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Doing home workouts can seem like a bad idea to those who fear losing all of their muscle gains by training away from the gym. In this video, I’m going to show you that this is not something to be fearful of as long as you avoid these 10 most common home workout mistakes. In fact, it is possible to build muscle at home with little to no equipment if you get all of these right. So that said, let’s dive in and start making sure you are.First, you must not focus so much on the equipment that you don’t have and instead look around at the opportunities you do have. I covered in a recent home workout video how you have countertops, stairs, doorways, hardwood floors and even tables that you can use to get a complete total body workout with nothing but your own bodyweight. Watch that if you feel like you are out of ideas for what to do now that your gym is closed.Next, in a rush to overcompensate for the lack of a gym people will attempt to do home workouts and exercises that are simply too difficult for them. What happens here is that they either get hurt or just become discouraged when the results aren’t satisfactory. This is because they would have gotten much more out of doing the exercises that were appropriate for them and that they had done with proper form and intensity.Third, exercise variety is key when it comes to training at home. This is not because you are trying to create muscle confusion or “shock the muscles”. Instead, this is because the variety of home exercises is what provides the easiest path for overload. Slight changes to the same exercise can provide a totally unique stimulus to the muscles you are trying to train and lead to new muscle gains.Speaking of overload, the fourth mistake relates to how many will program for it in the form of specific rep counts with home and bodyweight workouts. This is a mistake. One size does not fit all when it comes to calisthenics. Instead, train to failure or just shy to ensure that you are neither underserving or over serving your abilities in your workouts.The fifth biggest home workout mistake is relying too much on cardio or hiit movements instead of strength building exercises. Look, I love burpees, mountain climbers and jumping jacks but they are not going to build muscle. Doing too many of them in your home workout routines will cause you to lose muscle instead of build it. You need to focus the majority of your efforts on exercises that build muscle like pullups, handstand pushups and more.The sixth biggest mistake is forgetting to train your back at home. Not only will this lead to an underwhelming physique but it will create muscle imbalances that lead directly to the seventh mistake and that is bad posture.Finally, the last three relate to the implementation of your workout routine into a new routine. If you don’t plan to get your workout in at home it is too easy to find yourself being too random and skipping your workout all together. Schedule it into your day and FaceTime a friend if needed to hold yourself accountable. Don’t do it in your living room either if you can avoid it. Too tempting to hit the couch during a rest period and never get off of it.To build muscle at home you have to be willing to avoid the biggest workout mistakes. These are just a few of the things that people tend to do at home when they are doing total body workouts that hinder the muscle gains that they see. If you want to build muscle at home and do it without equipment you have to use a workout that doesn't make mistakes like these.If you are looking for a complete home workout program that doesn’t require any equipment at all, be sure to head to athleanx.com and check out the ATHLEAN XERO program. Build solid muscle at home without any equipmen

A great home workout for your upper body can consist of just a pull-up and a push-up and deliver incredible results. In this video, I’m going to show you how to use these two popular bodyweight exercises in your home to build muscle and make gains despite not working out in the gym. From the individual challenge of completing the first part within one minute to the entire home workout that will take you just a little over a half hour, this one will be tough but worth it.We start by determining how many pullups you can perform within a single set to failure. The number of pushups you can do is not necessarily factored in, given that the pull-up is going to be the limiting exercise and if you can do a certain number of reps on that then you will be able to get that many on pushups too.If you can perform more than 15 pullups in a single set to failure then you will be performing the hardest version of this workout. You will start by doing 20 reps each of pullups and pushups within a one minute time period. The best advice I can give you is not to try and do all the reps of pull-ups at once. Instead, break it into a two thirds one third split. Here I wound up doing 15 pullups then I dropped down to perform all 20 reps of pullups. I jumped up to the bar again to finish out my final 5 reps and even had 5 seconds or so to spare.If you can do between 10 and 15 pullups in a single set to failure then you will be performing 15 pull-ups and 20 push-ups in the first minute. Those whose max is between 5 and 10 will have a choice to do either 10 pullups and 20 pushups in the first minute or 20 inverted rows and 20 pushups. Finally, even if you can’t do more than 5 pullups in a single set you will have something to do as well. Here the goal would be to perform 15 inverted rows and 15 pushups, this time from your knees instead.That being said, regardless which level you start at this pullup and pushup workout is just getting started. From here you want to rest 1 minute and then aim to complete the two exercises within a minute again, this time however knocking off two reps of each. So if you started with 20 and 20 then you will be attempting to get 18 and 18 of each within the third minute of the workout.You continue to progress through the workout, working for a minute and dropping two reps of each off each time, and resting one minute between rounds.After you get to 10 of each exercise you are half way done. You now have to start working your way back up to your top number again. Before you think that this is impossible, there is some relief coming your way. This time, your rest periods are 2 minutes in length and the time that you have to perform all of the reps increases from 1 minute to 2.The goal is to be able to get back up to the original number of push-ups and pull-ups you started with in the first minute (20 and 20 in my case) and have them completed within that final 2 minute time period. This is definitely not easy but it is possible. Even if you can’t do this right now, remember you may start at a lower level and progress up as your strength in the two home exercises increases.You can even start at a higher level and drop down to one of the easier levels if you must in order to complete the entire workout.Give this home pullup and pushup workout a try and let me know how you do. Can you last the entire 33 minutes? Also, if you are looking for a complete home workout that uses absolutely no equipment at all, be sure to head to athleanx.com at the link below to check out our total bodyweight workout called ATHLEAN XERO. No bars, bands, benches or bull involved in this program. Just results.If you want to see the perfect home workout video or other workouts you can do from hom

