Inverted Rows are a variation of Barbell Rows that remove the above problems. They’re also one of the few strength training exercises that justify the existence of Smith Machines. Here’s how to do Inverted Rows.

Benefits of Inverted Rows. Inverted Rows – also known as Horizontal Pull-ups or Fatman Pull-ups – are an upper-body exercise. Benefits:

• Back Strength. Inverted Rows work your upper-back, lats & traps. They also work your biceps muscles and several small muscles in your back.
• Barbell Row Substitute. If your lower back keeps rounding, you can do Inverse Rows while improving hip mobility using dynamic stretches.
• Improved Posture. Slouching shoulders are often linked with flaring shoulder-blades. Inverted Rows can help realign your shoulder-blades.

How to Do Inverted Rows. Lie back on the floor inside your Squat Rack with the bar at arms length. Pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar.

• Pronated Grip. Same grip as for Pull-ups: palms facing away from your body. Grip the bar slightly narrower than on the Bench Press.
• Elbows Tucked. Not parallel to your torso. Keep your elbows close to your body, about 45° angle at your armpits.
• Lead with Your Chest. Not with your stomach or head. Keep your chin tucked, chest forward and shoulder-blades back & down.
• Touch Your Lower Chest. Same place the bar touches your chest on the Bench Press: your xyphoid process.
• Squeeze Your Shoulder-blades. Lead with your chest, keep your shoulder-blades back & down, tighten your upper-back at the top.
• Stay Tight. Straight line from shoulders to ankles. Keep your lower back & abs tight from start to finish.

Here’s a video of Joe DeFranco doing Feet Elevated Inverted Rows.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Inverted Rows Variations. Put your feet on the floor if you struggle with Feet Elevated Inverted Rows. Switch to bent knees if these are still hard.

• Bent Knees Inverted Rows. Knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Use your upper-body muscles as much as you can on the way up.
• Inverted Rows. Knees extended, feet on the floor. Elevate your feet on a box once these get easy.
• Feet Elevated Inverted Rows. Moves the center of gravity towards the bar, increasing difficulty. Body parallel with the floor at the bottom.
• Weighted Inverted Rows. Wear a rucksack filled with plates or Xvest or wrap chains around your body while doing Inverted Rows.
• Ring Inverted Rows. Harder to stabilize. Touch the Rings or Blast Straps handles with your chest on each rep. Feet elevated or on the floor.

Common Inverted Rows Mistakes. Make sure your arms are fully extended at the start of each rep and squeeze your shoulder-blades at the top.

• Elbows out. Increases the torque on your shoulder joint. Keep your elbows tucked: 45° angle to your body.
• Leading with Your Head. Increases risks of neck injuries. Lead with your chest while keeping your chin tucked.
• Letting Your Torso Sack. Bad for your lower back. Keep a straight line from ankles to shoulders. Strengthen your core with Prone Bridges.
• Not Touching the Bar. You lack strength. Switch to an easier version of the Inverted Row while you get stronger.
• Slouching Your Shoulders. Increases risks of shoulder injuries. Keep your shoulders back, shoulder-blades back & down, chest up.

If you’re a loyal reader, you’ve noticed I’ve given you a substitute for Squats, one for Deadlifts, and now one for Barbell Rows. Subscribe to see where I’m going with this (and get a free eBook).

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

The Problem with Sit-ups. First they’re no fun. Everybody hates sit-ups. Next most of you shouldn’t do sit-ups, especially if you have bad posture.

• Shorten Hip Flexors. Excessive sitting shortens your hip flexors. Sit-ups aggravate the problem. They work your hip flexors more than your abs.
• Slouching Shoulders. Good posture is chest up, shoulder-blades back & down. You get the opposite with sit-ups: round back, head forward.
• Back Pain. Common way to cheat on sit-ups is arching your lower back. Guaranteed way to get back pain in the long term.

The Reverse Crunch. The opposite movement of a Sit-up is a Reverse Crunch. It doesn’t cause the same problems. Better it can fix your posture.

• Strengthen Your Abs. More specifically your external obliques. If you never did Reverse Crunches, you’ll get sore abs the first time.
• Correct Lordosis. The Reverse Crunch teaches you to tilt your pelvis posteriorly and strengthens your abs. This corrects lordosis.
• Prevent Kyphosis. You don’t get any depression of your ribcage like on sit-ups. This prevents upper-back rounding: kyphosis.

