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Most exercises for foot and ankle training are great for recruiting a high number of muscle fibers surrounding the feet and ankles. However, there's one element missing from these movements: rate of stabilization development (RSD). Similar to explosive exercises that require a significant rate of force development (RFD), this single leg box jump with a catch and hold protocol not only requires a high number of muscles around the feet and ankles to fire, but it will also force them to turn on quickly and rapidly in order to avoid sudden instability. Although this may not necessarily be the most challenging movement, it's a very advanced one due to the high degree of impact. Here are a few of my NFL and collegiate football players prepping for the demands of the season as they work on (1) rate of force development, (2) rate of deceleration, and (3) rate of stabilization development, all three of which are vital for performance. Also note how I allow a quick double bounce landing as this is an acceptable way to absorb shock on a single leg when your weight is moving both horizontally and vertically at the same time.

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Here I have pro basketball player Yelena Leuchanka performing an eccentric isometric squat jump on the slide board with 90 deg joint angles. This is one of the most effective exercises for cleaning up jumping & landing mechanics. Here’s why.

By applying the “anti-sliding” effect to many of the foundational movement patterns (squat, pushups, lunges, glute bridges, hip thrusters, hinges, side lunges, and more) does wonders for enhancing mechanics and teaching proper form. That’s because in order to resist the sliding effect the lifter’s form has to be spot on. However, this same protocol is incredibly effective when applied to jumps as the athlete’s jumping and landing form has to be meticulously dialed in not to mention their foot & ankle mechanics. Any aberrations or dysfunction will immediately be exposed primarily because faulty mechanics produce wasted force vectors with varying amounts of force being transmitted horizontally, laterally, & diagonally instead of perfectly vertically into the floor.

Until the lifter can produce perfectly vertical force vectors with no wasted force and energy leaks, he or she will continue to struggle to maintain a firm base without sliding and slipping. In essence, the slide board amplifies any technique flaws and neuromuscular aberrations. And yes, that also means the toes need to be perfectly straight both on the jumping and landing phases not to mention using optimal 90 degree angles just as they would on any other lift including traditional squats. As always, use eccentric isometrics to help fine-tune your position.

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This is an excellent power variation of the Olympic Clean. Keep the chest up throughout and be sure the hips and chest come up at the same rate. Build up speed gradually then explode at the top position.

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The high pull is a great Olympic lifting variation/accessory movement as well as a solid speed and power movement for the hips and lower body. As an added benefit it crushes the upper back, traps, and deltoids as the entire upper back and shoulder region has to assist the legs to drive the weight up. The catch at the bottom also provides a strong and rapid eccentric jolt to the upper body musculature as you're forced to quickly decelerate the weight.

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The quadruped bird dog row is one of my favorite combination back and core stabilization movements. To successfully complete the quadruped row, you must continuously make adjustments and technique corrections until every component of your body mechanics from head to toe are perfectly honed in. Anything less results in loss of body control and the inability to perform the movement. For example, over-rowing or using an excessive range of motion (a common problem for many lifters) will cause the lifter to loose balance. That's because the excessively high elbow position decreases shoulder stability thereby reducing spinal rigidity and overall core stability. Essentially any faulty mechanics are punished by producing a chain reaction in the movement that causes the lifter to lose control. Because of the difficulty of the movement, my go-to variation for initially teaching someone how to properly perform them is using a standard iron grip weight plate. Essentially this represent a slight regression compared to other loading modalities. When using a dumbbell or even a kettlebell the lifter must laterally pull the weight away from the bench just slightly as a means of avoiding the weight hitting the bench. This produces even greater anti-rotation forces against the core and spine making it even more difficult (although more challenging for the core). The plate variation on the other hand allows the weight to fit perfectly alongside the edge of the bench without having to pull it away. Here's one of my awesome female figure clients Erin English showing how it done as we train her for her next figure show.