If you are stuck at home and in need of some new creative home exercise options, this video is for you. Here I show you 29 home exercise hacks that you can use in any home workout to train your entire body without missing a beat. Just because you can’t get to a gym to get your workouts in doesn’t mean that you can’t effectively train your body.All you have to do is open your eyes to the possibilities in your immediate surrounding. Many people think that they don’t have enough room or money to afford a good home gym. That’s not true. You can do so many exercises that you may never have realized you could just by using some handy pieces of equipment around your house.The first is your staircase. In the gym, either a bench or a plyometric box is used to perform lower body step up variations, box jumps and even lunge combinations. The stairway in your own house or apartment complex can be just as useful. You even have the option of stepping up one or two stairs at a time to decrease or increase the difficulty as needed. The upper body can be worked too, such as using it to perform decline pushups for your upper chest.The kitchen is also an amazing place to find new exercise opportunities. For instance, if you have a corner to your kitchen counter you can do all sorts of dips (for the chest or triceps) as well as hanging ab exercises. Instead of having to hang on a bar at the gym to perform hanging leg raises or knee raises for example, you can simply support your body in the corner and do the exact same movements without having to sacrifice the benefits.Ever thought about using your hardwood or tile floors to your advantage in your workouts? This is one of the best ways to get your posterior chain muscles fired up. Take off your shoes and leave your socks on. Perform exercises like the hamstring bridge and curl to make your glutes and hams work in concert as intended. Turn over and perform upper body pulldowns for your lats, an area that is often hard to work when you don’t have the normal equipment options from the gym.Don’t underestimate the value of your doorway either. As long as you have a solid door jamb, you can use it to perform either pullups or chinups. The extra benefit of the climbers grip makes it even more demanding than a normal pullup on your forearm and gripping muscles. The door jamb itself can be used to work your shoulders too. Both the deltoids and the rotator cuff can be trained by either an isometric lateral raise or the home face pull variation just covered in a recent video.If you are looking for replacements for the dumbbells or weights that you would use at a gym there are actually plenty. One of my favorites is a poland spring water jug. When full, these weigh in at 40 pounds. This can be used for biceps curl variations, one arm shoulder cleans and even shoulder pressing over and back. The extra benefit of the sloshing of the water is that it demands more muscle stability and control throughout the explosive movements making them even more challenging.Broomsticks, tupperware lids and even your own computer are other helpful things laying around your house that can be turned into exercise machines by the time this video is over. Don’t be afraid to explore all of them. If you are looking for a complete home workout program that you can do without any equipment at all, and have a step by step meal plan included as well, be sure to check out the ATHLEAN XERO program at athleanx.com at the link below.For more home workout videos and home exercises that you can do anywhere, be sure to subscribe to our youtube at the link below and don’t forget to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.Build Muscle with No Equipment - http://athlea

Home workouts can be a lifesaver, especially in times when you cannot get to the gym. In this video, I’m going to give you a complete home workout routine with all sets and reps included to help you to build muscle regardless of whether or not you ever step foot in a gym. The key to the effectiveness of this perfect home workout is that it pairs exercises together in a way that allows you to train to greater overload than would be possible if you stuck with one single exercise, and it will keep the workouts brief at the same time.This perfect home workout consists of not one but two complete total body workouts. The first, workout A, is to be performed on Monday and Friday of week 1. Workout B is to be performed on Wednesday. In week 2, this is flipped so that A is performed once on Wednesday and B is performed on both Monday and Friday. You can continue to alternate the workouts in this way if you decide to do this for longer.This workout for home is going to allow you to hit your total body in under one hour.With this being the goal, the idea is not to try and hit each muscle with too many individual exercises since this could lead to an excessively long workout and potential for doing too much in the given workout. Instead, we select the exercises based on movement patterns that we know we want to hit to accomplish our goal of building muscle everywhere.These patterns are broken down below and the exercises included in each are shown.Keep in mind, there are two complete versions of each workout to be sure that the beginners and more advanced trainees can follow this program and get results from it.Here is how to construct the perfect home total body workout A:1. SQUAT / ANTERIOR (1 MINUTE PER EXERCISE / REST-PAUSE IF NEEDED)Alt. Single Leg Box Squats (use low box if advanced / higher box for beginners)1 1/2 Bottomed Out Squats (to failure)Jump Squats2. UPPER PUSH (1 MINUTE PER EXERCISE / REST-PAUSE IF NEEDED)Handstand Pushups OR Power PushawaysRotational Pushups OR Knee Rotational PushupsCobra Pushups (long head contracted) OR Knee Cobra Pushups3. HINGE / POSTERIOR (1 MINUTE PER EXERCISE / REST-PAUSE IF NEEDED)Alt. Single Leg Heel Touch Squats (use “kickstand” if needed)Alt. Sprinter Lunges Plyo Sprinter Lunges (jump from higher position if more beginner)4. UPPER PULL (1 MINUTE PER EXERCISE / REST-PAUSE IF NEEDED)Pullups OR Seated PullupsHuman Pullovers OR BW Sliding PulldownsInverted Chin Curls5. ABS (1 MINUTE PER EXERCISE / REST-PAUSE IF NEEDED)Reverse CorkscrewsBlack Widow Knee SlidesLevitation Crunches6. CORRECTIVE (1 MINUTE PER EXERCISE / REST-PAUSE IF NEEDED)Angels and DevilsCOMPLETE 1-2 MORE ROUNDS (TOTAL WORKOUT TIME: 35-50 MINUTES)Here is how to construct the perfect home workout B:HINGE / POSTERIOR x 3 ROUNDSSlick Floor Bridge Curl (Single Leg) OR Slick Floor Bridge Curl (Dual Leg)Long Leg MarchHigh Hip BucksLUNGE / ANTERIOR x 3 ROUNDSAlt. Crossover Step UpsAlt. Reverse LungesSplit Squat JumpsUPPER PUSH x 3 ROUNDSVariable Wall Pushups OR Knee Decline Pushups to Knee Flat PushupsAlt. BW Side Lateral Raises (from knees for beginners)Tricep BW Extensions (long head stretch)UPPER PULL x 3 ROUNDSChin Ups OR Seated Chin UpsInverted RowsBack WidowsABS x 2 ROUNDSAb HalosV-Up TucksSit-Up Elbow ThrustsCORRECTIVE x 2 ROUNDSReverse HypersCOMPLETE 1-2 MORE ROUNDS (TOTAL WORKOUT TIME: 35-50 MINUTES)If

