David Otey, C.S.C.S.

But after awhile, they can get boring. And while they can definitely push you to gains, those mainstay moves cant do everything. Thats why many add home gear, things like adjustable dumbbells, kettlebells, and parallettes. But you actually dont need all that gear to get a good home session.

You can actually get a vicious home workout with a piece of gear that may be lying around in your gym bag, an underrated version of the resistance band, the miniband. Yes, this tiny, stretchy band can give you a vicious workout, and its a lifesaver if youre stuck at home and youve exhausted basic bodyweight exercises and their variations. Its the perfect home workout companion, and it wont exactly break your wallet either.

<h1> Why and How Resistance Bands Work </h1>

To be clear, this miniband workout wont get you Captain America jacked. What it will do, however, is challenge stabilizing muscles you forgot you had while still pushing you through classic size- and strength-building motions.

Workouts like this supplement the training you do in the gym, and if youre stuck without gym access, theyre a perfect way to mix your training up for a few days, or even weeks. Theyll help you when you do get back in the gym, too, strengthening smaller muscle groups to fuel you to bigger gains when you get back to hitting the weights.

Essentially, they make you a more well-rounded gym-goer. Think of yourself as a golfer: You cant only focus on their long drive. You have to practice their chips and your putts for a complete game. Thats what youre going to do with this workout. (Need a miniband? Get it above.)

Both standard resistance bands and minibands differ from your traditional weight training in two key categories: accommodating resistance and line of pull.

Accommodating resistance is the principle of the movement becoming more difficult through the range of motion. Chains and bands are two very common forms of this foundational movement modality. Chains have a meathead rep, but really, theyre just metal accommodating resistance: With every inch higher the chain gets elevated from the ground, another link comes off the ground. This creates greater weight dangling as you move upward through a movement. Bands are much more approachable than chains -- and easier to use in the house, too.

The other key thing bands offer is an ability to mix up your line of pull. Pick up a dumbbell and do a biceps curl, and really, you can only curl it in one direction. But bands let you curl in multiple directions, changing angles and challenging different stabilizing muscles, everything from abs to obliques to rotator cuff muscles. You can adjust what direction you pull from making room for vertical, horizontal, pulling, and pushing motions.

The general goal of most miniband workouts is simple: Get yourself moving and keep the tissues active. Band work can help you harness your movement pattern quality, aid in joint health, and test muscles you may be missing in your standard routines. Theres a reason pro sports teams all have stashes of minibands. And if the pros take them seriously, you should, too. Try them in this workout.

<h1> The Key to Resistance Band Exercises </h1>

Youll do a variety of exercises you might consider standard in this workout, but the miniband will add challenge. The key is taking advantage of that challenge. Keep the miniband taut throughout this session, pulling it apart and tense. Your goal is to maintain good standard form on classic exercises: Apply tension to the band steadily and aggressively so that it looks as if youre not using a band at all. This applies to standard resistance band training, too: The variable resistance will change as you do, say, a biceps curl, but aim to keep lifting at the same rate.

Directions: Do this workout as a circuit. Do three rounds of the circuit, resting one minute between each. Youll be wrapped up with the entire session in about 15 minutes.

Wrap a miniband around your knees, just above your knees. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width, core tight, knees pulling the miniband outwards. Bend at the knees and push your butt back, lowering your thighs until theyre about parallel with the ground; stand back up, continuing to pull the miniband tight. Thats 1 rep; do 15. Some basic squat tips, which apply to this squat variation, are below.

This Resistance Bands Workout Hits Every Muscle

Your average home workout loads up on plenty of bodyweight exercises, and for good reason: Pushups and squats are fundamental pieces of any fitness routine, and you need to hold mastery over them.

Challenge Your Whole Body With This At-Home Resistance Band Workout

But if you want big arms, thats not the only muscle group you need to grow. Yes, building full, thick biceps helps, but you also need to seriously develop your triceps, too. Why? Because your triceps are actually a larger muscle group, and they visually complement your biceps. A perfect, well-sculpted set of arms includes big, strong biceps, and well-defined triceps, too.

Triceps training isnt always the most natural, though, partly because you cant always see the muscle youre working. Part of the reason a lot of guys love training biceps is they can instantly see progress. You cant always see that with your tris, but thats where this program comes in.

The trick with triceps training is attacking the triceps from a variety of different angles so you can hit all three of its heads. Do this right, and youll craft well-rounded tris and in the process, youll build the truly massive, powerful arms youve always wanted.

Before we dive into your twice-a-week triceps workout, lets understand the muscle a bit more. The triceps is a three-headed muscle running mostly along the back of the arm. The three heads (the medial, long, and short head) attach to the olecranon process, better known as your elbow. They also all connect to the back of your upper arm bone (the humerus). The long head of the triceps is unique in that it connects to your shoulder blade.

The medial and lateral heads of the triceps are the outer and central piece of whats known as the horseshoe look of your triceps. The long head, meanwhile, connects to the scapula and to build it, youll need to do different motions. When you do a triceps pressdown, for example, youre mostly attacking the medial and lateral heads. Once your upper arm starts moving overhead (known as shoulder flexion), youre going to start attacking the long head.

A good set of tris can account for roughly two-thirds of the muscle mass in the upper armmore than the biceps. And really, your triceps are more involved in your day-to-day life than your biceps. From driving to typing to handling money to a cashier, you spend more time every day pushing your arm away from your body than you do pulling. All that pushing is part of the triceps responsibility.

Your triceps are a secondary mover in just about every upper body pushing movement because theyre responsible for straightening your arm at the elbow. That means they dont just get work when you do triceps-specific exercises with them. Theyll also get plenty of work when you bench press and shoulder press.

That also means training your triceps isnt just about packing on muscle. It could be the difference between a new bench press career-high and a missed max lift. Most of the time, in my experience, the triceps are the reason you cant progress past a certain weight on the bench. If you cant extend your elbows, youll have a hard time finishing an overhead press, chest press, or any other upper body press.

