Key Takeaways

– The kettlebell goblet squat is often used to teach good squat technique, as it helps you to keep an upright torso and sit back with your hips.

– The goblet squat trains the core and upper back in addition to the lower body.

– If you have trouble doing the kettlebell goblet squat, a landmine squat could be a more effective alternative. Adding a curl at the bottom of the movement, or doing it as more of a lunge pattern at a 45-degree angle may help too.

We’ll start by showing you how to execute the kettlebell goblet squat with great form, tell you all the muscles it works and how, and then provide some alternative exercises you can use to become a sound and strong squatter.

Let the game begin!

How To Perform The Kettlebell Goblet Squat

(See 02:00 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold a kettlebell in front of your chest by the sides of its handle. Draw your shoulders back and downward (think: “proud chest”), and tuck your elbows in close to the bell—try to get your forearms as vertical as you can. Stand with your feet between hip- and shoulder-width apart, and turn your toes out a bit—up to 30 degrees if you need to.

Step 2. Tuck your tailbone and draw your ribs down so that your pelvis is parallel to the floor. Take a deep breath into your belly, and brace your core. Actively twist your feet into the floor, but don’t let them move. Think of your legs as screwdrivers, or that you’re standing on grass and trying to twist it up beneath you. You should feel the arches in your feet rise and your glutes tighten, creating tension in the lower body.

Step 3. Keeping a long spine from your head to your pelvis, push your hips back and squat down, as if sitting down into a chair. Squat as low as you can while keeping your head, spine, and pelvis aligned. Push your knees apart as you descend. You should feel most of your weight on your heels to mid-foot area. If you feel your lower back beginning to round, stop there, and come back up. Keep your torso as vertical as possible—you shouldn’t have to lean forward or work extra hard to hold the bell upright. Avoid bending or twisting to either side.

Step 4. Drive through your feet as you extend your hips and knees to come up.

Benefits of the Kettlebell Goblet Squat

(See 01:00 in the video above.)

First and foremost, the goblet squat is an excellent teaching tool for learning the classic squatting movement pattern correctly. When most people begin squatting, whether with their bodyweight or a barbell on their back, they have trouble sitting back on the descent and activating the muscles of their hips. They tend to lean forward excessively to maintain balance, and that can lead to a range of problems: squatting too shallow, rounding the lower back, letting the knees collapse inward, allowing the heels to rise off the floor, etc.

In the goblet squat, you hold a load in front of your body, and it acts as a counterbalance. As a result, you’ll feel more comfortable opening your hips and sitting back with them—you don’t feel like you’re going to fall backward when you begin the descent, because the weight of the kettlebell is gently pulling you forward. This allows you to squat deeply with an upright torso, and that makes it possible to activate the greatest amount of muscle throughout your legs, while minimizing shear forces on the spine. As you descend, your elbows naturally travel inside your knees, which is a reminder to push your knees out to make room for the elbows. Doing so helps your knees to align with your toes, and that prevents the knee pain so often associated with knees that collapse inward.

Positioning the kettlebell in front of the torso makes your core brace your spine more or less automatically, so you can argue that the goblet squat builds strong abs as well. Furthermore, holding the weight in front of the chest asks a lot of the shoulder and upper back muscles, and fighting to maintain good shoulder alignment strengthens your posture. This can pay big dividends if you go on to train more challenging types of squats, such as the back squat and front squat. It can also help make you stronger at presses and pullups/rows too.

Due to the vertical torso position, the goblet squat is much easier on the lower back than a back squat is. If you recently injured your low back doing back squats, or just can’t get the hang of them, the goblet squat is a great squat variation to regress to in order to clean up your form. In this regard, it has a lot in common with the front squat, and goblet squats are often used to build up to training front squats. With the lighter loads used, however, the goblet squat is more user-friendly and easier to master.

Because the goblet squat is relatively easy to master, it works well in circuits and other fast-paced workouts that train the whole body. You can pick up a kettlebell, knock out a set, and move on to the next thing. Only the most advanced athletes or lifters could be as efficient with back squats and other barbell variations, so it’s no wonder why the goblet squat is popular in exercise classes and for home-gym training.

Muscles Used In the Kettlebell Goblet Squat

(See 06:45 in the video.)

The kettlebell goblet squat is really a full-body exercise, but it’s treated mainly as a lower-body lift. Here are the muscles it recruits, from the top down.

Upper back (traps, rhomboids)

Deltoids

Lats

Wrist flexors and extensors

Rectus abdominis, and deep core muscles

Spinal erectors

Quadriceps

Glutes

Hamstrings

Calves

While the goblet squat does work a lot of muscle, it’s not a great choice for someone looking to make big muscle gains—at least not long-term. It will certainly help to improve your squat technique and strengthen your back, legs, and core, but as you progress your loading on the goblet squat, you will reach a point where your upper body can’t support the weight anymore, while your legs still feel strong. At this stage, it’s wise to advance to front squats or back squats, which will let you go heavy enough to ensure that your quads gets trained to the fullest.

However, that isn’t to say that goblet squats can’t be done with heavy weight, especially if kettlebells or dumbbells are all you have to train with. Some lifters have done reps with well over 100 pounds, which makes for an impressive test of overall body strength. But the difficulty and awkwardness of getting such heavy weight into position makes moving on to a different type of squat a more practical progression.

How To Stretch Before Doing The Kettlebell Goblet Squat

(See 07:39 in the video.)

The kettlebell goblet squat is as beginner-friendly a squat as there is, but it still requires mobility in some key muscle groups to perform correctly. You can loosen up your ankles, hips, and quads beforehand with these drills from Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education. Perform one round of each movement below in sequence. Do reps of each move for 30 seconds, and then repeat for 3 total rounds.

Ankle Roll On Edges of Feet

Step 1. Stand with feet about shoulder-width apart and place your hands on your knees. Begin circling your knees outward (left knee counter-clockwise; right knee clockwise) while rolling on the outer edges of your feet. Raise  your heels as your knees come forward, and move slowly and smoothly.

Step 2. Perform your reps in one direction, and then repeat in the opposite direction. If you have trouble keeping your balance, hold onto a sturdy object for support.

Bent-Knee Hip Circle

Step 1. Hold onto a sturdy object for support. Tuck your tailbone under and draw your ribs down, so that your pelvis is level with the floor, and brace your core. Raise one leg in the air in front of you with your knee bent. Allow a soft bend in the leg that’s supporting you. 

Step 2. Rotate your leg 90 degrees out to your side, and then begin turning your toes toward the floor as you draw the leg behind your body. Return your foot to the floor. That’s one hip circle.

Step 3. After 30 seconds, switch legs.

Kneeling Hip Extension

Step 1. Kneel on the floor in a tall position—shoulders and hips stacked over your knees. Your toes can be pointed into the floor. Place your hands on your ribs and pelvis and draw your ribs down so that the two areas pull closer together. Your pelvis should be level with the floor. Brace your core, and squeeze your glutes.

Step 2. Keeping a long spine, begin leaning back slowly, so that you feel tension in your quads. Go as low as you can control, and then extend your knees to kneel tall again. Over time, work to lower yourself a little further.

Kettlebell Goblet Squat Variations

(See 13:09 in the video.)

If you have a tough time maintaining an upright torso while you squat, or your squat lacks depth, try the 45-degree goblet squat, which uses more of a lunge pattern to stretch out your hips and train a tall posture.

45-Degree Goblet Squat

Step 1. Hold the kettlebell in the goblet squat position and place one leg 45 degrees out and behind you, as if stepping back into a deep lunge.

Step 2. Squat, driving your front knee over the center of your foot and lowering your body as far as you can. Complete your reps and repeat on the opposite side. Aim for 3 sets of 5 on each leg. Then test out your goblet squat and see if it feels better.

Kettlebell Goblet Squat With Curl

This movement helps you get more comfortable in the bottom position of the squat. At the bottom, you extend your arms in front of you and then curl the weight back up. No, it won’t build your biceps, but it will get you more time in that deep squat position so you can focus on keeping your torso upright, your knees out, and your pelvis neutral.

Step 1. Set up as you did to perform the regular kettlebell goblet squat.

Step 2. Squat down. When you’re as low as you can safely go, hold the position. Extend your elbows, lowering the weight until it’s just above the floor.

Step 3. Curl the kettlebell back up to your chest, and come back up out of the squat. That’s one rep. Do 3 sets of 5 reps.

Kettlebell Goblet Squat Alternatives

(See 16:35 in the video.)

If you don’t have a kettlebell, a barbell and plates will allow you to get a similar effect to the goblet squat, and offer some other advantages as well.

While the goblet squat is ideal for beginners, some people will find that they still have trouble keeping their torso upright while performing it. In this case, using a barbell in a landmine unit can be a great solution. With a landmine squat, the load is held in front of the body the same as it is with a goblet squat, but the bar is anchored to the ground and travels on an arc. This all but guarantees that you’ll stay tall while you squat, because if you bend too far forward, the bar will poke you in the chest.

Step 1. Load one end of a barbell into the cylinder of a landmine. (If you don’t have a landmine, the corner of a room can suffice; just protect the walls with a towel.) Hold the opposite end of the bar with both hands and stand in your squat stance. Twist your feet into the floor to create tension in the lower body as described in the goblet squat directions above.

Step 2. Lower into the squat as deeply as you can, and then extend your hips and knees to come back up.

Read more about safe, user-friendly squatting in our guide to the landmine squat.

The post Kettlebell Goblet Squat: How To Do It & Get Ripped appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Key Takeaways

1. The stiff-leg deadlift can be done with a barbell or dumbbells and it targets the hamstrings, with some benefit to the glutes, lower back, and adductors.

2. You should lower the weight slowly and ease into the stretch. Stiff-leg deadlifts put a lot of tension on your hamstrings, so warm up thoroughly and do them late in your workout.

3. Keep your knees slightly bent and try to maintain that angle throughout the lift. Your legs don’t have to be rigidly straight, but they shouldn’t bend so much that you turn the lift into a Romanian deadlift or squat.

4. The difference between the stiff-leg deadlift and RDL is the degree of knee bend. One focuses on the hamstrings and the other on the glutes.

What Is A Stiff-Leg Deadlift and What Are Its Benefits?

(See 00:28 in the video above.)

The stiff-leg deadlift, aka stiff-legged deadlift, or straight-leg deadlift, is a variant of the conventional barbell deadlift done with the intention of targeting the hamstrings as much as possible, with some added benefit to the spinal erectors of the lower back and the adductors (inner thighs). Some people start it from the floor, but we think it’s better in most cases to start standing, with the bar at arm’s length in front of you, and bend your hips back, lowering the bar while keeping your legs nearly straight (or stiff). Then you come back up to standing.

If you do it right, you’ll feel a tremendous stretch in your hamstrings. The stiff-leg deadlift isolates the hamstrings’ hip extension function—that is, your ability to push your hips forward and stand tall—as opposed to their other function, which is bending the knee. If you combine stiff-leg deadlifts with any leg curl variation, you’ve got a complete hamstring workout in just two exercises. (To learn about other deadlifts you can do at home with one or more kettlebells, see our guide to kettlebell deadlifts.)

How To Do The Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift

(See 01:16 in the video.)

Step 1. Deadlift the barbell so you’re in a standing position, or, if you have a power rack, start with the bar on the rack at about thigh height. Starting the exercise from standing is safer than pulling straight off the floor with stiff knees, and using a power rack will save you energy getting into position. Grasp the bar with hands shoulder-width apart, and stand with the barbell at arm’s length and your feet hip-width apart.

Step 2. Take a deep breath into your belly and brace your core. Now unlock your hips and tilt your pelvis back—think about pointing your tailbone up into the air.

Step 3. Unlock your knees so there’s a slight bend in them. Think “soft knees.” Now, keeping a long spine from your head to your tailbone, push your hips back as far as you can, as if trying to touch your butt to the wall behind you. As your hips bend, try to keep your knees in the same position.

They’ll want to bend as your hips go further back, and it’s OK to let them move a little bit, but try to keep the same knee angle you started with. If you do it right, you’ll feel a very deep stretch in your hamstrings as your hips move.

Step 4. When your hips are as far back as they can go and your hamstrings are as stretched as you can stand, extend your hips to come back to standing tall.

Tips:

– As your hips go back, focus on keeping your chest up. If someone were standing in front of you, they should be able to see the logo on your shirt. This will help you to keep your lower back flat the whole time. NEVER let it round forward while holding a weight in front of you.

– As you bend your hips, feel your weight shift to your heels. If you feel your weight centered over your feet, or in your toes, you’re not moving your hips properly.

– Take at least two seconds to lower your torso and feel the stretch in your hamstrings. Again, it’s a BIG stretch, so give your body time to ease into it. Bouncing your reps can lead to injury.

