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The Reeves trap bar deadlift is something I’ve highlighted numerous times over the past several years as it’s one of the most effective mass & strength builders there is. This literally crushes just about every muscle in the body including the upper back, traps, lats, glutes, quads, hamstrings, grip, forearms, & more. To highlight, the Reeves deadlift involves an inordinately wide grip that is much wider than a snatch grip. So much so that the lifter is actually gripping the edge or handles of the weight plates on the collars rather than the actual bar itself. Although this deadlift crushes the upper back and lats due to the wide grip placement it’s also quite awkward and has multiple downfalls. Fortunately these issues can be remedied by performing the Reeves Deadlift (and similar movement variations) with a trap bar.

When combined with the brief eccentric isometric as Ben shows here, the constant tension mixed with the heavy overload creates one potent hypertrophy stimulus. Additionally the eccentric isometric protocol is the single most effective training strategy I’ve used not only to build ridiculous levels of functional strength & hypertrophy but also to enhance technique, body mechanics, & joint health. The accommodating resistance (reverse bands) allows us to deload the weaker bottom position and overload the stronger top position. Read more HERE.

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OPTION #1

Am I a big believer in foam rolling? No, not at all. Do I like the foam roller? Yes I love it, but not for the same purposes most individuals use it for. In fact the foam roller is one of my favorite tools not necessarily for soft tissue work but for teaching proper lifting mechanics on a variety of movements particularly chest presses, pullovers, and chest fly variations.

There are several benefits of using the foam roller for chest presses.

1. The foam roller allows the scapula to move freely without being encumbered or fixed to the bench. As a result this optimizes natural scapulohumeral rhythm and glenohumeral joint mechanics similar to how a pushup or landmine press allows optimal scapular movement.

2. The foam roller forces the lifter to create heightened spinal rigidity and natural curvature as anything but proper posture will literally feel miserable on the back. However with proper positioning it actually feels quite therapeutic on the spine.

3. The foam roller provides significant instability thereby forcing the lifter to use strict form and eliminate momentum. The foam roller has a tendency to roll and move unless the lifter remains tight and locks their core in. This creates significant rotational forces that the lifter must resist to keep from falling off the foam roller. Any wiggling, cheating, asymmetrical pressing, or shifting will cause the lifter to lose their balance.

4. The foam roller requires the lifter to aggressively activate their feet and ankles to help grip into the floor. In fact, screwing your feet into the floor is almost a prerequisite when performing foam roller chest presses as anything less will result in loss of balance and extreme instability. In addition, the feet and ankles are forced to assume straight and proper alignment as misalignment will produce further deviations to the movement. Most lifters fail to use proper alignment and activation of the foot and ankle complex during chest presses. Unfortunately this results in decreased neural drive up the kinetic chain including reduced signaling to the upper body pressing muscles. In contrast activating the feet and ankles increases neural drive, full body tension, and motor control via irradiation and concurrent activation potentiation. In other words you’ll increase force production and your 1RM. If you have trouble driving with your hips and legs during the bench press more than likely it’s related to poor foot and ankle activation. The foam roller press helps to resolve this subtle yet significant recruitment issue.

OPTION #2

If you're looking for an effective protocol to improve your bench pressing mechanics then you'll want to implement this T-Bench press variation. It can be performed with dumbbells or barbells and it forces the lifter to use his or her legs and hips. It also helps to promote increased T-spine extension and shoulder retraction due to the head off position. As a result you'll build more muscle and strength in the chest, shoulders and triceps.

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OPTION #1

Here's a great back and lat exercise that also taxes the grip, forearms, and core. Focus on creating a strong hip hinge and re-setting every few reps to make sure the low back doesn't fatigue before the upper back and lats. Pull to roughly 90 degrees and maintain perfect posture throughout.

OPTION #2

Renegade rows and variations thereof are some of the most effective exercises not only for targeting the upper back and lats but also for absolutely annihilating the entire musculature of the core. In fact, when performed properly the level of recruitment to the core and abdominals is difficult to replicate with any movement. Essentially a renegade row involves holding an isometric single arm plank while simultaneously performing strict single arm rows.

