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NOTE: The 2+2 protocol indicates the lifter should perform 2 rows per every RDL. For example, with each arm one will perform 4 total rows and 2 total RDLs for a total of 8 rows (both sides) and 4 RDLs (both side) per set.

OPTION #1

This eccentric isometric Combination Single Arm Good Morning & Single Arm Row it provides 5 benefits. Note you should be able to use the same weight for the row you normally use.

1. Most folks over rotate their body during single arm rows which reduces upper back & lat activation. This helps remedy that.

2. The single arm front curled good morning helps insure that the anterior core is firing which many folks struggle with during hip hinges as they tend to over arch their low back & lumbar spine.

3. Many lifters collapse their shoulders & excessively protract at the bottom of a row. However, we want full extension & natural protraction without losing posture. This variation helps remedy that as its nearly impossible to allow the shoulders to round over when holding the front curled position as it requires the upper back & lats to fire to maintain alignment.

4. One of the most common mistakes on rows is over rowing & going past 90 degrees which not only minimizes back activation but places undue stress on the shoulder joint. The front curled position produces such high levels of spinal stability, core activation, & full body tension it’s almost impossible to row past 90 degrees.

5. Besides blasting the upper back, lats, & core, these also crush the biceps isometrically.

OPTION #2

Bird Dog Row: I introduced this to the fitness industry on T-Nation 6 years ago & since has become quite popular because it’s truly a full body exercise that exposes & addresses numerous weakness & imbalances. Aim for straight line from head to toe, dorsiflexion, and 90 deg eccentric isometrics with perfect posture.

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OPTION #1

This next exericse is a single arm barbell javelin superset with floor press. It's tough so brace your entire core and go very slow otherwise the offset effect will erode your technique. If used correctly, this is an awesome way to clean up form while concurrently hitting the chest and core together.

OPTION #2

Single Arm Hips Off Chest Press with NFL athlete Chris Carson: Besides blasting the, upper body pressing muscles as well as the glutes & hamstrings these also crush the core & spinal stabilizers as there is extreme anti-rotation going on here since the single arm loading will want to rip the lifter off the bench.

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OPTION #1

This next exercise is an anti-rolling barbell pullup using eccentric isometrics & roughly 90 deg joint angles. Besides blasting the lats & upper body, these pummel the core & abs as the combination of hip flexion & weighted adduction (8lb med ball), requires enormous core activation. Additionally these features help reinforce full body tension & spinal rigidity due to the concurrent activation potentiation effect associated with squeezing the distal extremities. In other words the increased full body tension enhances neural drive to the primary muscles (back, lats, & arms) while also eliminating energy leaks & areas of instability. These also help promote a neutral spine & a neutral pelvis as its almost impossible to over-arch on these.

You’ll also notice the use of 90 degree Eccentric isometrics. This represents the optimal ROM and the most therapeutic, safest, & effective stimulus for building functional strength & hypertrophy while also sparing the joints.

Lastly you’ll notice the anti-rolling barbell protocol. Simply place a barbell in a squat rack on top of safety pins without the bar touching either side of the columns (this allows the bar to spin & roll). This provides 4 benefits 1. Because the barbell will want to spin & roll out of the hands, this is one of the most effective grip exercises. 2. Anti-rolling barbell pull-ups force the lifter to use smooth & controlled technique. Any excessive momentum, kipping, cheating, shifting, & wiggling will exponentially magnify the rolling effect of the barbell causing it to spin out of your hands. 3. These do wonders for cleaning up pullup mechanics & ROM. Excessive collapsing at the bottom (shoulders over-elevating) as well as trying to over-pull at the top also magnifies the spinning effect of the barbell. To keep the bar locked in requires the athlete to use optimal ROM. 4. The anti-rolling barbell setup provides a number of grip options & widths to suit any body size & shape.

OPTION #2

Anti-Rolling Barbell Chin-Ups with Eccentric Overload: One of the only ways to perform self-assisted eccentric overload pullups & chin-ups. By strategically performing a band resisted knee raise you can overload the eccentric phase of the exercise. The anti-rolling barbell protocol further blasts the grip & forearms.

