Do you struggle with a certain exercise?
Sometimes exercises are too difficult, painful or just don’t feel right.
If you find an exercise painful then you should not do it. Pain will create permanent compensations that will lead to further issues if you do not stop.
The best way to fix painful movements is by using mobility on that joint first.
Next, you need to regress that movement. In other words, find a similar movement that is not painful and develop that movement until you are strong enough to progress.
Regressions and progressions are at the core of exercise prescription and all good exercise professionals should know them off by heart.
Here is an easy to use list based on movement patterns. The exercises at the top are your starting point, they get more demanding as you move down the list…
1 Deadlift / Swing Exercises
- One Handed Deadlift
- One Leg Deadlift
- Two Handed Swing
- One Handed Swing
- Clean
- High Pulls
- Snatch
These are all HUGE fat burning exercises that will rock your whole body especially your buttocks but they all need you to keep your back flat and abs tight.
In fact these exercises are such great fat burners that I always include them in my kettlebell workout programs.
Watch the Kettlebell High Pulls exercise below:
2 Squats
- Lying Hip Bridge
- Bodyweight Y Squats
- Goblet Squat
- Racked Squat
- Goblet Squat and Press
- Single Handed Squat and Press
If you find squats painful on your knees then I show you how to fix them here.
Watch the Kettlebell Goblet Squat exercise below…
3 Lunges
- Lying Hip Bridge (one leg)
- Step Ups
- Bodyweight Lunges
- Reverse Lunges
- Forward Lunges
- Side Lunges
- Double Lunges
- Lunge with Rotation
You can perform all these without a kettlebell, my Bodyweight Cardio Program shows you how.
Watch the Kettlebell Side Lunge exercise below:
4 Upper Body Pulls
- Y Squats (squeeze those shoulders back)
- Rows
- Swings
- High Pulls
- Pull / Chin Ups
There is lots of muscle on the back of the body so don’t ignore this area for fat burning. Perfect for improving your posture too!
Watch the Y Squat Exercise below…
5 Upper Body Pushes
- Planks
- Shoulder Taps
- Slow Mountain Climbers
- Turkish Get Ups
- Windmills
- Push Ups
- Overhead Presses
All of the above are also very demanding on your core muscles, get them right and you’ll really feel it in your abs. I’ve also got 37 additional core / abs workouts here.
Hopefully this list of exercises will help you to deal with any movement issues that you may have. If any exercise is too difficult then just choose the easier one above it.
Take care and happy exercising,
Greg
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