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OPTION #1

This first exercise is a contralateral arm drive, eccentric isometric lunge jump. This drill literally exposes & addresses numerous biomotor capabilities including, explosive power, deceleration, force absorption, contralateral arm-knee drive mechanics (i.e. sprinting), balance, stability, symmetry, mobility, and overall kinesthetic awareness. Adding a softer unstable surface under the front foot as Claire shows in this video with the Theraband pad (similar to an Airex pad) increases the stabilization and proprioceptive components particularly in the foot and ankle complex.

I probably sound like a broken record but I really cannot overemphasize the importance of foot and ankle mechanics not only for athletic performance but for everyday life and overall health. When the feet and ankles are functioning properly it improves activation and signaling up the kinetic chain thereby enhancing body mechanics from head to toe. On the flipside, poor foot and ankle activation compromises nearly all components of athletic performance and strength as well as fitness & health. For instance when I first began working with Claire, she had significant knee issues however after consistent implementation of eccentric isometrics combined with a heavy dose of foot and ankle exercises not only did it improve her overall performance but greatly helped her knees.

Some of you may be thinking that this particular exercises isn’t ideal for power training due to the unstable conditions. So here’s the deal. A majority of movements I program involve separating power exercises from foot & ankle stabilization drills. However, periodically it’s good to combine these elements to insure the athlete knows how to control their explosiveness, as unharnessed power does nothing except increase risk of injury.

OPTION #2

Here's a basic yet effective speed and agility drills that works forward & backward acceleration and deceleration as well as footwork and linear speed all in one. Focus on small quick steps when moving around the cones.

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Here's a simple but effective plyometric jump series to work on explosive power output. To regress this, simply focus on jumping over one hurdle at a time. (use smaller object if needed like small plate or cone).

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The medicine ball rotational slam is one of the most simple yet effective full body power exercises as it focuses on using rotational coiling to produce high levels of explosive power and torque. Focus on rotating from low to high while reaching as tall as possible and holding just briefly at the top before unloading into the floor.

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Here is one of my go-to rowing exercises that I refer to as the anti-seated or squatting cable row. Although it looks quite similar to the traditional seated cable row the stimulus is quite unique. Besides taxing the legs and core, most folks will feel their lats and upper back work overtime as you're required to use very strict mechanics while keeping your posture perfectly dialed in throughout to maintain your position and avoid having the cable pull you out of alignment. The lifter in this video could have performed this movement a it more slowly and controlled.

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The head-off chest press protocol is very effective when applied to incline barbell and dumbbell presses as the nature of the incline position forces the lifter to press with their legs to avoid sliding down the bench. As a result it reinforces hip and leg drive as well as cervical alignment, t-spine positioning, and shoulder mechanics.

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Here's a great explosive box jump drill using a loaded goblet squat with's excellent for improving vertical jump height and explosive power. Because of the anterior loading in the goblet squat position, this box jump variation taxes the quads and anterior core muscles to a greater degree than traditional box jumps.

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Kettlebell snatches are a great hip-dominant power movement that also require a high level of upper body strength and core stability. Nearly every workout I program for an athlete, bodybuilder, or powerlifter, I include at least one explosive or power based movement. At least half of the time this includes some form of an Olympic weightlifting variation including cleans, snatches, jerks/push presses, jump shrugs, power shrugs, etc.

However, I don’t always use the traditional Olympic barbell for performing these. In fact over the last several years I periodically implement kettlebells and dumbbells into variations of Olympic lifts such as cleans, snatches, and explosive overhead movements.

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If you’re looking for a unique but very effective method for targeting your lats try this rotational strap method. Here's one of my awesome clients Matt Jordan applying it to the lat pulldown using standard wrist straps attached to the barbell. Although this isn’t one that you’ll load up with incredibly heavy loads there are several unique benefits not only for improving movement mechanics but also for stimulating functional strength and size in the upper torso. Here’s why you would use this variation.

1. The straps create a more unstable and vulnerable bar attachment. Because you’ll be gripping the hanging straps several inches or more below the height of the anchor point on the bar, this causes the bar to be more susceptible to tilting, swaying, shifting or rotating. If you begin to pull more from one arm or allow one shoulder to elevate higher than the other, or you use excessive momentum, these deviations will be magnified as you’ll begin to loose control of the bar attachment. In essence you’ll be forced to use smooth, crisp, symmetrical, and precise vertical pulling mechanics to keep this locked in.

2. This rotating strap lat pulldown variation absolutely crushes the grip as you’ll have to pinch the daylights out of the wrist straps to keep the handles from slipping out of your hands. If you’re in need of a lat pulldown variation to crush your hands, grip, and forearms, this one’s tough to beat. You can also use towels to crush the grip even further but unfortunately it can take away slightly form the rotational movement which leads me to my next point.

3. This specific set up allows a very natural rotational pulling motion to occur rather than the overly rigid grip attachment you would typically find with a standard lat bar setup. In essence you’ll be using a fully pronated grip at the top position and gradually rotating to a fully supinated grip as you reach the fully contracted bottom position. Besides being very conducive for reinforcing proper and smooth scapulohumeral rhythm and centrated glenohumeral joint mechanics (locked in shoulder joint), the rotational movement is also very effective for stimulating significant lat activation and growth

   The reason for this is that the overhand or pronated position allows a greater lat stretch while the underhand or supinated position produces a more forceful contraction in the lats at the end of the concentric pull. This produces both mechanical tension and muscle damage (to a moderate degree) as well as a degree of metabolic stress and local occlusion. As a result the stimulation and muscle mind connection you’ll receive to the lat muscles will be significant to say the least even though the load will be relatively light. However, for those suffering with joint issues and overuse injuries, having access to a lat exercise that allows you to use lighter therapeutic loads while simultaneously crushing the lats is always a welcome bonus

   If you feel like grip strength is more of a limiting factor during these, try pre-exhausting your lats immediately prior to the pulldown using some form of kettlebell, dumbbell, or barbell pullover. You can also use straight arm pulldowns with bands or a cable system for more constant tension on the lats. In fact this is exactly what I had Matt do during this workout and his lats were pummeled for several days.

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This is a very tricky overhead press variation requiring incredible core activation and stabilization throughout the body