Constructing elite triceps requires taking a multi-angle approach, and it also means doing the right moves. Details matter with this too: You have to keep your elbows tight on all motions and work to really isolate your tris. Dont just use massive weights with sloppy form.

You can do this triceps workout up to two times a week. Rest two days between triceps workouts, but aim to train other bodyparts on those days, hammering legs one day and attacking your back on another day. You can train your triceps by themselves, or train them after chest. Go as heavy as you can with good form, but focus on form first and foremost.

If you train only triceps, make sure to warm up before doing this workout: Do at least one minute of jumping jacks, then do this rotator cuff warmup with resistance bands. Then dive into the action.

This is one of the more difficult triceps moves out there, because your triceps faces not only the dumbbell but also gravity. Youre also training multiple triceps responsibilities. You know the triceps straightens your arm; it also stabilizes the shoulder, and here it handles both tasks. Try the kickback variation below. Do 4 sets of 8-10 reps, resting 90 seconds between each.

Build Massive Triceps With This 4-Move Workout

If youre in the gym chasing big arms, theres a good chance youve spent plenty of time doing biceps curls. And hey, you cant be blamed. After all, when most people think of big arms, they definitely think big biceps.

Its one of those regular questions among gym-bros, something youre almost guaranteed to get asked if you go to the gym regularly. The classic barbell bench press has always been one of the gyms glamour lifts, and its one of the finest ways to add size, strength, and power to your chest. Its a move that you inherently know, too, a more loaded version of the exercise you learned when you were younger, the pushup.

But boy, can it be frustrating. If youve been going to the gym for awhile, theres a good chance youve hit a so-called plateau, and your bench press weight isnt increasing anymore. This happened to me a few years ago, and Ill be honest: It was aggravating. I thought Id been doing everything I needed to build a big bench press but my weights just werent going up.

<a href=&quot;https://www.menshealth.com/about/g26028263/mh-advisory-board/&quot; data-vars-ga-outbound-link=&quot;https://www.menshealth.com/about/g26028263/mh-advisory-board/&quot;>Click here</a> to learn more about the Mens Health expert advisory board.

<a href=&quot;https://www.menshealth.com/about/g26028263/mh-advisory-board/&quot; data-vars-ga-outbound-link=&quot;https://www.menshealth.com/about/g26028263/mh-advisory-board/&quot;>Click here</a> to learn more about the Mens Health expert advisory bo...

The problem: I thought the answer to fixing my bench press was doing more bench presses, and it wasnt. We can get lost cramming massive repetitions of bench presses into our programs, expecting that to help us bust through plateaus, but thats very rarely the key. Sometimes, the key is utilizing other exercises, strengthening supporting muscle groups to drive your bench press upwards.

So stop worrying about your plateau for the next month. Im going to crash you through the movements that pulled me out of my bench press struggles.

Tapping your true pectoral potential starts with understanding the muscle itself. Your chest muscle has two heads, the sternal head and the clavicular head. The sternal head is the meaty part of the chest that we all associate with a big chest. Both heads insert at the intertubercular groove of the humerus (near the shoulder).

Things are different for each head from there. The clavicular head also connects to the medical clavicle (collarbone). The sternal head, meanwhile, connects to sternal and clavicular cartilage. Both heads combine to move the shoulder joint, flexing it (think of raising your arm overhead) and internally rotating it. The clavicular head is key in that overhead shoulder motion.

The sternal head also assists in shoulder adduction. Think of clapping your hands in front of you, elbows straight. As you bring your arm across your body, youre adducting your shoulder. This is why dumbbell fly exercises are so good at recruiting that sternal head, even though they leave the clavicular head behind.

If you want to move bigger weights on the bench, doing zounds of reps at manageable weight wont solve the problem. Instead, itll lead to shoulder joint and ligament issues, or maybe even elbow issues.

Good thing so many other muscles are involved in the bench press. Your anterior deltoids (front shoulders) and triceps are both key supporters in the move. Your delts help raise your shoulders away from your torso, essentially getting them in place to hold the bar.

Your triceps, meanwhile, are often the lagging muscle in your bench press. In order to get the weight overhead, the elbow has to unlock, a primary function of the tris. The long head of the triceps also attaches at the scapula; believe it or not, your long triceps head assists in shoulder adduction and can also help you get that weight overhead.

Have you ever finished a heavy bench day and wondered why your glutes were sore? Energy transfer matters.

When you bench press, you have five points of contact: Your two feet are planted on the ground, and your head, back and glutes are plastered to the bench. This setup makes ground contact so you can push the weight up. This setup also means youre pressing with way more than your chest. Your core is a crucial piece of transferring energy from your feet to your upper body. When the weight is heavy enough, your heels drive into the ground, creating rigid posture all the way up through your core.

Strict form will help you press the weight back up. Without that stability, the bar travels upward in an unpredictable movement pattern. You dont want that.

Why? Building up those posterior erectors and lats can really assist your pressing moves. The lats attach through the thoracolumbar fascia and have considerable emphasis on posture. As you extend the thoracic spine to drive your upper back into the bench, youre engaging your lats. Owning this movement will help your starting position on the bench.

How to: Hold a loaded barbell with an overhand, shoulder-width grip, feet shoulder-width apart, then hinge at the hips, so your torso is at a 45-degree angle with the ground. Keep your core tight. This is the start. Squeeze your shoulder blades, then bend at the elbows and shoulders, rowing the barbell to your belly button; keep your core tight as you do this. Slowly lower the bar to the start. Thats 1 rep; do 4 sets of 10 to 12 twice a week. If you don't have regular access to a barbell, consider doing dumbbell rows instead (and check out our dumbbell row tutorial right here).

How to: Lie with only your shoulder blades on a bench, feet planted firmly on the ground. Lift your hips and squeeze your glutes, driving your torso upwards so its parallel to the ground. Hold a single dumbbell directly over your chest with both hands, elbows bent only slightly. This is the start. Now slowly lower the weight behind your head, stretching as far back as you can comfortably. Pause, tighten your core, then press back up. Thats 1 rep; do 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps.

How much do you bench?