Reverse Crunch Video. Pay attention to the technique. Upper-thighs don’t go back further than perpendicular to the floor. Lower back goes against the floor at the start of each rep. Movement comes from the abs.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Reverse Crunch Technique. Lie back on the floor. Flex your knees. Raise your knees against your head by crunching your abs. Come back. Use a dumbbell or medicine ball as counter weight.

• Tilt Your Pelvis Back. Push your lower back against the floor on each rep. You shouldn’t be able to put your hands under your back.
• Keep Your Feet Down. Don’t let them come up during the movement. Keep your knees flexed, close to your glutes.
• Keep Your Head Down. Knees move towards your head, head doesn’t move towards your knees. Keep your head on the floor.
• Work Your Abs. Avoid working your hip flexors. Don’t let your legs come past perpendicular to the floor on the way down.

Common Mistakes. Lack of strength can make your body compensate when doing Reverse Crunches. Some things that can go wrong:

• Arching Your Lower Back. Bad for your spine. Posteriorly tilt your pelvis at the start of each rep. Push your lower back against the floor.
• Extending Your Knees. Makes the movement easier. Put something between your legs, like a foam roller, so you can’t cheat.
• Coming Down too Far. Involves your hip flexors. Don’t let your thighs come down further than perpendicular to the floor.
• Moving Your Head up. Causes forward head posture and is cheating. Keep your head on the floor. Move your knees toward your head.

Reverse Crunch Progressions. More strength is more muscle. Your abs must get stronger if you want them to be more muscular. Keep the Reverse Crunch challenging.

• Decrease The Weight. Hold to a 45lbs/20kg dumbbell or heavy medicine ball. Lower the weight as your abs get stronger.
• Remove The Weight. Reverse crunches without counter weight. Keep your hands behind your head and crunch your abs.
• Switch to Dragon Flags. Keep your hips & knees straight and Crunch your abs. Check Dragon Door’s how to.

You can add the Reverse Crunch to StrongLifts 5×5. Do 3×10 at the end of each workout. But remember it’s an accessory exercise. Squat & Deadlift for overall muscle mass. Then lose the fat to get the 6 pack.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

Push-ups look easy but like any other exercise they have their technique. Bad Push-up technique is common, and unfortunately it can cause shoulders and/or lower back injuries. Here’s how to perform Push-ups correctly.

Benefits of Push-ups. Push-ups are a closed kinetic chain exercise. Unlike the Bench Press, your hands are fixed while your body moves through space.

• Build Muscle. Just like Pull-ups & Dips, Push-ups force you to lift your own body-weight. Push-ups work your chest, shoulders, triceps & core.
• Shoulder Health. Push-ups improve shoulder health by strengthening your serratus anterior. They also teach you to Bench Press correctly.
• Versatile. You can do Push-ups anywhere, anytime. Harder Push-up variations keep things challenging for constant progress (more below).

Push-up Technique. Assume the Push-up starting position with your elbows locked. Lower yourself by bending your elbows until your chest almost touches the floor. Come back up by pushing through the floor.

• Hand Position. Don’t take your hands out to wide. Put your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width. Hands turned out 45°.
• Tuck Your Elbows. Easier on your shoulders. Keep your elbows at a 45° angle to your body during Push-ups.
• Push Your Abs Out. Straight line from shoulders to ankles. Push your abs out as if someone was going to punch you in the stomach.
• Squeeze Your Glutes. Push your abs out while squeezing your glutes hard. Both will avoid any hyper-extension of your lower back.
• Tuck Your Chin. Lead with your chest, not with your head. Your neck must stay inline with the rest of your spine. Don’t look forward.

Push-up Video. Here’s a video of Push-ups using a light resistance band. Pay attention to the technique: straight line from ankles to shoulders, chest goes to the floor, elbows tucked. Video by Tony Gentilcore.

Click here to view the embedded video.

How to Increase Your Push-up Strength. If you lack the strength to do 1 Push-up or if you struggle to do Push-ups with correct technique, start this way.

• Push-ups Holds. Hold the Push-up starting position for time. Straight line from shoulders to ankles. These strengthen your core. Aim for at least 1mins. Switch to Prone Bridges for a bigger challenge.
• Kneeling Push-ups. Perform Push-ups with both knees on the floor. Push yourself up using your chest, shoulders & triceps muscles. Do not push yourself up using hip or back extension.

