30 Exercises On Becoming Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman
Table of Contents
1. Disclaimer3 2. Testimonials....4 3. About Me..10 4. Introduction...15 5. Compound Exercises.23 6. Pulling Exercises...79 7. Core Exercises...92 8. Core Stabilization Exercises..100
www.InspiredFitStrong.com
Copyright 2013
Disclaimer
I (Ines Subashka) strongly recommend that you consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program. You should be in good physical condition and be able to participate in the exercise. I (Ines Subashka) am not a licensed medical care provider and represents that it has no expertise in diagnosing, examining, or treating medical conditions of any kind, or in determining the effect of any specific exercise on a medical condition. You should understand that when participating in any exercise or exercise program, there is the possibility of physical injury. If you engage in this exercise or exercise program, you agree that you do so at your own risk, are voluntarily participating in these activities, assume all risk of injury to yourself, and agree to release and discharge me (Ines Subashka) from any and all claims or causes of action, known or unknown, arising out of the content mentioned below .
Copyright 2013
Testimonials
Read the stories of other women like you and how they gained their confidence back.
Alisia Kovacheva
I was a follower of Ines for a long time, but I never found the courage to start working out with her. One day I decided that I wanted to become fitter and healthier because I was getting fatter with each passing day. Initially I was scared and everything seemed so hard. The time it took others to finish a www.InspiredFitStrong.com
Copyright 2013
workout, was the time it took me just to complete the warm up. But as the time went by, I was getting better. The results became obvious and the fat was melting off. I felt better and the Facebook page, together with the daily posts kept me motivated. Then I had a moment, when I became worried about getting bulky. I like defined muscles, but everybody told me I will become muscular as a man. And thats when Ines posted one of her articles about women and lifting weights, where I saw the video of a beautiful woman- a bikini model. She said that she was scared of weights, but she decided to give it a try and if she doesnt like it she could always back off. I followed her advice and Ive never looked back! Ive been working out like this for two years and I am far from bulky or too muscular. I and people around me find my body to be athletic, strong and sexy and I feel healthier.
Maya Zlatanova
Ive always believed that people are good on the inside and instead of getting older, with time,they get prettier and stronger. When I first met Ines, she was an intelligent girl, who knew where she was going and has made her decision of the life she wanted to have and the kind of people that she wanted to be surrouned with. Now, a few months later, she has
Copyright 2013
become a really beautiful woman, a great businessman and a role model for all of us.And this transformation is not only because of her perfect body or positive attitude, it's because she is one of the rare people recognizing their mission to lead others in their quest for a better life, by helping them find their path to health and happiness. The training with Ina is more than just exercises, it is attitude, belief. It is a way to become true to your body and yourself. I admire her dedication and perseverance and everything she does-this is what I call success- not just having ideas, but making them real. Thank you, Ines, for giving me the opportunity of being a part of something so real and special!-
Milena Karpacheva
For me working out is my sacred time. It is the place of harmony, strength, self-discovery. The moment when I am all by myself and I go on a journey to the furthest corners of my soul. Ive been through a lot of mental states, while working out. Theyve all helped me grow and become better. But just now, I can say that I feel I am doing my best. And the reason for this is called ,Ines Subashka. She hasnt invented something revolutionary, but she teaches you how to listen to your body, how to be conscious, how to work out just for yourself, while
Copyright 2013
still fighting to be stronger, better, closer to your best potential. I was a successful competitor. I was strong, motivated, and I still am. But I wasnt even half of what I am now and what I know I can become. Youd ask why? Because when you work out for yourself you are always motivated to give your best. It doesnt matter who will beat, if you cant conquer your own self. And exactly this point of view, crossed my path with Ines. In her, I see a mirror, a teacher, who is flourishing in front of my eyes- as a person and an athlete. And I am just floating on the current, following the steps, because every fight is important, every day matters in the quest of achieving my best self! Ines is the motivator, the spice, that was missing in my life, so I can find the courage to make one step forward, while in the same time backing off to take a more critical view on myself. I even got mad at myself, because I knew I could be more- I saw it in her eyes, and thats when I realized I needed more time, patience and consistency. I could hear how she was talking to me without uttering a sound you are doing great, but you can do it even better and I liked it, because I dont want
Copyright 2013
to get to a point where I wont have more room to grow. Thank you, Ines! You are the real proof for my belief, that small things, add up for great success!-
Dolya Pipileva
Copyright 2013
Before I met Ines, I used to do ineffective cardio and my nutrition consisted of just chicken twice a week, a lot of doughy products and sweets. Initially, I was a bit hesitant and nervous, because I wasnt used to avoiding some foods, but the biggest worry came from the idea of lifting weights. I was afraid I will become too muscular and lose my feminine look. I was afraid that I might have the opposite of the desired effect. That is why for a long time, I was just following Ines publications, but I never took an action. I read one of her posts about the benefits of lifting weights for women and I decided I had nothing to lose. Thats when I started lifting weights with her and the only thing I lost is the unwanted fat and the inches from my butt and thighs, that were really problematic spots for me. Ive been working out with Ines, for about an year and Ive never felt or looked better. And the most important thing is that my health improved and I forgot what it is to be sick. Besides that I do not need to starve anymore- I eat real food, as much as I need and I dont worry I will gain weight. Ines is beautiful and motivating and she hasnt stopped being by my side, believing in me, even when I lost faith in myself. I am so thankful for her. I am happy I know Ines and that I made the decision to work out with her, because this step changed the quality and the direction of my life.
Copyright 2013
About Me
My name is Ines Subashka. My passion for sports and nutrition comes from an early age. Ive played almost any sport you could imagine. You name it, I played it! I am a certified personal trainer and I am on a mission to spread my workout and nutrition philosophy.
Somewhere along the way, we stopped eating real food. We are troubled to recognize basic, natural, and nutritious fare, instead plucking processed, chemical products off of store shelves and calling it food. My goal is to help as many people as I could, pay attention to the nutrition choices they make.
Copyright 2013
I am a strong believer that no matter if you are a professional athlete, a teacher, marketing director or whatever, we all have the same body needs and we all need to workout in a way that includes intensity, variety and functionality. I firmly believe that women arent designed to sit at the hairdresser saloon all day long, reading fashion magazines and admiring the skinny-fat bodies from the coversand later on starving to death in order to have that robbed from life look. Instead Id take every woman with the notion of the mass media-induced ideals of beauty and Id show them what true beauty looks like. Beautiful women are strong! Their bodies are nice and curvy. They have muscles- the fruit of their hard work and dedication in the gym! They are capable of facing everything that our demanding life serves them. They are aware that skinny girls from the covers are just a mean trick played by the marketing world, in order to sell useless products, created by people hungry for money. Beautiful women are confident, and arent tortured from an insecurity that overtakes their life. They aint scared to look themselves in the mirror-smile and be proud of what they see! Beautiful women lift weights! I was a professional basketball player for 6 years. Basketball was what I ate, slept and lived through! I was on the Bulgarian National team for the whole
Copyright 2013
time I played basketball. Ive won every single award there is on a national level. I won an MVP award in the WAB camp in 2005. I also went to play overseas in USA, when I was 15 years old. There I won the award Newcommer of the year. Later on I came back to Bulgaria and in 2007 I became MVP at the Balcan games. I was a young athlete with a lot of potential and big dreamsand unfortunately with pretty weak shoulders. After I dislocated both my shoulders-five times I stopped playing basketball.
Copyright 2013
Sports were still my passion. I couldnt bare the thought that I was done with my dreams and my goals. I needed to put the anger and the pain I felt into something, so what could be better than swimming. Thus, I started swimming and for about 3years I was a swimmer. Swimming helped me a lot to recover from the injuries but I felt like it wasnt what I was born to do. So I decided to keep on searching. thats how I found crossfit. Since then I decided that if I couldnt be the professional athlete I dreamed about, I could transfer everything I learned through my experience and help others reach their goals. Thats
Copyright 2013
how everything started and thats how I hope my life will keep on goinghelping people achieve their athletic goalshelping them make their life betterand just hoping to make a difference
Copyright 2013
Introduction
If you are reading this book, chances are: YOUve tried every mainstream training program, and no matter how hard you worked out, how many hours youve dedicated on the treadmill, on the stepper and how many sit-ups youve done, you didnt get even close to the body of your dreams. And now you are feeling in a stalemate. When everything youve been taught about women and working out doesnt seem to work, then your last choice is to try exactly the opposite. And in this case, the mass media has thaught you that women should eat less, do more cardio and lift pink dumbbells, if they want to be fit and lean. But thats not how things work out in reality. Thats why with this book I am going to challenge your beliefs. I am going to help you go out of your comfort zone and try everything youve been avoiding until now- lifting weights. And I am not talking about pink dumbbells. I am talking about lifting some heavier dumbbells, doing basic, compound movements.
Copyright 2013
I am going to ask you to say goodbye to the long, countless hours of cardio, and greet short, intense workouts. And before you think Ive gone nuts, dont rush with the judgement. Dont close the book and keep on reading my story
Because Ive been there!

