shoulder joint, but you also put it at risk of injury.”  

The pike push-up is not easy, but with the right approach, it can be a great tool for building mass and strength in your upper body. Here is everything you need to know about how to perform this exercise safely and effectively.

Pike Push-Up Benefits

When doing the pike push-up, your shoulders, arms and chest drive the movement, but it’s down to your back and core to hold you securely in place. As a result, this exercise is a great choice for developing body awareness, co-ordination and stability. It is particularly favored by calisthenic athletes, because it helps with developing functional movement patterns needed in more complex exercises. “Practicing pike push-ups allows you to step toward a handstand push-up. It’s a perfect intermediate exercise to teach you how to get yourself into the upright position and hold your bodyweight overhead,” says Raynsford. 

The pike push-up can also help to prevent back pain and postural imbalances. The inverted position places significant stress on your spine, which forces your body to activate various stabilizing muscles in your trunk. This in turn translates into a stronger, more functional core. 

Pike Push-Up Risks

The pike push-up is not for beginners. Even if you’re an advanced exerciser who has mastered the regular push-up, you may find this exercise challenging. Before attempting the pike push-up, make sure you have sufficient upper-body strength and mobility, or you’ll put yourself in a position where the risk outweighs the benefits. You can easily find movements that target the same muscles but are much safer, says Don Saladino, a celebrity personal trainer and Lumen ambassador.  

“If I walk into a class where they’re trying to demonstrate a pike push-up, I bet 80% of participants would not be able to perform this exercise correctly,” says Saladino. “You have to possess a certain level of shoulder mobility, hamstring flexibility and core strength to be able to get into that inverted position, and move your body through the whole range of motion. Otherwise, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.” 

So, what’s the best alternative? “If someone is unable to perform a pike push-up, I would advise them to get really good at the plank and the regular push-up. The farmer’s carry is another good option,” says Saladino. 

Moreover, people prone to dizziness, vertigo or those with very low blood pressure may find this exercise difficult. “When you’re upside down with your head on the floor and your hips higher up, there will be a rush of blood to the head. If you do have issues with blood pressure, always talk to your doctor first. You may need to avoid this inverted position altogether, or try to ease into it slowly and gradually, for example by doing decline push-ups first,” says Raynsford.

Understandably, the pike push-up is also not suitable for those battling wrist, elbow and shoulder injuries. “If you do have any pre-existing injuries, speak to a physiotherapist or sports therapist first. Once you are signed off, you can start including more advanced exercises like the pike push-up,” says Raynsford. 

How To Do The Pike Push-Up

The pike push-up can be performed at home without any equipment, but it will help if you have a comfortable mat to work on. To do a pike push-up, start on all fours. With your torso parallel to the mat, press your hands and toes firmly into the floor. Tighten your core, lower back, glute and hamstrings muscles. “Core engagement is crucial with this exercise, so make sure you’re braced throughout the movement,” says Raynsford. 

Straighten your legs and lift your hips until your body forms an inverted V shape. Bend your elbows, making sure they stay close to your body throughout the movement, to slowly lower your head toward the floor. Once your head is just above the floor, pause for a second, then straighten up your arms to return to the starting position. 

“Remember that the pike push-up gets harder the more you elevate your hips,” says Mooney. “If you struggle to achieve a full range of motion, you can either get the hips a little bit lower, or put a cushion or a box on the floor, so you don’t have to go quite as far.” 

Pike Push-Up Form Tips

1. Don’t Round Your Back

What Make sure your back is straight throughout the movement. 

Why A rounded back increases the pressure on your shoulders and traps, which puts you at risk of strain and injury.  

How Keep your core muscles engaged throughout the exercise. To do this, imagine that someone is about to punch you in the stomach. If your core is engaged, but your back is still rounded, that may mean your core is too weak or your lower back lacks sufficient mobility. In order to master your pike push-up stance, you may need to begin by strengthening your deep core muscles (for example, by practicing planks) and increasing the range of movement in your lumbar spine (yoga and Pilates can help with this).