Push-up Variations. Unless you’re looking for strength-endurance, you’ll need to add some kind of resistance to keep Push-ups challenging. Some ideas:

• Close Grip Push-ups. Shift the emphasis to your triceps. Perform Push-up with your hands slight narrower than shoulder-width.
• Iso Push-ups. Improve shoulder health & posture. Hold the bottom position for time. Hands elevated for a greater stretch. Example.
• Blast Straps/Ring Push-ups. Harder to stabilize, improve core strength and improve bottom Push-up (and Bench Press) strength by increasing the stretch. Use Blast Straps or Rings.
• Resistance Bands. Add a mini or light resistance band like in the video above. I have Jump Stretch flexbands. Iron Woody works too.
• Chain Push-ups. Another way to add external resistance. Perform Push-ups with chains wrapped around your body. Example.
• Rucksack. Wear a rucksack filled with plates high on your back (not on your neck!). Add weight as you get stronger.
• Xvest Push-ups. Much more expensive than a rucksack or chains, but also more convenient. Perform Push-ups wearing an Xvest.
• Incline Push-ups. Shifts the emphasis to your shoulders. Do Push-ups with your feet elevated. Check the picture at the top.
• 1 Hand and/or 1 Feet Push-ups. Pavel Tsatsouline wrote a whole book about these Push-up variations in the Naked Warrior.
• Explosive Push-ups. Build power. Lower yourself in a controlled way. Hold at the bottom for a split second. Push yourself up as hard as you can, trying to elevate yourself from the floor.
• Depth Push-ups. Plyometric exercise. Hands on 4″ blocks. Let yourself fall between the blocks. Push yourself back up on the blocks. The floor is “red hot”: think of bouncing back on the blocks before you hit the floor.
• Handclap Push-ups. Also build explosive strength. Clap your hands on the way up. Check Ross Enamait video of triple handclaps push-ups.

Common Push-up Errors. Here are some of the most common Push-up errors you’ll see. Avoid them at all costs.

• Looking Forward. Hyper-extending your neck can cause neck injuries. Keep your neck inline with the rest of your spine from start to finish.
• Leading with Your Head. Forward head position from computer work is common. Leading with your head during Push-ups aggravates the problems. Both increase risks of neck injuries. Tuck your chin and lead with your chest.
• Letting Your Torso Sack. Often caused by a weak core. Your body must be in a straight line from ankles to shoulders. Push your abs out and squeeze your glutes. Strengthen your core with Prone Bridges.
• Elbows Out. Increases the torque on your shoulder joint. Avoid on Push-ups & Bench Press. Tuck your elbows: 45° angle to your body.

If you’re doing StrongLifts 5×5 and lack the equipment to do Dips or if Dips hurt your shoulders, replace them by Push-ups for 3xF. Add a mini resistance band once you can do 15 Push-ups with good technique on your 1st set.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

Power comes from the hips: your posterior chain. It consists of your lower back, hamstrings, calves & glutes. A strong posterior chain is important for Deadlifts, Squats, Power Cleans, jumps, sprints, …

Excessive sitting shortens your hip flexors. This stretches the opposite muscles: your glutes. They become dormant. You can’t fire your glutes properly anymore. The solution is glute activation exercises. Here’s how.

Benefits of Glute Activation Exercises. Dormant glutes force your lower back & hamstrings to compensate. This is less effective & increases risks of injury.

• More Strength. You can lift more weight, sprint faster and jump higher when using all the muscles of your posterior chain, including your glutes.
• Less Injuries. Lower back pain, hip flexor pain, knee pain, strained hamstrings, … Glute activation minimizes risks of injury.
• Better Posture. Tight hip flexors pull your pelvis forward: lordosis. Glute activation & hip mobility exercises are the solution to anterior pelvic tilt.

Do You Need Glute Activation? Do 20 reps supine bridges. You need glute activation if your hamstrings feel more tight than your glutes. I recommend doing glute activation exercises even if you pass this test.

Exercise Guidelines. 1 set of 10 reps per exercise. Add sets if necessary. Do glute activation pre-workout so you can fire your glutes better on weight lifting exercises. You can also do them on non-training days for faster improvements.

• Start with Hip Mobility. Dormant glutes are linked to tight hip flexors. Do hip mobility exercises before doing glute activation exercises.
• Squeeze Your Glutes. As hard as you can. You can squeeze your glutes best at lockout: when your hip joints approach neutral alignment.
• Focus on Quality. Avoid compensating with your hamstrings or lower back. Squeezing your glutes matters, not the amount of reps.