I know exactly how you feel, because I was one of those women. Ive spent most of my teenage years, desperately trying to become fitter and leaner. Ive tried everything in order to get nice, defined abs and a sexy, athletic body. And the more I tried, the further I got from it. Until I had nothing more to lose and I was challenged to try what women have been told is just for men- lifting weights;doing squats, deadlifts, push- ups and pull ups.
Copyright 2013
How Did Everything Start?

I will never forget the fear of getting big and bulky. I will never forget the days, when I went to the gym, did the shortet, most intense workout, composed of just basic, compound movements. That was the best time, Ive ever had in the gym, and yet when I got home I looked myself in the mirror and I was scared to death how this type of training will reflect on my appearance. Everybody around me kept on telling me that I was nuts, and that I will become masculine and bulky. But somewhere deep inside, I knew that I was on the right track. I somehow knew that this was my ticket to the athletic and fit body, Ive been dreaming for so long. And thats what gave me the courage to keep on returning in the gym, getting stronger, lifting more and more weights. Today people who used to mock me about my decision to try lifting weights, are my biggest fans- those that are always there to ask me how to get a body like mine; how to become more athletic. I know how hard it is for you to believe it. It took me some time as well. Even when I was noticing the changes, even when I started feeling better about myself and my appearance, I was still scared that if I keep on training with weights, I will become big and bulky.
Copyright 2013
But the more I lifted, the better I looked. I gained back my confidence, actually Ive never had confidence about my appearance. Ive always been shy and Ive always considered myself not attractive enough. And thanks to my new lifestyle- lifting weights and eating real food, I feel great about myself. You have no idea about the power, the confidence, the boldness that weight training gives you. It was literally the spice to my life, that lightened the fuel of passion within my heart. It is the spice that taught me how to love myself, how to be strong both in the gym and in life and how to chase my dreams until the end. Thats why Ive dedicated my life, to helping others learn the proper way to sculpt and move their body. To work out in a way that doesnt take much time, brings a lot of pleasure and a sense of fulfillment. Ive dedicated my life to prevent others from walking on the bumpy road of injuries, disappointments, emotional eating, a sense of being worthless and unaccepted. Why? Because Ive been there and I know how it feels. And now, when Ive discovered the better, easier and enjoyable way to achieve your body composition goals, while enjoying perfect health and athleticism to rock your life, I want to provide you with the tools, that will help you apply it in your own life. Follow me on the journey to gaining back your health and functionality.
Copyright 2013
What To Expect Out Of This Book?

With this book, I will provide you with some of the best compound movements that you need to include in your workout routine. I will teach you how to perform them properly, so you can get the benefit of doing them, without hurting your body, due to improper technique. I will show you some of the most common mistakes, the reasons behind them and how you could fix them. Once you master these movements, you will realize how the work youve done in the gym, can be easily transfered in your daily life. The way you move in the gym, will help you learn how to move in real life. Thus your workouts, wont be just a time spend to feed your ego and sel-esteem. They will be a time invested in a better lifestyle and a pain free movement. They will be your free ticket to a healthier life.
Do You Need More Proof That This Training Method Works?

And if you still doubt my words, here is the last proof - my own transformation. The first picture is a vivid example, not just of my unfit body, but an example of my chained soul.
Copyright 2013
On the before picture, I was on a trip to Egypt ( one of my dreamed destinations), but I was so miserable and unsatisfied. I felt terrible in my swimsuit and I lacked confidence. I constantly covered my body with a towel so others couldnt notice the cellulite on my thighs, the stetchmarks on my love handles or the fat on my belly.
And on the after pic, I feel great about myself- not just because of the way my body looks like, but also because now my soul is happy to reside it. I feel confident and satisfied with the work Ive done and the results I am getting. So, trust me! I will show you how to do it for yourself. Just keep on reading. Dolia Pipileva is one of my best clients, and eventhough she had the same fears, as you do, she kept the vision of her dreamed body and she trusted the process. She believed my and my training and nutrition program, and
Copyright 2013
now she is living her life to the fullest- feeling confident, fit and sexy.
And do you know what is the best part about it? Dolia was just like you. She was a women with the notion of the mass media-induced ideals of beauty, she spent countless hours in the gym, restricted her food intake and every day, instead of getting closer to dreamed body, she got further and felt even more miserable and unfulfilled. But she had the courage to trust me and I showed her what true beauty looks like. I taught her how to listen to her body and how to shape the best body, training just three times a week, for about 45 minutes, using basic, compound movements and lifting real weights.
Copyright 2013
And if I and she can do it, you could as well . Forget about genetics and all the excuses and false notions youve been repeating to yourself- because eyou have everything you need to be the fittest, sexiest version of yourself. Just let go of the wrong knowledge and be open for the truth- women SHOULD lift weights and that is the best road to a stunning, fit, sexy body. Follow me and you will never look back! Its your choice! You can keep on doing what the mass media is telling you to do- thats cool, you will be forever in the enchanted circle of starvation, self-punishment through endless hours of cardio, and you will never gain the confidence to rock your beach body and proudly walk in your swimsuit. Or you can try something new, something different and finally achieve your goals. You can finally feel confident to go shopping, go out on a date and actually feel sexy and stunning. You dont have anything to lose- you can just gain the happiness youve been searching for. Just give it a try. Youve wasted so much time, just give yourself three months of dedication and consistency and you start enjoying your new and better life.
Copyright 2013
1.
Compound Moves
Squats
Problem: Do your knees hurt when you squat?
Solution: Follow me and you will teach you how to squat with proper technique and not only your knees will stop hurting, but they will even get the health benefits of squatting properly!
If you learn how to do just one thing, then let it be squatting. There isnt a more natural movement, than a squat. Squatting is really important and if you are still wondering whywell keep on reading!
Do You Need Proof the Squat Is the most Natural Movement?
Copyright 2013
Lets start it simple. The squat is the most fundamental movement to all of us. Just think about it. In your everyday life even if you do not realize it you squat hundreds of times. For example when you sit in a chair-you squat; when you get up from the chair-you squat; when you sit down in the busguess what? YOU SQUAT! Even from our earliest age as infants, we first start learning to move by squatting. Think about a baby that is trying to get up from the floor, or trying to pick up something from the floor. It wont lean down with straight legs. Instead the infant will squat down and take what it needs. By the way if I should show somebody what a perfect squat looks like, Id show them a baby picking a toy from the ground. Infants squat with perfect form- weight on the heels, knees tracking over the toes and back straight. See what I am talking about? Seems like we are born with some instincts of how we are supposed to move properly but later on influenced by our environment we lose it and start moving in a way that is hurting our health. As we get older most of us lose the requisite mobility in our hips, knees and ankles to be able to squat properly. That is a result from our lifestyle- we spend way too much time sitting. Actually most of our ancestors lifestyle, demanded performing a squat- when you start with eating a meal, ceremonies, gatherings, going to the toilet and etcall of them were performed bereft of chairs or seats!
Copyright 2013
But after the industrialization we started using chairs, benches, couches and other similar furniture to perform our daily tasks. As I already said this leads to a loss of functionality. Unfortunately, during the years the squat has earned a bad glory as a dangerous exercise. Most people claim that it hurts your back and your knees. But does it really? Yea, my knees would hurt too, if I squatted like most people in the globo gym do. Walk in a gym and look at the corner where the squatting rack is. Shocking! People squatting with rounded backs; with knees going way forward; the weight on the toes instead of on the heels and so on. If I wanted to learn how not to squat, Id spend a day watching these guys train their legs. Actually if you do the squat properly-it is one of the safest, most natural movements the human body can perform. As I already said the squat is a really important movement. It is the so called compound movement- meaning that it exercises multiple muscles in the same time. During the squat, the body recruits your glutes, hamstrings, lower back and abdomen to successfully execute the lift. A stable upper body is required for your lower body to create enough force to drive the weight up against gravity. As we get older, being able to squat becomes even more essential. Good knee health is a consequence of being able to squat properly! And as the years pass, we need to make
Copyright 2013
sure that we will preserve our ability to move as much as possible! Think about it! Even today, if you go to some village that is further from the industrialized city, you will meet people over their 80s that are working on the field, performing tasks you couldnt even imagine a person that age could do! That is because during the years they completed many different tasks involving vigorous physical activity, and they did not lose their ability to move. But go back to the big city and you will see people in their 60s with walking sticks, in wheelchairs.people that arent able to walk, climb stairs or even help themselves! Get busy with squatting! But lets go back to the squat and weightlifting. Most people dont bother to train their legs. But even if it happens they focus only on the back squat and add up some isolation movements to the whole picture. You can rarely see somebody in the gym doing the front squat. There are a lot of reasons for it, like the one that doing the front squat you should use lighter weights and it seems like most people forget to leave their ego on the front door and let it stop them from getting real results doing some real work! Enough talking! Lets get busy exploring the proper squat technique. First of all you should be able to squat really good withought any weight, i.e. you should first master the
Copyright 2013
bodyweight variation. Then you can move on to the bar and progressively add more weight. The way I like to teach the squat is on the wall. Most people do not have good mobility, and when you make them squat, they compensate for it, by leaning forward, going forth on their toes and so forth. Which is definitely not the right way to squat.
Proper Technique:
1. Keep your feet shoulder width apart 2. Turn your toes slightly out 3. Wheight on heels ( even though I see that most people take that too literally, and more often than not they raise their toes and stay just on their heels.This is not the right way to do it. Thats why I prefer telling my clients, that the way to distribute the weight on your feet is to aim for the tripod foot. And that is what this means: 4. Chest up I always love telling my clients that if I am standing in front of them, they should aim to show me the logo on their T-shirt. This really helps as a cue, when you want somebody to keep the shoulders back and the chest up. 5. Pelvis turned forward 6. Eyes forward 7. Knees tracking over the toes. This is really important. As you descend make sure that your knees are tracking over your toes. This means the knee is parallel to your feet.
Copyright 2013
You should feel your adductors activating. If you do not feel them, this means that you are bringing your knees inside. In order to squat properly imagine that you are trying to spread the ground, both when you descend and when you ascend. This will help you keep the tension on your abductors and thus interfere with your knees going inside. Start with learning the squat on the wall. Face the wall, and asses the proper squat position- feet shoulder width apart, toes slightly turned out. Keep your hands to the side and glide your upper body through the wall as you descend. Make sure you pay attention for the tripod foot, knees tracking over the toes and spread the ground. The wall will help you master the proper way to hold your upper body, because it wont allow you to lean forward, due to the lack of mobility. When you master thebodyweight squat, you can move on to the Barbell Back Squat. But keep in mind, that you should really master the bodyweight squat. Leave your ego at the door and do not rush it. It is a lot harder to repair an old, bad habit, once you learn it the wrong way, than it is to first master it perfectly and then move on to the next stage.
Copyright 2013
Barbell Back Squat
Copyright 2013
Proper Technique:
1. Keep your feet shoulder width apart 2. Turn your toes slightly out 3. Wheight on heels ( dont forget the tripod foot) 4. Chest up ( show me your logo) 5. Grip outside of the shoulders 6. Elbows tucked in (imagine that you are trying to tuck your elbows in your pockets. It wont happen but it will get your elbows pointing down, which is the goal) 7. Scapula Contracted (this will help you keep your back tight) 8. Pelvis turned forward 9. Eyes forward 10. Knees tracking over the toes (dont forget to spread the floor) When you get down to the bottom of the squat, in order to ascend with proper form, you should try to pull yourself up. Imagine that the bar is a pull up bar. As you go up, pull the bar. This will help you keep your body tight and it will help you rise up with proper form. So, the key points are show your logo, tuck your elbows in your pockets, spread the floor and pull up for the bar as you ascend.
Copyright 2013
Bulgarian Split Squats
I love all squat variations, but if I had to pick just one variation, that I could do to the end of my life, it would be the Bulgarian Split Squat ( and do not get me wrong! It is not just because I am a Bulgarian). This is an exercise, which most people avoid, but an exercise that could give you so much, when it comes to becoming stronger, improving your balance and coordination and achieving a sexy, well shaped lower body! I often hear people, who claim that they do not perform the Bulgarian Squat, because it hits them in the knees. With some exceptions, most people who claim this, just do not perform the exercise properly!
Copyright 2013
My observations show me that people, who have knee pain, when they perform Bulgarian Squats, just use a really short stance, which is tough on the knees and usually there is a shift of the weight towards the toes, accompanied by taking the heel off the ground, which IS NOT RIGHT! If you perform the Bulgarian Squat with a longer stance, I assure you that you wont have knee pain. When you perform Bulgarian squats, keep the weight on your heels, by staying on your whole foot( tripod foot), without shifting the weight towards your toes or taking your heel off the ground. Keep your shoulders back and activate your lats. Do not allow the weight, to drag you forward, making you lean down. Imagine that somebody placed a pencil on your spine, and you are trying to hold it, squeeze it with your lats. This will help you think about keeping your shoulders back. Lower your back leg, until it reaches the ground. When you reach the lowest point, do not relax your body. Stay tight and stand back up, by pushing off your heel and by helping yourself with the foot on the bench. Pay attention to this! Do not shift your hips to the side, when you go up. If you are doing this, then you are probably using weights that are too heavy!
Copyright 2013
Key points when you peform Bulgarian Split Squats:

1. Place one of your feet on the bench, and the other one on the ground. Make sure the foot on the ground is pointing straight forward. 2. Experiment with your stance length, until you find the one that allow syou to move without feeling pressure or pain in your knees. 3. Keep your chest up, contract your scapula and keep your belly tight. 4. Lower the back foot straight down. Imagine that you are trying to hit theground with the knee of your back foot.Make sure that you are not strtching your back foot but bending it down. 5. As you get to the bottom, keep your body tight and your muscles under tension. Do not relax on the floor. 6. Push yourself back up, by pressing on the whole foot( the one on the ground), while still pressing with your back foot on the bench. 7. When you rise up, be careful to keep holding your torso straight. Dont allow your shoulders to slouch forward and your back to lean forward. Squeeze those lats. 8. If you do the Bulgarian Squat with the weight kept in front, dont forget to push your elbows up - towards the ceiling.
Copyright 2013
Front Lunges
Lunges, have a bunch of, that make them an excellent exercise to fix any disbalances between both legs, improving your balance and coordination, and strengthening the muscles that stabilize the knees. Besides that they are a pretty good test about your core strength.
Proper technique:
1) Stand straight with your body tight( do not leaning, do not drop the hips forward, keep your abs tight) 2) Make a longer step forward, by landing on your heel and then transitioning to your whole foot. 3) Drop the leg behind straightly down, till it almost touches the ground. Dont lean and dont let the knee of your front leg go forward! 4) In order to get back up, push up through the heel of your front leg and then push back until you get in the starting position.
Copyright 2013
Common mistakes:
1.You make a really short step forward and you put the weight on your toes, lifting your heel. This is wrong and it really loads your knees way too much. 2. You turn your foot inward. That also messes up the knees and if you are doing the lunge with bigger weights you could injure yourself pretty bad! More often than not if you have instability in your ankles or a disbalance in your calf muscles, you turn your foot inward. See how the foot is turned inward? That is wrong! 3. You let your knees cave in. One of the reasons could be due to mistake number 2(turning your foot inward). That instinctively forces your knee to cave in. Another reason could be your weak glutes( your butt muscles). They play an important role in stabilizing your knee and when they are weaker, your knee will cave in. See how the knee is caving in? That is wrong! 4. You lean forward. Often, beginners tend to lean forward, way too much. 5. You lose balance. This is could be due to weak core, a stride that is too short, or too wide and the other reason might be that you are using heavier weights, than you can handle. When doing a lunge there are a lot of arguments about the length of the step forward, but my observations and my
Copyright 2013
experience, show me that longer step forward is better because: 1.More often than not people doing a shorter step, make the mistake to put more weight on their toes and lifting their heel, which is wrong. 2.A lunge with a shorter step forward is a quad dominating exercise, and personally I am not a fan of it, because it puts more stress on the knee!
Reverse Lunges From Deficit

