Learn the exercises
Step photos, cues, and narrated walkthroughs for every movement.
Step photos, cues, and narrated walkthroughs for every movement.
Weighted and bodyweight lifts, grouped by the muscle they train.
Sit tall with the dumbbells at shoulder height, palms facing you — the top of a curl. Press up while rotating the palms away from you, elbows sweeping from the front around to the sides, and finish locked out overhead with palms forward. Reverse the rotation on the way down.
Set the bar on the upper back and brace hard. Sit between the hips with knees tracking the toes; descend until the hip crease is below the knee, then drive up through mid-foot.
Set up with shoulder blades retracted and feet planted. Lower the bar to mid-chest under control, pause briefly, then press to lockout without flaring the elbows.
Stand with a shoulder-width supinated grip. Curl the bar to shoulder height by flexing the elbows; keep the upper arms tight to the torso. Lower to a full stretch.
Set the upper back against a bench with the bar across the hips on a pad. Drive through the heels until the hips are fully extended and the torso is parallel to the floor, then lower under control.
Hinge at the hips to about 45° with a neutral spine. Row the bar to the lower chest / upper abs, elbows tracking back, then lower to a full stretch without rounding the back.
From standing, drop your hands to the floor and kick the feet back into a push-up position. Do a push-up (or skip it to scale down), jump the feet back in to a crouch, and finish with a jump. Steady rhythm beats speed.
Lie face-down with your chest against a 30–45° incline bench and let both dumbbells hang straight down. Row them back to your ribs, driving the elbows behind you and squeezing the shoulder blades together, then lower to a full stretch. Because the bench carries your torso there's no body English and no load on the lower back — every rep is pure upper back, so go lighter than a bent-over row and let the squeeze do the work.
Set the bar over the mid-foot with shins close. Hinge down, take the slack out of the bar, then push the floor away and stand tall; finish with the hips fully extended.
Lie flat holding one dumbbell in one hand, arm extended over the chest. Keeping the upper arm fixed, bend at the elbow to lower the bell across the body toward the opposite shoulder, then extend back to lockout. A single-arm skullcrusher along a cross-body path.
Set the hands together under the chest so the thumbs and index fingers form a diamond. Lower until the chest touches the hands with the elbows tracking back along the ribs, then press to full lockout. Hits the inner chest and triceps hard.
Lie flat, dumbbells stacked over the shoulders. Lower until the upper arms break the bench line, then press straight up without letting the dumbbells crash together.
Place the rear foot on a bench behind you and split the stance. Lower until the back knee approaches the floor with weight in the front mid-foot, then drive up through the front leg.
Start with palms facing in. Curl one dumbbell up while supinating the wrist so the palm faces up at the top. Lower under control and alternate sides.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand at the sides. Hinge at the hips with a flat back to lower the dumbbells toward the floor, then drive the hips forward to stand tall.
Lie on the floor with knees bent and dumbbells stacked over the shoulders. Lower until the upper arms rest lightly on the floor, pause a beat, then press straight up to lockout. The floor caps the range of motion, keeping the shoulders in their strongest zone — the no-bench workhorse for horizontal pressing.
Lie flat with a slight bend in the elbows. Open the arms in a wide hugging arc until you feel a stretch across the chest, then squeeze the dumbbells back together over the chest.
Hug a single dumbbell to the chest. Keep a flat back and soft knees; hinge at the hips until the torso is parallel to the floor, then drive the hips forward to stand.
Set the upper back against a bench and hold a single dumbbell across the hips. Drive through the heels until the hips are fully extended and the torso is parallel to the floor, then lower under control.
Stand with a slight forward lean and soft elbows. Raise the dumbbells out to the sides to shoulder height, leading with the elbows, then lower under control.
Lie across or along a flat bench cradling one dumbbell. Lower the weight in an arc behind the head until you feel a deep stretch across the lats, then pull it back over the chest.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand at the hips. Push the hips back with a soft knee bend, letting the dumbbells track close to the legs, then drive the hips forward to stand.
Lie flat with dumbbells pressed over the chest, palms facing each other. Bend at the elbows to lower the dumbbells beside the head, then extend to lockout.
Hold dumbbells at the sides and stand tall. Press through the balls of the feet to rise onto the toes, pause at the top, then lower under control through a full range.
Hold one dumbbell vertically by the top head with both hands. Hinge at the hips to swing it back between the legs, then snap the hips forward to float it up to chest height. The power comes from the hips — the arms just steer.
Hold a dumbbell at each shoulder. Squat to parallel, then drive up and use the momentum to press both dumbbells overhead in one continuous movement. Lower them back to the shoulders as you descend into the next rep.
Hinge forward with a flat back. Pin the upper arm to the torso and extend the forearm straight back until the arm is locked out, then return to a 90° bend.