1. Supine Bridges. Back & heels on the floor. Knees bent at 90°. Curl your toes up. Lift your hips by squeezing your glutes until your body is straight from knees to shoulders. Hold for 5 seconds, come back down, repeat.

• Don’t Use Your Lower Back. Push your lower back against the floor by tilting your pelvis back. Get off the floor by squeezing your glutes hard.
• Don’t Use Your Hamstrings. Cramps in your hamstrings means you’re not using your glutes. Squeeze your glutes as hard as you can.
• Quality not Quantity. Put your legs on the floor if you can’t do supine bridges correctly. Squeeze your buttocks, hold for 5 seconds, repeat.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stay tall at all time. Keep your spine neutral, don’t arch your lower back. Picture below is perfect technique. If you have a desk job, this is the best exercise you can do through the day to avoid tight hip flexors/dormant glutes from sitting.

Standing Hip Flexor Stretch. Image: TheSanDiegoBootCam

3. Mule Kicks. Bend over on a bench. Face down & hands on the floor. Kick 1 leg back & up by extending your hip and squeezing your glute. Hold the contraction for 5 seconds and come back. Repeat for 10 reps, switch legs.

• Don’t Use Your Lower Back. Keep your spine neutral. Brace your abs hard as if someone would punch you in the stomach.
• Don’t Use Your Hamstrings. Squeeze your glutes hard while extending your hips. You can bend your knee.
• Quality not Quantity. The goal is not get as high as possible, the goal is to squeeze your glute as hard as you can. Lead with your glute.

Mule Kicks. Image: PTontheNET.com

4. Clams. Lie on your side. Knees bent & together. Feet aligned with your back. Lift your knee by squeezing your glute. Don’t rotate your hips & don’t try to go high. The movement comes from your glutes. 10 reps, switch leg.

Click here to view the embedded video.

5. Birddogs. Get on all 4s. Arms & thighs perpendicular to the floor. Brace your abs as if someone is going to punch you in the stomach. Extend your hip while extending your opposite arm.

• Keep Your Spine Neutral. Don’t hyper-extend or arch your lower back. Brace your abs. Put a water bottle on your lower back for feedback.
• Quality not Quantity. If you can’t do them correctly, keep both arms on the floor. If that’s still too hard, go back to mule kicks.

Click here to view the embedded video.

6. Fire Hydrants. Get on all 4s. Arms & thighs perpendicular to the floor. Lift 1 leg to the side by contracting your glute. Press your heel back by extending your leg. Come back. Repeat. This is a mix of birddogs & clams.

• Keep Your Spine Neutral. Don’t hyper-extend/arch/rotate your lower back. Keep your abs braced.
• Don’t Use Your Hamstrings. Cramps in your hamstrings means you’re not using your glutes. Squeeze your glutes as hard as you can.
• Quality not Quantity. The goal is not to go fast or doing a lot of reps. The goal is squeezing your glutes. Hold each position.

Click here to view the embedded video.

7. Kneeling Squats. Teach you to use your glutes on Squats & Deadlifts. Kneel with your hips resting on your heels. Use knee padding. Brace your abs and keep your spine neutral. Rise by extending your hips & squeezing your glutes.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More Glute Activation Exercises. Squeeze your glutes several times per day. Stand up, squeeze your glutes hard while pushing your hips forward. Squeeze your glute when walking stairs. The more you do this, the easier it becomes.

There are many more glute activation exercises you can do: band versions, band walks, cook hip lifts, etc. Master the basics before trying the glute activation exercises described here:

• Core Training and Glute Activation by Michael Boyle.
• Hamstring Dominance by Brijesh Patel.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

It’s freezing outside, it’s freezing when you exercise. Your home gym isn’t isolated. Your gym manager doesn’t heat the gym. But that doesn’t stop you. You decided to stop making excuses not to exercise because it’s too cold.

Here’s how to exercise in cold weather. This guide is aimed at strength training & weight lifting, but you can use the tips for other sports too.

Be Confident. Cold weather is easier than hot weather: no headaches from the heat, no sweating. The first 5 mins are the hardest. Once warmed up, you won’t feel the cold anymore. Remember this.

Warm Clothes. Wearing a sweater adds inches to the bar, making it harder on exercises like Front Squats to put the bar correctly. I remove my sweater during worksets, and put it back on between sets.