Give Your Bench Press a Major Boost With These Exercises

Why? Because athletes dont actually train to look like athletes. They just train to be athletes. And they do that by working on something called power training, which is what Im going to break down for you today.

Youve seen power training before, and you may have been intimidated by it, too. The main goal of power training is to get your body to generate power. You can do that in a number of ways, many of which youll see in CrossFit, where rowing machines and AirDyne bikes and exercises like power cleans and snatches challenge you to be explosive. Because of CrossFit, in fact, more and more facilities are being outfitted with rowers, AirDynes, and powerlifting platforms.

That may have you thinking that power training isnt meant for you. But its something every person should implement in some form. By the end of this article, youll be ready to do it too.

You know strength training is good for you. But its easy to overlook introducing power into your program. Thing is, power is critical.

Essentially, when you generate power, youre generating force. And force is what moves all weight, even when youre doing basic biceps curls. One quick formula you may know from high school: Force = Mass x Acceleration.

Your body creates force, and that force accelerates a mass. Power training simply has you applying that force to move a mass with speed, and, in most cases, max speed. That mass can be anything from a dumbbell or barbell to your bodyweight. Jumps, sprints, and plyometrics are all under the power umbrella.

This may differ from the slow, controlled pace you use when you bench press, and it differs from, say, holding a plank. Its also very different from walking on a treadmill. Power training has you moving with great speed. Thisll do a host of things, from protecting you as you age to helping you burn through fat stores at a great rate.

<h1> What Power Training Does For Your Body </h1>

As we age, we tend to lose power at a much greater rate than we lose strength. Around 28 to 30 years old, we hit our physical peak in terms of development. Every decade after that, men have been shown to lose around 4.7 percent of their muscle mass due to a number of different factors including hormones and water content in the body.

Falls are the second-leading cause of accidental or unintentional injury deaths worldwide. Due to this, you see people older populations and the trainers they work with working on balance, balance, and balance. Balance is certainly a piece of this but now there is a focus point on how quickly someone can pull their leg up in front of them. Balance will keep you standing, but you need to quickly pull your leg up in front of you to land on. That is power training.

There are different fibers in the body with specific roles. Type I fibers are slow-twitch and aerobic. Type II fibers are fast-twitch and anaerobic. When there is a lack of activity and stimulus, most fibers will stay as hybrids. That means you will have some Type 1/Type IIA, Type IIA/X fibers, and others that arent really sure what you need them to do.

If you get into a certain training routine or lifestyle, those fibers go towards the function you need them to do. This wont change muscle fibers from their natural makeup, but it can push hybrid fibers into choosing a role. The body has an incredible capacity to adapt for change, as long as you teach it what you need to do.

Power training is essentially training your maximal human potential. Strength is an incredible asset to have as we age. Strength allows us to do many things.

But power? Power lets us react to things. Usually, we associate power with chiseled physiques, mostly because of the adaptations that occur in the body when we do enough power training.

Want an example? Think about a sprint, a true sprint, a 100-meter dash. When sprinting, the body is working to accelerate so quickly that it utilizes energy sources but doesnt actually have time to tap into the traditional aerobic metabolism you use for most other running. Think of it this way: Aerobic capacity is a checking account, and anaerobic metabolism is a credit card. To sprint, you dont have the energy in the account, so you swipe your credit card.

That means you dont have the most efficient energy, so you are going to have to pay back that debt you created. That is EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption). This means your baseline metabolism over the next 24-48 hours will be elevated to pay back the debt you created. That elevated metabolism is why power exercises harness more fat storages and are associated with lean physiques.

Power isnt just stressing your muscles when you do this type of work. Long term joint health is something that really needs to take priority. Your shoulders and hips can undergo serious damage if you dont use proper mechanics when power training.

Did you ever jump off the swings when you were a kid and land with straight legs? Wild guess: no, because doing so would cause pain from bone-on-bone collision. You land using your muscles to absorb and control force.

So take your time with power training. Its critical for all ages, but you need to start slowly and work on your own mechanics. Also, keep your reps and sets low when power training, and take plenty of rest between sets. This will help you maintain flawless form.

Insert these 6 exercises into your workouts to improve your power.

Why? This is essentially the stock photo attached to every thought about power training. The purpose of the move is to get as much weight as you can from the ground up to your upper body. Imagine an explosive deadlift with enough power to drive the weight high enough to fall under the bar and catch it.

How To: Grasp a bar with an overhand grip, feet shoulder-width apart, as if setting up for a deadlift. Explosively extend knees and hips with max force to stand up. The move will almost be like jumping from the floor as you will end up on the balls of your feet as you extend. During this time, shrug the weight up simultaneously to develop as much momentum in the bar as possible. Once the bar is at peak height, drop below it and explosively drive your elbows forward, catching the bar on the front side of your shoulders. You should maintain a strong spinal posture throughout the move. Lower the weight in a controlled manner. Thats 1 rep; do 3 sets of 4 to 6.

Why? Snatches are a great full-body move to get weight from the ground to all the way above your head. Youll see CrossFitters and powerlifters doing the move with barbells, but that may not be the best for you; many people dont have the prerequisite shoulder mobility and posterior stability to get a barbell overhead in a safe manner. The dumbbell is the ideal choice for moving weight from the ground explosively above head.

How to: With the dumbbell between your feet, sit down deep enough to hold the dumbbell with a straight arm. From that position, drive your feet into the ground with maximum power to the standing position. In this span, shrug the dumbbell up to develop maximum momentum in the dumbbell. At the dumbbells peak, you will flip you hand so your fingers are facing outward now explosively extending your arm up above. While the arm extends, you will drop below the weight to catch the dumbbell at the top. When fully standing with the dumbbell above head in a strong posture, bring the dumbbell down to your shoulder in a controlled fashion. From the shoulder, control the weight down to your hips before eccentrically lowering it to the floor. That is one rep; do 3 sets of 4 to 6 per arm.

Why? This ones all about glute power. This move allows your body to move heavy weight ballistically, driving it forward to the front of the body. Think of it as a broad jump with your feet fixed to the ground.