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OPTION #1

This next exercise is a reverse zercher lunges with knee drive. Besides lighting up your legs its tourches your arms while also testing your stabilization. It's an all around fantastic full body exercise.

OPTION #2

Although I use a variety of squats and lower body drills with my clients particularly eccentric isometric variations on traditional moves, there’s one squat variation I tend to use with just about every client due to its simplicity and effectiveness. It’s what I refer to as the front curled squat. Essentially you’re holding either dumbbells or a barbell in the top of a bicep curl position and performing squats. Yes, it’s that simple.

With that said the front curled squat and variations thereof provide 7 unique benefits over other squat variations particularly when combined with the eccentric isometric protocol.

1. As previously alluded to the front curled squat is probably the single most simple and user friendly squat I’ve ever used so much so that just about every athlete and client I work with will have these incorporated into their routine in some form or another.

2. Although the effects are similar to a goblet squat, the front curled squat tends to be more conducive for maintaining optimal t-spine, shoulder, and neck mechanics. That’s because the arms can spread apart naturally (emphasizing external rotation of the shoulders) rather than feeling overly crowded (oftentimes contributing to internal rotation) as they would be if you were holding a single dumbbell with a close grip. Additionally as the load gets heavier with goblet squats, the bulky nature of the dumbbell tends to feel quite awkward. This is a non-issue with the front curled squat due to the more natural position of the dumbbells.

3. The front curled squat is also incredibly similar to a front rack kettlebell squat. While the front rack kettlebell squat is one of my personal favorite squatting variations, some individuals tend to find them very awkward as they do involve a moderate learning curve. The front curled squat on the other hand doesn’t have these issues as they’re very conducive for every level of athlete with little or no learning curve involved.

4. One of the most common statements every athlete will make after first performing the front curled squat is how intense they were not only on the legs but also the core and upper body as the shoulders, biceps, upper back, abs, and entire lower body get crushed.

5. Few gyms have dumbbells that exceed 100 lbs. As a result stronger athletes tend to struggle overloading the goblet squat. The front curled squat on the other hand has no such loading limitation unless of course you can easily hold two 100 pound dumbbells in each hand and squat with perfect mechanics.

6. Similar to the goblet squat or front rack squat the front curled squat reinforces a more upright torso position and punishes the lifter if they excessively bend over at the waist. However, the front curled squat requires even more precise form as it’s incredibly unforgiving and will punish even the slightest bit of excessive forward tilt. Essentially this will cause the dumbbells to get yanked down and out of position. That’s because an excessive forward tilt with the front curled squat places extreme tension on the relatively small biceps muscles causing them to give out if there’s too much tension. The goblet squat or front rack squat on the other hand aren’t quite as unforgiving thereby allowing the lifter to get away with subtle form aberrations.

7. The front curled squat is perhaps the single most versatile squat variation as the various modifications make it suitable for loading in a single arm or single leg fashion as well as lunges and Bulgarian squats, not to mention the use of barbells or dumbbells. The use of barbells also makes the implementation of accommodating resistance quite simple and effective while also allowing for near limitless loading capabilities.

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OPTION #1

The pullover is one of the most effective upper body exercises not only for improving functional strength and size in nearly every upper body muscle but also for crushing the daylights out of the core. Unfortunately eccentric overload, one of the most effective hypertrophy protocols in existence, can be quite tricky to apply to pullovers. However, by performing the pullover and press combo with the landmine we can easily rectify this.

This allows the lifter to safely and effectively apply eccentric overload by simply combining two movements - the unilateral pullover and the unilateral floor press. This allows the lifter to employ supramaximal loading on the pullover (greater than 1RM for the pullover) and light submaximal loading on the chest press.