As every unilateral movement, reverse lunges from a deficit, help you improve the strength imbalances between your legs; they improve your balance and coordination, they help you improve stability in your hips and mobility in your ankles. Besides that they load pretty good your legs and your butt! And probably you are already wondering why perform lunges from deficit and not traditional lunges? The reason is that when you do them from a deficit, you have a bigger range of motion(ROM) and you load your butt a lot more, than doing traditional lunges. Besides that a lot more leg muscles are activated, because you are going way deeper when you perform the exercise.
Copyright 2013
Why Reverse Lunges? Personally, I always do reverse lunges, because they are easier on the knees, unlike the front lunges. And do not think that I am the kind of person, who thinks that squatting and lunging is gonna ruin your knees! That is not the truth, but when you perform reverse lunges, you do not need to step forward and slow down, the weight of your entire body! Thus the stress on your knee is less! If you have problems with your knees, and you are fooled into thinking that you cant perform lunges, try reverse lunges! I assure you, that you wont feel pain! Before leanring the Reverse Lunges from Deficit, make sure that youve mastered the Front Lunges. It matters if you perform the lunge with the bar in front, on your back or with dumbbells. If you keep the bar on the front, as you do for a front squat, you should keep your elbows high. Dont let your elbows drop down, because you will lean forward, you will load your back way too much and you will probably lose balance! And remember- the lower you get, think about pushing your elbows up! If you perform the exercise with dumbbells, keep them on your side and when you are dropping down, be carefuldont let your shoulders drop down and go forward. Dont let the dumbbells go forward. If you do so, you are changing the center of mass and you will lean forward, losing balance and making it hard on your back!
Copyright 2013
If the bar is on your back, think about your wrists- they should be always straight( as for a back squat). When you go up, think how you should be pulling yourself for the bar! You should press it down. This will help you keep your body tight and it will keep you away from stressing your back. No matter which way you pick, you should be careful about the height of the platform. Dont make it too high. If your platform is too high, and your legs and butt arent strong enough, you will compensate for the weakness by shifting your hips to one side, which is not the right way to do it! If you feel that you are shifting your hips to one side, either take lighter weights or decrease the height of the platform.
Proper Technique:
1. Step on the platform with both legs. 2. Keep your torso straight. 3. Chest up. Scapula contracted. 4. Make a long step back. (make sure both of your feet are pointing in the same direction ( forward) 5. Bend the knee of the back leg straight down. 6. Then pushing from the heel of your front leg, rise up, and then go back to the initial position. You can see them in a wide range of programs, from pure calisthenics to kettlebells and even circuit training. While
Copyright 2013
I'm obviously excited to see bodyweight strength training getting its due from the mainstream, it makes me wonder: Where does the pistol squat fit in to the fitness regimen of the average gym goer?
Pistol Squats
That is one of my favorite squat progressions (ok, I know that I say it about every lower body movement. But I just freaking love strong legs.) Pistols are a great movement and a true measure for lower body strength. They train your strength, balance and mobility and you can do them everywhere. Pistols are not a piece of cake. Ok, they are but once you have the strength to perform them. Before you manage to do your first pistiol, you should arm yourself with patience and dedicate to practicing them. As difficult as the exercise seems, it is absolutely possible for you to master them. You just need to start with easier progressions, until you are strong and balanced enough to perform a real pistol squat. Before thinking about mastering the pistol squat, make sure that you are a sensei in bodyweight squats and Bulgarian split squats. Just then, you are good to start with some pistol progressions.
Copyright 2013
Bench Pistol
This is your first step. 1. Stand in front of a bench or another low object of your choice. 2. Reach one leg into the air. 3. Carefully sit back onto the object. Perform it as slow as you can, even though at the beginning you might not be able to control your body very good and you might sit back too quickly. Dont worry. It is part of the process. Just be careful not to hurt yourself. 4. Keep the weight on the heel of your base foot. 5. Keep your abs tight and your arms stretched in front.
Copyright 2013
6. By pushing off the heel and reaching forward with your hands, try to stand back up. 7. As it becomes easier, increase ethe range of motion and perform the Bench Pistol Squat on a lower object.
Elevated Pistols
1. Stand on top of an object with one leg hanging off of the side (if you are in the gym you ight pile up some bumpers and step on them, or if you have a box thatd be great) . 2. Reach your arms in front. 3. Lower to the bottom of a squat by allowing your opposite leg to hang down. This make sit easier to balance www.InspiredFitStrong.com
Copyright 2013
the pistol squat, while keeping your leg hanging, instead of straight forward. As you get better, increase the height of the object. This will make it harder and get you closer to the pistol squat.
Assisted Pistol
1. Stand in front of a pole or another vertical object. 2. Grasp the pole with your hands. 3. Reach forward with the opposite leg ( the one on the outside).
Copyright 2013
4. Lower yourself down, until you reach to the bottom. Be careful to distribute the weight on your whole base foot. ( i.e. let the footremain flaton the ground) 5. In order to get back up, lightly use the help of your arms, in order to pull yourself back up. Initially you will rely more on your arms to pull you back up, but as you improve, you will start pushing more off of your leg and you will need your arms less and less.
Pistol with Counterweight
Copyright 2013
As strange as it may sound doing pistols with a weight in your arms, might be easier, due to better balance.
Real Pistol Squats

And now you are ready to do pistol squats EVERYWHERE!
When you can perform a couple sets of 15 reps of all the progressions above, you are good to progress and become a master of the real pistol squat.
Copyright 2013
Good Morning
Problem: You often hurt your back during daily activities.
Solution: When you learn the proper GM technique, this will save you a lot of injuries in your everyday life, because you will learn how to lean, without bending and without hurting your lower back!
Copyright 2013
One really underestimated and rarely performed exercise in the gym, is the so called Good Morning. Unfortunately just like deadlifts and squats, the good morning also has a bad name. Interesting! All UNIQUE exercises and absolutely essential exercises that ensure the good health of a person, are being denied and claimed as dangerous! No wonder that most people spend their time in the gym, sitting on different, weird machines and no wonder that so many people have a bad posture, lower back pain and so on. One of the best exercises, which you could perform in order to strengthen your posterior chain are Good Mornings. Unfortunately people rarely take the time to learn the proper way to do the exercise and usually their first try to perform it, ends up with a sharp lower back pain. Thats how myths about the danger of the exercise start! Well, I want to tell you that there arent many exercises, which could contribute so much to you getting rid of lower back pain, as Good Mornings(GM) could! Thats right! Not harm you, but actually help you! Besides that it will help you shape nice, strong hamstrings, get your butt tighter and strengthen your lower back muscles.GM is a great exercise that could help you increase the pounds on the deadlift if you are in a plateau!
Copyright 2013
Proper technique:
When you perform it, you could do it with a wider or narrower stance. This respectively changes the loading. When you do it with a wider stance you get more tension on your hamstrings and glutes! Personally I switch through the stances, so I can load my muscles from a different angle. 1. Choose the width of your stance. 2. The weight should be on your heels, as with every other exercise! 3. The bar should be placed on your back, as when you perform squats. Keep your body tight, activate your lats, so you will carry the load on your back muscles and not on your spine! 4. When you place the bar on your back, imagine that behind you there is a wall and you need a couple more inches to reach it with your butt. Then take your hips back, so you can try and touch the wall. Be careful to do it with the hips, and not bent over from your upper body! 5. The load, should be felt on your hamstrings and glutes. You will feel them stretch! 6. You shouldnt feel bending in your lower back! It would be wrong to bent forward! This will really hurt your back! 7. Imagine the wall and try to take your hips back, as if you are trying to reach back to it!
Copyright 2013
GM resembles swings and deadlifts, the difference is in the loading vector and the ROM. 8. Reach back withyour hips and butt, while you feel full extension of your hamstrings and glutes! By pushing back, your upper body will lean forward! This is ok. But keep in mind it will LEAN not BEND! The leaning will come from pushing your hips back, not from a bend in your lower back! 9. After that contract your glutes in order to get back . Your glutes should contract! As when you perform a swing, you should lock the hips to get back in the initial position! Here I want to emphasize again, that getting back, shouldnt be done by lifting the weight with your back, but by using your glutes! I just want to add, that when you learn the proper GM technique, this will save you a lot of injuries in your everyday life, because you will learn how to lean, without bending and without hurting your lower back! Keep in mind that if you are a beginner, you better focus on mastering the swing and the deadlift. Just when you are good at the hinge movement, add the GM exercise!
Copyright 2013
Hip Thrusters
I think that strong legs and glutes are the base of a healthy, athletic, functional and good looking body! One of the exercises, which I LOVE are hip thrusters! Here the credit goes to Bret Contreras, who is known as The glute guy! This is probably due to the fact that hip thrusts are incredibly effective, when it comes to strengthening your glutes and hamstrings! Everything I know about this exercise, Ive learned from Brets website (HERE), which is an outstanding source of information, especially for those of you who are interested in the details of what, how and why you are supposed to do!
Copyright 2013
What is a hip thruster?
Copyright 2013
1. Pick a bench. Personally I encourage you to perform it on a bench, but a lower one! If you do it on the ground, the range of motion isnt big enough, so you wont feel the loading the same way you would on the bench! If the bench is too high, then you change the incline and the angel and there is a big chance to feel the movement more in your quadriceps, than in the glutes and hammies! 2. Sit on the ground and lean on the bench. Put your legs under the bar and then just pull the bar towards yourself, until you reach your hips.
3. After you pull the bar towards yourself, bend your legs. Aim for your feet to point forward and keep the stance of your feet at hip width! Keep the weight on your whole foot. Dont stay on your toes.
4. The idea is to lift the bar up, using your hips, not your lower back! You should feel the load in your glutes. 5. When you lift the bar up you should keep your body tight (keep your abs and your butt tight). At the top of the movement, you should reach full hip extension. In order to understand, when that happens I will give you a joker, which does wonders, but which I could never say in person!
Copyright 2013
Thats why I will take advantage of the fact, that you wont see me blushing, explaining you how you should imagine, that you have a bill, which you should keep between your butt cheeks! For that purpose you should try to squeeze it, i.e. to squeeze your butt! That is how you should finish the movement! Its the same as when you perform swings or deadlifts. You have to finish the movement with your hips. The cool thing about hip thrusters is that they help you improve at deadlifting. So a well performed hip thruster will help you increase the weight on the deadlift! When you perform the movement you should be careful to lift the bar with your hips, and not with your lower back! Your back should be straight! More often than not, people who perform a hip thruster, make the mistake of putting too much weight on the bar, and they dont perform the movement with a full range of motion, or they try to lift the bar with their lower back, because of the lack of strength in their glutes. Remember that the movement finishes when youve squeezed your butt- when youve reached hip extension, and not when youve lifted your butt off the ground. Control the movement. Keep the bar with your hands. If you are still not feeling ready to try it with weights, first learn the technique with your bodyweight. After that increase the weights on the bar.
Copyright 2013
Where Should You Feel The Tension?