How to: Sit back into the heels with an athletic stance. The kettlebell starting position should be far enough that you are reaching at full extension and the kettlebell is leaning towards yourself. With both hands firmly gripped on the handle, lift the hips enough for the bell to swing back between your legs. From the loaded position, explode the hips forward propelling the kettlebell as if you were throwing it as far as possible in front of you. At the top, you will be standing tall with the body rigid. Allow the kettlebell to drift forward based on momentum. As the kettlebell descends back towards yourself, receive the kettlebell with pushing the hips back and maintaining a tall spine throughout. That is one rep. Do 3 sets of 10 to 12.

Why? This is the power exercise you can take anywhere. Sprinting is bodyweight, explosive, and you can do this almost anywhere. Full lower body drive pushing the ground away below you. This requires strength, abdominal control, and cardiovascular demand that most exercises cant match. For more sprint tips, check out <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a26595119/5-speed-hacks-running/" id="14401bc1-5dab-3b75-af0a-aa74e8ee6f13"> this story </a> .

How to: You know how to run, but sprinting is different. Focus on lower body explosion and keeping a tight core. Sprinting is best with a slow escalation of speed into a full sprint. Try starting with both feet together, leaning forward as much as possible until you fall forward with one leg, then extending and beginning to run. This is a great way to get comfortable with stride length and working into full sprint running. Keep your distances short when doing this; think of running 50 to 100 meters at a time, at most, for 6 to 8 sets.

Why? External weight can change the mechanics of any movement. The sled sprint will take the sprint and force you to lean further forward. This lean helps the spine accommodate vertical stress, increase quadricep recruitment, and teach the body to move smoother with extra demand.

How to: Load a sled with light weight. Lean forward at a 45-degree angle and grip the sled with your hands close to your chest, a position similar to a pushup position. From a staggered stance, drive through the balls of your feet with all toes in contact with the ground. Each step, maximize your stride length pulling the leg forward as far as possible to get the most of each step.

Why? The beauty of this move is that you start leaning forward, then must transfer lower-body power to upper-body extension with a weight. This can stack some serious mass on the system with the single side capabilities of the landmine.

How to: Start from the standing position with the barbell loaded on one shoulder. With one hand gripped on the end of the bar, slightly bend the knees and explode vertically to propel the weight up. Catch the bar with a locked out arm and a forward lean of the upper body where all parts of the move are in one line. The legs will be transition from a bilateral to a staggered stance from start to the catch position. Bring the bar back down to shoulder and repeat. Do 3 sets 6 to 8 reps.

If youre like most gym-goers, you dont necessarily want muscles on top of muscles on top of muscles. And you dont want to look like a distance runner, either. Instead, you head to the gym chasing that toned beach body look. And really, thats the look of an athlete. And that means youve got to do more than lift weights and do cardio.

Your Ultimate Guide to Power Training

You need to build powerful legs, too, for a variety of reasons. Aesthetically, well-muscled legs complete your physique. Training them also fuels your metabolism; any leg workout is activating some of the largest muscles in your body, which will help you burn fat and calories.

You also hit your upper body more than you think when you train legs. A barbell squat, for example, doesnt happen if your abs, back muscles, and shoulders arent working to hold that barbell steady. And your arm, back, forearm, and ab muscles have to fire for you to do a deadlift. Meanwhile, all the muscle you build on your glutes and hamstrings will insulate your back against injury, make you feel better, and help you get more athletic, too.

Thats why its worth committing to a program to grow your legs, and thats exactly what Ive built for you here. This two-week leg program will hammer your posterior chain muscles (headed by your glutes and hamstrings) and help you add bulk and much-needed strength to your legs.

Do this workout twice a week, resting two days in between each leg session. On all days you dont do this workout, feel free to train other bodyparts, such as your chest, your back, and your arms.

Build at least one recovery day into this program, taking a day to stay away from all weights. You can still move on that day, taking a walk or doing mobility or flexibility drills. You just shouldnt lift heavy weights.

Hex bar deadlift

Stand inside a hex bar, then hinge at your hips, push your butt back, and bend your knees to grasp its handles. Keep your core tight as you do this. This is the start. Keeping your upper body tight, stand up, squeezing your glutes as you do. Return to the start. That's 1 rep. Thats 1 rep. Do 4 sets of 8, resting 90 seconds between each set.

Kettlebell swing

Thats 1 rep; do 4 sets of 10 reps. Rest 90 seconds after each set.

Swiss Ball Leg Curl

Lie on your back, knees bent, feet on a Swiss ball. Squeeze your glutes, lifting your lower back off the ground. This is the start. Now straighten your legs, rolling the ball outwards; keep your core tight as you do this. Your torso and legs should be in a straight line, only your shoulder blades on the ground. Pause, then bend your legs, rolling the ball back toward your butt. Thats 1 rep. Do 3 sets of 12, resting 90 seconds after each set.

Standing Calf Raise

Stand with the balls of your feet on a block higher than the floor, your heels unsupported. Hold a wall or railing in front of you Thats 1 rep. Do 4 sets of 20, resting 60 seconds after each set.

Hex Bar Deadlift

Do 4 sets of 12 reps. Rest 60 seconds between each set.

Kettlebell Swing

Do 4 sets of 10 reps. Rest 90 seconds between each set.

Romanian Deadlift and Plank Superset

Do 3 sets of 8 reps. After each set, do a 30-second plank, then rest 90 seconds.

Walk for 45 seconds; do 3 sets. Rest 2 minutes after each set.

Row 300 meters as quickly as you can. Rest 150 seconds. Repeat 5 times.

Do 4 sets of 8 reps. Rest 90 seconds after each set.

Bulgarian Split Squat and Glute Bridge Superset

Do 3 sets of 8 reps per leg. After each set, do 8 glute bridge reps. Rest 90 seconds between sets.

Do 4 sets of 8 reps per leg. Rest 90 seconds after each set.

Do 3 sets of 15 reps. Rest 90 seconds after each set.

Standing Calf Raise

Do 4 sets of 20 reps. Rest 60 seconds between each set.