2. Control Your Descent

What Don’t rely on momentum when bringing your upper body toward the floor. 

Why If you don’t control momentum, you fail to engage the muscles in your arms and upper back. This will not activate the correct muscles and will take away a lot of stability from your shoulder and elbow joints. This in turn creates ideal conditions for a painful injury.

How Don’t rush! Perform each repetition in a slow and controlled manner by lowering your body for a count of five. 

3. Don’t Flare Your Elbows

What Keep your elbows tucked in to your sides at a 45° angle.

Why “By tucking your elbows in, you’ll be able to retract the shoulder blades and reduce the pressure on your traps. This allows you to better recruit your shoulder muscles,” says Raynsford. 

How Try one of Mooney’s favorite cues, “Imagine your hands on a piece of paper and as you go down, try to rip it apart. It will allow you to drive your elbows in,” says Mooney. 

4. Modify Your Stance

What Modifying your stance can help you tweak your muscle engagement. 

Why and how “If you place your feet too close together, there’s going to be a lot of balance work involved,” says Raynsford. “So, a narrow stance may be more advantageous if you want to challenge your core. If you’re looking to increase your shoulder strength, a wider stance may be better.”

Pike Push-Up Vs Push-Up

In theory, the pike push-up is a variation of the regular push-up. However, these two movements have more differences than similarities. 

To start with, the pike push-up requires far more upper-body strength and mobility than the standard push-up, especially when performed for high-volume sets. They also target slightly different muscle groups. “Regular push-ups are a lot more chest-dominant than pike push-ups, and they may also require more triceps engagement,” says Mooney. “Pike push-ups, on the other hand, focus more on the shoulders.” 

In addition, the regular push-up is often viewed as a stepping stone to the bench press and other weighted chest exercises. The pike push-up, on the other hand, is often used as a transition exercise to more complex bodyweight movements, such as the handstand push-up. “The inverted position places way more stress on the shoulder than the plank position. It’s mimicking the upright position typical of many advanced calisthenics exercises,” says Mooney. 

About Our Experts

Whether it’s a regular part of your exercise plan, something you were advised to do after seeing a physio for back pain, or even a move you tried for the first time after a recent study revealed how isometric exercises can improve blood pressure, most of us have attempted the plank. But we haven’t all done it correctly, according to one top trainer. 

When I asked Ingrid Clay which exercise she sees butchered most often, she said the plank. “I often see people struggle with it, either from sunken shoulders or hip flexors that are up, or hip flexors that are too tucked under.”

Clay, who is the resident high-intensity resistance training (HIRT) expert for Chris Hemsworth’s training app Centr, says people think of the plank as a shortcut to a six-pack, when it should really be seen as a total-body workout. 

Here are the plank mistakes Clay sees the most and how to remedy them.

1. Over-Reliance On The Core

When you’re performing the plank correctly, “your core is super-engaged, but so are other body parts,” says Clay. “Even your quads are under tension—they’re not contracting, but they’re under tension. Remembering that everything is supposed to be engaged is important.”

Your core should be used for stability, but you should also hold tension through your quads and shoulders to spread your weight more evenly throughout your entire body. 

2. Hips Out Of Alignment

“I often see people with hips that are too high, or their pelvis is tucked under too much,” says Clay. Your body should be in a straight line from the top of your head to your heels, with a neutral spine. To achieve this, “tighten your core—think about bringing your bellybutton towards your spine.” Squeeze your glutes and quads, and tense your pelvic floor to bring your pelvis into alignment.

3. Shoulders Out Of Alignment

“Sometimes, instead of the shoulders being out and rounded, they protrude upwards, meaning you rest your bodyweight on your shoulders rather than hold your bodyweight up and distribute the weight throughout the whole body,” says Clay.

Start with a high plank, with your hands directly under your shoulders and arms extended, which Clay says takes a little pressure off the shoulders.

For more advice on this essential core exercise, read our guide to how to do a plank and for an easy way to incorporate it into your training, use our 30-day plank challenge. 

