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The single leg Romanian deadlift swap is an incredible drill for improving mobility and stability of the hip hinge position. Simply perform a single leg RDL and perform swaps while holding the eccentric isometric position. Just be prepared to deal with a serious burn in the glutes and hamstrings as well as the feet and ankles.

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These are one of the most deceptively challenging core exercises particularly on the obliques and transverse abs as the level of anti-rotation, and anti-lateral flexion involved is enormously high.

Adding the bear crawl position to this movement helps to insure that the lumbar spine doesn’t move into excessive extension and also helps maximize deep intramuscular core activation due to the dual-core activation which targets the muscles of both the lumbar flexors and hip flexors. In fact, many variable resistance companies frequently attempt to build abdominal machines that involve simultaneous lumbar flexion and hip flexion. Additionally, many popular ab exercises including hanging leg raises, knee tucks, jackknives, v-ups, and pike ups are also employed with the notion that targeting both the core and hips together will produce greater activation of the abs. When combined with this lateral rollout protocol the core activation is through the roof.

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Here's a advanced yet highly effective plyometric box jump variation that emphasis both acceleration and declaration with additional overload. The key is keeping proper mechanics, alignment, and joint angles throughout while sticking the landing on both ends. The deceleration catch phase when performing the reverse depth drop is excellent for forcing the entire posterior chain (glutes and hamstrings) as well as the quads and spinal stabilizers to turn on quickly as a means for rapidly absorbing force. Here's I'm suing 30 pound dumbbells on a 20 inch box. If you're looking to increase vertical jump height, power, speed, sprint performance, squat performance, agility, and lower body deceleration capabilities this one is a must.

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Here’s one of my NFL athletes Brandon Chubb demonstrating a very difficult narrow base bird dog quadruped row with a 75 lb dumbbell. Notice how he’s also using the rotational dumbbell version which requires incredible core strength as well as back and lat activation. With that said there are 5 key benefits to this.

1. The narrow base (widthwise on the bench rather than lengthwise) is significantly more challenging as it requires even greater body control & stricter mechanics to remain stable.

2. One of the beneficial features about the narrow base bird dog rotational row is that it allows for heavy loads to be used without hitting the bench. In contrast during the standard quadruped bird dog row (kneeling lengthwise on a bench) the bench gets in the way especially when rowing a thicker/heavier dumbbell or kettlebell. These remedy this common issue.

3. The rotational row is very conducive for reinforcing natural scapulohumeral rhythm and centrated glenohumeral joint mechanics (locked in shoulder joint).

4. The rotational movement is also very effective for stimulating significant lat activation & growth. That’s because the overhand/pronated position allows a greater lat stretch during the eccentric phase, while the underhand or supinated position produces a more forceful contraction in the lats at the end of the concentric rowing phase. This produces mechanical tension, muscle damage (to a moderate degree), metabolic stress, & local occlusion. As a result the stimulation to the lats & upper back is enormous

5. The rotational method combined with the unstable bird dog position absolutely blasts the core & abs as it increases rotational forces acting on the spine that the lifter must resist. See my top 12 favorite bird dog rows at https://www.advancedhumanperformance.com/quadruped-bird-dog-row-benefits-and-variations

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The hollow body chest press is something I’ve been incorporating with my clients for quite a few years as it’s incredibly effective not only for crushing the core but also for targeting the various muscles of the upper body. The single arm variation takes this several notches further as the degree of anti-rotation, anti-lateral flexion, & overall core stabilization goes through the roof. Here are two of my awesome clients Cali and Cami Shadburn showing how it’s done using the reverse bottoms up kettlebell technique. There are several components I want to point out here as I often see many athletes, coaches, and trainers performing this incorrectly.

1. The head should be kept in neutral against the floor/bench rather than tilted up and flexed. That’s because had position has a direct impact on shoulder mechanics ultimately impacting upper body recruitment. Maintaining cervical flexion during most upper body movements especially presses results in poor t-spine positioning and compromised shoulder mechanics as it’s very difficult to properly pack and centrate the glenohumeral joint when the head is kept in a forward head tilt.

2. Rather than quickly blasting out rep after rep where the movement tends to get sloppy and spastic, the lifter will benefit greatly from pausing briefly in both the top & bottom as well as controlling the eccentric. This is particularly true of the single arm hollow body chest press as increased momentum tends to pull the spine, hips, and shoulders out of alignment whereas a more controlled rep cadenced ensures more precise execution.

3. The single arm hollow body chest press is often limited by your bodyweight as it can be quite difficult to use more than ¼ of your total weight without the load pulling you out of position. Again this is more of a bodyweight/load ratio than a strength issue. Unfortunately this ends up taxing the core quite extensively however this limited loading capability makes it difficult to fully tax the upper body especially when using a standard dumbbell setup. With that said I frequently like to incorporate more difficult and unstable loading techniques such as bottoms up or reverse bottoms up presses as the lifter inevitably handles lighter loads on these anyway. As a result the entire body including the chest, shoulders, triceps, grip, and core get equally crushed. Read more about the hollow body leg raise protocol in my full length article at https://www.advancedhumanperformance.com/blog/raise-your-legs-to-increase-your-bench-press

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The kneeling lat pulldown with eccentric isometrics is a great way to clean up your technique not only for lat pulldowns but also for pullups as the kneeling position helps ensure a more dialed in core. Focus on using the slow and controlled eccentric isometric protocol to fine-tune your technique and find that optimal 90 degree position which will be somewhere around mid face height

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Many coaches & trainers are still under the false impression that in order to maximize athletic performance you have to perform standard Olympic lifts frequently. Remember we’re not trying to turn our athletes into professional weightlifters but instead trying to maximize athletic performance using a variety of methods which may or may not include standard Olympic lifts.

With that said I do use the hang versions of barbell power snatches & cleans as well as power shrugs & high pulls. However I also frequently employ other tools to achieve similar effects including cleans & snatches with dumbbells, kettlebells, and landmine. Many athletes will find these variations more joint friendly & natural particularly if they struggle with standard barbell Olympic lifts.

Here’s an example of 2 of my awesome clients Charlene Harrison & Rami Baghdadi performing a clean & press with the landmine station. This is a great full body power exercise that has 3 unique benefits.

1. The single arm loading creates a significant offset effect forcing the athlete to engage their core & resist rotation.

2. It helps promote a movement path where the hand stays close to the body. If you have trouble swinging the weight away from you during cleans this teaches what it feels like to keep the weight close to the body as it’s impossible for the weight to move away from you.

3. The catch although quite natural also requires a level of eye hand coordination & movement precision as you’re essentially tossing the weight up, releasing, your hand, then quickly catching the bar in a different hand position than you pulled with. This is great for teaching athletes how to control their power.

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This is a great lunge variation for targeting the stabilizers around the hips and core. It can be performed contralateral (opposite arm and opposite leg loaded) as shown in the video or ipsilateral (same arm same leg loaded).