Build Tree-Trunk Legs With This Two-Week Program

You want big biceps, a ripped chest, and chiseled abs. But deep down, you know you cant just train those bodyparts.

And yes, its completely normal. The knee is one of the most frequently used joints in the body, in use whenever you get up out of a chair, squat down to pick up something from the floor, run, jump, or even take a mere step. And that means it can take a beating, especially as you get older.

When youre in your 20s, perhaps, you can get away with shaky movement mechanics, because your knees (and your whole body, really) recovery quickly, thanks to excellent blood supply to joints and a variety of other factors. But by the time youre 40, tendon and ligament blood supply are on the decline, and those knees just cant take the same pounding they once could.

Regardless of age, knee soreness and pain can (and very often does) pop up here and there. Sometimes, its a chronic issue, other times its sporadic. Either way, it can majorly limit your ability to get a good workout in. And if you try to train through knee issues, the results can be even worse, affecting other joints, too.

Your fix: Learn how to take care of the long-term health of your knees. Joint injuries in general are major deterrents to any kind of training. So beat your knee pain; dont let it beat you.

To understand how delicate the knee is, you need to understand how it works. It seems like an incredibly simple joint, since, in theory, you can only bend your knee in one direction. But it actually contains multiple support systems that allow it to move. Its a synovial joint, meaning it contains a capsule, cartilage, and fluid, which all allow your femur (the long bone in your thigh) and your tibia (the long bone in your lower leg) to move smoothly. Media and lateral meniscus also provide padding between the two bones for movement.

The patella sits in the front of the knee; most people know this as the kneecap. This aids in the mechanics of the knee, allowing easier extension of the muscles and protecting the joint in the front. Articular cartilage covers all your bones, allowing for smooth movements. Four major ligaments keep the joint stable: your anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the medial collateral and lateral collateral ligaments.

Every joint has their functions and limitations. The knee can primarily only hinge forward and back. While there is some side to side motion, that comes from obvious joint vulnerability, not ability. What we ask our body to do on a daily basis will never change. Due to this alternating chain of joints, if one isnt properly owning its responsibilities, it compromises the neighboring joints. This means you need mobility in your hips and ankles. If you dont have that, your knees are forced to do extra work.

<h1> The Best Ways To Do Leg Exercises </h1>

A lot that can go wrong with this joint. It's just a hinge, but it can shift different ways based on how we put pressure on it, affecting the stabilizing muscles that help make it a strong hinge. The way we jump, land, squat, and sit affects the long-term health of our knees. So too do other joints, such as our ankles and hips.

In general, in everything you do, think about keeping your knee stacked directly over your ankle. Land there, and aim to think about that when you squat and lunge too. It won't happen all the time (yes, it's OK for the knees to shift a bit forward when you do squats), but it will, over the long haul, benefit the health of your knees. These other tips will too.

Front, back, goblet, or bodyweight, all squats adjust the way we maintain balance while descending down and driving up. Leg day royalty! Growing up we learn to adjust our balance to mid foot to avoid leaning too far forward or too far back. When it comes to squats, sitting back through the heels allows the stress to be placed on the muscles vs the knee.

The squat is a collaborative effort between the knee joint and a series of muscles (your hamstrings, quads, calves, and other stuff). If your knee winds up too far forward, it takes the brunt of the motion, and your leg muscles cant be properly involved. So focus on sitting back when you squat. Need an assist in timing this? Use a box, and sit back onto the box.

Your Lunge Tip: Step over the puddle!

Lunges are great for forcing each leg to develop its own level of strength and neuromuscular control. But theres a catch: Each lunge variation is very different from the others. The direction in which you step and how you finish the step (whether its a walking lunge or a stationary lunge) heavily influences the muscles you involve in the movement.

Its also trickier than most people think to find just the right alignment for the move overall. How far and how high do you step?

The way I teach it: Tell clients to step over an imaginary puddle on the ground. This will force you to stride out far enough to get down to the ground properly. Doing that plays a key role in helping you land in the right position: With your front thigh parallel to the ground, your front shin perpendicular to the ground, and all your joints at near-90-degree angles.

Your Jumping Tip: Land soft and jump smart!

Caucasian man jumping on box in gymnasium

Most people dont hurt themselves jumping. They hurt themselves landing. Some of the most common knee injuries come from poor landing mechanics and leg strength. Thats why, in truth, you should be able to squat 1.5 times your bodyweight before you start doing box jumps.

One other key to the box jump: Do it responsibly. Jumping to max heights isnt going to be the route to success you think itll be when you start out. Skip it and work with lower boxes. And no matter what, focus on landing with a generous bend at your knees. Your muscles are meant to absorb stress so your joints dont have to bear that pressure. That cant happen without a soft landing.

The key to avoiding leg and knee issues is hammering home perfect mechanics. This may take an ego check, and it may have you doing moves you dont always want to do (like doing goblet squats instead of heavy barbell squats). Do these moves anyway, because, especially if you have knee pain, theyre likely what your body needs most.

Bridges and hip thrusts hammer home the point of driving your heels through the ground. Building glute strength becomes paramount when you are looking to use power, strength, and coordination to establish control in the lower body.

How to: Lying flat on your back, pull your feet back so your legs are at a 90 degree angle. From this bottom position, drive your heels into the ground extending the hips towards the sky. While pulling the hips through, you should keep a rigid posture so the focus of movement is at the hips. Fully extend the hips at the top and hold for a count of 2 seconds. Slowly return back to the bottom position. That is one rep.

These Training Tweaks Will Keep Your Knees Healthy

If youve been hitting the gym for years, whether its to do squats, play basketball, jump on boxes, or just run, theres a good chance that, at some point, youve experienced knee pain.

Strong delts are the secret to unlocking strength and power in all your other exercises, whether youre pushing, pulling, or carrying weight. And theyll frame out the physique youve been aiming for, too. But shoulders are also a tricky joint that requires extra-special attention. The shoulder is a multifaceted junction where power and vulnerability live close to each other. You can make big strides or big mistakes in shoulder training, simply by altering your exercises by a few inches.