– Don’t go any lower than your hips will allow. As soon as you feel they’re pushed all the way back, and your hamstrings are stretched, come back up. Going any lower than that will probably result in your lower back rounding forward, and that will increase injury risk as well as take the emphasis off the hamstrings.

– Keep your lats active, pulling the bar close to your body. It doesn’t have to stay in contact with your legs the whole time as with a conventional deadlift, but the bar should move in a straight line up and down. Relaxing your back would cause the bar to drift in front of you, and that can make you lose your balance.

– Note that if you have particularly tight hamstrings, your range of motion may be small (maybe around knee height), and that’s OK. Don’t stretch beyond where you can control the movement just for the sake of getting more range. As you get stronger and more practiced with the movement, your range of motion will increase.

How To Do The Dumbbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift

(See 03:42 in the video.)

If you don’t have a barbell, or you want to increase your range of motion slightly, you can perform stiff-leg deadlifts with dumbbells or kettlebells. The movement is the same, but the dumbbells will allow you to position the load at your sides rather than in front of your body, and you may find that that allows you to feel the exercise more in your hamstrings and takes pressure off your lower back.

Step 1. Stand with the weights at your sides and your feet hip-width apart. Brace your core.

Step 2. Unlock your hips and your knees, and drive your hips straight back. Keep your knees stiff. When you feel the stretch in your hamstrings, come back up.

Muscles Targeted With The Stiff-Leg Deadlift

(See 04:13 in the video.)

The stiff-leg deadlift primarily works the hamstrings, but it will also train the spinal erectors, as they have to work isometrically to stabilize your lower back. Because you’re performing a hip extension, your glutes will get in on the job too. Finally, your adductors—the muscles that run down your inner thighs—also contribute to the movement.

Pro Tips: How To Avoid Common Mistakes When Deadlifting

(See 04:30 in the video.)

Mistake #1: Rounding your lower back

You’ll see some people in the gym and online doing stiff-leg deadlifts purely as a back exercise—sometimes intentionally, and sometimes not. They’ll bend at the waist instead of the hips, completely rounding their lower back. Or, in an effort to increase the range of motion, they’ll round their back toward the bottom of each rep. In either case, it’s usually a bad idea, as it can lead to a back injury.

The stiff-leg deadlift is meant to be done almost entirely by the hips. Once you can’t move them back anymore, extend your hips to come back up. Your body should form a straight line from your head down to your tailbone throughout the whole movement.

Mistake #2: Locking The Knees

Your goal should be to keep your knees from bending, but that doesn’t mean lock them out entirely. Locking your knees can cause too much tension in your hamstrings and lead to injury. Think “soft knees,” and let them bend just enough so that you get the best range of motion out of your hamstrings without losing tension in them.

Mistake #3: Bending The Knees Too Much

If you bend your knees the entire time you bend your hips, you’re going to turn the stiff-leg deadlift into a Romanian deadlift, conventional deadlift, or a squat. If at any time you feel your quads tensing up, you know you’ve bent your knees too much. Think about it like this, if your knee angle is totally straight, your knees would be 180 degrees, and if they were bent halfway, they’d be 90 degrees, so aim for roughly 160 degrees of knee bend.

Stiff Leg Deadlift Vs. Conventional Deadlift: Key Differences

(See 06:44 in the video.)

A conventional deadlift starts with the bar on the floor, and it allows you to bend your knees more so that your quads and glutes can contribute more to the movement. This makes the conventional deadlift a great overall strength exercise for the lower body.

In the stiff-leg deadlift, the goal is to take the quads and glutes out of the equation as much as possible to better isolate the hamstrings. To do this, you have to keep the knees nearly straight and focus on bending only at the hips.

For these reasons, the conventional deadlift is used more by powerlifters and weightlifters looking to strengthen the lower body as much as possible, while the stiff-leg deadlift is more popular among bodybuilders and other physique or figure athletes who are trying to develop each individual muscle group to its best potential.

Stiff-Leg Deadlift Vs. Romanian Deadlift

(See 07:25 in the video.)

The stiff-leg deadlift looks similar to another deadlift variant that starts from the standing position: the Romanian deadlift. Some coaches argue the two movements are really the same, but we see some subtle differences. In a Romanian deadlift, your knees are free to bend so that you can push your hips back as far as possible. That shifts the emphasis from the hamstrings to the glutes, and it allows you to use heavier loads. You’ll see powerlifters and weightlifters using Romanian deadlifts often to strengthen their glutes for bigger squats, deadlifts, and cleans, while the stiff-leg deadlift is usually the better option for bodybuilders and other physique/figure competitors chasing hamstring gains.