Try also a woollen hat to avoid sinus & ear infections from the cold weather.

Warm-up Routine. You can’t injure a warmed up muscle as easily as a cold one. Warm-up sets are a start, but you can do more than that and the 5 min cardio. Some ideas:

• Dynamic Stretches. Leg swings & side leg swings, body-weight Squats, body-weight lunges, lateral lunges, shoulder dislocations, etc
• Barbell Complexes. Empty barbell. 3x Hang Power Clean, 3x Front Squat, 3x Push Press, 3x Overhead Squat. Repeat for 3 to 5 sets.
• Body-weight Exercises. Jumping Jacks or better, Burpees.

Remember: the goal is to raise your body temperature, while warming up joints & muscles. Don’t get yourself tired.

Rest Less Between Sets. Load the bar & do your next set. This quickly gets you warmed up. If your workset is 5×5 100kg on the Squat, do this without resting:

• 2×5 20kg
• 5×40kg
• 3×60kg
• 2×80kg

Then move to 5×5 100kg taking 1 min rest between sets. If you struggle to get all reps, take 2-3 min rest & walk between sets to keep warm.

Hand Care. Gloves don’t work for weight lifting: they add inches to the bar, making it impossible to grip the bar correctly.

• Warm-up Your Hands. Rub your hands between sets, clap them. Your body temperature will warm-up the cold bar.
• Hand Cream. Cold weather makes your skin dry. Dry skin gets chapped, irritated & red. Use hand cream before going to bed.

Don’t Rationalize. Never rationalize that it’s too cold, that you’re going to get sick or whatever excuse you can find. Make a decision & stick to it.

• Set a time to exercise
• Eat one hour before exercising
• Dress for the gym directly after eating
• Prepare your gym bag
• Review your training journal: last workout, today’s workout
• When it’s time to exercise: get up & go to the gym

Just do it.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

“I’ve been doing strength training for a few months now but nothing serious. I work on isolated muscle groups like chest & back on one day, biceps & triceps the second day and shoulders & legs the third day.

I’m interested in trying out your Beginner Strength Training Program but the hitch is I’ve never done any of the exercises you mention except the Bench Press.

I’m kinda concerned that I would end up injuring myself. I’m currently enrolled in a gym that has physical trainers. I could probably ask them but not sure if I need to be in some sort of a program for that.

I found a video on your site for the Deadlift but not for the others. How do I make sure that I’m doing the exercises right?”

Why Exercise Videos Don’t Work. The reason StrongLifts.com hasn’t more videos, is that I feel beginners won’t learn exercise technique by watching videos. Some examples of things you won’t see on a video:

• Pushing from the heels
• Squeezing your glutes
• Bringing hips forward vs. pulling back
• Gripping the bar correctly

If I tell you to do 5 sets of Front Squats, but you never heard of this lift before, then a video of Front Squats will be useful. In other cases it’s not.

How You Can Learn Exercise Technique. Proper exercise technique is absolute priority for beginners. Proper exercise technique will minimize risks of injury. Here’s how you can learn it:

• Videos with Speech. Crossfit has several of these.
• Read. StrongLifts.com has tons of articles about exercise technique. Print articles, take them with you at the gym.
• Starting Strength. Best book on barbell technique you’ll find.
• Coaching. If the physical trainer can explain you the lifts, great. If not: find someone experienced with barbell exercises.
• Practice. You can read a lot, you can be told a lot, but eventually you’ll need to practice. The more the better.

I’m self taught. Never had a coach. Reading & practice did it for me. Once you have a basic understanding of the lifts, you can start taping yourself to see what you’re doing wrong.

Injuries. Lifting weights is easily associated with dangerous & unsafe. I was always less injured than my friends playing soccer & tennis. Statistics show the same thing, weightlifting is one of the safest sports.

Choose a sport, any sport, if you do it a lot, you’ll get injured at one time or another. There’s no point in fearing injuries. I injured myself a lot & will continue to injure myself in the future. Every injury is a lesson learned.