If you want to further enhance both the effectiveness and the difficulty of the movement, try performing renegade rows using the rotational method as I demonstrate in the video. This rotational component allows a more supinated grip position in the top contracted position which maximizes tension and shoulder centration. In contrast, the pronated grip in the bottom position allows maximal eccentric elongation and stretching of the lats.

Not only does this provide a very strong hypertrophy stimulus for the entire upper back and lats but this helps optimize scapulohumeral rhythm and glenohumeral joint mechanics. In other words it reinforces proper shoulder function and positioning. Additionally, the rotational forces create additional torque on the torso and spine thereby requiring greater activation throughout the entire musculature of the core and abs to resist these rotational forces.

COMMON QUESTION: "Dr. Seedman, why not simply use traditional single arm dumbbell rows to hit your back instead of doing a combo exercise like this that may not target the back as intensely? “

My response: In reality I often program renegade rows as a core exercise, not a back exercise. However a well trained individual should get to the point where their core is so strong that they can perform renegade rows with very heavy weight without their core giving out, but instead their upper back and lats being the limiting factor. That's why as I show in several videos, I'm using half my bodyweight (200 pounds) and rowing a 100 pound dumbbell.

Simply put, the goal is to get to the point where you can perform renegade rows with such heavy loads and with such a stable core, that the upper back (rowing component) is what fatigues first, not the core. Until that time, simply use renegade rows as an intense core exercise.

Here are 13 Additional Benefits

1. Target Both Function and Appearance: Like any plank variation there are significant extension forces you’re resisting during renegade rows. Only this time your doing so while maintaining a semi-tripod position making the drill incredibly challenging. Besides crushing the deep musculature of the transverse abdominis (the corset of the spine that is responsible for keeping the abdominal wall tight and structurally sound), the rectus abdominal muscles (six-pack muscles) must work overtime to keep your low back and spine from over-extending. In other words, you’re improving functional core stability while simultaneously sculpting your abs and etching out your six-pack.

2. Involve Anti-Rotation: Few exercises involve simultaneous anti-rotation and anti-extension. However, the renegade row does just that making it one of the most effective drills your can perform for engaging nearly every muscle in the core. This includes the smaller stabilizers responsible for resisting rotational forces similar to those used during a Pallof press, such as the internal and external obliques, and quadratus lumborum. Besides improving the appearance of your sculpted beach body, these muscles are critical for spinal health, injury prevention, athletic performance, and daily functional tasks. Master the renegade row using the methods outlined in this article and watch your low back pain dissipate.

3. Improve Upper Body Strength: Although the renegade row is a devastatingly difficult core exercise, the entire upper body also gets pummeled. The arm that’s rowing taxes the upper back, lats, rear delts, biceps, grip, and forearms. The support arm is working overtime to stabilize your shoulders by packing and centrating the glenohumeral joint ultimately taxing the chest, lats, triceps, deltoids, and upper back. That’s because you’re essentially holding a single arm weighted plank. For a well-trained individual, the upper body should fatigue at roughly the same rate as the core and abs.

4. Improve Function in the Lumbopelvic Hip Complex: The renegade row is one of the most effective drills you can perform for targeting the lumbopelvic hip complex. If you have trouble with hip, groin, knee, or low back pain, chances are you need to strengthen the muscles around the hips and pelvic floor not to mention your core and spinal stabilizers. As an added bonus your hip flexors will get quite the working over during renegade rows making them highly effective for improving sprint speed and performance.

5. Address Symmetry of the Core: Most traditional abdominal exercises including planks, leg raises, and anti-extension drills are greater for taxing the musculature of the core. Unfortunately a majority of them involve bilateral loading (both sides working at the same time) making it easy for one side of the core to dominate the movement. As a result the strong side has a tendency to get stronger while the weak side can oftentimes become weaker. To address this it’s imperative to target the core symmetrically by targeting each side individually. One of the best drills to eradicate this problem is the renegade row as each side of your core will be forced to work intensely and equally throughout the exercise. If you feel like you have a difficult time with symmetrical loading during lower body exercises (i.e. one leg supporting more weight during squats), chances are you need to work on core symmetry from side to side of your body. Just make sure you incorporate the same weight and reps on each side while using proper mechanics and alignment on both sides as well.

