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Here’s one of my favorite advanced medicine ball drills demonstrated by Pittsburg Pirates baseball player Austin Meadows. Essentially this single leg RDL med ball chest pass is targeting a number of different biomotor qualities including power output, symmetrical loading, lower body stability, postural alignment, foot and ankle mechanics, posterior chain strength, and full body motor control. This is also a progression of the more traditional double leg version I stole from expert strength coach Dr. John Rusin. Make sure you master that double leg version before progressing to this.

There are several benefits of performing this movement in a single leg fashion. First, it’s quite easy to rely on one side of the body when performing explosive power movements. If one side tends to dominate on this version, you’ll immediately noticed a loss of balance and stability as the asymmetrical force will produce rotational torque on the core and lower body.

The single leg version is also very conducive for reinforcing optimal postural alignment. If the shoulders round over or the lifter loses proper spinal alignment this will also disrupt posture al alignment making it feel very difficult to stabilize your body particularly when producing high power output.

This is also one of the best stabilization movements as it crushes the posterior chain as well as the foot and ankle complex. If you really want to assess and expose any movement aberrations and imbalances, this drill is perfect. Any form of muscular dysfunction makes it nearly impossible to perform these with high power output and motor control. Oh and just in case you were wondering, yes, if it feels difficult to produce high power output from a single leg position that’s because you need to work on foot and ankle strength.

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Bottoms-up exercises are some of the most difficult strength training movements there are. During the snatch you'll be required to aggressively activate your hips while controlling and stabilizing the load at the top. This requires full body strength, power, stability, and motor control. Performing them in a continuous fashion also increases the amount of eccentric loading thereby creating greater strength and hypertrophy benefits.

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The supine or lying Pallof press is one of the most effective core stabilization and ant-rotaiotn movements there is. The standing variation is also incredibly effective however the feet, ankle, and hips can be used to help compensate for anti-rotaitonal forces. Although this represents a highly functional skill as a variety of muscles must be used to resist rotation and facilitate rotary stability, it can be difficult to fully isolate the core musculature. The supine variation eliminates the ability to rely on other muscles and focuses solely on the musculature around the core and spine. Although core strength is the limiting factor in this one, you'll be force to brace your abs and keep every muscle in your body tight as lack of full body tension will result in the weight rotating your body off the floor. Here are two of my NFL athletes Fernando Velasco and Cordy Glenn working their core as core stability and spinal stabilization is a critical component not only for the demands of the NFL but for injury prevention. If you have trouble with leaking energy and lacking tightness and full body tension when training you'll want to give this a try. Don't be surprised if you get sculpted abs as an added bonus.

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If you’re looking for a way to amp up the difficulty of traditional goblet squats you’ll want to try goblet squat jumps. In fact if you can successfully perform several repetitions of this movement with half of your bodyweight, chances are you’re strong from had to toe.

Besides being one of the most challenging lower body exercises you’ll ever perform there are five reasons why the goblet squat jump exercise is so effective.

1. Most fitness facilities only have dumbbells that go up to 100 pounds. While this is ample for many individuals, stronger athletes will find this to be a relatively light load for the goblet squat. However, most individuals will find they need to drop their weight by at least 50% to successfully perform goblet squat jumps. Unless you consistently goblet squat over 200 pounds, the 100 pound dumbbell should suffice for most individuals.

2. The goblet squat is a great movement for targeting the quads. Add in an explosive jump and you’re now forcing more of the fast twitch fibers in your quads to activate quickly. As a result this exercise has a tremendous impact for increasing vertical jump height and jumping performance not to mention sprinting and running speed.

3. One of the benefits of the traditional goblet squat is the full body activation involved. When combined with a jump and landing sequence not only do the legs get crushed but the upper back, shoulders, arms, and core get absolutely pummeled from this.

4. Deceleration and force absorption are some of the most critical yet oftentimes overlooked components of strength and performance. Jump squat variations are excellent not only for addressing acceleration, speed, and power, but also deceleration and force absorption. However, many loaded squat variations can be somewhat taxing on the spine and low back as a result of the high impact. Due to the front loading nature of the goblet squat, the low back receives minimal stress even on the landing phase, however, the quads, glutes, upper back, core, shoulders, and arms get hammered.

5. The goblet squat jump is also very effective for teaching proper squatting mechanics. Part of this is due to the fact that you’ll be using approximately half the weight you would typically use during traditional goblet squats thereby allowing the lifter to hone in on their form particularly on the eccentric phase of the movement. However, another reason the goblet squat jump is so effective is that it teaches the lifter to avoid collapsing at the bottom and using excessive range of motion, both of which are common issues on goblet squats. That’s because jumping from a collapsed position feels very unnatural and incredibly weak. As a result the lifter will be forced to find a squat depth that allows them to produce strong and powerful jumping mechanics. Inevitably this will be somewhere around 90 degree joint angles.