If you want to get big shoulders that look good from every angle, then this is the video you’re going to want to watch. The key to building bigger shoulders is to make sure that you train every head of the delts. That said, while the middle delt is most responsible for creating the look of wider shoulders when viewed from the front the rear and front delts are going to create that bigger delt when viewed from the side.In this video, I’m going to show you a few new ways to build both your front and rear delts that will compliment that exercises you’re already doing to make them bigger. Now, there’s no replacing the benefit of the overhead press and bench press for building big shoulders. That said, thinking that you can do only those two exercises and that you will have the most gains possible is a mistake. Many find that adding in even a few extra sets a week of direct front delt training is a great way to build up the size of the shoulders even faster.To do this, I present the first of a few exercise options. This one is called the accommodating front raise. This takes advantage of the stretch that can be placed on the front deltoids while sitting on an incline bench that does not exist when more commonly performing this movement standing. Not only are you getting a better stretch but you are able to overload the stretch position by doing it this way.If you were to just do it from here and not do anything else however you would be limiting the range of motion that you could get on the exercise and the overall work done by the front delts in the process. This is easily solved by simply sitting up at the end of the lift. This gives you an additional twenty degrees of elevation and allows for more tension on the delts for a longer period of time. Both great stimuli for muscle growth.The next exercise that is great for building the front part of the shoulders is the dumbbell press out. The best part about this movement is that it gives those that tend to have some shoulder pain with overhead pressing an option. Even better, as you start to fatigue with the shoulder exercise you can simply shorten the distance you press out the dumbbells to keep the tension going for even longer.In that same vain, you can perform the plate 8. This movement provides more of a metabolic overload that is another known stimulus for muscle gains. Simply try and keep the plate moving at chest level or higher for 60 to 90 seconds. When the burn sets in, do everything in your power to resist giving in.Moving on to the rear delt, there are some great exercise options here as well. Keep in mind, the most important thing you can do biomechanically is get your arm into extension behind the body when trying to build this head of the shoulders. Many will do the rear delt fly thinking that this is enough to build massive rear delts. It isn’t for two reasons. The first has to do with the fact that we stop the arm before we get into extension. The second is due to the fact that we don’t ever weight the rear delt heavy enough (though it is capable of handling it).To overcome this we can do the rear delt row. Here you want to concentrate on getting the elbow back behind you and to externally rotate the shoulder as much as you can by pointing your thumb behind you at the top.The heavy seated row is a classic back exercise but it also has tremendous abilities to grow the rear delts. Modify the hand position as shown and get those elbows high. You’ll feel a level of contraction like you never felt before while still being able to load up the weights on this exercise. Of course, we can’t forget to include the face pull and the modified version of the exercise with a lat pulldown machine for those looking to really grow their rear de

The worst bodyweight exercises are often times the most common calisthenic exercises. In this video, I’m going to show you 8 bodyweight exercises you’ll want to stop doing, and more importantly, the exercise substitutions you should make to keep the gains coming and prevent injury from doing the wrong things.We start with the popular bench dip. The reason people do this exercise for their triceps is to get a complete contraction on the muscle by getting the arm behind the body which allows for better activation of the triceps long head. The issue here is the position of the shoulder that many assume just to get in position to perform it. The head of the humerus is thrown anteriorly, which stretches and weakens the anterior shoulder capsule (an area already chronically weak and unstable on many). You can either vary the hand position as shown or switch to the cobra pushup as a way to get the same tricep benefits without the shoulder joint compromise.Next we have the popular plank. Now, while this is a core exercise performed by many it doesn’t mean that it’s a good one. Besides the fact that it is entirely remedial for almost everyone that does it (not providing nearly enough of a core challenge to adequately stimulate or strengthen your core muscles) it also tends to reinforce some postural imbalances that are already all too common, with the posterior chain muscles getting too little stimulation in favor of the anterior chain. See the plank alternatives in the video linked at the end of this video.The hurdler’s hamstring stretch is not at all the best way to stretch your hamstrings. Many will perform it but not understand why it’s so ineffective for creating actual length increases of the hamstring muscles. The issue is the amount of posterior pelvic tilt that occurs when you perform it. When this happens the hamstrings are put on slack and the stretch is greatly minimized. Instead, either do so out of a taller posture where the pelvis is rotated anteriorly or try the standing hamstring wall stretch for a much better effect.Neck bridges are just not something you want to do to your neck. Yes, they are incredibly effective for creating overload and developing larger neck muscles, but at what expense. You only get one set of cervical vertebra in your lifetime. Protect them. Avoid the compression and shearing stresses piled on your discs with this exercise in favor of the flexion and extension isometrics shown.Kipping pullups are not pullups. No further discussion needed!Scorpions are performed to increase spinal mobility and movement. The problem is, increased lumbar rotation is not something you should be aspiring to create. The lumber spine is designed to be stable. Mobility in the area should come from the hips not the low back. Instead, opt for the t-spine mobility drill shown here to attack the area most capable of giving you the rotation that you seek.Sissy squats are another bad bodyweight exercise you should avoid. It’s not so much the knees over toes that is the issue but that it is combined with the extra stretch on the quads from above that creates a tremendous amount of stress on the quadriceps and patellar tendons. Opt for a single leg modified pistol squat instead.Finally, while popular, the pushup is one of the most often misperformed bodyweight exercises around. Be sure not to cut the range of motion even a few inches here if you want to see the real benefits of the exercise.For a complete workout program where all of the exercises are selected based on science, be sure to head to athleanx.com at the link below to see how to train like an athlete and look like one in just a few months of proper training. Our Xero program is 100 percent bodyweight and requires no equipment at a

If you have 8 minutes, you have plenty of time to follow along with this brutal 8 minute home ab workout that requires nothing more than a single pair of dumbbells and some room on the floor. Many times, when people are doing their ab workouts at home they forget to incorporate some of the amazing ab exercises and principles that makes their gym workouts most effective. In the case of ab workouts, they forget to include the weight.Weighted ab exercises are one of the best options for developing the strength of your core and the look of your abs, especially when you are short on time. You are best advised to not simply continue to repeat exercises for super high rep counts when you have the capacity to load the exercise up with some dumbbells and create more overload on the rectus and obliques in the process.Remember, adaptation to physical stress is how muscles get developed to be stronger and more resilient. You want a strong core for more than just aesthetic reasons. Having strong abs and a rigid core are important for spinal stability and maintaining proper form when you attempt your heavier compound lifts in your main workouts. There are no shortages to the benefits you can derive from getting stronger abs, and this follow along workout will help you to do just that.So here’s what you do:Set an interval timer or stopwatch for 8 minutes. Perform the first three ab exercises for 1 minute each. Try and continue repping out for the entire minute, however if needed, you may stop and rest briefly with the idea being that you want to get back to the exercise as quickly as you can. The weight used is going to be the way that you will scale this workout depending on if you are more of a beginner than an advanced ab trainee. The first exercise up is called the dumbbell wiper. This ab exercise is designed to hit the lower abs due to the bottom up initiation of the movement. The idea is to simultaneously curl the pelvis up off the ground while twisting it. The twist will engage the obliques through bottom up rotation and help you to hit both of these muscle groups in one shot. Target the right dumbbell with your knees and then the left dumbbell by twisting your knees the opposite way. Perform this amazing lower ab exercise for 1 minute without stopping if possible.After a brief 3 second rest to simply transition to the next exercise, you are going to hold the dumbbells as if you are going to bench press them off the floor. From here, you perform an exercise called the dumbbell power-up. This move will more effectively target the mid and upper rectus abdominis and allows you to utilize more power and strength than the first exercise did. Perform this for 1 minute as well, resting only if needed and even then making sure to keep the rest period brief.After another brief 3 second rest, move onto the next exercise called the seated dumbbell twist. This exercise is a great oblique movement. This forces the obliques to control the momentum gained by the twisting dumbbells in one direction or the other. The further out to the sides that you hold the dumbbells the longer the moment arm and the more work your abs and obliques will have to do to control the weights. Try to do this for 1 minute as well.Finally, it’s time to challenge your core through a postural exercise that is sure to crush you at this stage of the game. The idea here is to simply press the weights up overhead and sit as tall as you possibly can. Maintain that extended position through the lumbar spine and don’t collapse down onto your ribcage. See if you can last the entire 30 seconds without breaking posture. This is challenging but you can do it.Rest for the remaining 30 seconds and you will have completed your first of two rounds through this br

If you want to get jacked forearms and you aren’t sure what forearm muscles to concentrate on, you’re going to want to watch this video. Here I show you that one of the biggest muscles in the forearm, responsible for a major portion of the size, is not even technically a forearm muscle. The brachioradialis is a powerful elbow flexor that also has abilities to pronate the forearm. Many will focus all of their forearm workouts and exercises on wrist curls and wrist extensions. This is a mistake when trying to build up mass in the forearm muscles.To start, it helps to revisit the anatomy of the lower arm. The brachioradialis starts on the upper arm bone, the humerus, and inserts on the distal end of the radius (the bone on the thumb side of the forearm). This muscle does not cross the wrist joint and therefore has no action on the wrist. This means that the brachioradialis does not extend or flex the wrist like the other forearm muscles does.In order to work it the most you need to spend your time focusing on the actions of the elbow, specifically flexing the elbow. The position with which you do this matters however. If you do it with the forearm supinated you will instantly place most of the load on the biceps rather than the brachioradialis. To get the brachioradialis you will want to have your forearm either in neutral or pronated. Here is where some controversy comes in.Many will point to the fact that the brachioradialis is strongest in the neutral position of the forearm. This is true. That does not mean however that the muscle is most fully shortened or activated in this position. It can achieve a greater level of contraction when it is both flexed at the elbow and pronated at the forearm. Does this mean that you should not train it out of the neutral position? No. It means that you can choose exercises that allow it to be trained heavier for progressive overload in this position but that you still need to include forearm exercises that allow it to be trained from a pronated position. The most classic forearm exercise when it comes to this is the reverse barbell