Similar to the above chest fly and press combo this protocol also relies on the biomechanical drop rep protocol. For instance I’m demonstrating the pullover with a 45 pound plate which represents approximately 20% more loading than I would typically handle on this same movement under normal conditions yet fairly light loading for the chest press as I would typically use a 45 and a 25 on the bar.

Besides crushing the entire upper torso and core with eccentric overload, this is also an excellent dynamic speed and power exercise for the upper body pressing muscles. Essentially you’re performing an explosive dead stop bench/floor press by firing the chest, shoulders, and triceps aggressively to over-come inertia and get the weight moving violently from the dead stop position. As a result you’re able to stimulate hypertrophy from the negative pullovers while simultaneously working on power output and torque with a relatively light yet explosive, pressing movement.

OPTION #2

The Banded Squeeze Press is a brutal chest pressing exercise that also targets the triceps. Raise the legs for additional isolation to the chest and triceps.

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If you're looking for a simple yet effective way to master your squat form try these two unique eccentric isometric longitudinal goblet squat variations. In fact there are 10 reasons why this is so effective for improving squat form. Learn more HERE.

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(Note: Any of the six variations illustrated in the video tutorial can be used - you can even use a different variation for each set.) Explode and fully extend at the top. Pause in the top position for several seconds, then perform a controlled and accentuated negative by slowly lowering the barbell for a 4-5 second eccentric tempo. Read more HERE.

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OPTION #1

If you’re looking for one of the most challenging yet growth-inducing bicep movements you’ve ever performed, the kneeling kettlebell curls performed in an alternate fashion from the contracted position is just what the doctor ordered. Although it sounds a bit complicated its actually quite simple. While kneeling on a bench, curl both of the kettlebells to the top contracted position (approximately mid chest height), lower one arm, perform a bicep curl, then repeat with the opposite arm.

The key is holding the non-moving arm in the top contracted position throughout while alternating from side to side each repetition. Performing this same protocol with dumbbells is not nearly as effective as the top of the dumbbell curl typically involves little tension thereby providing a semi-rest period when holding the top position. However, because of the kettlebells’ unique loading mechanics, the top position is actually quite taxing on the biceps provide constant tension with little if any relief throughout the movement. In addition, the kneeling position ensures the lifter does not twist or contort their body as a means of intentionally providing tension relief to the arms, as any squirming, shifting, or cheating, will result in loosing your balance and dumping the load.

OPTION #2

Kneeling Clean to Eccentric Overload Biceps Curls: A great 2 in 1 exercise as the concentric is a kneeling hang clean which emphasizes hip drive while the eccentric involves supramaximal loading for the biceps curl making them a great functional hypertrophy move for the arms.

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OPTION #1

Overhead tricep extensions are an old-school tricep exercise that bodybuilders have been employing for years to add mass to their upper arms. Although the movement typically isolates the long head of the tricep, the kettlebell variation allows more complete targeting of all three heads including the lateral head and medial head. When compared to dumbbells or barbell variations of the overhead tricep extension, there’s also more constant tension when using kettlebells as the load is hanging beneath the hands creating a constant pulling force throughout. In addition holding kettlebells overhead involves a significant degree of instability forcing the lifter to use a more controlled lifting tempo and stricter mechanics both of which create incredible strain on the triceps.

To make the movement even more effective and biomechanically sound, performing these while kneeling on a bench requires even greater muscle activation and stability. Any cheating, shifting, or compensation patterns will cause the lifter to loose balance providing a type of immediate feedback and form enhancement.

The elbows can flare out slightly as keeping them too straight can place undue stress on the shoulder and elbow joint.

OPTION #2

Cheat Triceps Pressdowns with Eccentric Overload: Use body English on concentric which hits the core, lats, triceps, & abs then perform a slow & controlled eccentric with supramaximal loading.

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Here's a great unilateral loaded carry variation demonstrated by one of my national figure competitors Leslie Lee. This is an awesome exercise for crushing the core as well as the stabilizers throughout the shoulders and lower body. If you have low back issues this is also one of the best exercises you can perform for improving spinal health and posture.