6. Transfer to Athletic Performance Via Contralateral Activation: Contralateral movement patterns (opposite arm and leg working together) make up the foundation of human movements and athletic performance. In fact, most rotational movements including kicking, throwing, punching, and even various agility/cutting maneuvers involve something known as the serape effect where the rotational muscles of the hips and core must work together to coordinate movement from the opposite arm and leg of the body. Sprinting and running work in a similar fashion as the cross-crawl pattern of the human gait requires the opposite arm and leg to work in unison to create rhythmic and coordinated movement. Unfortunately many individuals never fully optimize these contralateral movement patterns thereby sacrificing function, performance, and joint health. The renegade row is one of the single most effective drills you can perform to help re-wire this contralateral activation pattern thereby enhancing force production, power output and quality of movement. In fact, once you begin performing these you’ll notice that the opposite arm and hip must work together to bear a majority of the load not only through intense intramuscular tension but through coordinated and rhythmic contractions. As a result your athletic performance, lifting strength, and daily functional activities will receive a tremendous boost.

7. Increase the Intensity and Efficiency of Core Stabilization Training: Many core exercises such as standard plank variations are fairly low intensity making them very ineffective for maximizing the stimulus to the desired musculature. Fortunately renegade rows require very little time to crush your core as one set of several high quality constant tension reps will do more for your entire core than just about any exercise. Instead of mindlessly holding planks for several minutes try performing a few sets of properly executed renegade rows in a slow and controlled fashion. You’ll not only save time and improve the efficiency of your workout sessions but your whole body from head to toe will be smoked.

8. Require Little Equipment: How many exercises can devastate your entire core, hips, and upper body while using nothing more than a pair of dumbbells and the ground you’re standing on? Well I’m not sure about the actual number but it’s probably only a handful and the renegade row is one of those. Renegade rows can literally be performed anytime at any gym regardless of how crowded it is making it conducive as a high intensity core drill for super-setting with other compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, or Olympic lifts.

9. Improve Breathing Patterns: Knowing how to control your breathing (i.e. sipping air through a straw) while maintaining heightened levels of spinal rigidity, core tightness, and full body tension is an invaluable skill. This is pivotal not only for lifting heavy objects but for daily living and postural control. Renegade rows represent the epitome of teaching proper breathing patterns while aggressively activating nearly every muscle in your body.

10. Teach the Lifter to Stay Tight: The ability to stay tight and create full body tension is pivotal for eliminating energy leaks and areas of weakness throughout the kinetic chain. Besides decreasing your risk for injury and joint pain, this has a tremendous impact on your ability to transmit force and absorb incoming forces. Once you start incorporating renegade rows, specifically eccentric isometric variations, not only will you be less prone to injury but your strength on nearly all your lifts will significantly improve.

11. Minimize Cheating and Lumbar Extension: Renegade rows with eccentric isometrics are surprisingly difficult to cheat. Although it’s possible to use some degree of rotation and twisting (which should mostly be avoided) it’s nearly impossible to have sagging hips and lumbar extension as the dumbbell will hit the floor. If you’re going to reach full extension with the arm and complete the eccentric portion of the row without the weight touching, you’ll be required to keep your entire body tall and locked in without excessive lumbar extension.

12. Improve Mental and Physical Conditioning: If you’re inexperienced with single arm planks or renegade rows you’ll be surprised at the level of mental and physical toughness necessary to lock these in. Besides teaching the lifter Jedi-like concentration, mental fortitude and high intensity effort, don’t be shocked if your heart rate goes through the roof when finishing these. In fact, you’ll probably feel like you just ran several sprints as you’ll be gasping for air after just one set. Incorporating these into a high intensity conditioning routine as part of a larger circuit will do wonders not only for your strength but also for your stamina and endurance.

13. Allow for Simple Regressions, Progressions, and Modifications: The renegade row is one of the most simple exercises there is to regress and progress based on the individual’s level of strength and function. As a result you’ll be privy to endless options and increasingly difficult variations of the drill. To begin with you can have the athlete place their arm on a bench while keeping their feet on the floor. Over time you can progress them by using stability balls, elevated positions, Olympic rings, unstable surfaces, weighted variations, slide-boards, chaos versions, bear crawl variations, quadruped variations, and more. Additionally, the renegade position can be modified to include a variety of movements patterns other than rows.