Look at the two pictures below, which show the bottom position of each lift, and the difference should be pretty clear. The first one is the stiff-leg deadlift, and the second is the RDL.

Straight-Leg Deadlift Variations

You can train the basic stiff-leg deadlift with a little more isolation and range of motion if you do it one leg at a time. Check out this article for a whole guide to single-leg deadlifting.

Straight-Leg Deadlift Alternatives

If you want another option that’s a little easier on both the hamstrings and the lower back than the single-leg deadlift, check out our guide to the B-stance Romanian deadlift.

How To Warm Up Before Stiff-Leg Deadlifts

(See 09:50 in the video.)

The stiff-leg deadlift is NOT an exercise that you want to jump into cold. With all the stretch it puts on the hamstrings, you need to warm up thoroughly beforehand. Here are two moves that will warm up your hamstrings and open your hips before you get into stiff-leg deadlifts.

Bodyweight Hip Hinge

Step 1. Stand with feet parallel and bend your knees slightly.

Step 2. Now drive your hips back as far as you can while keeping a long spine from your head to your tailbone. When you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, or you can’t push your hips back any further without losing your spine position, come back up to standing. REPS?

Hip Flexor Stretch

Step 1. Kneel on the floor with one knee. Both hips and knees should be bent 90 degrees. Now tuck your tailbone under so your pelvis is level with the floor. Brace your core.

Step 2. Shift your weight forward, moving your front knee past your toe, until you feel a stretch in the front of the hip on the back leg. Keep your hips and shoulders facing forward. Your front foot must also stay flat on the floor. Hold for 30 seconds. REP?

It’s best to do stiff-leg deadlifts at the end of your leg days, preferably after you’ve done leg curls or another hamstring and/or glute exercise. Because the exercise puts your hamstrings under such an intense stretch, you don’t want to rush into them when you’re cold and not comfortable doing a full range of motion.

Who Should Do Stiff-Leg Deadlifts?

(See 11:39 in the video.)

If you’re someone who wants to slap some more meat on their hamstrings, the stiff-leg deadlift should be a cornerstone of your leg workouts. Also, if you’re a sprinter, other kind of track athlete, or anyone else who runs a lot in their sport, the stiff-leg deadlift will help you build strong hamstrings, which are key for fast, explosive running. Finally, if you compete in strength sports, like weightlifting or powerlifting, the stiff-leg deadlift will help strengthen the muscles you need to pick up big weights.

The post How To Do The Stiff-Leg Deadlift With A Barbell Or Dumbbells appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Key Takeaways 

– The sissy squat is the only squat exercise that can train the rectus femoris muscle in a lengthened position.

– The sissy squat requires stability and should be learned by holding onto a sturdy object for support.

– Start with 2–3 sets of 5–10 reps.

– The sissy squat works the vastus medialis (the “tear-drop muscle” on the inner side of the quad), vastus lateralis (outer quad), vastus intermedius (underneath the other quads), and the rectus femoris.

– Do the sissy squat toward the end of a leg workout when your legs (and knees) are warmed up and full of blood.

What Is The Sissy Squat and What Are Its Benefits? 

(See 00:24 in the video above.)

The sissy squat is a hell of a leg exercise if you can just get past its funny name. From a standing position, you bend your knees as deeply as you can while keeping your hips locked out. This will cause you to rise up onto the balls of your feet, so, one might argue that the sissy squat makes you look like a ballet dancer, or someone doing a goofy exercise that a meathead might consider a little effeminate—hence the “sissy” name. But the fact is, sissy squats were a favorite of hardcore bodybuilders for decades, and have recently come back into style thanks to social media.

While sissy squats look strange, they really isolate your quads like no other movement, particularly the rectus femoris muscle. Here’s a quick anatomy lesson: Your other quad muscles only work to extend the knee, but your rectus femoris straightens the knee as well as raises your leg in front of you. 

Other squatting movements cause you to bend your hips as you bend your knees, so the rectus femoris never really gets trained in a lengthened position. But when you do sissy squats, you keep your hips straight, and that puts a stretch on the rectus femoris, delivering a stimulus it can’t get from front squats, back squats, leg presses, and so on.