Your key to shoulder training is finding that perfect balance between pushing yourself and staying healthy. Remember, your best talent in the gym is your ability to go to the gym. That means finding a safe approach to challenging one of the most critical muscle groups in the body.

To look at the shoulder, we have to start with something called the glenohumeral joint. This is the centration of the head of the upper arm bone (also known as the humerus), which sits in something called the glenoid fossa.

Your shoulder is a traditional ball and socket joint, meaning it can move in multiple planes of motion. In this way, its much like your hip joint, except your shoulder has a greater overall range of motion. Thats because the socket, in this case, is shallow. As a result, many other muscles, everything from your pectorals to your lats to your abs, can influence the long-term health of your shoulders. You need to always keep that in mind when training your shoulders, and when considering the long-term health of your shoulders.

The key muscle group attached to the shoulders is the deltoid, and thats what you normally see on a person with jacked shoulders. The deltoid has three heads, the anterior head, medial head and posterior head. These three regions pull the shoulder in various directions. Your anterior fibers flex the upper arm forward and rotate it toward your body, while the posterior fibers extend it behind you and rotate it away from your body. That means just small turns of the hand alter the primary muscles you use on any movement.

Then theres the rotator cuff. With so many muscles tugging on your shoulder in such a shallow socket, its up to a collection of tendons, ligaments and smaller muscles to provide stability and keep the joint centered. Thats the job of the rotator cuff, a collection of four muscles that work together to keep the head of the humerus safely in the pocket of the glenoid fossa.

Timing is everything when it comes to shoulder movement. You need certain areas of your body to move at the right times to allow for smooth shoulder movement. In particular, the scapula (your shoulder blade) and the humerus (upper arm bone) must work together for long-term shoulder health.

As the humerus flexes, the scapula must protract forward. As the humerus extends, the scapula must retract. Thats where we find some exercises can ruin our shoulders. If the scapula cant move freely during a motion, but the humerus has to move for the exercise to be done, were inviting injury.

The fragility of the shoulder joint means we need to be cautious of several exercises in our training. In some cases, we should look for alternative moves entirely. In others, we just need to be cautious of frequency and form. Watch out for these moves.

This is my favorite exercise, but if done improperly, its an awful move for shoulder health. If youre pressing from a high, flared-elbow angle, the magnitude of force on the tendons and joint is tough on the shoulder. Thats why its critical to always focus on keeping the arms at a 45-degree angle relative to your torso. Additionally, be cautious of your shoulder blades. Especially when benching heavy, the weight can limit your shoulder blades ability to retract. That can hurt your shoulders over time.

This is widely considered one of the best moves for deltoid development, but its a move thats not typically worth the risk. Your shoulder slips into whats called internal rotation, and as the upper arm elevates, that causes stress on the rotator cuff and supporting ligaments. If you do this, limit your range of motion and dont pull all the way to your chin.

Behind-the-neck shoulder presses and lat pulldowns are popular from old-school bodybuiding, but theyre not worth the trouble. They place the shoulder in a high five (where your elbow is at a 90-degree angle and your upper arm is parallel to the ground, and thats a position we know promotes joint laxity. We want tighter shoulder joints, not looser ones.

Building battle-tested shoulders starts with enhancing the posterior deltoids. Face pulls are a great way to hammer home proper patterns while developing strength in the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder. This isnt a heavy-weight movement, so dont try to grunt and move the entire stack of weight, or the heaviest band in the gym. Focus on working with higher reps and building proper muscular awareness. How to: Grip the rope or resistance band with hands directly in front and palms facing the ground. In a controlled motion, pull the rope or band back towards your chin while pulling your hands away from one another. Hold the contracted position for a single second count. Slowly return the rope/band back to the starting position. That is one rep. Do 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps. Arnold Press This bodybuilding classic is a great way to work through overhead pressing in the presence of rotation at the arm. It's unlikely to expect completely linear motion with no change in direction through our everyday movements. This move hits the full spectrum of your delts. The key on this, though: Dont turn your palms fully forward at the top. Remember that 45-degree angle as you press. How to: From the seated position, hold one dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing in towards your body. As you press the weight upwards, rotate the hands 180 until the palms are at a 45-degree angle with your torso. Your elbows should be straight now. From the top position, rotate the weight and control is back down to the starting position. That is one rep. Do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. Neutral-Grip Cable Press We tend to neglect neutral grip when we press overhead. I will see lots of lifters using the close grip attachment in the weightroom for lat pulldowns but never pressing upwards in the opposite direction that way. The neutral grip allows the shoulder joint to stay in neutral position thatll limit muscular stress on the joints ligaments and tendons. How to: From the tall kneeling position, hold the cable at the top of your chest with your palms facing each other, core tight. Drive the cable just in front of the face and overhead. Once at the fully extended position, control the weight back down to the starting position at the top of the chest. That is one rep. Do 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps. Farmers Carry One of the best moves for shoulder health out there, you need farmers carries not just for strength but shoulder stability. Theyre going to help you train proper body positioning, and theyll challenge your shoulders as you manage a large overall weight. How to: Hold one weight in each hand and stand with a tall posture. Walk forward in a controlled motion maintaining the weights at your side in a stable position. Move with as natural a walking pattern as possible. Control the tall posture for the duration of the set. Do 3 30-second sets, using a heavy weight.

The Best Way To Build Shoulder Size and Strength

If you really want to pop out of your T-shirts and stand out on the beach this summer, you need more than arm workouts and chest training. You need to spend some time working your shoulders, because, truth be told, thats where upper body strength really starts.

Except newsflash: It doesnt need to be done only with a barbell. For most average guys and plenty of short guys, barbell deadlifting is natural. But if youre just struggling with deadlifting form in general, frequently lifting your butt up too early in the movement, there is another option.

That option is the hex bar, and its one of the most underrated tools in the gym. This hexagon-shaped piece of metal just may be what you need to fix your deadlift. Its been around for nearly 30 years, but over the last decade or so, its finally started growing in popularity.

