15 Amazing Exercises You Forgot All About
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
It’s sometimes said that the best workout is the one you haven’t done. After all, the body adapts quickly to even the most challenging of routines and a new program likely will stimulate different muscles and jump-start your enthusiasm for training.
Guys who dabble in a little bit of everything—CrossFit, yoga, obstacle racing, triathlon, paddle sports—sometimes get away from some of the most basic, best-bang-for-your-buck exercises. In some instances, these moves have become overshadowed by new research or flavor-of-the-month trends. Other times they just fall between the cracks in the interest of saving time, even if they’ve served us well in the past.
The best exercises tend to be timeless, producing some combination of strength, stability, endurance, and resistance to injury. They’re versatile, requiring little to no equipment and you can do them anywhere. They also provide benefits that will help you thrive in any endeavor, along with mimicking the movements of everyday life.
Most importantly, they’re probably moves you’ve done at some point but now rank as lost classics. But by implementing some or all of them into your regimen, you’ll jump-start your body and refresh your workouts without undergoing a learning curve.
Here are 15 amazing exercises that perhaps you’re forgetting.
Related: The 15 Most Important Exercises For Men
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
1. Mountain Climbers
These build hip mobility and endurance and can be done anywhere. Add to the degree of difficulty by doing them on the beach in soft sand. Though they’re not thought of as an abdominal exercise, they’re actually more effective for building six packs than many ab routines.
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
2. Pull-Ups
Many guys give up on these in fourth grade after failing to do 5 on the Presidential Fitness Test. Hey, you’re stronger now. Don’t overlook this convenient move that builds upper body strength. Do swinging “kipping” pull-ups popularized by CrossFit if you need to build momentum initially, but work your way to the traditional up-and-down method.
Related: The 15 Best Pull-Up Variations
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
3. Romanian Deadlift
Sort of a lost classic in the weight room, this move builds strength in your hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and upper back. Start with a lower weight and work up. Form is especially key to getting full benefits from the RDL.
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
4. Burpees
These aren’t just for Spartan Race punishment. Few moves hammer the entire body while testing endurance. Work your way up to a set of 30 or, if you’re older, your age. Add to the degree of difficulty by doing burpees under a pull-up bar and completing a pull-up at the end of each one.
(Photo: Corbis)
5. Box Jumps
How often do you work on your lower-body explosiveness? This isn’t about getting high enough to dunk, though it will help there, too; it’s about creating the ability to mimic the activities of everyday life such as stepping off a bus or taking steps two at a time.
Related: The Best Bodyweight Workout of All Time
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
6. Cobra/Superman
We spend so much time sitting and crunched behind a wheel. This move pulls your body, especially the lumbar spine, back into alignment and keeps you from developing that hunched-over look.
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
7. Bar Dips
Another basic move that blasts the chest and can be done anywhere you find a pair of parallel bars. Or you can do reverse dips with a bench or table.
Related: The 30 Best Arm Exercises of All Time
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
8. Deadlift
Considered a bodybuilding or powerlifting exercise, it actually mimics functional movement as well as any lift, keeping your back and hips strong. Whether you’re moving furniture, lifting a child, or taking groceries out of the car, you’re deadlifting.
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
9. (Proper) Pushup
Think you already have proper form? Get in position with a five-foot broomstick or dowel rod along the length of your spine with about a foot of the rod dangling over your head. If you have proper form, the stick will stay in position. If not: time to practice.
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
10. Tricep Pushup
Skip the tricep pushdowns and skull crushers in favor of pushups with the ends of your index fingers and thumbs touching. You’ll blast the triceps without equipment.
Related: The Workout to Trash Your Triceps
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
11. Dumbbell Bench Press
Not as sexy as its barbell counterpart since nobody keeps track of their “max dumbbell bench,” it’s actually more effective in recruiting the muscles of your shoulders and chest.
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
12. Split Squat/Lunge
This move, while holding dumbbells, increases balance and strength in your hip and leg muscles. Whether you return to the starting position after each rep or do a walking version, you’ll feel it in your hips and the front of your legs.
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
13. Farmer’s Carry
Ever wonder why farmers don’t need to work out? It’s because they’re accustomed to hauling heavy objects in both hands long distances. Work your way up to 45-pound plates for 50 yards.
(Photo: Corbis)
14. Cow/Cat
These two opposite yoga moves—raising and lowering your spine while on all fours—work wonders for your back, which takes a beating from sitting all day. Don’t save this one for the gym. A couple minutes in the middle of the workday goes a long way toward resetting your alignment.
Related: 7 Things you Didn’t Know Yoga Could Do For Your Body
(Photo: Men’s Fitness)
15. Foam Roller Exercises
Just 15 minutes a day pays huge dividends in terms of muscle recovery and addressing knots and spasms. Few of us can afford a daily professional massage. But we all have time—even in front of the TV—to roll our way to recovery. What’s more: You can actually do strength moves with a foam roller—here’s how.
By Pete Williams, CPT
More From Men’s Fitness:
