Earlier this year, I humbly apologized to a handful of exercises that I unfairly accused of being wimpy and useless. Part 1 of this series saw me rethink my approach to the following exercises:
- Turkish Get-Ups
- Cable Pull-Throughs
- Pull-Overs
- Lunges
- Chops and Lifts
Now, I program these exercises on a daily basis for athletes, powerlifters and fat-loss clients alike.
While I’ll always love the squat, bench press and deadlift above all other exercises, I’ve learned to keep an open mind. Here are 5 more exercises that I used to hate but I’ve learned to like (I don’t want to drop the other “L” word too quickly…):
1. FRONT SQUATS
There was a time when I thought, “Those too scared to back squat, front squat.” I passed it off as an overly-uncomfortable, less-effective squat variation that paled in comparison to the back squat simply because you can’t lift as much weight.
But once I experienced firsthand the front squat’s carryover to my competition squat (both from a muscle-building standpoint and a technique teaching tool), I was sold.
Not only does the front squat build killer quads, but it also serves as a regression-via-progression. What I mean by that is that the front squat – often thought of as more challenging (and therefore a progression) than the back squat – teaches some key technique points that can save a struggling back squat, namely:
- Bracing the anterior core
- Allowing an appropriate amount of forward knee travel
- Staying upright without hyperextending the lower back
For this, the front squat gets my deepest apologies.
2. FEET-UP BENCH PRESS
Not long ago, I’d have been the first person to openly shame anyone bench pressing with their feet up on the bench. And while the notion that it “works your core” is still completely asinine, I’ve learned that there’s a legitimate time and place to bench with your feet up.
Over the past year, I came to rely upon my leg drive so much that I couldn’t bench heavy weights without it. This became a problem, especially when trying to grind out maximal attempts if my leg drive wasn’t perfect. Greg Robins suggested a startling solution: benching with my feet up.
I was a bit skeptical, but my skepticism morphed to surprise when I got noticeably stronger through the bottom portion of the bench press. Without the aid of my legs, I learned to stay tighter through my upper back, keep my elbows tucked longer and actually think about pressing instead of just “popping” the bar off my chest with my legs.
Try a few sets of legs-up bench press after your main bench movement to learn what it feels like to create true upper back tightness and pressing strength.
3. BEAR CRAWLS
My latest article for STACK explains why bear crawls are awesome, but I didn’t always think so. They seemed to fall into the overly-creative functional nonsense category, but – big surprise – I was wrong.
When Eric Cressey is your boss, you can’t help but learn a lot about shoulder function. Bear crawls address a handful of issues that we see at the shoulder, whether you throw a baseball for a living or just lift heavy stuff for fun. That said, they’re incredibly useful as either an upper body warm-up drill or an all-encompassing core exercise that addresses mobility and stability at the shoulders and hips.
4. STEP-UPS
I came clean on lunges last time, but surely the step-up, the lunge’s wimpier cousin, has no place in a quality strength training program, right?
I’d have said yes, until I worked with clients with knee pain. Or worked with athletes with lower back pain. Or with powerlifters with hip pain. It wasn’t until I was left with no alternative that I realized how powerful step-ups could be for getting someone back to performing single-leg movements pain-free.
By removing the eccentric component of a lunge or split squat, you can focus on performing a single-leg movement while maintaining good position at the knee, hip and lower back. This is great news for someone with a low level of fitness, but it’s also good news for someone who wants to load up a single leg movement nice and heavy without worrying about a highly-complicated exercise. You win either way.
Step-ups rock for athletes who are in-season because of the limited eccentric stress (which means less soreness) or powerlifters who want an accessory movement that leaves you less beat up after heavy squats or deadlifts. If you’ve been using lunges or split-squats exclusively, try step-ups instead.
5. LOW-INTENSITY CARDIO
You won’t see me running marathons any time soon, but I no longer think cardio is the devil. A strong aerobic base is essential for any sport (even powerlifting), and aerobic training WON’T turn you into a shriveled-up weakling.
The majority of the material covered during my graduate school education focused on cardiac function. The literature clearly shows that aerobic function (VO2max, resting heart rate, etc.) is a huge indicator of health and longevity, but I was still hesitant to include much low-intensity conditioning with my clients or myself.
It turns out there are more ways to develop aerobic fitness than just going for a jog. Our movement training at CSP uses a variety of mobility circuits and tempo runs to condition our baseball players without having them run poles for hours every week. When I was at Brown University, we used low-level medicine ball drills to build aerobic capacity without hitting the pavement. Long story short, you’ve got more options than distance running.
Complete Human Performance coach Alex Viada gave an eye-opening presentation at CSP about how he maximizes strength and endurance with his athletes and that it’s entirely possible to excel in both disciplines. It’s simply a matter of good programming and knowing when too much is too much. Hell, even I do between 45-60 minutes of low-intensity cardio per week now and my lifts are still going up.
Check out Viada’s book, The Hybrid Athlete, to learn everything you need to know about training for strength and endurance simultaneously. No affiliate link here, I genuinely think it’s that awesome.
FORGIVE AND FORGET
I hope these exercises can find it in their hearts to forgive me for doubting them. It won’t happen again. And if you’ve been ignoring them too, give them a try and see what you’re missing.