curl. Here, you can do it with either a straight bar to achieve the fully pronated position or with an EZ bar to get a more neutral position. Remember to adjust your weights accordingly to stimulate the muscle as discussed above. Also, the amount of brachioradialis activation is higher with elbow flexion above 90 degrees so remember not to cut the range of motion short on any rep.You can also do this with dumbbells. As shown, you can hold the dumbbell with an offset grip which will help you to overload pronation at the same time that you can flex the elbow to train the brachioradialis optimally. The version shown here is good at accomplishing both and can be done with most dumbbells at the gym.The lat pulldown variation is another great option for achieving a reverse curl and training the brachioradialis to get bigger forearms. The key is to keep the bar moving behind the head and not just to the head to take advantage of the greater activation with greater elbow flexion.When it comes down to it however, if you want to get jacked forearms one of the easiest things you can do is remember to pick up the weights when you’re done with them. Yes, the position of carrying plates and racking them is one of the best ways to activate this muscle and get it to grow with the additional volume you achieve by doing this repeatedly during the workout week. Not just that, you’ll be more liked at the gym for not being that guy who never picks up his weights.If you’re looking to get bigger forearms and want to build your entire body at the same time, be sure to head to athleanx.com at the link below. Start training like an athlete and get ripped forearms and a st

So you can’t build a big chest no matter how often or how much you bench press? In this video, I’m going to show you the biomechanical and scientific reason why this is the case for you and, more importantly, give you an exercise for your chest that will make it grow better than everything else you’ve tried.The key to a bigger chest is making sure that you are activating the pecs and not your shoulders and triceps during your pressing. Some of the limitations of the bench press are known to be inhibiting the very activation that you are seeking. These are worsened by the fact that some people just aren’t genetically as predisposed to flourish with the bench press.Let’s start by discussing the biomechanical limitations of this popular chest exercise. First, the range of motion. We know that horizontal adduction of the arm across the chest (at the shoulder joint) is one of the primary functions of the pec major / chest muscles. During the bench press, your arm only goes through about a total of 80 to 90 degrees of adduction. This comes from a negative fifteen degrees at the bottom of the bench press up to about 70 degrees or so at the top of the rep.When people have a hard time building their chest they simply don’t get enough activation of the pecs to stimulate growth. This is worsened by the fact that they often substitute pec contraction for deltoid and triceps activation to move the bar. The second thing to note is that the strength curve of the bench press is descending, meaning that as the bar moves away from the chest the exercise gets easier and tension is lost on the pecs. So when the shoulder is in its most adducted position, the corresponding tension on the pecs is at its lowest. This again does not bode well for the exercise in its capacity to add lots of mass to the chest.Biologically speaking, certain individuals have lower proportions of fast twitch fibers in their chest, which only further decreases the responsiveness of the exercise to a heavily loaded exercise like the bench press. Don’t misunderstand, the bench is a formidable exercise for your chest in terms of its ability to be progressively overloaded and to create chest growth by simply applying more tension to the chest than other pec exercises. It just isn’t enough.The length of ones arms can also be a negative when it comes to seeing chest gains during the bench press. Those with longer arms will have a harder time creating the leverage needed to lift heavy weights on the exercise and therefore tend to struggle more with letting the chest lean on the delts and triceps too much for assistance during the lift.The answer to your problems is to incorporate the cable chest press with adduction as well. This powerful chest mass booster is one of the most underrated and effective exercises for building a bigger chest. The key to the success of this chest movement is the fact that it addresses all the primary weaknesses of the barbell bench press. Not only can you get much more adduction from the movement but the tension on the chest at the peak of adduction is far greater, leading to more overall stimulation during the exercise.Additionally, the strength curve compliments that of the barbell bench press and allows for a much better stimulation of the chest over a greater portion of the range of motion. Using this along with the bench press performed heavy, is one of the best one-two combos you can use when you are trying to build a big chest.Be sure to follow the tips for setting up this exercise correctly and how to perform it with proper form so as not to leave any of the potential gains on the table. I include setup instructions in the video as well.If you are looking to build a bigger chest fast and feel

If your lats don’t seem wide enough and they look like they end shortly below your armpit, you will want to watch this video on how to get a v-taper. Here I show you 5 lat exercises for getting a wider back by focusing on the lower lats. The key to getting sweeping lats is to not only train your back with the right exercises but by making sure you are performing them the right way.That said, if you want to build a wider back and lats you have to do two very important things in your back workouts. First, you must be willing to take the exercises you are doing through a full range of motion. Simply focusing on the middle portion of every row, pullup and pulldown is not going to give you fully developed lats just as doing this with your curls will give you fully developed biceps.Beyond that, if you don’t ever focus on creating a peak contraction of the lats by digging your elbow into your hip at the bottom of every rep, then you won’t get the muscle to grow as much as it is capable of. Each of the lat exercises shown here will help you to do exactly this. They will take your lats through a full range of motion and get you to place extra emphasis on the contracted position of the muscle.The first exercise shown is called the tripod underhand row. It is important to note that the grip makes all the difference in the effectiveness of this exercise in targeting the lats. When you perform it with an overhand grip you shift most of the focus of the move to the muscles of your upper back rather than the latissimus. When you switch to a supinated grip your elbow becomes much