11. Stepup
Why you should do it: Stepups are highly effective for ramping up your stability and leg strength. Becasue it’s a unilateral (one-legged) movement, you’re forced to balance, improve weaknesses, and strengthen small stabilizing muscles. “If the box is high enough, you’ll tax your glutes in places you’ve never felt before and your quads will also work overtime,” says Philadelphia-based personal trainer Henry Halse , C.S.C.S.
How to do it:
Expert tip: Hold dumbbells for added resistance, Halse suggests.
12. Hip Thrust
Why you should do it: The hip thrust is greatly underutilized for a number of reasons. “For one, to perform a proper hip thrust, you essentially have to thrust your pelvis up and down; for the more bashful gym goer, this could be less than appealing,” says Mike Krajewski , PT, C.S.C.S., owner of MK Fitness in Nashville, TN. “However, the strength transfer that occurs from regular hip thrusting into improving deadlift and squat strength makes it worth it,” he adds.
How to do it:
Expert tip: To progress this exercise, load your hips with a band, dumbbell, or a barbell (a yoga mat wrapped around for padding is strongly suggested), Krajewski says.
13. Heavy Barbell Split Squat
Why you should do it: “Most lifters incorporate lunges as a finishing movement at the end of a lower-body workout using higher reps and lighter loads”, Seedman says. This isn’t a bad thing, per se. And neither is the most common method of performing lunges in a walking fashion. “Unfortunately, these protocols are not as affective for injury prevention—or for maximizing strength and muscle growth,” he explains. To fully exploit the benefits of lunges you want to incorporate them as one of your primary lower-body lifts. This means you need to go heavy and perform them in a stationary or split squat fashion in a squat rack. “This allows you to use heavier weights in a safe and effective manner while slowing the movement down and working on technique in a systematic and controlled fashion—something that’s difficult to do with walking lunges,” Seedman adds.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “If you have proper muscle function, movement mechanics, and lower body development, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be capable of handling approximately 50% of your 1RM squat for sets of 3-5 reps on stationary barbell lunges and split squats,” Seedman says.
14. Low-to-High Cable Chest Flyes
Why you should do it: “The cable chest flye is a classic move in any chest workout, as it builds definition within your pecs and shapes the muscle,” Okafor says. Guys usually set the cables at high to mid height, bringing the cables either straight down or directly in front of themselves, generating tension as the cable travels down. With the cable machine set low, though, you target growth and strength in your upper chest—key to building a strong, aesthetic upper body that’s evenly developed.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “I like to perform a higher rep range (15-20 reps) for this version as it builds great definition in the upper chest,” Okafor says.
15. 50-Yard Sprints
Why you should do it: “Very rarely do guys actually go into an all-out sprint,” says Chase Weber , celebrity performance trainer. But, leaving the gym will leave you with some serious rewards if you work hard enough. Sprinting torches calories, builds muscular legs, and drastically improves cardiovascular fitness. “You’ll be sore in places you forgot about,” Weber guarantees.
How to do it:
Expert tip: Maintain proper form throughout, especially as you fatigue.
16. Weighted Bulgarian Split Squat
Why you should do it: Comprehensive leg strength, plain and simple. “Often due to bilateral (working both sides together) exercises like various leg presses, squat variations, jump squats, leg curls, and extensions, you can overlook working each leg unilaterally,” Reames says. Because of this, you can develop imbalances in strength and/or flexibility, which can become even more pronounced as fatigue sets in; on a given exercise your “strong” side can compensate and take over the brunt of the load.
How to do it:
Expert tip: Keep your front knee tracking directly over your foot, so you’re not jutting your knee forward, Reames says. Also, make sure the front foot is planted firmly on the floor.
17. External Shoulder Rotation
Why you should do it: “This is underrated because it appears to be so specific and ‘boring,’ as my clients say,” according to Perkins. But it’s so important because the shoulder is a very unstable joint waiting for injury to happen, she explains. You need exercises that improve the stability of the joint so you can handle the stress caused by moves like bench press, pushups, and overhead pressing.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “Make sure the rotation only happens at your shoulder,” Perkins says.
18. Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why you should do it: Ankle dorsiflexion (back-bending your foot) is great for your tibialis anterior, a muscle group located along the front of your lower leg, along the shin, Reames says. “It’s an often overlooked muscle group, and its inflammation is the main culprit in shin splints,” Reames explains.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “You can use a theraband here for resistance as well,” Reames suggests.
19. Power Clean
Why you should do it: “Men think only athletes or CrossFitters need to do power cleans, but the reality is this one exercise trains your fast-twitch muscle fibers, kicks up your central nervous system, builds strength, and improves metabolic conditioning,” Sklaver says. The explosive lift is a bona fide full-body builder that’ll hit your back, glutes, hamstrings, calves, traps, deltoids, and core.
How to do it:
Expert tip: Keep the bar close to your body; the closer it is, the more control you have.
20. Incline Dumbbell Bench w/ Squeeze
Why you should do it: “The barbell bench is an exercise that almost every guys does,” Dunham says. “But it’s not the most effective method for packing size on your upper chest—using dumbbells, which allow you to focus more on your pecs, is,” he explains. At the top of the movement, you can give the dumbbells a squeeze that’ll stimulate more hypertrophy.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “Don’t rush the upward portion, and consciously think about trying to squeeze the weights together throughout the entire movement,” Dunham says.
