What it hits: Quads, glutes., hamstrings, back, shoulders, biceps
Why it’s effective: “Because this movement requires you to rip the weight off the ground and press it overhead, you’re working explosive power from the ground up,” says Zach Even-Esh, performance coach to athletes and owner of the Underground Strength Gym in Edison, NJ. “Your legs, back, grip, shoulders and biceps are working intensely to lift the dumbbell. The one-arm dumbbell clean and press is also easy to learn. With athletes, time is often of the essence and if you want to maximize your time in the gym, choosing complicated movements and lifting patterns will minimize progress.”
How to do it: Stand with a relatively heavy dumbbell in front of you on the floor, your feet about shoulder-width apart. Bend at the knees and waist to reach down and grasp the dumbbell with one hand. Keeping your chest out and your back arched slightly, explosively pull the dumbbell straight up as high as you can, then drop underneath it and catch it in the “clean” position (elbow pointed forward, hand and dumbbell on or just above your front deltoid). Extend your legs to stand upright, then explosively press the dumbbell overhead from the cleaned position. Carefully reverse the motion to return the dumbbell toward the floor. Subsequent reps can start with either the dumbbell resting on the floor or hanging at mid-shin level. Repeat all reps with one arm, then switch arms.
How much to do: 3-5 sets, 3-5 reps per arm, 1-2 minutes rest between sets
Burpees
What it hits: Quads, glutes, hamstring, chest, shoulders, tricep, core
Why it’s effective: “This may seem like an odd choice,” says Martin Gibala, PhD, professor and chair of the department of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. “But my suggestion would be the burpee. It doesn’t require specialized equipment, can be performed anywhere and is a form of strength training where many major muscle groups are subjected to a resistive force that’s applied using the person’s own body weight. If done in sufficient number (or in repeated cycles), burpees are a form of HIIT training that places on aerobic stress on the cardiorespiratory system and also likely improves muscle oxidative capacity.”
How to do it: The burpee is a four-part movement consisting of the following phases done consecutively without pause: (1) From a standing position, bend over at the waist and squat down until your hands are on the floor just in front of your feet; (2) kick your legs back behind you to place yourself in a push-up position (option for adding difficulty: do one or more push-ups at this point); (3) reverse the previous motion by pulling your knees in toward your midsection to return to the squatted position; (4) stand up to return to the start position (for added difficulty, jump up as high as you can at the top of each rep with your arms extended overhead). That’s one rep.
How much to do: As an initial recommendation, Gibala suggests 5 sets of 20 reps with 1 minute rest between sets.
BY JOE WUEBBEN