Relationship status: It’s complicated. These grueling exercises are super difficult and draining, but they you keep coming back for more
The safety squat bar—or SSB—has built-in padding around the neck and shoulders. In fact, the two-pronged piece of equipment resembles a travel pillow attached to a barbell. It looks downright cushy—luxurious, even.
Oooh, I’ll use THAT, you think to yourself.
But it’s far from cushy. Every squat rep feels as though someone is trying to push you over from behind. Unlike a straight bar during a back squat, the SSB shifts its center of gravity forward, so you’re rewarded with more core engagement and a stimulus not unlike a front squat.
Except there is no bailing out of the SSB—it keeps you locked in its deadly embrace. You have to fight for every rep, dripping sweat, and inching up in weight. Your internal monologue shifts from, You got this, man! to OMG I hate my life right now and I will NEVER TOUCH THIS THING AGAIN.
Eventually, though, the sets end. You’ve worked every single muscle in your body and you’re feeling pleasingly spent. You will be back again because you secretly loved it.
Some exercises are just like that: Tough as nails but effective as all get-out. These are the ones that you love to hate . . . to love. Here are 11 of the best.
Rear-Foot-Elevated Split Squat (a.k.a. Bulgarian Split Squat)
The rear-foot-elevated split squat is one of the best lower-body exercises. It activates your quadriceps, builds single-leg stability, and causes tiny tears in your glutes muscles, making your stronger, bigger, and more athletic.
But it’s also a doozy. Unlike a regular split squat where your back leg pushes about 50 percent of the load, the Bulgarian version only relies on your back foot for balance. Your front leg must do all the heavy lifting.
How to do it: Stand a couple of feet from a bench or other padded surface that’s approximately knee height, with your back to it. Bend your right leg and rest the top of your right foot on the bench. This is the starting split squat position.
Pushing through your front heel, bend your left leg and lower your body down toward the floor. Your left leg should be bent at least 90 degrees. Push back up to the starting position. Use your back leg only as necessary.
A little forward lean during the movement can help hammer your glutes even more than an upright stance, making the exercise easier on your lower back.
You can load this exercise holding weights down at your sides, in a goblet position (in front of your chest), in a front-racked position (at your shoulders), or on your back. However you choose to load it, you will be sorry in the moment and happy afterward.
For more lower-body burners, check out the 17 Best Glutes Exercises.
Anderson Squat
This exercise forces you to spend quality time in the bottom position—the hardest position—of the squat. In the end, though, it’ll help you blast out of the very depths of the hole.
How to do it: To prepare for an Anderson squat, set the safety pins to a height that matches up with your shoulders at the bottom position of your squat for either a barbell front or back squat. Place the barbell on the pins and get under the bar.
If you want to perform a back squat, the bar goes across your upper back. If you want to perform a front squat, it goes in a racked position in front of your chest. This is the starting position.
From there, stand up with the bar, and then squat back down to the pins. Pause for 4 seconds before standing up again.
Tip: You may find that starting your very first rep at the top helps you get the bar into a more solid position. If so, that’s completely fine.
Sotts Press
Arguably the most humbling strength-and-mobility drill around for many, the Sotts press brings the heat. As with the previous exercises, there are various options for how to load this exercise and what implement to use (it often begins with a barbell behind the neck), but the general idea is that you perform an overhead press from the bottom of a squat position.
How to do it: Perform a squat, hold the bottom, and then press up the weights until your arms are straight and your biceps are by your ears. Then lower the weights back to your shoulders and return to standing.
This exercise both detects and improves joint immobility in the ankles, hips, upper back, and shoulders, so start super light.
Romanian Deadlift
Unlike most deadlifts that begin with the implement on the floor (or close to it, anyway), the Romanian deadlift technically begins at the top. This means your time under tension is extensive—as is the challenge to your grip, since you don’t let go of the bar until you’re done with the set.
The bottom position also depends on your joint mobility and muscle flexibility. However, the movement is performed in a stiff-legged manner with the goal to keep deep hamstrings tension the entire time. Therefore, the end point tends to be right at the knees.
How to do it: If you’re using a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells, let the weights hang at your sides at arms’ length. If you’re using a barbell, grab it with an overhand grip and let the load hang in front of your quads at arms’ length. Bend your knees slightly.