Read a lot, start with an empty barbell, increase the weight gradually, ask questions, practice. Practice a lot.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

Squat. Any strength training program must include the Squat. Squats work your legs in the first place, but also the rest of your body. Squats are key to getting stronger, building muscle & losing fat. Squat variations:

• Back Squat. Bar low on your back. Bend through your knees until your hips come lower than your knees. Come back up. Back Squats work your whole legs, but especially your glutes & hamstrings.
• Olympic Squat. Bar high on your traps. Torso is more upright which allows more depth. Olympic Squats work your legs more evenly than Back Squats, but don’t let you lift as much weight.
• Front Squat. Bar on your front shoulders. Torso is more upright, less forward lean. Switch to Front Squats if you have lower back issues.
• Overhead Squat. Squats holding the bar overhead. Great exercise for shoulder health & strong abdominal muscles.

Front Squat. Image credit: Mike’s Gym

• Conventional Deadlift. Pull the bar from the floor until mid-thigh level. Use a shoulder-width stance for Conventional Deadlifts.
• Sumo Deadlift. Using a sumo stance: feet outside the grip. The sumo style works your legs more & your back less than the conventional style.
• Stiff-legged Deadlift. Knees unlocked, straight legs & high hips. Harder than Deadlifts: you’re not using knee extension to get the weight up.
• Romanian Deadlift. Work your hips hard. Start from the top: bend at the hips until the bar is at mid-shin level & come back up. Video.

Press. Presses work your shoulders, chest & triceps muscles. Emphasis on each muscle depends on the Press variation you do.

• Overhead Press. Push a weight from your shoulders overhead until your elbows are locked. The Overhead Press works your shoulders, triceps & trunk. Correct name of this exercise is Press.
• Bench Press. Press a weight from your chest until elbows locked while lying with your back on a Bench. Bench Press works your chest, triceps & shoulders and allows more weight than the Overhead Press.
• Push Press. Overhead Press using leg drive. Dip with your legs, then explosively extend your hips while pushing the weight overhead.
• Close Grip Bench Press. Bench Press using a shoulder-width grip. Works your triceps more, but your chest less.
• Military Press. Overhead Press done heels together. Harder than the Overhead Press, meaning less weight.
• Floor Bench Press. Lie back on the floor. Lower the weight until your triceps hit the floor & come back up.

Rows. Work your back & biceps muscles. Bend over at the hips, pull the barbell from the floor against your chest. Variations:

• Barbell Rows. Pull the barbell from the floor against your chest using hip extension. Barbell Rows start with the bar on the floor on each rep.
• Pendlay Rows. Arch your upper-back while pulling the bar against your chest. Pendlay Rows work your lats & erectors more than Barbell Rows.

Windmills. Image credit: Crossfit LA

• Turkish Get-up. Lie back on the floor while holding a weight overhead. Get up while keeping your arm extended & overhead. Video of the lift.
• Windmills. Keep a weight in one hand overhead while bending at the hips. Switch side. Here’s a video of this exercise.
• Waiter Walks. Walk around while holding a weight overhead. The weight can be a dumbbell or barbel. One handed or two handed.

Check out this thread on Sherdog.net for more core exercises.

Olympic Lifts. Olympic lifts build power: the ability to accelerate from a dead stop. Olympic exercises:

• Power Cleans. Clean the barbell from the floor on your front shoulders. The Power Clean works your hips, back & traps.
• Squat Cleans. Dip under the weight while cleaning the barbell from the floor on your shoulders. You can lift more weight using Squat Cleans.
• Snatch. Clean the barbell from the floor above your head, in the Overhead Squat position. More powerful than Power Cleans.
• Jerk. Dip under the weight while pressing the bar from your shoulders above your head. Jerks are the power version of the Overhead Press.

Body-Weight Exercises. You won’t need barbells or dumbbells to do the following exercises.

• Push-ups. Lie on the floor with your stomach. Push yourself up using your arms until they’re locked. Push-ups work your arms & chest.
• Dips. Superior to push-ups. You have to balance yourself more because your feet are unsupported. Dips work your chest & triceps.
• Pull-ups. Hang on a pull-up bar with straight arms. Pull yourself up until your chin passes the bar. Pull-ups work back & biceps.
• Chin-ups. Same as pull-ups but with your palms facing you. Chin-ups work your biceps more than Pull-ups.
• Squats. Hands behind your head, bend through your knees until hips come lower than knees. Come back up. You can also do one leg squats.

Exercise Routines.The stronger you become, the more muscles you’ll have. The more muscles you have, the more calories you’ll burn. You want to build muscle & lose fat: get into strength training.

