Best Gym Exercises You're Not Doing!

October 10, 2019 0 Comments

Hey dudes in grrrls - back with another “best super secret really useful how the hell have you not heard of these exercises” blog post. We’ve done a few of these videos in the past and since then we’ve stumbled onto some new exciting exercises so like big cuddly Buff Dudes Care Bears we’ve decided to share them with you. Because sharing is caring. *Removes t-shirt and heart beam comes out*

     Pin Squat

We’re getting this list started off with an exercise that we learned while training with Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist Wrestler Erica Wiebe: the pin squat. The pin squat is a back squat in which the barbell starts supported in the bottom position held by pins or blocks and you start the  lift with the concentric movement as opposed to the eccentric.

Erica uses pin squats to help her with her explosiveness while wrestling and we quickly fell in love. With the exercise. In the process we learned the pin squat also goes by another name: the Anderson Squat, which was named after strongman Paul Anderson. Paul was one of the strongest men on earth and surprisingly most of it was through a home-made training regimen. So home lifters - there you go. You can lift in your garage with your own music, avoid naked old dudes in locker rooms AND possibly become one of the strongest people on earth. And that’s pretty damn cool.

How to Perform the Exercise: 

• Set the bar on the safety pins in a power rack. This should be as close to the bottom as possible while still allowing you to get under the bar. Parallel depth or slightly lower.
• Get under the bar and get into your regular squatting position. The barbell should be just over the middle portion of your feet.
• You’re going to want to establish tension before performing the first rep. Don’t just get under the bar and launch straight up. First corkscrew your feet into the floor, choke the bar violently with your hands, and flex your abs hard as if you’re preparing to get punched in the stomach.
• Once you’ve done this go ahead and lift the weight vertically. Focus on keeping the core rock solid and do not bend forward, lean backwards or shift your weight on your toes.
• When you reach top position go ahead and lower the barbell with a slow eccentric. Rest the bar upon the pins and repeat for your additional reps.

Benefits of the PIN SQUAT

• Do you lose control, when you enter the hole? Well this exercise helps you with getting stronger out of the hole when squatting by strengthening the parallel position which is usually one of the biggest problem areas when performing squats.
• It also helps with explosiveness because you have to create tension right from the bottom and can’t use the stretch reflex to shoot back up into the top position.
• Lastly it improves hip mobility as you’ll begin in the parallel position without the barbell taking you there and additionally with the help of the pins you’ll always make sure you’re hitting proper depth. No half reps here.

Prone Row

Next on our list is the Prone Row. And, like our prior exercise it was one we learned from another Olympic Gold Medalist. This time coming from Ski Cross champion Brady Leman. It was all part of our experiment “If we hang around enough Olympic Gold Medalists will we become ones too?” Sadly, the answer was no. But we did learn some sweet new exercises. So we have that going for us. Which is nice.

How to Perform the Exercise: 

• First you’ll need to load up your barbell
• Find an elevated bench. If that’s not available go ahead and stack a few 45 pounders and set a traditional bench on top of them.
• Lay on the bench in a prone position
• Grap the barbell with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip
• Retract your scapula *Buff Dudes drinking game cha-ching*
• Pull the weight up towards your sternum, contracting your lats and pausing at the top of the movement for a second or two before returning the weight back to the starting position.

Benefits of the PRONE ROWS

• This one hits your back. Particularly your upper back as well as your mid and upper traps and rear delts
• As opposed to bent over rows, this is a great exercise variation for hitting the back as it takes being able to cheat reps out of the equation. With the prone rows the weight is locking you onto the bench as you pull it towards you, leaving you unable to sway your body to help get the weight to your sternum.

Z Press

Have you ever performed the Overhead Press and thought to yourself, “wow, this is way too easy. I wish there was an advanced version of this exercise which pushed me to my limits and made me rethink my life decisions?” No? Me either. But if you ever do, the Z Press is right here waiting for you. Unlike the Overhead Press which uses your legs as a base of support to help stabilize your core, the Z Press has you sitting down while performing the exercise, eliminating your legs from the equation and making your core do all the heavy lifting. In addition posture is key. Chest up, back straight and legs fully extended. So much like the prone rows this also is a “no cheating” style exercise. As a test, go ahead and sit in this position without weights and raise your hands in the air for a few reps. No, go ahead. I’ll wait. *ten seconds go by.* Tough, huh? And with me staring at you silently I’m assuming also a little awkward.

How to Perform the Exercise:

• Set your barbell on an elevated surface. Do not attempt to lift the bar from the floor. Lighter weights are also recommended.
• Sit on the floor, straighten your legs, spread them wide eagle and imagine your glueing the back of your knees to the ground. Chest up, back straight. Remember, this is all core - no using a wall for support.
• Imagine you’re sitting on your hamstrings as opposed to your ass in order to help keep the back from slouching.
• Press the barbell vertical and bob your head out of the way, once it’s past your face go ahead and bring your head back to its original position and press the bar over your spine. Stay as upright as possible and avoid leaning back at all costs.

Benefits of the Z PRESS

• Core strength and stabilization, hip flexor mobility, hamstring flexibility, and improving posture. 
• In addition it’s so uncompromising in terms of needing to utilize proper form that it helps transfer directly over to other shoulder press exercises, such as the aforementioned overhead press.

 

Guillotine Press

Last on the list and more of a bonus is Ned Stark’s favorite exercise: the Guillotine Press. I’ll be honest, 95% of the reason I added this one is because of the name. Guillotine Press. Nice.

In regards to form and function this is very similar to the bench press with the key difference being right there in the name - you’re going to be pressing the bar from the neck as opposed to the sternum. 

In addition you’ll hold onto the bar with a wider grip and flare your upper arms directly out to your sides. The reason for this is to reduce the activation of the front delts and triceps during the exercise and put more of the emphasis on the pecs. Does it work? Yes. Would I recommend it. No.

You may be thinking “come on, it can’t really cut my head off” and you know what? You’d be right. Instead it’ll blow out your rotator cuffs, slamming violently onto your neck and cutting off all oxygen to your brain. Your eyes would begin to bug out of your head as vomit and bile would begin shooting like a fountain out of your face sphincter, drenching onlookers as you plea with a silent scream for someone, anyone, to end the suffering. All because you wanted to isolate your chest and build some swollen, juicy chesticles. It’s just not worth it, dude.

So there you go - a fresh batch of little known exercises to add to your arsenal. What’s your unconventional go-to move in the gym? Let us know and until next time. STAY BUFF.

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