If you feel the load more on the quadriceps, than on the hamstrings and the glutes, try taking your heels closer to your butt and perform the movement again. Another reason for feeling the load in your quadriceps, might be the fact that you have really tight hip flexors, so make sure to use your foam roller, more often! Why should you do hip thrusters? Because they are one of the best exercises, which will help you strengthen your glutes. It will help you strengthen your posterior chain, and as you now nowadays most people suffer from the so called dead butt syndrome. And of course lets not forget that hip thrusters will help you increase the weight on the deadlift, which is one of my favorite movements, as well.
Copyright 2013
One Legged Hip Thrusters
You are already familiar with Hip Thrusters.In my opinion this is one of the best exercises, you could do, in order to make your posterior chain stronger. But still, as each bilateral movement, hip thrusters, allow some cheating, by compensating for the imbalance between both legs, pushing more out of the stronger leg. So here is when one legged hip thrusters come in hand. Unique movement! It seems like a waste of time, but just as every other exercise, which looks easy from the sidelines, in reality it turns out really demanding when you go ahead and try it yourself.
What Happened When I First Tried One Legged Hip Thrusts?
Copyright 2013
My first experience with one legged hip thrusts was just another hit for my ego! I usually do bilateral hip thrusts, with 70-90kg., so I decided that I will do well with 40kg. on the single leg hip thrusts. Well, my tries went like this: First try: 40kg. Results: No chance! Second try:30kg. Results: Go ahead and remove some more bumpers. Third try: 20kg. Results: Ok, you are overvaluing yourself. Forth try: 15kg. Results: It was about time! So, it took me some time, adding and removing bumpers, till I found out it is not as easy as it seemed. First, master hip thrusters with your own bodyweight. Then move on to bilateral hip thrusts with weights. Try one legged hip thrusts with your own bodyweight and then add some weights. I hope that you will pick the right weight, faster than me!
Copyright 2013
Proper Technique
1.Set yourself as if you are gonna do a bilateral hip thrust. 2. Then perform the ingle leg hip thrust by being careful about the same key points, as you are when you perform the bilateral version. The difference is just that you keep one of your legs either bend in the air or straight in the air and you push just through the base foot. Another option for a progression is to perform hip thrusts with both legs in the concentric part of the movement, then lower on just one leg in the eccentric part.
Copyright 2013
Deadlift
Problem: Does your backhurt when you perform deadlifts?
Solution: Its not the exercise that is hurting you, but the way you perform it! Follow me and learn the proper technique.
Copyright 2013
The deadlift is one of the best hinge movements. I think that what people lack in the way they move through everyday activities is the knowledge how to perform the hinging move properly. Once you learn to hinge, you will be a master in the deadlifts, swings, hip thrusts and most importantly you will quit injurying your back, while you bend down to pick something from the floor. Because the key to keep your lower back healthy is to forget about bending down and start hinging back. I often hear people saying that they avoid deadlifting because it hurts their lower back and leads to unwanted injuries! Truth is that it is not the deadlift that is hurting your lower back, but rather the way YOU do it!
Copyright 2013
Proper technique:
1. Your feet should be at shoulder-width 2. Your hands should be a little wider than shoulder-width ( place them on the outside of your legs) 3. Shoulders should be in front of the bar. Chest up. 4. Head should be in neutral position( in one line with your spine) 5. Keep your back arched 6. The bar should touch your shins 7. As you lift up keep the bar close to your legs 8. Dont lift the bar with your hands.(Imagine them as chains which are just holding the bar) 9. As you go up- push on your heels. 10. Going up, keep your glutes and your abs tight 11. Shoulders and hips, should move up at the same rate, till you reach the level of your knees 12. After you pass the level of your knees, you should lock up your hips. Come to full extension with your chest up and your shoulders back. 13. Then go back to the ground following the pattern backwards.
Copyright 2013
Key points:
When you set yourself for deadlifts, make sure that you hinge back, i.e. take your hips back. Imagine the wall behind you and try to reach back to it. Lower your hips by reaching back. Keep your chest up. Show me your logo, remember? Always keep your elbows locked. Your arms are just chains supporting the bar. As you go up, make sure that you are leading with your chest and that you are pulling the bar towards your shins. If you dont have trace marks on your shins, you are not pulling enough. As you go up, make sure to spread the floor and push from your heels. When the bar gets at knee level hight, squeeze your glutes, as if you are trying to keep a hundred dollar bill. Then go back down, following the same pattern. Keep your back straight and your shoulders back. Dont let the weight drag you down and force you to bend. HINGE!
Copyright 2013
Common mistakes:
1. The stripper deadlift
This is the most common mistake. I love the name of this WRONG deadlift variation. If you think that this is a type of deadlift , that you should learn, you are DEADLY WRONG! This is one of the worst ways to do the deadlift but unfortunately it is the common way people perform it. You are doing the stripper deadlift, if you let the bar move forward and drag you down, and rush to extend your hips. Thus you will have your legs straight, but your upper body will be still in the starting position. From there, the only way to lift the bar is using your arms and lower back, which is WRONG. In case you didnt get my point, go to Youtube and watch a stripper, you will immediately understand what a deadlift DOESNT look like.
2. Allowing your knees to cave in

If this is your problem, think about spreading the floor when you go up. Think about pushing your elbows with your knees.
3. Rushing with the hip extension

This mistake is often due to the fact that you are either not pulling the bar towards your shins; you are not leading up www.InspiredFitStrong.com
Copyright 2013
with your chest and thus you are letting your shoulders drop forward or you are doing both. So think about the trace marks and show me your logo.
4. You are lifting with your arms, instead of using your hips for the lock out.
You are probably keeping your elbows flexed. Always start with your elbows locked and keep them this way. They are just chains, remember?
5. Instead of finishing the movement with your hips, you are arching yourself and doing a strange type of bend.
In order to avoid this mistake, push through the heels and squeeze your glutes. Imagine that you are trying to jump up, but your heels are sticked for the ground. Now, when the bar gets to knee level, push from your heels and squeeze those glutes.
Copyright 2013
Kettlebell swings
The kettlebell is one of the best training tools ever. You can take it everywhere and do a bunch of exercises with it. One of the best things you could do are kettlebell swings. They are pretty good when your goal is to get more power and explosion, and they train your posterior chain. . When I show how the swing is supposed to be done, most people start laughing because they make the wrong associations with the explosive hip snap. There are two types of swings-one is the traditional swing(also called Russian swing), and the other one is the overhead swing(called the American swing).
Copyright 2013
Why Do I Prefer Russian Swings?