Oh and just in case you were wondering, the grunting you hear from me in this video was not forced or purposeful. It was actually a result of having to fire every muscle fiber in my being to decelerate a 100 pound dumbbell.

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(Note: If this is too advanced you can modify this exercise by placing/elevating your hands on a bench). This is a unique combination exercises that involves upper body power and strength along with incredible levels of full body stability, motor control, rotary stability, anti-rotation, contralateral hip and shoulder activation, core stability, reactive stabilization, and rate of stabilization development. It's one thing to have strong levels of rotary stability but many athletes have to be able to produce this type of stability rapidly in order to avoid injury particularly when aggressive contact is involved. This hand clap pushup into a single arm plank addresses that very issue as it works two unique yet often overlooked biomotor capabilities namely reactive stabilization and rate of stabilization development. The key is maintaining proper spinal alignment throughout and not loosing postural positioning. It's also important to to avoid hyperextending the elbow joint when landing.

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This quadruped bird dog row using the dumbbell pinching method is an excellent movement for improving horizontal pulling mechanics, shoulder function, spinal alignment, and posture. The combination of bird dog quadruped position which is highly unstable, combined with the intense grip activation creates significant concurrent activation potentiation (muscular tension). As a result it improves body mechanics, spinal rigidity, muscle activation, and eliminates energy leaks. Here's one of my NFL athletes Fernando Velasco showing how its done.

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(Note: If you do not have a slideboard simply use sliders or a towel on a slick surface). The lunge or split squat is one of the most important movement patterns there is. Its for this reason I spend so much time discussing it in my book, Movement Redefined. In fact, you could make a strong argument that the lunge even more pivotal for optimizing muscle function, posture, mobility, hip function, stability, symmetry, & lumbopelvic hip control than any other movement pattern including the squat. Unfortunately most individuals have trouble locking in their lunge & split squat mechanics.

With that said the single most effective training strategy I’ve found for mastering the lunge as well as any other movement pattern is using an eccentric isometric protocol. To further enhance the movement mastery effect of the lunge I frequently incorporate the anti-sliding method as I have collegiate defensive back & Samford University football player Jonathan Moore doing here while also holding 2 kettlebells using the pinch grip method for additional concurrent activation potentiation (i.e. full body tension).

The use of the slide-board by incorporating the anti-sliding effect requires the lifter’s form to be spot on in order to resist the sliding effect. 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, and 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. When combined with the eccentric isometric protocol the lifter can then fine-tune & modify their mechanics using the enhanced proprioceptive feedback produced from the eccentric isometrics.

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This next exercise is incredibly effective for reducing the all-too-common- excessive back arch & lumbar extension we often witness with lat pulldowns & pullups. While it’s important to maintain a slight natural arch in order to ensure the shoulders are pulled back and the client is squeezing their upper back, most of the extension should be occurring through the t-spine, not the lumbar spine. By sitting with the hips in a flexed position this helps minimize the degree of lumbar extension as it pulls the pelvis in a more neutral position & also helps engage the abs & anterior core. These absolutely annihilate the lats & upper back especially since the lifter is unable to rely on excessive momentum or low back extension. They also have great transfer to pullups.

There is a subtle difference between the 2 variations. Variation #1 involves a knee tuck position. While this is definitely going to eliminate excessive lumbar extension, some folks might find it difficult to keep their shoulders down & retracted. The 2nd variation tends to be a bit easier to maintain retracted & depressed shoulders although it does allow a bit more extension in the low back to occur.

Most folks will find both options beneficial however some will likely favor one over the other. Regardless of which variation you choose I recommend performing them in an eccentric isometric fashion as both Leslie and Ben show here as it not only maximizes the functional strength & hypertrophy but it also helps maximize technique, biomechanics and muscle function via enhanced proprioceptive feedback. Read more about eccentric isometric in my book MOVEMENT REDEFINED. Oh and yes, the ROM shown here (approximately 90 deg.) is optimal which is also discussed in my book.

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If you really want to maximize the effectiveness of REI’s in terms of movement mastery, rate of stabilization development, and kinesthetic awareness try performing REI’s with bottoms up movements in an eyes closed fashion. Once you’re able to successfully do these with at least 50% of your 1RM overhead dumbbell press (if your max weight is 80 lbs. on dumbbells then you would use 40 lb. kettlebells) then your overhead pressing as well as a majority of your body mechanics will most likely be mastered to the maximum. Read the full article HERE.