easier to tuck into your side, drive towards your pelvis and ultimately obtain a greater contraction of the lats in their fully shortened state.The second exercise is the wide grip underhand pulldown. This one actually helps those that struggle to feel what it should feel like to get your elbows driven into your hips. Because the movement starts with your elbows out wide, the only place for them to travel is down and in closer to your hips and pelvis. The underhand position once again helps to allow the elbows to ultimately get closer to your sides and increase the contraction of the lats.The rocking pulldown is another awesome back exercise for building wider lats because it adds the additional ability to get rotation of the torso as you drive your arm down into your side. Being able to focus on one side at a time helps those that struggle to feel a strong contraction in the lats even more.If ever there was a face pull for your lats, the high cable row would be it. This allows you once again to train one side at a time in a very athletic manner - by standing on your feet with the ability to include rotation for a v-taper back. This enables you to separate your hips from your shoulders by rotating them in opposite directions which really increases the stretch on your lats and allows for a more powerful contraction. Not just that, the up and away position of the arm creates an even more significant stretch on the lats attachments which tends to allow the user to feel a stronger contraction of the lats at the end of each rep.The incline single arm stretch pulldown is an amazing lat exercise for growing a wider back. This setup does require that you have access to an incline bench and a cable apparatus, but if you do, it’s worth the extra effort. Here you can get an amazing stretch on the lats by letting your arm drift high up overhead, with a clear target for your elbow to be driven down towards your hip on every rep. The contraction you should feel on this in your lower lats will be intense if performed correctly.Finally, there is no better lat exercise for building straight arm scapular strength than the straight arm pushdown. Performin the move one a

If you want to get bigger legs fast and you feel like you’ve tried everything, you may want to make sure you watch this video first. Here, we revisit the abbreviated range of motion squat, or quarter squat. I’m not just going to show you a new benefit to a long ago dismissed leg exercise but I’m going to offer a second variation that will strengthen the weakest part of your squat and unlock all new size and strength gains in the process.We have to start with the elephant in the room however, and that is, the idea that the quarter squat is an entirely useless leg exercise incapable of helping you to build bigger legs. Not so fast. If performed properly, this is no different than a pin press used to improve your bench press or a trap bar deadlift used to improve your conventional deadlift. It’s just a shortened range of motion on an exercise that is more commonly performed through a longer range.That said, the load capacity of the exercise is greatly enhanced and must be taken advantage of if you want to see the real benefits of the movement. For instance, the top portion of the squat is the strongest portion of the lift. Quarter squats must therefore be loaded with much more weight that you would typically handle on a full range squat given that you won’t have to move the weight within the bottom and middle ranges where manipulating that weight would be much more challenging if not impossible.Secondly, you’re going to have to check your ego at the door. No amount of weight lifted on this exercise qualifies you to be posting about it on social media or claiming a new PR. It simply isn’t that kind of lift. It is mechanically advantageous and exists to simply let you more appropriately weight the exercise in an area of the lift that you are stronger.Third, you are not allowed to substitute quarter squats for full squats in your training. This is simply to be done as a complimentary leg exercise in your leg workouts not a replacement exercise. When it is combined however, it does seem to amplify the results you get from your traditional leg training as it currently exists because of the benefits it provides to cleaning up the stability and strength of that lift.Fourth, you must be willing to perform the exercise correctly. As it is, the movement is not at the top of the list of difficulty when it comes to leg workout exercises used to build bigger legs. But there is a distinct importance on making sure you aren’t simply bending from the knees when you do these but rather hinging at the hips and loading the posterior chain when you perform them. If you don’t do this, you actually run the risk that you will not load the quads properly and any of the gains that you may get from this are unrealized. Throw in the added benefit of saving your knees from unnecessary anterior shear stress and you’ve got plenty of reasons to get this right.Now that said, the real benefit of the quarter squat doesn’t even come from the version of the exercise we just discussed. No, in fact it comes from flipping the script and performing the quarter range of motion from the other way around; the bottom up. Here you want to lower yourself to about 10 degrees below parallel and stand up until you are about 20 degrees above parallel. Keep moving back and forth here. This is a ball buster and one capable of driving all new strength, size and stability to your lower body. It helps to groove the proper knees over toes position and posture at the area of the squat when this is most likely to present the greatest challenge. In order to maintain a tight core and straight back posture during the squat you need to learn how to engage the hips and core and unite it’s upward movement with that of the chest.Once again, this is where perform

Ever wonder what the right body fat for abs to show should be? In this video, I’m going to not only show you what your body fat level should be, for both men or women, but also the best way to go about getting there regardless of where you are right now.The key to identifying the proper body fat level is to first try and figure out what level you are at right now. There are generally three types of ways to do this. The first way to measure body fat is with a more sophisticated testing method like the DEXA scan or a Bod Pod. These are generally more expensive and logistically a bit more difficult to come by for those looking for a fast answer. The second is with the use of calipers. While less accurate, this is something that you can have tested at a local gym for free or inexpensively.The third method is the one that I like to use the most and that is with the quick, visual eye test. These charts are something that I have had up on my website for almost 10 years. While certainly not perfect, they give you a quick reference to the general