This is especially good news because research is mounting that shows muscles may get a better growth stimulus when they’re trained in lengthened positions. In other words, when they’re stretched a bit. Two trials (1, 2) specifically indicated that exercises that trained muscles at longer muscle lengths led to greater muscle gains versus exercises that worked the areas at shorter muscle lengths, though the reasons why are still in dispute.

How To Do The Sissy Squat Correctly 

(See 02:00 in the video.)

The sissy squat can be performed without any support, but most people are going to need to hold onto something in order to keep their balance, and that’s how we recommend you learn it. 

Step 1. Hold onto the support beam of a power rack or any other sturdy object and stand with your feet between hip and shoulder-width apart. Turn your toes out between 10 and 30 degrees. 

Step 2. Brace your abs as if you were about to take a punch to the stomach, and squeeze your glutes. Now begin to slowly bend your knees while leaning your torso back. Allow your heels to come off the floor so you’re balancing on the balls of your feet. Keeping your hips locked out, go as low as you can without discomfort or losing control of the movement. Ideally, you’ll get down to where your knees are fully flexed, with your hamstrings touching your calves. 

Step 3. Extend your knees to come back up to standing. Be sure to keep your hips straight as you do so. 

What Muscles Does The Sissy Squat Work?

(See 03:00 in the video.)

“The sissy squat works the quads with only minimal assistance from the glutes,” says Jonny Catanzano, an IFBB pro bodybuilder and trainer (@jonnyelgato_ifbbpro), “so it’s a great movement for isolating the quads and strengthening them in an extreme range of motion that really couldn’t be trained any other way.” Specifically, the sissy squat works the vastus medialis (the “tear-drop muscle” on the inner side of the quad), vastus lateralis (outer quad), vastus intermedius (underneath the other quads), and, of course, the rectus femoris, which you’ll remember we said bends the hip as well as extends the knee (it starts below your hip flexors and runs down the middle of your quads).

How Do Sissy Squats Vary From Other Squats?

As we said above, the sissy squat is the only exercise that can work the rectus femoris muscle in a lengthened position, which may prove extra beneficial for muscle growth. Other types of squats require you to bend at the hips as well as the knee, but the sissy squat has you keep your hips straight. The result is a movement that stretches out the rectus femoris while putting all the quad muscles under tension.

How To Stretch Before Doing Sissy Squats 

(See 03:51 in the video.)

“Sissy squats take your quads through a full range of motion and into a very big stretch,” says Catanzano, “so make sure you’re very warmed up before you do them.” Here are three exercises he recommends to warm up and stretch out before you do a leg workout that features sissy squats.

1. Hip CARS

(See 04:00 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold onto an inclined bench or other sturdy surface and raise one knee up in front of you. Now move your knee away from your body, trying to get to 90 degrees or as far as you can, but don’t allow your hips to turn in that direction—keep them facing forward.

Step 2. Turn your thigh bone in its socket, so you raise your foot up while you point your knee downward as far as you can. Then kick your leg straight back behind you, feeling your glute engage. Touch your foot back to the floor.

Step 3. Reverse the movement, raising your leg behind you, and then bringing the knee around to the front again. That’s one rep. Do 2–3 sets of 5 reps on each leg to start, working up to 3 sets of 8 reps.

To increase the challenge, place an object on the floor so you have something to raise your leg over and hover above.

2. Knee Lift With Leg Extension

(See 05:20 in the video.)

Step 1. Set up as you did for the hip CARS and raise your knee in front of you. From there, extend your knee fully as if you were kicking.

Step 2. Keep the knee extended as you lower your leg back down. “Try not to bend over as you’re raising the leg, or use momentum to complete the reps,” says Catanzano. Do 3 sets of 5 reps on each leg.

Sissy Squat Alternatives

(See 06:07 in the video.)

The sissy squat is a challenging exercise and can be very awkward when you’re first trying it out. Some people may also find that it bothers their knees. Therefore, you may want to try a couple of other exercises that are a little more user-friendly, but target the quads in a similar way.

Reverse Nordic Leg Extension

(See 06:11 in the video.)

This movement reduces the sissy squat’s range of motion, and allows you to use the floor for extra stability.

Step 1. Place a medicine ball or other object on the floor—you’ll use it to gauge your range of motion. Attach an exercise band to a rack or other sturdy object in front of you (a pullup bar that’s screwed into place works fine too).