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Here I have NFL athlete & Atlanta Falcons player Julian Williams performing an offset angle explosive pushup. As many of you know I’m a big fan of offset training as it not only instills high levels of core activation and motor unit recruitment but the transfer to sport and everyday life is incredible. The offset angle technique is something I’ll periodically incorporate on literally every movement pattern with my athletes as I’ve seen it enhance technique and activation patterns to another level.

In terms of plyometric pushups, many athletes struggle to keep their core and abs engaged while producing and absorbing high-level forces as the impact tends to destabilize their spine and hips. The offset-angle technique helps remedy this issue as it requires the athlete to dial in their core and maximize spinal rigidity as a means of resisting rotational forces produced from the offset angle. As a result they not only produce safer mechanics but they also produce & absorb force and impact more efficiently due to enhanced osteokinematics.

Although it may seem like a small adjustment, placing the hands on an angled surface doesn’t just create an offset height. In reality the slight tilting/angling of the hands & arms produced from the offset angle produces exponentially greater rotational forces than simply elevating them on two flat surfaces.

In addition, the amount of tension placed on the arm that’s lower on the bench is unusually high making these feel somewhat similar to single arm pushups. Don’t be surprised if you feel the pressing muscles (chest, shoulders, & triceps) on that lower side get pummeled as you stabilize your body while performing these anti-rotation pushups. However, as with any offset drill the goal is to perform them in as symmetrical a fashion as possible although one side will undoubtedly be more taxed. As an added bonus these offset angled pushups do wonders for cleaning up pushup mechanics as well as eliminating imbalances & asymmetries.

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Eyes closed training is something I frequently incorporate with all of my clients and athletes. That’s because it improves movement mechanics and muscle function. In fact I’ve seen it do wonders for my clients and athletes almost immediately. The reason for this is that closing your eyes on any exercise forces your muscle spindles and other proprioceptive mechanisms to work overtime in order to stabilize the movement and control the load. In other words it teaches the lifter to rely more on kinesthetic awareness rather than sight. Instead of watching your way through the movement, feel your way through the movement. To read more about the benefits of eyes closed training read HERE.

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Here’s a Bulgarian squat with a few small modifications to help improve body mechanics. This includes the use of a longitudinal bench position and bottom position eccentric .

The Bulgarian squat is an incredible lower body exercise that literally targets every muscle in the legs. Unfortunately there are 2 common issues I often witness when watching individuals perform them. First, they tend to have an overly staggered stance position rather than a semi-inline stride position. Ideally, individuals should assume a semi-inline or semi-overlapping stride position during Bulgarian squats, lunges, or split squats. This means that the back and front foot should either intersect (when looking at the person from the front) or both feet should line up right next to each other with no space between them.

Unfortunately most individuals perform Bulgarian squats, lunges, and split squats with something I refer to as a straddled or staggered stance where there’s several inches of space or more between each foot. This ingrains faulty hip activation and dysfunctional stride mechanics that translates to groin pulls and inflammation to the hip joints. This also promotes energy leaks throughout the lower body that results in loss of torque, power, and stability, not only for the lunge itself but also during other related lower body movements such as sprinting.

Placing the back leg on a bench in a longitudinal fashion as shown in the video, rather than using the traditional width wise approach, teaches the athlete how to perform the Bulgarian squat with a more in-line position as they have little room to let their feet become overly staggered. Simply line up your body with the bench and keep the back foot from falling off. If you can maintain this while performing Bulgarian squats then you know your positioning is semi-inline.

Placing the back leg on a bench in a longitudinal fashion as shown in the video, rather than using the traditional width wise approach, teaches the athlete how to perform the Bulgarian squat with a more in-line position as they have little room to let their feet become overly staggered. Simply line up your body with the bench and keep the back foot from falling off. If you can maintain this while performing Bulgarian squats then you know your positioning is semi-inline.

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The Knee Tuck Lat Pulldown is a great way to minimize low back extension during lat pulldowns as it helps ensure maximal core tightness.

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My client and national figure competitor Leslie performing iso-lateral bottoms up presses with 30-pound kettlebells. Weighing just over 120 pounds this is very impressive for her size.