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KETTLEBELL OPTION

Kettlebell cleans are a great hip-dominant power movement that also require a high level of upper body strength and core stability.

PLATE OPTION

Bottoms-up exercises are some of the most difficult strength training movements there are. Single leg bottoms up movements represent the epitome of full body stability and motor control. If there's a weak link in any portion of the body from head to toe these will immediately expose it. Once you master single leg bottoms up cleans and single leg bottoms up presses you'll most likely have eliminated a majority of dysfunction throughout your body. One exercise that's incredibly challenging even for the most advanced lifters is the single leg bottoms up clean. The double leg version tends to be a bit too light to truly maximize hip and glute activation. However, single leg variations performed with plates quickly resolves this, as the total weight is loaded to one hip. Furthermore, the plates can swing to the sides of your body without hitting your thigh – something that can't be duplicated with kettlebells. Besides requiring a high degree of balance and motor control, you'll need Jedi-like focus to successfully complete these.

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OPTION #1

If you want to blast your upper back & lats while also pulverizing your entire core & abs these awesome oblique crunch knee raise pullups/chin-ups will do the trick. Simply, be prepared for one serious burn throughout your entire core. Additionally the oblique crunch knee raise position pulls on one lat more than the other (offset effect) and wants to twist & shift your torso which you’ll need to resist. Furthermore the shoulder ipsilateral to the same side the knees crunch too will have a tendency to elevate. To maintain proper alignment on these requires insane motor control & strength. Lastly as I mention for most movements including pullups, only go to approximately 90 degrees as this is the strongest, safest, & most effective position for strength, size, & joint health.

OPTION #2

Here's a floor lat pulldown which is an excellent method for improving technique. Keep your core very tight and activated throughout the entire set.

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OPTION #1

Want to fix your overhead press?? Try these split overhead pressing exercises. In addition, there’s 4 primary benefits.

1. Having the back foot on a rolling device places greater extension forces on the hips & low back. Most lifters have trouble keeping their core engaged during overhead presses often resulting in excessive lumbar extension, and forward sagging hips. These variations remedy that as they force the lifter to brace their core & abs while resisting extension. That’s because even the slightest loss of core tension or excessive extension will result in the back leg rolling backwards off the device. In other words this magnifies the extension forces that the lifter must resist.

2. There’s significant instability & balance involved which forces the lifter to slow the movement down even further as excessive momentum & cheating will make these nearly impossible to complete.

3. When trying to engrain 90 degree joint angles during overhead presses (which represents optimal joint angles for most movements), these teach the lifter how to find that. That’s because going past 90 deg inevitably results in loss of full body tension making the lift more difficult to control & properly complete.

4. The slight forward lean produced from the split stance has a tendency to want to pull the arms into internal rotation thereby forcing the lifter to aggressively drive the arms into external rotation by firing the upper back and lats which reinforces proper pressing technique.

OPTION #2

This is a great overhead press variation for stability, technique, and core activation.

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OPTION #1

If you’re looking for a unique but incredibly brutal way to crush your entire body from head to toe, try this Reeves trap bar Bulgarian split squat as demonstrated by my awesome client Charlene. The Reeves trap bar setup (a modification of the Reeves deadlift) is something I use quite a bit with my athletes on a number of movements including deadlifts, loaded carries, hinges, lunges, jumps, rows, single leg movements, and more. There are 7 reasons for this. Read more. Read more HERE.

OPTION #2

Besides enhancing power and jump performance this variation of the plyometric lunge requires greater motor control and balance.

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OPTION #1

The 2:1 eccentric accentuated protocol also known as the bilateral assisted negative accentuated training protocol (BANA) is one of my favorite eccentric overload methods. Not only does it produce incredible gains in functional strength and hypertrophy but it’s also very effective for targeting each limb individually during the eccentric portion of the lift. Essentially what you’re doing is performing the concentric phase of the lift with 2 limbs and the eccentric phase with 1 limb thereby providing greater eccentric overload during that eccentric or negative movement. Unfortunately, this technique is often limited to machines or cable systems such as seated machine rows, lat pulldowns, leg extensions, leg curls, and chest press machines. However, this same concept can be applied to pullovers using a single kettlebell as I show in the video. There are multiple benefits and variations of this movement.