Thats as it should be. Because if youre having trouble with deadlifts, the hex bar is the tool you need. Itll instantly put your body in position to execute cleaner deadlift mechanics. And if your goal is strength and muscle and youre not prepping for a powerlifting competition, then deadlifting with proper form is going to serve you in the long run more than deadlifting with the barbell. That, of course, is exactly why Im going to walk you through everything that makes the hex bar great for deadlifts (and a few other lifts too).

<h1> Hex Bars Offer Similar Load Distribution </h1>

As I said (and as you may know from your gym), the barbell deadlift is a holy grail exercise. People are protective of that traditional barbell and oftentimes resistant to changing over to the hex bar.

But look at it from the outside, and this doesnt make any sense. While hex bars come in many shapes and sizes, in general, theyre the same weight as traditional barbells, they set you up to lift from the same height, and they let you grip them with both hands. Theyre just shaped very differently from barbells. But they still have us doing a lift thats hip dominant (focused on our hips, glutes, and hamstrings. They check very similar boxes to the standard barbell deadlift.

At the same time, the hex bar is often more joint-friendly, and it also lets us really capture our full-body power, since were not fighting center of mass issues. What center of mass issues? Thats up next.

<h1> Center of Mass and Why It Matters </h1>

The deadlift is a heavily hip-dominant pattern when done right. The barbell weight is slightly in front of the body, and you have to extend the hips first to pull the weight off the ground, challenging your glutes, hamstrings, and, often, your lower back. The torque of the barbell deadlift results in high stress on the joint systems supporting the movement, especially the lower back.

This varies from person to person, based on such things as limb length and the weight youre moving. But whats true is that the hip extension pattern, which is one thing were really working to attack on a deadlift from a training standpoint, is altered because the weight is in front of you and is always, at least a little bit, pulling you forward. From Crossfitters to powerlifters to bodybuilders to athletes in general, the very best gym-goers learn to combat that, and that process has its strengths. Battling the barbell deadlift teaches you to activate your lat muscles to keep the bar close to you, and forces you to engage your hamstrings at the start of a deadlift rep.

But not everyone can do this, or should need to focus on it, and thats where the hex bar changes things up. The hex bar however keeps the weight directly with your center of mass because it lets you step into it. Those few inches matter. Now, the mechanics do not have to accommodate weight being leveraged at an angle away from the body.

Your spinal position will instantly improve. Gravity is now pushing the weight directly down to the floor. Now, you have less to think about when you deadlift. Instead of thinking about how youll keep the bar close to your body, you get to think almost solely about standing up and squeezing your glutes (although youll want to think about squeezing your lats too). Its a smoother movement overall from a joint mechanical perspective.

Why do you deadlift? The answer: To attack your glutes and hamstrings. Those are the critical muscles youre trying to hit, and you hit them by standing up with a barbell or dumbbells. The key thing on a deadlift is to make sure that when you begin the stand-up process, youre hips are lower than your shoulders (or, in the case of very tall people, at the same height as your shoulders).

This insures that the physics of the move are correct, and that the prime lever point in the deadlift is at the hips. If your hips wind up higher than your shoulders, then the point of leverage often winds up in the lower back. Your lower back isnt meant to deal with such strain, especially if youre lifting heavy. But when youre operating with a barbell, if you dont lock your lats, it often becomes easier to move the prime point of leverage so its directly over the bar. If your technique isnt perfect, you wind up using your lower back, and taking focus off your glutes and hamstrings.

This is a less frequent problem with the hex bar, and cleaner technique, especially when its done with heavy weight, is going to lead to stronger glutes and hamstrings. You lose nothing with the hex bar, yet you gain control.

Most people will discount the hex bar because of the high handle option. What is this? Most hex bars offer two handle positions, one thats a traditional barbell height and one thats a few inches higher. Using these higher handles allows for a few extra inches of freedom, meaning that, technically, you get to start the lift from a slightly higher position. That means more freedom to start the lift with your hips and knees and minimize lower-back stress.

It also means youre moving the weight over less distance overall, which is the knock on the high handles. But dont let that scare you. One 2017 study analyzed the high handle hex bar deadlift and compared it to the traditional barbell deadlift. That research found that there was higher peak force, peak velocity, and peak power with the high handle hex bar deadlift than with the traditional deadlift.

So sure, youre technically moving the weight over a little less distance. But when youre moving the weight, youre doing so more explosively, perhaps because your bodys in a better position to do so. From a performance and mechanics standpoint, the high handle looks like the best option.

Oh, and you dont have to use the high handles to get benefit from the hex bar either. A 2011 study found that people lifted more weight from the low handle hex bar than they did from a traditional barbell deadlift.

(Whats more important than the height of the handles is the weight youre using. Always use Olympic-sized weights, so youre always lifting from the same height. Throwing a pair of 5-pound plates onto the hex bar changes the movement pattern to set you up from lifting lower, but your body may not be comfortable doing that.

Youd be surprised what a small turn of the hands can do. The hex bar lets you grab it with a neutral grip, your palms facing your torso. Traditional barbell deadlifts force you into either an overhand grip, or a mixed grip (one hand overhand, one hand underhand). The latter grip produces slight twisting force on the torso. The former can be challenging to hold at higher weights and has its own issues. Both those barbell grips have unintended effects on the humerus, your upper arm bone.

The neutral grip allows a more comfortable braced position through the scapulohumeral region (your upper arm and shoulder area), and this very quietly reduces some stress on your mid and upper back. You dont need to brace quite as hard with your body (even though youll still get plenty of work here).

The body is one long, interconnected chain of muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments. Any added stress to one area translates stress to neighboring regions. This can affect the weight we lift and the way we lift.

That grip translates best to everyday life. Watch how you carry your suitcase. Whenever possible, we very naturally lift and carry items at our sides. This is a small detail, but it helps to get to use this small detail in our lifts. Were rarely carrying things at our shins, as we do in the barbell deadlift.

Doubling down on grip and weight position, we always lift and carry items from our sides. It may seem like a small detail but lifting, carrying, pressing in the patterns we will use can immediately make an impact in our everyday lives. When we pick up luggage, groceries, or your gym bag from the ground, it's usually at your sides and rarely from the front of your shins. Hammer home the mechanics we will see the most in our everyday lives.