• StrongLifts 5×5. Beginner Strength Training Program based on weight lifting exercises. You’ll start light, focus on exercise technique during the first weeks & add weight progressively. Click here to download your 52 pages free StrongLifts 5×5 eBook.
• StrongLifts Dumbbell 5×5. Same approach as StrongLifts 5×5, but with dumbbells. Try StrongLifts Dumbbell 5×5, if you don’t have barbells.
• SimpleFit. Has a routine based on body-weight exercises like Squats, Pull-ups & Push-ups. Click here for the strength training program.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

Dips are better than Push-ups. Your whole body is moving & you can do them weighted more easily. Like Pull-ups & Chin-ups, Dips force you to lift your own body-weight. Stressing your upper-body & thus building muscle.

All strength training exercises have a technique to master. Dips are no different. Here’s how to perform Dips with proper technique.

What are Dips? Raise yourself on 2 supports with elbows locked. Lower your body until your shoulders are lower than your elbows. Push yourself up by straightening your arms. Variations for Dips:

• Parallel Bar Dips. Parallel bars that are 55cm/22″ apart. My Squat Rack has 2 removable parallel bars I use for Dips.
• Rings Dips. Dips using rings are harder than parallel bar Dips: you need to stabilize yourself more.
• Chair Dips. Put 2 chairs back to back & dip in between. Make sure the chairs are stable enough so you don’t fall.
• Bench Dips. Feet elevated, hands on a bench. Avoid. The torso position is unhealthy for your shoulders, especially when you do them weighted.

Benefits of Dips. Push-ups have your feet planted. Dips move your whole body through space. Dips are harder and thus superior to Push-ups because you have to balance your body. Other benefits of Dips:

• Build Strength. Dips build lockout strength: straightening your elbows. This helps the Bench Press & the Overhead Press.
• Build Muscle. Dips will develop your triceps & chest muscles.
• Rehab. Try Dips if you can’t do the Bench Press because of a shoulder injury. Dips work similar muscles, do them if your shoulders can take it.

What If You Can’t Do 1 Rep? Stay away from Dip Machines. The strength you build on machines doesn’t transfer. Dips are harder: you have to balance yourself. If you can’t do 1 rep, try one of these:

• Ask for Help. Ask someone to help you on the way up by grabbing your side with his hands and squatting up & down.
• Partials. Get on the 2 supports with locked elbows. Unlock your elbows, lower yourself slightly & push back up. Gradually increase the range of motion as you get stronger until you can break parallel.

Weighted Dips. Switch to Weighted Dips once you can do 10-15 reps with proper technique to keep the exercise challenging.

• Dumbbell Between Legs. Hold a dumbbell between your feet while doing Dips. Doesn’t work well with weights above 10-15kg.
• Rucksack. Wear a rucksack & put plates in it. Make sure you use a strong rucksack so it doesn’t break.
• Belt + Chain. Wear a belt. Attach plates to a chain and to your belt. I recommend this method for Weighted Dips.

Weighted Parallel Bar Dips. Image credit: Beast Skills.

Dip Technique. You might not be able to lean forward & go as deep as James on the picture above. If your shoulders or sternum hurts, stay more upright with your chest up. But always apply the following rules on Dips.

• Squeeze The Bar. Put your thumbs around the bar & squeeze it hard. The more force you apply to the bar, the stronger you are.
• Look Forward. Don’t look straight forward, don’t look the floor. Look to a point slightly in front of you.
• Breathing. Take a big breathe while hanging with locked elbows & hold it. Lower yourself & come back up. Breathe at the top, not during reps.
• Chest Up. Don’t let your shoulders roll forward. Keep your chest up & shoulders back. It’s easier on your shoulders.
• Bend Your Legs. And cross your feet. Letting your legs hang means less strength in my experience. Squeeze your glutes on the way up.
• Break Parallel. Your shoulders must go lower than your elbows. Deeper stretches your chest more, but your shoulders might not agree with it.
• Lock Elbows. Drive out of the bottom until your elbows are locked. Squeeze your triceps. No partial Dips.

Common Problems. Break parallel on each rep just like with Squats. Use a complete range of motion from start to finish.

• Not Hitting Parallel. Don’t cheat by doing partial Dips. Your shoulders must go lower than your elbows on each rep.
• Not Locking the Elbows. Lock your elbows at the top. Squeeze your triceps & keep your chest up.
• Shoulder Issues. Don’t go too low. Stop when you break parallel, keep your chest up & torso upright. Try shoulder dislocations.
• Torso Pain. Don’t let your shoulders roll forward & don’t let your torso shift forward too much. Keep your chest up.