When performing kettlebell pullovers, particularly with one arm, the heaviest weight I’ll use is a 45 pound kettlebell. In this video I’m using a 55 pound kettlebell combined with the BANA protocol thereby providing approximately 20% greater overload than I would typically produce on a pullover.

The bilateral assisted negative accentuated pullover also promotes symmetry throughout the upper torso as each side is individually taxed on the eccentric phase. If you have an upper body imbalance this will both quickly expose and correct it. In fact, the first time you implement this technique you’ll most likely notice a huge variance between sides with one side being significantly stronger. Several workouts using this eccentric accentuated pullover will do wonders for balancing out these issues.

The degree of core activation is unusually high during these for a few reasons. First off the single arm pullover not only taxes the core via anti-extension but it also hits it with an anti-rotation and anti-lateral flexion component due to the offset loading.

Unfortunately you typically sacrifice a degree of the anti-extension component as the load is roughly half of what it typically would be on bilateral versions. In other words there’s only half the load producing extension forces on your entire spine. However, the BANA pullover remedies this as the lifter still accrues the complete multidimensional benefits of single arm pullovers (anti-rotation and anti-lateral flexion) however the heavier load also aggressively targets anti-extension similar to bilateral pullovers.

OPTION #2

The single arm kettlebell pullover is an incredibly effective movement for targeting the muscles of the lats, triceps, chest, shoulder stabilizers, and core. The single arm version makes it even more intense on the core musculature as there is an anti-rotation and rotary stability component that isn't present during the bilateral or isolateral versions. Add in the leg raise hold as I have my NFL athlete Fernando Velasco doing in this video and you'll find this to be one of the more challenging core movements there is. Performing pullovers with kettlebells also tends to be more strenuous on the upper body than dumbbells as the nature of the bell creates more of a constant pulling force with continuous tension throughout unlike dumbbells where the tension is predominately in the bottom position.

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OPTION #1

This next exercise is a single leg eccentric isometric superset with knee drive. Now let's discuss 10 KEYS for UNILATERAL STRENGTH TRAINING.

1. When performing single leg movements, use 90-degree eccentric isometrics. This represents the single most effective training method I know of not only for maximizing strength, size, and athletic performance, but also for optimizing joint health and muscle function. That’s because 90 deg eccentric isometrics maximizing muscle activation, proprioceptive feedback, & body alignment. It also enhances stability & balance allowing the individual to hone in on their movement.

2. Go barefoot or wear minimalist shoes such as Vivobarefoot which are the best barefoot shoes in the industry. Use code AHP to get 10% off any shoe. Barefoot training enhances activation in the foot & ankle complex which impacts everything up the kinetic chain.

3. Keep the feet perfectly straight with zero external rotation.

4. Similar to above, keep the hips, knees, & entire lower limbs perfectly straight & aligned. There should be no external rotation. Many folks may even find they have to use internal rotation cues simply to avoid & correct external rotation which is a common compensation.

5. Use knee drive on the concentric finish when possible.

6. During knee drive only move to 90 deg.

7. During knee drive brace the daylights out of the core & never let hips collapse forward.

8. Periodically use unstable surfaces.

9. Keep perfect posture from head to toe.

10. Don’t let the elevated foot touch the floor for the entire set.

OPTION #2

The Hanging Band Technique (HBT) can be applied to nearly all barbell movements including RDL's and hinges as shown here. The Hanging Band Technique (HBT) increases the difficulty of the movement as it requires greater stabilization, proprioceptive feedback (from muscle spindle activation), core activation, and sensory integrated movement to control the oscillations and perturbations of the barbell.

Read About Exercise

Most folks tend to screw up lat pulldowns as they try to use excessive range of motion at the bottom rather than 90 degree joint angles (approximately mid face stopping point). I used to be guilty of this myself.