If a world-class olympic lifter has never played golf before, he’s going to benefit a lot more from swing and movement-specific coordination work than an experienced professional golfer would. On the flip side, an experienced professional player would do better to focus on gaining the power and mobility of the olympic lifter to hit it farther.
I like lunges. A lot. The problem with lunges though is 1) They get boring 2) When it comes to performance training and everyday life, they’re really aren’t super super practical. Why not? Well, we aren’t going back and forth and for most athletes, they’re moving in multiple planes.
We put together 5 Lunge variations you can do create better stability in your lunge and more multiple plane movement. For athletes, the ability to decelerate is just as important as acceleration. If you want a bigger engine, make sure you build bigger brakes. These variations are great for building big engines as well as big brakes.
These are great smokers for the end of a workout or can be a nice strength change of pace in the middle of the session. I tend to use higher reps with bodyweight or to provide more of a challenge, hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in the goblet position or 2 dumbbells or kettlebells at your side. In addition to the added weight, holding weights for these exercises will provide sneaky isometric for grip and forearm strength.
Peanut butter and jelly, Ren and Stimpy, Wine and Cheese… some pairings just make sense naturally… and in the exercise world its no different. Super-setting is a common phrase used to describe alternating two or more exercises at the same time, making a workout more efficient and, when done correctly, creating a synergistic training effect (we typically work with 2-4 exercises at a time with our clients). While there are a lot of pairings that make sense, often times I see mistakes made when certain exercises are partnered that can detract or even potentially cause harm when combined, the workout equivalent of bleach and ammonia. Some important factors include potential overuse of grip or low back, exercises that are too taxing together, and space/equipment logistical issues. Rather than spend too much time telling you what not to do, here’s five of our favorite ways to make 1+1=3.
Front Squat/Chin-Up
The front squat is one of my all-time favorite exercises because its really hard to do wrong, particularly as compared to the back squat. If the grip position is too much of a challenge, a goblet squat with a dumbbell works great also. Front squatting doesn’t place a lot of stress on the lats and thus its a great natural fit with the chin-up. The front squat also is an anti-flexion core exercise, whereas the chin-up is a powerful anti-extension core exercise (when you don’t flail around while you’re doing it).
Bi’s and Tri’s
The classic. As much as this one seems like pandering, I like bi’s and tri’s together a lot. And much of that reason is because I would rather not spend an eternity on “arm-day” and putting these two together at the end of a workout is an efficient way to catch a pump and work on weak points without wasting a ton of time. Additionally, these two exercises are good choices together because they reinforce posture, and save the elbows. Certain tricep exercises (skull-crushers, etc…) can beat up your elbows, especially when paired with bicep work.
Compound/Iso
Here we’ve got the squat again, this time paired with a shoulder-elevated hip lift. Pairing an isolation-type exercise with a compound exercise allows you to do several things. For one, if its an area you’re focused on improving (the glutes in this case) you’re getting targeted work after the general fatigue of the squat limits your workout. If your quads or core is the limiting factor in the squat, the glutes probably have more left in them at the end of the set, so this way they get maximum fatigue and thus maximum training effect. Additionally, the glutes will be easier to “feel” when you go back to the main exercise, increasing their function in the squat.
Sled Push/Carry
Sled pushes are probably the best, most user-friendly exercise in existence. Hard to do wrong, quick learning curve, super scalable. However, they do tend to sneak up on you because of the bent-over position. Adding a carry gets you in a more upright posture to recover your breath while also challenging grip and core strength. They’re both miserable but for different reasons, and that makes them a perfect pair.
Deadlift/Mobility
Deadlifts are like a 32 oz Porterhouse… they belong on a plate by themselves, with a little bit of accoutrements on the side just to maximize the experience. If you’re going heavy on deadlifts, there isn’t much you’re gonna want to do with them, especially anything taxing on the core or grip. Additionally, its probably not a good idea to do a ton of lower body stretching either, as you don’t want to create too much length/tension relationship change between sets. However, just standing around is kinda boring, so throwing in some ankle mobility work is far better than TikTok.
What are some of your favorite combinations? Let us know in the comments…