If this were a training montage, you wouldn’t be asking which abs exercise to bust out at the gym. The sit-up, with its greater range of motion, looks far more impressive intercut with chasing chickens and pounding punch bags than the more minimal movement of the crunch. 

But this is not a movie and you can’t fast-forward through your abs training. You have to spend your precious time doing it so it pays to know which is the most effective. We checked in with Amber Sayer, a NSCA-certified personal trainer, for her take.

The handstand push-up is an eye-catching gymnastics exercise and the pinnacle of bodyweight shoulder strength. It requires impeccable form, shoulder mobility and balance to execute correctly, but with the right approach, this gravity-defying trick is achievable. 

Handstand push-ups are also not just for show. Practicing them can take your core strength, balance and co-ordination to a whole new level, all while giving you an enormous sense of achievement. They’re also one of the best shoulder exercises for developing upper-body strength and drilling functional movement patterns.   

To work your way up to a proficient handstand push-up, first you need to be capable of holding a wall-supported handstand for at least one minute. That’s no easy feat so we strongly recommend you work on your handstands with a fitness professional. They will show you how to build up to a handstand and guide you through any strength or mobility work you need to improve your form.

Here, we discuss which muscles the handstand push-up targets, explore its many benefits, highlight some pitfalls to avoid, and outline how to nail this complex movement. 

Our guide focuses on strict handstand push-ups, where you keep your body in a straight line throughout, rather than the kipping handstand push-ups commonly seen in CrossFit. The kipping variety, which involves kicking up your legs to generate momentum, is a more explosive move and requires a different training approach.

Which Muscles Does The Handstand Push-up Work?

The handstand push-up is a great example of a compound exercise. It targets your upper body, particularly your shoulder, arm and chest muscles. But to provide stability when upside down, your body also has to engage multiple muscles in your back, core, glutes and thighs.

“It’s especially effective at strengthening the shoulders because it simultaneously targets all three heads of the deltoids, along with several stabilizing muscles, such as the rotator cuff,” says Mitch Raynsford, a certified strength and conditioning coach at digital fitness coaching platform P3RFORM.

The shoulders take the greatest strain, but the triceps muscles, the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor of the chest, and the spine-stabilizing extensors, trapezius and latissimus dorsi muscles of the back are all targeted too. 

“Chest and back engagement is especially important for stabilizing your shoulder joint,” says Raynsford. And your deep core muscles, including the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, obliques and even your pelvic floor muscles will all be working overtime to prevent you from swaying to the side, tilting forward or collapsing altogether. 

“Your glutes and hamstrings will also be put through their paces too,” says Raynsford. These muscles will be particularly engaged during freestanding handstand push-ups, when the security of a wall to support your legs is taken away. 

Handstand Push-Up Benefits

The handstand push-up is a great exercise for building sculpted shoulders and increasing upper-body strength, but its benefits don’t end there.

To start with, you don’t need any advanced equipment. The handstand push-up can be done anywhere, any time—all you need is a wall or a box, and potentially a training buddy to help you get into position safely.   

Regular practice promotes proprioception, meaning it helps your body improve the perception of its own position in space, while establishing better communication pathways between your brain and muscles and more efficient muscle engagement. As a result, the handstand push-up does wonders for your balance, co-ordination and core stability. 

Handstand Push-Up Risks

Despite the move’s long list of benefits, there are a few potential risks you should bear in mind, especially if you have high blood pressure or are dealing with ailments affecting the ears or eyes.

Practicing this exercise may cause you more harm than good, for example, if you have an ear infection that affects your balance. Having your head upside down may also increase the pressure in your eyeballs, which can be particularly dangerous for people with glaucoma (damage to the optic nerve), according to the American Optometric Association. 

The handstand position also carries increased risk for those with high blood pressure and those vulnerable to heart disease, according to Harvard Health. That’s because pumping blood against gravity requires the heart to produce more forceful contractions. 

Don Saladino, a celebrity personal trainer and a Lumen ambassador, suggests those with especially poor posture should prioritize improving their mobility or flexibility before launching into a high-risk handstand push-up. 