Hold one dumbbell vertically at the chest with both hands. Sit straight down between the hips with an upright torso; keep elbows inside the knees at the bottom.
Place the bar on the upper back as in a squat. Push the hips back with a soft knee bend and a flat back until the torso is roughly parallel to the floor, then drive the hips forward.
Keep palms facing each other throughout. Curl the dumbbells up to the shoulders while keeping the elbows pinned to the sides, then lower to a full stretch.
Hang from a bar with shoulders packed. Raise the legs by curling the pelvis up and forward until they are at least parallel to the floor, then lower under control without swinging.
Set the bench to 30–45°. Press the dumbbells up and slightly inward to lockout, then lower to a deep stretch at shoulder level. Keep elbows around 45° from the torso.
Sit into a bodyweight squat, then explode up into a vertical jump. Land softly with bent knees and sink straight into the next rep. Height matters less than a quiet, controlled landing.
Lie prone on a flat bench gripping a light dumbbell between the feet. Curl the heels toward the glutes by flexing the knees, then lower the dumbbell under control.
From a high plank with hands under the shoulders, drive one knee toward the chest, then switch legs in a running rhythm. Keep the hips level and the shoulders stacked over the wrists.
Brace with the same-side knee and hand on the bench. Row the dumbbell to the hip, elbow tracking back, then lower under control to a deep stretch.
Hold one dumbbell vertically overhead with both hands. Bend at the elbows to lower it behind the head, then extend the elbows to drive it back overhead.
Start with the bar racked at the front shoulders, elbows slightly in front. Brace the core, press straight up, and finish with the bar over the mid-foot at lockout.
Set up on the forearms with elbows under the shoulders. Brace the abs and glutes hard so the body forms a straight line from heels to head; breathe through the diaphragm.
Lie face-down on an incline bench with light dumbbells hanging straight down. Raise both arms overhead into a wide Y with the thumbs up, driving the movement from the shoulder blades. Keep the neck long and do not shrug — if the tops of the shoulders creep toward the ears, the weight is too heavy. This is the strongest lower-trapezius move there is, and the lower trap is half the force couple that tilts the shoulder blade back across the collarbone joint.
Hang from the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulders. Drive the elbows down and back to pull the chest toward the bar, then lower under control to a full hang.
Start in a tight plank with hands under shoulders. Lower the chest to the floor with elbows around 45°, then press back to full lockout while keeping the body in a straight line.
A push-up with an extra beat at the top: once the arms lock out, keep pushing the floor away so the shoulder blades spread apart and the upper back rounds. Those last few inches are the serratus anterior — the muscle that rotates the shoulder blade upward and steadies the collarbone joint when you go overhead.
Hinge to about 45° with a flat back and soft elbows. Sweep the dumbbells out and back, leading with the rear delts, until the arms are roughly parallel to the floor.
Start standing with the bar at the hips. Push the hips back while keeping a soft knee bend; let the bar slide down the thighs until you feel a hamstring stretch, then drive the hips forward.
Sit with the knees bent and lean back until the core engages, holding a light dumbbell (or clasped hands) at the chest. Rotate the torso to tap the weight beside one hip, then the other. Lift the feet to make it harder.
Sit on an upright bench with dumbbells at shoulder height, palms forward. Press overhead until the arms lock out, then lower to ear height under control.
Lie on your side with the top arm's elbow pinned against your ribs and bent to 90°. Keeping that elbow glued in place, rotate the forearm up toward the ceiling, then lower it back across the belly. The elbow is the hinge and never leaves the ribs — if the arm drifts away from the body or the shoulder rolls forward, the weight is too heavy. This is the single best move for the infraspinatus and teres minor, the rotator-cuff muscles that hold the ball of the shoulder centred in its socket while you press.
Lie flat with the bar pressed over the chest. Keeping the elbows fixed in space, lower the bar toward the forehead by bending at the elbows, then extend back to lockout.
Stand on the balls of the feet on a step or flat ground. Rise as high as possible onto the toes, pause briefly, then lower until you feel a deep stretch in the calves.
Lie on your back with the dumbbells locked out over the chest. Without bending the elbows, punch both dumbbells a few inches higher so the shoulder blades lift off the floor, then let them settle back. The arms never move — only the shoulder blades travel. Lying down keeps the upper traps quiet so the serratus does the work.
Support yourself on parallel bars with an upright torso. Lower until the upper arms are parallel to the floor, then press back to lockout without letting the elbows flare.
Hinge at the hips to about 45° with a flat back, a dumbbell hanging from each hand. Row both dumbbells to the lower ribs, driving the elbows back, then lower to a full stretch without rounding the back.
Take a long step forward and lower the back knee toward the floor, keeping the front shin roughly vertical. Drive off the front foot to step into the next lunge.