1. American swings are not for everybody
What do I mean by this? Tell you the truth, I rarely see people, who perform American swings properly. Most just think that their technique is good. Most of the trainees have a problem with holding weights above their head ( no matter if we talk about different kind of pressing variations, swings or something that requires your hands to be held overhead), and still manage to keep their body in neutral position. Instead what most people do is arch their lower back way too much- getting in the so called hyperlordosis, lifting their chest up and keeping their belly relaxed, in order to compensate for the lack of mobility. This puts a lot of stress on the spine and it is definitely not something that youd like to experience. All of this just increases the risk of an injury, because when the body is not in neutral position, and when it is held like I described above, the loading becomes harmful.
2. Russian swings allow for heavier weights to be used

As you know, I do not encourage you to be a slave of your ego and aim at increasing the weight, while compromising your proper technique. But, I think that Russian swings are a lot more appropriate, if we keep in mind that they allow heavier weights to be used, respectively they help you increase your strength and power.
Copyright 2013
Here some of the adherents of American swings, will argue that in their opinion you do more work, when you perform American swings, than when you do Russian kettlebell swings. But is it true? If we play it smart and check out the formula Work= Force x Distance, you will immediately notice that even if the distance in the American swing is bigger, the weight that is used is lighter than the one used in the Russian swing.Which immediately makes up for the increase in the work. That means that you couldnt claim that the work done when you perform American swings is more.
3. Russian swings are the better choice when it comes to beginners

Sure, they are not just for beginners, but a lot of trainees master the technique of the Russian swing pretty quick, and when they try to do an American swing, they rely more on the strength of their arms and back,when trying to lift the kettlebell up, instead of relying on the snapping movement from the hips. Especially when kettlebell swings are a part of the finishers, a better choice would be to use Russian swings, because with them, even when you are tired, you are more likely to keep performing them with proper technique. While when you perform American swings ( all the way up), people usually start compensating by doing some weird twisted movements with their bodies, which carry more risk for the lower back.
Copyright 2013
Proper technique:
1. Set your squat stance (feet shoulder width apart, toes slightly turned out) 2. Hinge back (magine that you have a wall behind yourself, and you are just 3 inches away from touching it! Then, move your hips back, as if you are trying to touch the imaginary wall) 3. Keep your chest up 4. Remember that swings are not squats! You do not need to squat! 5. Shove your hands into your crotch: Keep the kettlebells triangle high in your triangle (the handle of the kettlebell should always stay above your knees.Dont keep the kettlebell too low! 6. Keep your arms straight. 7. In order to lift the kettlebell up, use your hips, not your arms.Perform a snapping movement from the hips. A cue I love using is as fllows: Imagine that you are doing a long jump. You know how to set yourselfproperly for one, dont you? Now imagine you explode with a jump forward. It comes from the hips. Do this with the kettlebell, but instead of jumping forward, stay in one place and push from the heels.
Copyright 2013
Push Ups
What is the key way to perform an exercise, in order for it to have an effect on your body?
Copyright 2013
In case, that you cant remember, I will remind you that in order for an exercise to have the desired effect on your body you should perform it with PROPER TECHNIQUE! As a whole, even the best training program, could seem ineffective, if you are not performing the exercises with proper technique! One exercise that at first sight looks really simple, and everybody from the 4 year old boy, to the 80 year old grandpa is trying to perform, yet most people perform it with terrible technique is the push-up.
Proper technique
1.Get in a plank postion, with your arms fully extended. Your body should be straight and tight- head, shoulders, torso and legs should be in line. Imagine your body, as a piece of board! 2.Your fingers should be spread and you should be trying to grab the ground. 3.Imagine that you should keep a piece of paper or a pencil under your armpits. Then squeeze your armpits, so you can activate your lats! Did you imagine that? 4.Make sure that your abs and your glutes are tight. Your torso shouldnt be dropping down! 5.Push your toes into the ground, so you can make sure that your whole body is tight www.InspiredFitStrong.com
Copyright 2013
6.Then row yourself down, until your chest touches the ground. Be careful for your torso. Dont let it drop down. Stay tight and straight. Your body should be in perfect alignment the whole time! Dont forget that you are a board. 7. Your body shouldnt look like the letter T. You should be more like an arrow. So try to keep your elbows closer to your body and not to the side! 8.Then push yourself up, until you reach a full lock out. As if you are trying to push yourself away from the ground.
Common mistakes:
1.One of the most common mistakes is to let your elbows go to the side, and look like the letter T.
Truth is that this is the easier way to perform a push-up, because you activate less muscles. The tension on the triceps is a lot more, when your elbows are closer to your body! Besides that, push- ups, when performed as if you are the letter T, could lead to shoulder pain and shoulder injuries! As a person who has a lot of shoulder injuries, I will tell you from my own experience that T-letter push-ups arent good!
Copyright 2013
2.Your torso drops down

At times you could see people performing push- ups in a really comical way. They are mostly dropping and lifting their torso, than actually rowing their body down. As I told you, the torso should be tight. To achieve it, make sure that your abs and glutes are kept tight! If your torso, reaches the ground before your chest, this means that you are not performing the push-up correctly! And besides that, this puts a lot of stress on your lower back, because you are not activating the proper muscles!
3.You dont do the push-up with a full ROM

As I said, a push-up is considered for a rep, when your chest, reaches the ground. More often than not, people fool themselves, that they are in good shape and that they can do more reps, when in reality this is far from the truth. Often times, if you ask somebody, who is showing off, how he can do 20-30 push- ups in a row, to perform them all the way down, he will probably hardly get 10 straight reps! Ive said it before and I will repeat it! Leave your ego at the door! Perform the exercises correctly! It is far better to do 10 good push-ups, than 30 crappy reps!
Copyright 2013
Dips
Proper Technique
If your have shoulder problems, you might not be able to go as deep as you are supposed to, or you might not be able to keep the proper forward lean. In this case stay more upright, but still keep your chest up. 1. Squeeze The Bar. The more force you apply to the bar, the stronger you are. 2. Look Forward.. Look to a point slightly in front of you.
Copyright 2013
3. Keep your chest up & shoulders back. 4. Take a big breathe while hanging with locked elbows & hold it. Lower yourself & come back up. Breathe at the top, not during reps. 5. Bend Your Legs. And cross your feet. 6. Go down below parallel.The deeper the stretch, the more you train your chest, but if your shoulders disagree, scale the depth of the dip. 7. Lock Elbows. Drive out of the bottom until your elbows are locked. Squeeze your triceps.
Common Mistakes
1. Not Hitting Parallel. Your shoulders must go lower than your elbows on each rep. 2. Not Locking the Elbows. Lock your elbows at the top. Squeeze your triceps . Keep chest up. 3. Don't let your shoulders roll forward & don't let your torso shift forward too much. Keep your chest up. 4. As you go up, be careful to keep your body tight, dont let your back arch in hyperextension.
Copyright 2013
Side Dumbbell Press
This is one of my favorite pressing movements.
Copyright 2013
Proper technique:
1. Set your feet at shoulder width. 2. Take your right foot one step back, but leave your hips forward. 3. Grab the dumbbell with your right hand and place it close to your shoulder. 4. Let your elbow hang to the side, on your hips. 5. Slowly start pushing the dumbbell straight up. Let your forearm be vertical to the floor. 6. Slowly twist your palm as you go up, until your palm is faceing forward. When you fully extend your arm, go down the same way.
Copyright 2013
One Arm Landmine Press
This pressing variation is easier on your shoulder due to the different angle of the movement. So if you have problems with your shoulders, you will absolutely want to include this exercise in your program.
Proper Technique:
1. Find a corner where you will stuck the end of the barbell. 2. Set up your feet at shoulder width. 3. Take your right foot back. 4. Grab the end side of the barbell with your right hand.
Copyright 2013
5. Brace the core tightly to resist extension and rotation. 6. Press straight out, not across your body. 7. Dont allow the elbow to migrate past the body too much.
Overhead Press
This is another great pushing exercise. You can perform it with the bar or with a dumbbell. But due to the fact that I mentioned earlier when we talked about kettlebell swings, i.e. lack of enough mobility, most people have a hard time performing the movement.
Copyright 2013
Thats why when I work with my clients, Id rather use dumbbells, instead of the bar. First because it allows for lighter weights, the trajectory of the movement could be controlled better, than if you are using the barbell and thus it doesnt lead to the ugly twists, most people do when they try to compensate for their lack of mobility.
Proper Technique
1. Foot Stance should be shoulder-width apart. This allows for better stability and thus strength. 2. Grip Width. Should be about shoulder-width apart. 3. Chest Up. 4. Elbows Forward. Elbows in front of the barbell/dumbbells when looking from the side. But dont make your elbows parallel to the floor as you would with a fron squat. Jut make sure that youve locked the bar. 5. Look Forward. 6. Keep your core tight- squeeze your glutes and keep your abs tight. 7. Press the barbell/dumbbells overhead in a straight line. 8. When you press up, tilt your head slightly back, so the bar can pass your chin you needing a plastic surgery. 9. Once the bar reaches forehead level, shift your torso forward.
Copyright 2013
10. Squeeze shoulders. Lock your elbows. 11. Then go back down, following the same route backwards.
Common mistakes
1. Keeping your feet together. This gets you out of balance, so keep them shoulder width apart. 2. Allowing your elbows to drop down. This shifts the weight away from the center of gravity and once again takes you out of balance. 3. Instead of pressing straight up, people often press up and forward. Once again you are keeping the weight in front of the center of gravity, and this takes you out of balance and puts a stress on your back. 4. You over arch your lower back and relax your core. This leads to a position of hyperlordosis and stresses your lower back. Always stay in neutral position. 5. At the top of the movement make sure that your wrists are straight. Most often than not people fail to keep the wrist straight and bend them back. This Is not a proper way toperform the overhead press. 6. On the way down, make sure that you are keeping the straight line and you are bringing the elbows forward, not flaring them to the outside.
Copyright 2013
Pulling Movements
The sooner you realize, that the main purpose behind working out and eating healthy should be your HEALTH, the sooner you will become fit, and the sooner you will start looking the way youve always dreamed! Besides that the better you will feel in your own body! Ive noticed that most trainees, usually pick up their exercises on the foundation of a really weird logic! Men are really incline dto doing a bunch of pushing movements and often neglect the pulling movements, or they perform them with poor technique.Women totally neglect compound movements and I often hear them say I dont wanna do pull ups, because my back will become huge; I wont do military press, because my upper body will become too muscular; I dont wanna squat, because my legs will get big and so on. And after all, exactly what are you gonna do? Walk on the treadmill and sit around the ab machines! Wonderful! If that is all, you are about to do in the gym, you better go for a walk in the park and stop every 10 minutes, to complete a couple crunches! But in case, that you really wanna be in better shape, start choosing exercises, that will help you look better and in the same time improve your health! Look on your workouts as the ticket, which will offer you the best seats, in the theatre of life- those of the healthy, active people!
Copyright 2013
Why Do You Need Pulling Movements?
Problem: Do you have a slouched posture?
Solution: Due to a lot of lifestyle factors most people have really weakback muscles, which contributes to a slouched posture and a lot of unwanted pain. Thats why you need to emphasize on pulling movements and wake up your sleepy back muscles! Do you have back problems? Or do you have a bad posture? Do you sit with slouched posture? Then, there isnt anything else, you would need, as much as you should do upper body exercises ( and I am assuming, that you have already started training your lower body) Why? The main muscles, which are responsible for the retraction ( the pulling back) of your shoulders, are those in your upper back. In your words, those that are gonna get huge from doing pulling movements(for women). By refusing to work these muscles, you are voluntary cursing yourself to contribute for your bad posture, which is gonna lead to a lot of pain! How? The main muscles, which do the opposite function of retraction, i.e. take the shoulder forward are the pectoralis and your deltoideus( picture the muscles on your shoulders and your chest). As a consequence of too much sitting in front of the PC and many more activities
Copyright 2013
we do on a daily basis, in a combination with not enough pulling movements to balance this, the pecs and delts become too short! Thus, the lengthened, weak muscles, which are responsible for retraction, in combination with the shortened muscles, which take the shoulder forward, you have the perfect formula for a bad posture, which leads to a lot of neck, back and lower back pain! In order to balance this, you should emphasize on the pulling movements, which will wake up the muscles responsible for retraction. So, the pulling movements are your investment in a neutral, good looking, sexy posture
Pull ups
Start each rep from a dead hang with straight elbows. Clear the bar with your chin on every rep.
Copyright 2013
Proper Technique:
1. Squeeze the bar about soulder width apart. 2. Chest Up. Always spay attention to this. Dont let your shoulders roll forward. 3. Drive with your elbows to the floor. 4. Make sure you are pulling with your ack (retract the lats) 5. Bend Your Legs and cross your feet.
Common Mistakes:
1. Rolling your shoulders forward and not using your back muscles properly. This puts a lot of stress on the shoulders and it is not a proper mechanical pattern. Keep your chest up and shoulders back. 2. Starting with your arms bend and not going all the way up. A pull up starts with a dead hang and finishes when you clear the bar with your chin.Not straightening the arms. 3. Pulling unevenly, i.e. relying more on one arm. This is due to imbalance between both arms, so be conscious about pulling harder with your weaker arm, and do some unilateral pulling movements in order to fix that imbalance.
Copyright 2013
Lat Pull Downs