“If someone has poor posture, with a rounded upper back and an inability to externally rotate their shoulders, the only way they're going to be able to get into the position is by overextending their lower back. This can easily lead to an injury,” he says. 

Cody Mooney, a former CrossFit Games athlete and the director of performance for the mobility and recovery app pliability, says the risks to your joints are even greater when adding a kipping movement into this exercise, especially if your hips are tight.

That said, if you have enough mobility, stability and upper-body strength, you’ll be able to do it safely. “I've seen intermediate level CrossFitters doing handstand push-ups with great form,” says Mooney. “It’s all about having the right foundations to put yourself in a good position and then build up from there.”

How To Work Up To A Handstand Push-Up

Mastering the handstand push-up requires thorough preparation, dedicated practice and plenty of patience. “It all depends on the individual: Their overhead strength, abilities and previous training history, but also their confidence and mental resilience,” says Raynsford.

Before you launch into it head first, check if your shoulders can sustain the weight of your body. “If you can do three sets of 10 reps of the pike push-up, that’s a good sign you can progress to handstand push-ups,” Raynsford says. 

Barbell pressing your bodyweight overhead is another good indicator, so long as you have above-average shoulder mobility to match this impressive feat. 

Here Mooney has outlined his three-step plan to build up to your first handstand push-up.

1. Practice the pike 

The first step is about learning how to get in and out of the handstand position using a box. Start in a straight-arm plank position, facing away from the box. Push your hips up and put your feet up on the box. Then, gradually walk your hands closer to the box until your torso is vertical, or “as far as you feel you can go comfortably,” says Mooney.

2. Master the kick 

“Once you’re comfortable being upside down, focus on the kick,” says Mooney. Now’s a good time to rope in a training partner for support. Start by facing the wall. Put your hands on the floor next to the wall, shoulder-width apart. Keeping your arms locked out and shoulders braced, kick your feet up so your heels rest against the wall. “Really focus on stabilizing your shoulders and think about all the muscles working to hold your position,” Mooney adds. 

3. Prime the push 

Once you feel confident in a handstand position, you can start working on the push-up. “Don’t shoot for a full rep straight away,” says Mooney. First, get used to the pressure the move exerts on your upper body. “Start by drilling half-range handstand push-ups, and only progress if you have full confidence in your shoulder mobility.” 

If in doubt, always consult a physiotherapist or a certified strength and conditioning coach. Raynsford also suggests using a thick padded gym mat or large cushion under your head to help break your fall, and insists you always train with another person present to help if anything goes awry. 

How To Do A Handstand Push-up

How To Warm Up For The Handstand Push-up

Warming up is an essential part of any workout, but it carries greater significance for handstand movements. If your body isn’t ready to take the load, you won’t engage your muscles properly, and will put yourself at risk of serious injury. 

To prepare properly, include warm-up exercises that mobilize your neck, shoulders, glutes and spine, such as the child’s pose and downward dog moves from yoga. These shoulder warm-up exercises are also well worth running through.

Resistance bands and cable machines can be particularly beneficial too. “These allow you to maintain constant tension throughout an exercise, helping activate all the stabilizing muscles, like the teres minor and teres major of the rotator cuff,” says Mooney. 

Handstand Push-Up Form

Stand facing a wall, ideally with a mat in position to provide cushioning. Bend down and place your hands about a foot away from the wall, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, with your fingers spread. Bracing your shoulders and core, powerfully kick up into a handstand so that your heels rest against the wall. 

Once upside down, steady your position by squeezing your glutes. From your wrists to your feet, your body should form one straight line. Carefully bend your elbows to lower the crown of your head toward the floor or mat. Allow your head to lightly touch the floor, then press hard through the heel of your hands to drive back up. Extend your arms fully, breathe, and continue into the next rep. 

Mooney says: “A slow descent is one of the best ways to help avoid injury. Rushing on your way down can strain your neck. Instead of relaxing as you lower, take a big breath in to brace your core and help control your descent.”