appearance of someone at that stated body fat level. If you would like to see them you may do so at the following locations:Men’s Body Fat Percentages - https://athleanx.com/articles/body-fat-percentage-where-are-you-at-and-whats-your-goalWomen’s Body Fat Percentages - https://athleanx.com/for-women/women-body-fat-percentage-photosOnce you know this, these charts also help to make it easier for you to visually identify the body fat goal you have in your mind. The key to point out here is that body fat levels can vary greatly when it comes to seeing your abs. In fact, the body fat level required to see your abs can span almost 17 percent body fat! Of course, there are very unhealthy ranges of body fat that while allowing you to be totally shredded, are not sustainable and not recommended for health.But what is key to realize is that depending on the level that you would be happy with, the amount of work required to get abs and then keep them will be dramatically lessened the higher you go. For instance, requiring body fat levels low enough to see your abs without even flexing is likely going to require a dedicated nutrition plan that allows for absolutely zero cheat meals and too rigid a lifestyle to be enjoyable.On the other hand, if you choose to want a 10 percent to 15 percent body fat percentage, you will find that you will still be able to enjoy some of your favorite foods and drinks without having to worry about blowing the appearance you set out to achieve. This applies whether you are a man or a woman. Just realize that the absolute numbers will not relate to each other given the different body fat levels men and women carry strictly based on hormonal differences and the child bearing capabilities of females.There is also a significant boost you will get from training your abs in addition to watching your nutrition. Even at higher body fat percentages, you will be able to see your abs more clearly if you are willing to do some direct ab exercises and training. This can make the nutrition requirements even a bit more forgiving not to mention the strength and core health benefits that come from training these muscles as it is.Overall, the body fat for abs to show is something that surprises many people. They feel that the number has to be in the single digits or they simply won’t be able to see a six pack. This often then becomes a deterrent to even starting and can discourage many from even attempting to get in better shape than they are right now fearing that they will never get to their main goal. This does not have to be the case.The best way to do this will always be with a combined effort of improving your nutri

If you’re looking for the best shoulder exercises outside of the overhead press and side laterals to build your delts, you’ve come to the right place. In this video, I’m going to show you the 5 best exercises for your shoulders to help not only get bigger delts, but to increase the weight on the exercises you’re already doing.The Z Press is a modified overhead press that has you sitting on the ground with your legs straight out in front of you. By taking the lower half of your body out of the exercise, the exercise demands more stability through the core which we often get lazy with in the standard version of the press. The stronger your shoulders get while performing this exercise, the more weight you will be able to press overhead when standing, leading to even bigger, stronger shoulders.One major drawback of an overhead press is the lack of stretch on the front delt. Without gaining full stretch on the muscle, you’re missing an opportunity for bigger, stronger shoulders. The DB Scoop Press puts the elbows behind the body which puts the shoulder into extension, allowing for stretch on the front delt. By putting the muscle into a stretched position in the same exercise where it goes into peak contraction allows the muscle to move through it’s full range of motion to help get bigger shoulders.As a bonus, I am including the Jammer. Not everybody has access to this piece of equipment, but if you do, it should become part of your shoulder training. This is an explosive movement that involves the lower half of your body, allowing you to train your shoulders with power while still pressing overhead. Utilizing power will allow you to handle heavier weight which will translate to a stronger overhead press and overall stronger shoulders.The side lateral raise is a staple shoulder exercise that should be in everyone’s training routine. I often advocate using light weights to increase the quality of the reps and the tension directly placed on the middle delt. However, DB Cheat Laterals allow for you to move a heavier weight to overload the shoulders further. Taking advantage of heavier weight will also contribute to the amount of weight that you can use during strict lateral raises. The DB Cheat Lateral is going to be helpful in building rounded, capped delts.No shoulder training would be complete if you are ignoring the rear delts. Remember, just because you can’t see them, doesn’t mean you can’t train them! The DB Urlacher is a great exercise that not only will increase rear delt size, it helps with shoulder health. With the elbows elevated and behind the body, you are placing direct tension on the rear delt, something that isn’t done with traditional shoulder exercises. The external rotation also means that you are strengthening the rotator cuff which is important to shoulder joint health and longevity.If you have access to a cable machine, a great way to hit the rear delts (besides doing facepulls,) is by performing the Wraparound Rear Delt Row. This shoulder exercise is great because it not only gets the shoulders into external rotation, but it puts the rear delt on stretch at the bottom position of the exercise. This is an awesome way to hit those shoulder muscles you might’ve been neglecting all this time.If want to build not only better shoulders but every muscle in your body faster, then you need to put the science behind every exercise and workout that you do. To get a step-by-step training program that does exactly that, check out our ATHLEAN-X Training System by visiting the link below.For more videos on how to build bigger, stronger shoulders and how to take your muscle gains to the next level - be sure to subscribe to our channel here on YouTube at the link below and remember to turn on your