Before I show you how to perform the exercise, I want to make an agreement with you. NEVER perform lat pull downs behind your neck! NEVER! Ok? Now that I said it, I can continue. This is a great exercise, especially if you cant perform pull ups.
Copyright 2013
Proper technique
1. Set your arms a little wider than shoulder width apart.Squeeze the bar. 2. Get yourself straight under the bar. Hands should be in line with your ears ( parallel to them) 3. Start with your elbows locked. 4. Pull with your elbows forward and try bringing them to the ground and even a little to the back. ( imagine that you are trying to hit somebody behind you with the elbows) 5. Pull with your back. Dont roll your shoulders forward. 6. When pulling down, keep the bar as close to your face as possible.
Copyright 2013
7. Pull the bar to your chest.
Common mistakes:
1. Lifting your chest to the bar, and not pulling the bar to your chest. Always keep your abs tight and dont let your chest flare up. Otherwise this hyperlordosis puts a lot of stress on your spine. 2. Rolling your shoulders forward. Dont do it. Pull with your lats. Imagine you are trying to squeeze something between your lats. 3. Pulling with the bar kept way in front. Always pull as close to your face as possible. 4. Not finishing the movement. Take te bar to the chest. 5. Starting with your arms bend. Always start with your elbows locked. 6. Leaning back in the starting position. Always keep yourself under the bar.
Copyright 2013
Half-Kneeling Single Arm Pull Down
This is a great pulling exercise, for those that have an imbalance between both arms. It helps you train your pulling movement unilaterally and besides that it is great for those that have problems activating their lats, and
make the mistake to roll their shoulders forward, when performing pulling movements.
Copyright 2013
Proper technique:
1. Get in a half-kneeling position. (The bend leg is the opposite to the pulling arm) 2. Keep your chest up, ribs down. 3. Start with your arm fully extended. 4. Then pull with your back, to the side of your body.
Common mistakes:
1. Not steting yourself properly, i.e. kneeling on the wrong leg. 2. Rolling your shoulders forward. Remember to activate your lats and keep your shoulders back. 3. Starting with your arm bend or not finishing the movement. 4. Allowing your chest to flare up. Remember to always keep your ribs down and keep your abs tight.
Copyright 2013
Renegade Row
This is one of my favorite exercises and I love the renegade row progressions- renegade row with a push-up and renegade row with a roll out and one arm push-up.
Proper technique
First master the bodyweight version and then go ahead and add some weight. 1. Set yourself for a push up (arms shoulder width apart) and spread your legs wider. 2. Get in a hollow position. Tuck your butt and squeeze your abs. 3. Row with your right arm( lead with the elbow towards the ceiling), while pushing into the ground with your right leg, so you can keep balance. www.InspiredFitStrong.com
Copyright 2013
4. Dont twist the hips. Twisting makes the exercise easier and ineffective. 5. Then alternate arms. Always push on the supporting leg of the arm you are rowing with. 6. When you master the bodyweight version, grab some dumbbells. Make sure you move on to heavier weights just when you are able to complete the bodyweight sets, without twisting your hips.
Common mistakes:
1. Twisting your hips. This is one of the most common mistakes and it is due to either using heavier weights than you can handle, or not keeping the tight, hollow position. 2. Bringing your arm inside, towards the chest. Instead lead with the elbow towards the celing and outside of your body. 3. Dropping your hips down. This is once again due to the inability to keep the tight, hollow position. Practice it. It I sthe key to most movements.
Copyright 2013
One Arm Dumbbell Row
Proper technique:
1. Stand about two feet to the side from any immovable bench. 2. Place your non-rowing hand on the front end of it. 3. Place the knee (the one on the same side of the nonrowing hand), on the back end of the bench.
Copyright 2013
4. Take the leg (on the side of the rowing hand), to the side, so you have a stable support. 5. Shift your weight forward to the supporting hand. 6. Maintain a neutral spine with the chest up. 7. Let the dumbbell hang down and stretch the back muscles. 8. By pulling through the elbows, take the dumbbell to a point right around the lower abs. 9. Make sure you are squeezing the mid back. 10. Then return to the starting position.
Common mistakes:
1. Not setting yourself properly. 2. Rolling shoulders forward. Always keep your chest up and shoulders back. 3. Not keeping neutral spine position. 4. Keeping your arm bend and not starting from a full stretch. 5. Twisting when pulling. Use your back, not the twist of your whole body, in order to pull the weight.
Copyright 2013
Core exercises
Limiting the benefits of core exercise, just to the trivial notion, that they will help you improve your six pack, would be ridiculous. As always, I wont skip telling you that if I had to sum up in one sentence which are the movements that an average person should emphasize on in the gym, Id say this: People need more pulling movements, more stabilizing movements and more exercises for their posterior chain. More often than not, people go to the gym and work out, doing a variety of exercises, without actually being aware why they are doing them. They rarely give it a thought, how the exercises they are doing, could improve their posture, reduce the muscle imbalances or just help them improve their athletic level.
How Do People Structure Their Training Programs and the Reason Why They Never Succeed
What usually happens is that a person decides he is going to work out. He opens a fitness magazine or a fitness website. He copies a training program that somebody else is doing and then works out in exactly the same manner! This is a sure way to never achieve your goal and even a more sure way to waste your time!
Copyright 2013
Thats why, I will emphasize on why it is important to perform exercises, which will strengthen your core, what are the benefits from these exercises and I will suggest you some variety!
How Core Exercises Reduce Back Pain?