About Our Experts

Let’s be honest, warming up your shoulders is not the most exciting part of your workout routine. Swinging your arms draws more attention in the gym than hopping on the treadmill to raise your heart rate, which might explain why many of us skip this crucial step. However, making time for a dedicated shoulder warm-up can dramatically improve your exercise performance. It’s also one of the best ways to protect your shoulders from injury.

Shoulder Warm-Up Exercises

This eight-move routine uses dynamic stretches covering all planes of motion. It’s a good option for beginners, people with poor posture and those recovering from injuries when preparing to do shoulder workouts, routines that feature shoulder exercises, and upper-body workouts in general. Just remember to use light weights. It doesn’t take a lot of tension to increase your mobility and “wake up” your shoulder muscles. If you feel weighted dynamic stretches are not enough to prepare your body for a heavy workout session, consider adding more complex shoulder mobility exercises.

1 Standing straight-arm circles

Equipment:

• Beginner / intermediate: none
• Advanced: light dumbbells 

How: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Raise and extend your arms to the sides so they’re parallel with the floor. Keeping your back straight and core engaged, move your arms in a small circular motion. Make sure the movement comes from your shoulders, and that your body does not sway or tilt to the sides. As your joints are warming up, gradually progress to larger circles. Complete at least 15 reps, then switch directions. Perform another 15 reps backward.  

2 Standing shoulder rolls

Equipment: none

How: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back straight and core engaged, shrug your shoulders. Make sure that you’re not tensing your neck muscles, pushing your head forward or hunching your back. Then squeeze your shoulder blades together and roll your shoulders back down. Complete at least 15 reps, then switch directions. Perform another 15 reps backward.  

3 Shoulder swing (lateral)

Equipment:

• Beginner / intermediate: none
• Advanced: light dumbbells 

How: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Raise and extend your arms to the sides. Keeping your arms straight, cross them in front of you, and then rapidly bring them back to the starting position. Keep your core engaged throughout the movement to make sure you don’t give in to momentum and sway to the sides. Complete at least 15 reps.  

4 Shoulder swing (back and forth) 

Equipment:

• Beginner / intermediate: none
• Advanced: light dumbbells 

How: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Raise and extend your arms in front of you. Keeping your arms straight, gently swing them back, and then rapidly bring them back to the starting position. Keep your core engaged throughout the movement to make sure you don’t give in to momentum and sway back and forth. Complete at least 15 reps.

5 Shoulder corkscrew

Equipment:

• Beginner / intermediate: none
• Advanced: light dumbbells 

How: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Raise and extend your arms to the sides so they’re parallel to the floor. Keeping your back straight and core engaged, begin by slowly twisting the arms inwards and outwards. Make sure that you drive the movement from your shoulders, and that your body does not sway or tilt to the side. Complete at least 15 inward and 15 outward twists. 

6 Band pull-apart

Equipment: Long resistance band

How: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Holding one end of a light resistance band in each hand, raise and extend your arms in front of you. Keeping your arms straight, squeeze your shoulder blades and move your arms to the sides. Once your upper body forms a letter T, hold the position for a second or two, and then return to the starting position under control. Make sure you move in a slow, controlled manner, without yanking the band or swaying back and forth. Complete at least 15 reps.  

7 Banded face pull

Equipment: Long resistance band / cable machine

How: Attach a light resistance band to an anchor point located at or slightly above your eye level (or attach a triceps rope to a cable machine and select a very light weight). Facing the anchor point, hold the band in both hands and move a few steps away to ensure sufficient tension. Keeping your back straight and core engaged, begin by squeezing your shoulder blades and pulling the band towards your face. Your elbows should naturally flare to the sides. Once the band gets close to your face, hold the position for a second or two, and then slowly return to the starting position. Don’t yank the band, hunch your back or let your body sway to the sides. Complete at least 15 reps.

8 Banded overhead reach

Equipment: Mini loop resistance band

How: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Wrap a light mini loop resistance band around your wrists, then raise and extend your arms in front of you. Make sure your arms are separated so you can maintain slight tension in the band throughout the movement. Keeping your back straight and core engaged, raise your arms straight up overhead. Slowly return to the starting position.