Keeping that angle in your knees, bend at your hips and lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor. Pause, and raise back up to the starting position.
Once you’ve nailed the Romanian deadlift, try the single-leg version. It’ll train your legs, but also work your core twice as hard.
Stepup to Deep Lunge
Alone, the weighted stepup could make this list—especially when you do the slow-mo version with a slight forward lean to really target the glutes. But then—then—add a deep lunge, and the tears will start rolling down your cheeks.
How to do it: Stand facing a box. Place your left foot on it, and push your heel into the box as you push your body up until your left leg is straight. Then lower yourself down, stepping back with your right foot so it’s a couple of feet from the box.
Sink down into a deep lunge with your left foot still on the box. Then push your body back up until your right foot comes off the floor and your left leg is straight again. It won’t take long before your lower body is toast.
Reverse Lunge to Overhead Press
The reverse lunge—or any type of lunge, really—is an excellent exercise for developing strength and athleticism. And depending on how and if you weight it, a lunge can be a downright pleasant addition to any training program—one that doesn’t necessarily obliterate you afterwards.
But house the weights in a front racked position, perform a reverse lunge, and then press the weight overhead, and suddenly no muscle in your body gets a break.
How to do it: Stand holding a pair of dumbbells just outside your shoulders, your arms bent and palms facing each other. Take a long step back with your left foot so your left knee nearly touches the floor. Pause, and press the weights directly over your shoulders until your arms are straight. Don’t arch your lower back. Then slowly lower the dumbbells and push back up to the starting position. Repeat.
Manmaker
Exercise combos are when at least two movements flow into one another. Well, the manmaker combines 7 exercises to hit every muscle and jack up your heart rate.
How to do it: Holding two dumbbells at your sides, hinge forward at your hips and plant the dumbbells just in front and to the outsides of your feet. Keeping your hands on the dumbbell handles, hop your feet back into a plank position with your body forming a straight line from head to heels. Perform a pushup, lowering your chest down to the floor, and then pushing back up until your arms are straight.
Now perform a renegade row one each side. Pull one dumbbell up to the sides of your ribs. Pause, and slowly lower the dumbbell back to the floor. Repeat on the other side.
Next, hop your feet back up to the dumbbells. Perform a power clean by pulling the dumbbells up and “catching” them at shoulder height with your palms facing each other. Push your hips back and lower your body into a front squat. Push back up to standing, pressing the weights overhead until your arms are straight. Lower the weights.
All of that? That’s one rep.
Sled Push
Is there anything more dreadful-slash-dreamy than pushing a heavy weighted sled as fast as you can for repetitions? This brief-but-brutal method of conditioning is highly effective, but work your way up to longer distances, faster speeds, and more repeats for bigger gains. Tip: Have a barf bucket handy.
How to do it: Think of the sled push like a moving plank. As you move forward, maintain a straight line from your head to your ankles. Your power comes from your legs and hips, so drive your feet diagonally into the ground with each step. Increase your speed after you’ve mastered the proper technique.
Turkish Getup
This seven-step lift requires an immense amount of patience. There are several ways to get up, but all of them involve rising from the floor to a standing position while holding a weight overhead for the duration of the movement. This extended time under tension builds mad strength endurance.
Single-Arm Farmer’s Carry
Nothing sounds simpler than a unilateral carry: Hold a heavy weight in your hand, take a stroll, and don’t let the weight tip you to one side. But add a hefty amount of weight, and suddenly it’s no walk in the park.
Every muscle from your shoulders to your hips has to stabilize as the weight shifts with each step. Holding a heavy weight also taxes your grip and forearms, which are often neglected during your regular routine.
Check out 31 Other Awesome Variations of the Famer’s Carry.
Bear Crawl
This situation can get grizzly fast. The key is to resist lumbering. That is, keep your hips low—no higher than your shoulders—and don’t let them rock and sway back and forth. (Imagine a dinner plate full of food placed on the base of your spine, and make sure you don’t spill it as you go.) Move smoothly, lifting your opposite hand and foot at the same time.
Bonus: The benefits aren’t limited to strength endurance and core strength. The cross-body patterning involved in crawling also helps to build new synapses in the brain, even in adults.
This Article First Published on https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19540071/11-exercises-you-love-to-hate/