<h1> Executing the Hex Bar Deadlift </h1>

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw-l7m0gc_z/" id="c0e3bf5e-5cd6-3f11-ad74-08d52f214f06"> View this post on Instagram </a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw-l7m0gc_z/" id="1b7d12e8-2a09-357a-a018-dd0123de0387"> A post shared by David Otey, CSCS PN1 (@davidscottpt) </a> on May 2, 2019 at 4:09pm PDT

The hex bar deadlift is simple to do. Your game plan: Load the bar with the desired weight, then step inside of it, aiming to line your shins up with the weights. Grab the hex bar handles, whether high or low in their center. Brace your core, and think about sitting down slightly to engage your hamstrings. Try to turn your elbow pits forward to turn on your lats. Squeeze the handles.

Now, stand up, focusing on lifting with your legs. Squeeze your glutes at the top (dont overarch your back). Lower the hex bar to the ground with control. Thats 1 rep. Not sure where to start? Aim to do 3 sets of 8 to 10 to get a feel for it. As you get comfortable, you can drop the reps and focus more intensely on power; think 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps.

<h1> The Versatility of the Hex Bar </h1>

The hex bar isnt just an option for deadlifting. It also translates well to pushing, pulling, and loaded carry options, with those neutral-grip handles aiding each lift. Experiment with these hex-bar exercises in your workouts.

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByFtzWBgPjT/" id="462ff956-75d4-3266-a9c3-7c4849b9d085"> View this post on Instagram </a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByFtzWBgPjT/" id="9b17620e-f7b1-355f-aedb-b8b1ce817457"> A post shared by David Otey, CSCS PN1 (@davidscottpt) </a> on May 30, 2019 at 7:02am PDT

From a pulling perspective, the width of the hex bar is ideal for most lifters. We tend to get stuck in a rut of doing neutral grip pulls from a more narrow grip because of the common attachments by the cable machines. The wider grip will mirror the standard pressing width so you stay in a more advantageous glenohumeral position and really test the lats and back muscles to the max. This will mirror the position you might take with a dumbbell row to some extent, although you get to attack the load with both arms instead of one. Think 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. And if you want some dumbbell row wisdom, check out the video below.

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BzOwed4gVsk/" id="b18f2333-ba67-315b-a658-33b8ccba9298"> View this post on Instagram </a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BzOwed4gVsk/" id="e19300eb-3ab9-33a6-a4ad-921a0941d82f"> A post shared by David Otey, CSCS PN1 (@davidscottpt) </a> on Jun 27, 2019 at 3:58pm PDT

This ones fun. Youve likely done dumbbell floor presses before to work on bench pressing technique. Floor pressing with the neutral group of the hex bar is overlooked but very useful. The fact youre using a neutral grip and the elbows wind up closer to the body creates a nice safe shoulder position. Think 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps.

Loaded carries are a great option in any strength and conditioning piece. Theyre often done with dumbbells or kettlebells. The hex bar allows you to hold one unified piece, and that eventually means you can pack more weight onto the bar for serious loaded carries. Aim to walk 10 to 20 meters for 3 sets.

Struggling With Deadlift Form? Try The Hex Bar.

The deadlift is one of the gold standard lifts in the gym. Its pretty simple, really: You load a barbell up with weight, grab it with a shoulder-width grip, plant your feet on the floor and lift.

Struggling With Your Deadlift? Let the Hex Bar Help.

Its called the leg extension machine, and depending on who you ask, its either an exercise that you should avoid altogether, or its a fundamental move you should do in every leg workout. The machines in just about every corner of fitness you can think of, from high school weight rooms to physical therapy clinics to big-box gyms - and very often, it has a line of people waiting to use it, too.

And why not, right? After all the movement is simple enough. You sit in the seat, let your calves loop around the leg roller, and straighten your knees, flexing your quads. It burns when you do it, and the burn is always good, right?

Well, sort of. Truth be told, the leg extension has a purpose, but that purpose isnt for everyone. Depending on your goals, youll want to hammer the leg extension a few times a week, or sit it out entirely. Lets break down the how and why.

The leg extension is an exercise designed to focus almost exclusively on your quads. Plenty of guys want big quads, which is why this machine gets major traffic. And your quadriceps, a blend of four muscles (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, and vastus medialis) are responsible for leg extension, the straightening of the knee. The vastus muscles originate at the femur, where the rectus femoris is attached at the hip; the rectus femoris is also responsible for hip extension.

The leg extension offers an exercise that relies on torque to move a weight. While the quads are extending the knee, the weight is resting just on top of the ankle joint. In the same way that a lighter weight will crush your deltoids during a lateral raise because of how far the weight is from the muscle thats moving it, the placement of the load, near your ankles, pushes your quads, which are straightening the knee, to work.

Unlike most of the leg exercises on today's fitness landscape, the leg extension isn't considered "functional." Instead, it's an isolation move that has its roots well before CrossFit, and these days, it's often criticized.

If youve ever been in a big-box gym before, youve seen plenty of guys doing classic leg exercises like squats and lunges and deadlifts. But theres a good chance youve also seen a host of leg-training machines, one of which seems simple enough.

David Otey, C.S.C.S.

Articles written by the author

Challenge Your Whole Body With This At-Home Resistance Band Workout

Build Massive Triceps With This 4-Move Workout

Give Your Bench Press a Major Boost With These Exercises

Your Ultimate Guide to Power Training

Build Tree-Trunk Legs With This Two-Week Program

These Training Tweaks Will Keep Your Knees Healthy

The Best Way To Build Shoulder Size and Strength

Struggling With Your Deadlift? Let the Hex Bar Help.

Your Definitive Guide to Leg Extensions

The 12 Essential Moves to Build Hamstring Muscle

Pack on Muscle and Burn Fat With Sled Training

Which Carry Will Build Muscle Where You Want It?

Build Major Back Strength And Protect Your Shoulders With Barbell Rows

Get Bigger and Stronger Faster With Cluster Sets

These 12 Exercises Will Help You Blast Belly Fat