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The best example is the Squat. Many hate training legs. They don’t want to Squat three times a week as laid out in the Beginner Strength Training Program. So they do exercises they like: Bench Press, Biceps Curls, etc.

The truth is the exercises you hate, are the exercises you should do the most.

Pain. The first reason you don’t want to do an exercise is because it’s hard. Example above: squatting three times a week. Many don’t like it. “I hate that exercise” “My legs are sore” “I feel like fainting” “Not again”.

If the exercise is painful, it’s doing its job: forcing your body to adapt. This is key to getting stronger & building muscle. Force your body to adapt by giving it exercises that are hard. As the saying goes “No pain, no gain”.

Weakness. You’ll often hate an exercise because you’re weak on it. Best example: Bent-over Barbell Rows. It’s not easy to do them correctly. And they’re hard. I place them just below squats & Deadlifts in terms of pain.

Guess what. Get stronger on Bent-over Barbell Rows and you’ll see your other lifts increase. This is very common. Your Bench Press & Overhead Press will go up by increasing your strength on Rows.

Technique. Many times lack of technique is why you hate doing an exercise. Like Power Cleans. Ever done them? It’s very hard to learn Olympic lifts by yourself, without coach. But it’s not impossible.

It took me months to learn how to Power Clean. I did hundred reps a week with an empty barbell & light weights. Depressing. I hated that exercise. But I knew it was the only way to ever get good at it. Months later my max is 95kg.

The solution to lack of technique is never to give up. It’s to do the exercise more. The more you do it, the better you become. Your technique will reflect the time & effort you’ve put into it.

Discipline. “Follow the line of most resistance” by Napoleon Hill. Giving up is easy. Persistence is hard.

Nobody said strength training was easy. Nothing is easy in life. To get good at something you must work hard. Strength training is no different. Persist. Follow the line of most resistance. Out of resistance comes strength.

Last thing. Something I experienced several times. Once you start doing an exercise you hate a lot, you’ll start liking it. The exercises you hate the most, end up in those you like the most. Test it to believe it.

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.

“If you could explain the technique of Dumbbell Lunges that would be great! I’m not sure if I’m doing them right. I’ve started to get some pain in my lower back while doing them.”

Why Dumbbell Lunges? Nothing beats the Squat when it comes to strength. But don’t let that withhold you to perform Dumbbell Lunges for a change. The main advantages are:

• Balanced strength on both legs
• Improved trunk stabilization
• Deload of the spine

Dumbbell Lunges are perfect on your light days or as assistance.

Dumbbell Lunges Setup. Here’s how to start

• One dumbbell in each hand
• Arms straight
• Chest forward
• Shoulders back & down
• Lower back neutral
• Look forward

This gets you in the correct Dumbbell Lunge starting position.

Performing Dumbbell Lunges. The Dumbbell Lunge movement:

• Keep your spine neutral
• Step forward
• Land on your heel
• Knee of the back leg slightly touching the ground
• Knee of the front leg above the ankle
• Push the knee outward
• Push from the heel to get up

Dumbbell Lunges Video.

Common Errors on Dumbbell Lunges. Avoid these flaws at all costs:

• Don’t lean forward. Stretch your hip flexors.
• Don’t let your knees buckle in. Do glute activation.
• Don’t land on the toes. Keep your toes up.
• Don’t let your knee come in front of your toe. Keep shin close to vertical.
• Don’t look down. Look forward.
• Don’t let the knee of your back leg hit the floor. This will hurt.

If Your Lower Back Hurts During Dumbbell Lunges. You’re arching your lower back. Your lower back must stay neutral during the whole exercise:

• Squeeze the glute of the back leg
• Stretch your hip flexors

Dumbbell Lunges Variations. Here are some variations if you get bored with the Dumbbell Lunges:

• Walking Dumbbell Lunges. Left, right, walking.
• Reverse Dumbbell Lunges. Leg goes back vs. forward.
• Overhead Lunges. Keeping the weight Overhead with straight arms.
• Barbell Lunges. Barbell on your back.
• Lateral Barbell Lunges. Step to the side.

The technique is the same on all Lunge variations:

• Chest forward
• Knees out
• Weight on the heels

Copyright © 2007-2009 STRONGLIFTS BVBA. Disclaimer.