21. Single-Leg Situp
Why you should do it: You know blasting out 1,000 crunches isn’t really getting you anywhere . But slight variations on the ab move can yield great results. The single-leg situp works your rectus abdominis and obliques, Halse says, by forcing your core to keep you balanced and stabilized throughout the movement.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “If you let your arms fall forward, the momentum will help you cheat the exercise, rather than making your abs do the work,” Halse says.
22. One-Arm Dumbbell Chest Press
Why you should do it: “I firmly believe a combination of bilateral and unilateral training greatly reinforces structural balance,” Krajewski says. “The one-arm dumbbell chest press is less sexy than performing a heavy barbell bench, however, by training with dumbbells you expose any discrepancies in strength between left and right limbs,” he explains.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “Squeeze your chest at the top of the press to really engage your muscles,” Krajewski says.
23. Rack Pulls
Why you should do it: “Deadlifts have long been considered one of the most effective strength and mass building movements—unfortunately most individuals lack the mobility, joint stability, motor control, postural alignment, form, and lifting mechanics to properly perform deadlifts from the floor,” Seedman says. The result? Serious lower back injuries. But, rather than forego the movement, the key is to modify it so you enhance the benefits while eliminating the negatives that make it risky—enter rack pulls! “Rack pulls are essentially a partial deadlift where you set the safety pins in the squat cage at approximately knee height and perform deadlifts with a reduced range of motion, rather than from the floor,” Seedman says. This move is easier on your low back, easier to master in terms of form and mechanics, and easier to load with heavier weight, meaning you’ll experience higher levels of functional strength and hypertrophy throughout the traps, lats, upper and lower back, glutes, hamstrings, neck, forearms, shoulders, spinal stabilizers, and more.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “They key is to hinge at your hips rather than squatting down with your knees,” Seedman says.
24. Incline Pushup
Why you should do it: “The pushup is an old-school calisthenic exercise that always seems to find its way at the bottom of the list of exercises guys do to build size and strength in the chest, but it shouldn’t be ignored,” Okafor says. “The incline pushup adds another dimension of intensity to the tried-and-true bodyweight move. “The incline pushup is so simple yet extremely effective because you can do it practically anywhere, anytime, and supplement it with any exercise as a superset,” Okafor adds. This will target the oft-neglected upper chest.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “As you get stronger, increase the height of the elevation,” Okafor suggests.
25. Ladders
Why you should do it: “People get embarrassed to try things they’re not good at,” Weber says. Case in point: Ladder agility drills are far more difficult than they look. But they’ve got a metabolic aspect and a neurology angle by forcing you to become in sync with your body. “With time and patience, you’ll get better with your coordination; this is a great way to add a different movement to your workouts,” he adds.
How to do it:
Expert tip: Move as quickly as possible through the drills to keep your heart rate up and trigger fast-twitch muscle fibers.
26. Reverse Narrow-Grip Lat Pulldown
Why you should do it: “ Most men automatically default to the wide-grip version so they can broaden their back and shoulders,” Perkins says. But the narrow-grip variation is important because you’re better able to develop strength due to the hand position change. “This move will improve your pulling ability with no stress on the posterior shoulder,” Perkins adds. Plus, it’s the best exercise to serve as a primer for chinups, and, eventually, pullups.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “When done correctly, this move is fantastic for improving the muscular connection between your core and your shoulder girdle—meaning you’ll feel it in back, core, and biceps,” Perkins says.
27. Slow-and-Go Rows
Why you should do it: “ A thick, wide back is a tell-tale sign of true strength; but guys often think heavy, fast-pulling exercises are the way to achieve this,” Dunham says. Spoiler alert: It’s not. A well-built back has a combo of fast-twitch and slow-twitch musculature. “Slow-and-go rows are a way to maximally recruit both types, building a platform for more muscle mass,” Dunham adds. Perform it with any of the following pieces of equipment: TRX, a T bar setup, dumbbells, or a seated row machine. “I personally use TRX rows, because they mitigate technical errors,” he says.
How to do it:
Expert tip : “With the TRX rows, you can push a lot more out of the set by simply taking a step back away from the wall and increasing the starting angle of your body and the ground,” Dunham says.
28. Bentover Barbell Row
Why you should do it: An incredibly effective exercise to bulk and broaden your back, the bentover barbell row gets a lot of mixed opinions from lifters. Bottom line: If you have back problems, skip this exercise. Unlike dumbbell bentover rows, your legs and low back have to work overtime to preserve your form. But if you have a healthy back, your hamstrings will get a good amount of stimulation from this variation. If you’re still hesitant, use lighter weight.
How to do it:
Expert tip: “As you bring the bar up, pinch your shoulder blades back and stick your chest out to maximize the amount of work your back muscles do,” Halse says.
29. Three-Way Cable Wood Chops
Why you should do it: “I see wood chops done from time to time, but the trend leans heavily towards regular mid-level wood chops,” Krajewski says. “I like to vary the style of chops I perform by alternating the handle position each set,” he explains. The small tweak seriously challenges your abdominals and obliques. “For those trying to get that nice v-shape out of their torso, I would definitely recommend this move,” he adds.
How to do it:
Expert tip: Keep the motion slow and controlled.
30. Barbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
Why you should do it: This move’s accolades coincide with all the other unilateral moves on this list. It exposes and strengthens any imbalances or weaknesses you might have. The barbell single-leg Romanian deadlift works the hamstrings, glutes, erector spinae (muscles along your spine), postural stabilizers, and core strength all in one go, Liz Lowe says.
How to do it:
Expert tip: Don’t rush the move or use momentum to swing you back and forth. If you’re a little wobbly, give your planted leg some time to set before continuing with the movement.
by Brittany Smith