A strong core, decreases back pain! The stronger the muscles on your core, the less pain you will feel in your back and lower back. The reason behind this, is that weak core muscles, as well as the imbalance between them, lead to a loss of appropriate lumbar curve( the curve on your spine, in the lower back) and improper posture alignment. Usually the neutral posture, transfers into an anterior or posterior tilt. When your core muscles are strong, they keep your posture in a good alignment and they decrease the strain on your spine. If you do not pay enough attention to these muscles, you could get injured or feel a lot of pain. Besides that the health and functionality of the lower and upper limbs, is dependent on your core muscles. As you know nothing in your body functions just for itself. It is called a kinetic CHAIN. Usually what happens is the kinetic chain ripple effect. You know what I am talking about, right? Remember how when you throw a stone in the water, some wavy circles are being formed. The stone fell in one spot, but the waves are spreading further.
Copyright 2013
It is the same with your muscles. If there is a problem with your core muscles, the reaction isnt just in that particular spot, but it will spread to other muscles. If you strengthen your core muscles, you are pretty much surely gonna get rid of the back pain, the pain in your neck, hips and knees! Here are some great core exercises that I use in my training programs. If you do them, I promise you that you will never need to do another sit up in your life, but you will have the strongest abs ever.
Problem: Does your back hurt often?
Solution: Most people have really weak core muscles and that is a big contributor lower back pain! So train your core, if you want a happy and healthy back.
Copyright 2013
Plank and plank progressions:
Proper Plank technique:

1. Get in a push-up position. The only difference is that you are on yoru forearms, not on your hands. 2. Elbows underneath your shoulders. Toes pressing into the ground. 4. Keep a neutral neck and spine. 5. Hold this position for as long as you can.
Copyright 2013
Plank to Push-up
Common mistakes:
Allowing your hips to sag down. This makes the exercise easier and puts stress on your spine. Keep your abs tight and tuck your hips.
Copyright 2013
L-sits
This is another great core movement and as easy as it looks, it can be pretty difficult. Most people have a hard time staying on their arms, because their stabilizer muscles are pretty week. Dont worry! Just start with Lsits that last shorter and then gradually increase the time of the hold. Start with working to hold an L-sit with knees bent 90 degrees. (practice till you can hold for 1min) Then move on to being able to hold one leg extended (other leg bent like in first one). Work both sides so you can hold them both for 30 seconds - 1 minute.
Then move on to the regular L-sit.
Copyright 2013
One Arm Roll Outs

This is an exercise, which you probably havent tried yet. And not because I am the only one who knows about it, but because it is not among the popular exercises, performed at the gym. Isnt it strange? Sometimes, some really cool exercises are left behind, because in the most frequently performed movements are those that match the physical abilities of most trainees which unfortunately arent characterized with much athletics. And the reason is not the lack of potential to do great things in the gym, but the lack of enough good trainers, which could show the right method to achieve their goals. This exercise is extremely good, because it is one of those stabilizing, core movements, that as I already told you, should be a big part of our training programs. There are two ways to perform it. The first one is the girly one ( I am still doing it in this manner), and the other one is for machines. The girly one comes from the fact that it is the easier way to perform it and it is saved for those of us, who can not do one arm push-ups. And the one for machines is for those who are advanced, and one arm push-ups are a piece of cake. And here is one of my clients Krustyo performing it.
Copyright 2013
Proper Technique
1. Take a dumbell, that rolls. 2. Set in a position, as if you are gonna do a push- up. Spread your feet so you have a better balance. 3. Roll the dumbbell forward, by pressing it into the ground. If you do the girly movement, roll as far as you could go forward and then by once again pressing the dumbbell into the ground roll it back to the initial position. 4. Be careful to keep your core tight. Do not swing your hips to the side. If you feel pressure in your lower back, then you are not keeping your core tight. Clike HERE to see the girly exercise! I think I am with the pink outfit on purpose!
Copyright 2013
Core Stabilization Exercises

As every stabilizing movement, this one looks like a piece of cake, until you get on the floor and turn on the stop watch to count 5 minutes. Then, I assure you that you will feel the loading and it wont be just your abs muscles that will get sore. You will feel it in every weaker link on your body. So give it a try. Those of you that do not have a solid background with training, would find it difficult to do the exercise for 5 minutes straight, so start with 60-90 seconds. Repeat for 3-4 times.
Paloff Static Holds

I am not the kind of person who thinks, that workouts should be full of all kind of fancy moves, which should bring a variety. I look on my workout as a mean, to shape a strong, athletic body; to remove the imbalances and to feel healthier and better. For me it doesnt matter if this means, doing the boring rehab exercises for my shoulders, every single time I am in the gym, or something of that sort. After all the gym is not a circus and you do not need to do hundreds of different exercises. Basic movements, their variations and some assistance movements are enough, in order to achieve your goals. But I still love experimenting with core movements. I think that every trainee should make this a priority in his workouts. You cant imagine how you could get rid of the unwanted pain, when you make your core stronger and when you strengthen your stabilizing muscles.
Copyright 2013
This is a variation of the so called Paloff Press. If you havent tried it, my advice is to give it a try.
Proper Technique
The movement could be performed with a resistance band or if you do not have one, do it on the cross over machine, with a cable. 1. Tie the band for a pillar or something of that sort. 2. Grab the end of the band and stretch your arms forward. 3. Start slowly moving to the side, while you could still manage to keep your arms stretched, in front of you( keep your arms parallel to the floor). 4. If moving away too from the pillar , makes your arms leave behind, that means that you should step closer to the pillar. 5. When you find the optimal place, where you are the furthest from the pillar, but still with your arms stretched, in front of you and parallel to the floor, hold there. 6. Measure your time, and hold the same amount of time on both sides. 7. You will feel the tension on the inner side of your oblique (i.e. the side, which is closer to the pillar). 8. Make sure you are in a neutral position. Do not le your hips go forward and do not go into anterior tilt.
Copyright 2013
If you feel the tension through your whole body, do not worry. It is because your stabilizing muscles are weak and the movement makes them work harder. Try this movement and I am sure that it will become one of your favorite.
Paloff Press
The Paloff Press pretty much resembles the Paloff Static Hold. Actually the ste up is the same. The difference is that this time, when you get to the optimal place, where you are the furthest from the pillar, but still with your arms stretched, you wont statically hold. Instead this time, you will bring the band/cable to your chest and then push it straight forward. When pushing, make sure that you are keeping the resistance, and not allowing your arms to go towards the pillar, as this would take off the resistance and you wont feel the burn in your abs.
Copyright 2013
Full Contact Twist
This is one of my favorite anti rotation movements.
Proper Technique:
1. Hedge one end of the barbell in a corner. 2. Start with just the barbell, but when you progress you can add a weight plate on the other end of the barbell. 3. Squat and grab the bar at the end, with both hands. 4. Lift the barbell up
Copyright 2013
5. Extend your arms forward. Always keep your elbows locked. 6. This is your starting position, everything before that I sjust a set up. 7. Twist to the side, holding the bar with elbows locked. Twist in an outward arc, until the bar reaches your thigh. 8. While moving the bar in an outward arc, make sure that you are rotating your hips and core, together with the feet.
Common mistakes:
1. Not sustaining a hollow position. Remember that it is the key. Keep your abds tight. 2. Placing the hands at the bottom. Grab the bar near the top. 3. Allowing your back to arch when you twist. Always keep your abs tight. 4. Failing to rotate the legs. Twist both the rear leg and the trailing one. Think about it, as you are twisting on your toes. Switch from one side to the other. 5. Flexing your elbows. Always keep them straight. If you are using weights that are too heavy, you are flexing your elbows because you are tryoing to compensate for the lack of strength.
Copyright 2013

30 Exercises On Becoming Wonder Woman

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Deskripsi Asli:

Judul Asli

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

30 Exercises On Becoming Wonder Woman

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

Because Ive been there!

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

How Did Everything Start?

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

What To Expect Out Of This Book?

Do You Need More Proof That This Training Method Works?

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

Problem: Do your knees hurt when you squat?

Do You Need Proof the Squat Is the most Natural Movement?

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

Barbell Back Squat

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

Bulgarian Split Squats

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

Key points when you peform Bulgarian Split Squats:

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

Reverse Lunges From Deficit

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

Pistol with Counterweight

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

Real Pistol Squats

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

Problem: You often hurt your back during daily activities.

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman

30 Exercises on Becoming a Wonder Woman