If you are looking to fix low back pain or even prevent it from occurring in the first place, you are definitely going to want to watch this video. I'm going to show you 5 red flags that will help you to identify what is either causing the pain in your lower back or could cause low back pain in the future.The first red flag for identifying and fixing pain in the low back is tight hip flexors. Because of their attachment to the lumbar paraspinal muscles, the hip flexors will pull on those muscles, which will then manifest itself as low back pain. To check the tightness of the hip flexors, we are going to use a modified version of the Thomas Test which will require nothing but a bench and our own body. Addressing the tightness in the hip flexors will help to alleviate any back pain you currently have or may be at risk of having in the future.Next, we need to look at the glutes! Having weak glutes will cause the muscles in the lower back to do extra work, leading to overuse and fatigue in those muscles which will lead to low back pain. A good way to test our glutes is to look in the mirror - a flat butt means a lack of muscular development. Another test for our glute strength is to perform a hyper-hold for at least 2 minutes. If you fail to hold that position for 2 minutes, you're likely suffering from a glute weakness. This means you need to start adding glute strengthening movements into your training utilizing exercises such as barbell hip thrusts, rdl's, and sprinter lunges. Strong glutes will directly help to preventing low back pain.The third red flag for low back pain is the inability to stand for more than 20 minutes without pain, constant shifting, and no anterior pelvic tilt. If you notice that this keeps happening, that means that the muscles in the low back do not have the endurance to hold yourself up for extended periods of time. To fix this, we utilize the hyper-hold. If you find yourself falling into anterior pelvic tilt while standing, you are only going to make the low back pain worse. An anterior tilt will cause the hip flexors to not only pull on the muscles in the low back, but will also cause those lumbar paraspinal muscles to do more work to hold your body up. The next red flag for low back pain is having flat feet. The pronation of the foot (collapsing of the arch) will cause a valgus of the knee which, going up the kinetic chain, leads to internal rotation of the hip and altered glute fiber firing patterns, which then affects the muscles in the low back and causes pain. People with flat feet will notice they often stand with their feet crossed as it will put more pressure on the outside of the foot, trying to alleviate some of that pain.If you have flat feet, make use of orthotic inserts as they will help support the arch of your foot. By removing that over-pronation, you will notice that the pain that goes up the kinetic chain starts to lessen, including low back pain.Last, you need to take note of your sitting posture. Sitting slumped in a chair with a posterior pelvic tilt is a good indicator that you'll be experiencing low back pain in the near future because it is indicative of the fact that the muscles in the low back are weak. Let's face it; sitting upright takes work and requires low back strength to hold over time. Now, we also need to look up the kinetic chain at our shoulders and thoracic spine as well. If you have rounded shoulders as well as rounding of the thoracic spine, the slumping posture will pull the low back into posterior tilt as well, again showing itself as low back pain.For a complete training program that overlooks none of these issues, check out our ATHLEAN-X Training System by heading to https://athleanx.com using the link below. All of our programs utilize science in the exercise se

If you are looking for a workout to lose weight then this is the video for you. Most of the time, when people attempt to lose weight they focus on workouts and exercises that are either not intense enough to burn the calories needed or they ratchet up the intensity so much that they are unable to sustain the workout for long enough to get sufficient results. Not here. I’m going to show you how to do this step by step with an entire plan.The other element that most workouts to lose weight forget to include is resistance training. Not only is it crucial to seeing immediate results but it is critical to long term sustained success. The more muscle you are able to add to your frame the more metabolically active tissue you will have working in your favor to burn calories even at rest.For that reason, each of the workouts in this plan is going to include a major push, pull, or legs exercise as the main resistance exercise performed in a 10 sets of 10 format.Let’s break down what the workouts look like in this perfect workout to lose weight plan.First up is the push workout. This is to be performed at the start of the week. Start with 10 sets of 10 reps of the barbell bench press, resting exactly one minute between sets. The key to the effectiveness of this portion of the workout is that it is metabolically demanding but is still sustainable for the duration of the workout. Remember, the key to losing fat is that you can get yourself in a hypocaloric state. If you burn calories but can’t keep it up for long you won’t wind up burning enough to make a difference.The second half of the workout consists of a 10 to 20 minute pairing of two exercises; one performed as a second resistance training exercise and one of the more classic conditioning variety. Perform 40 seconds of KB/DB alt. clean and lunges in 1 minute and 30 seconds jump rope in 1 minute. Ideally, you will be able to get through the entire 20 minutes but if you have to start out slower you may do so.The next workout day is a legs focused workout. This will consist of a barbell squat done for the same 10 sets of 10 reps. Remember to stay true to your 1 minute rests between sets to maintain the benefits promised. The secondary benefit of this type of training is that the heavier loads will help you to build muscle to further assist with your fat loss and weight loss long term.Follow this up with a pairing of DB Push-Up Renegade Rows and High Effort Mountain Climbers for up to 20 minutes. Keep the effort level up so that you are performing as much work as possible while still being able to sustain the effort for the entire duration of the workout.Next, the pull day consists of heavier barbell rows as the main driver of the workout. Follow this up with KB Clean and Presses alternated with KB Swings. This will all be able to be done in under 40 minutes. Every one of the workouts to lose weight are going to be capable of being performed quickly. As a matter of fact, you will burn more calories in a shorter period of time than had you walked on a treadmill for even longer than an hour.Finish up the workout with a core circuit on Saturday or Sunday. This is designed to be completed in 20 minutes - as many rounds as possible. The exercises are 3-Way Seated Knee Tucks, Squat Thrusts and Box Jumps. These are not easy but as you build up your tolerance to the increased work load you will find that you become better at the workouts.For a complete step by step plan, be sure to head to http://athleanx.com via the link below and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System. Each one of these plans comes with a meal plan to further assist you in losing weight the right way. You must have a good nutrition plan if you want to not just lose weight but keep it off