Step 2. Get on your knees (you may need to lay a towel down on the floor for comfort) and roll the ball into place about a foot behind you. Grasp the band with both hands. Extend your hips and brace your core—hold this position throughout the exercise.

Step 3. Allow your body to fall back slowly, driving your legs into the floor to resist it, until your back touches the ball. (The band will help control your descent so you don’t crash backward.) You should feel a deep stretch in your quads. Use the band to help you extend your knees to come back up.

“As you get stronger and more mobile on these,” says Catanzano, “slide the ball back a bit further,” until you don’t need the ball and you can touch your hamstrings to your calves. You can also progress the exercise by changing to a lighter band that will provide less assistance.

Catanzano recommends 2 sets of 8–10 reps.

Banded Sissy Squat

(See 08:35 in the video.)

“This move teaches you how to effectively lock out your hips,” says Catanzano. “When you try to learn that on a regular sissy squat, it can be difficult. This is a great way to ease your way into doing a standing sissy squat, especially if you have problems with mobility.”

Step 1. Attach two exercise bands to a sturdy object, like a power rack’s support beam. They should be pretty thick bands, an inch or an inch and a half wide, as they’ll need to be able to support your bodyweight. (We like the selection offered at elitefts.com.) Wrap one band around the bottom of the rack and place a foot through each loop. Slide the band up so it hugs the top of each calf, just below the knee. Now wrap the other band around the rack at roughly shoulder level and grasp an end in each hand.

Step 2. Lean back, using the band in your hands for assistance and the one at your knees for support. Squat as low as you can while keeping your hips extended.

Do 2 sets of 8 reps. As you improve, you can progress to 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps.

How To Fit Sissy Squats Into Your Workout 

(See 11:10 in the video.)

Do the sissy squat later in your leg day when you’re very warmed up and have a lot of blood in the quads. Start with 2–3 sets of lower reps—5 or whatever you can manage—and gradually increase reps as you get stronger. When you find you’re able to do more than 10 reps, you can experiment with holding a dumbbell on your chest for extra resistance, or wearing a weighted vest. You can also try the sissy squat unassisted—that is, do it without holding onto something—which will challenge your ability to keep your balance as well as strengthen your quads.

See another challenging squat exercise with our guide to the Zercher squat.

The post What Is The Sissy Squat and Why Your Workout Needs It  appeared first on Onnit Academy.

What Are The Benefits of Doing The Zercher Squat?

(See 00:25 in the video above)

The Zercher squat gets its funny name from a strongman named Ed Zercher. The rumor is that Zercher didn’t have a squat rack in his gym, so, rather than squat with a bar on his back, he had to place the barbell on the floor and then bend down and hook his arms under it to lift the bar into position at his belly. Today, many lifters do Zercher squats using a squat rack, but they perform the same basic movement, holding the bar in front of their body, in the bend of their elbows.

A Zercher squat is very similar to a kettlebell goblet squat or a barbell front squat, in that it allows you to squat with a very upright torso, and therefore squat very deep. Because the weight is loaded on the front of your body, your core and upper back have to work really hard to stabilize you. The Zercher squat is much easier on the lower back than a back squat is, so it’s a good alternative if you’re dealing with an injury. In a back squat, your torso inevitably will bend a little toward the floor, and that places shear forces on the spine. If you have back problems already, this can make things worse. The Zercher squat allows you to keep your joints stacked, minimizing stress on the low back.

You could also argue that Zercher squats are a good choice for wrestlers and other combat athletes who have to pick people up from time to time, as they mimic that movement. They’re also applicable to strongman competitors who have to perform events like the Conan’s Wheel, or stone carries, as they more closely resemble those movements than other types of squats.

Of course, if you don’t have a squat rack but you want to do barbell squats at home, you can do what Zercher did and get the bar up to your chest from the floor—that is, IF you have the mobility to pick the bar up safely.

How To Do The Zercher Squat Correctly

(See 02:02 in the video.)

The safest way to perform a Zercher squat is to take the bar out of a squat rack.

Step 1. Set the bar in the rack at about stomach height. Now hook your arms underneath it so that the bar rests in the bend of your elbows. This can be very uncomfortable, so it’s a good idea to wear a long-sleeve sweatshirt when you do these, or wrap a towel around the bar to cushion your arms.

Step 2. Scoop the bar out of the rack, step back, and stand with your feet between hip and shoulder width, just as you would for a normal back or front squat. Turn your toes out about 30 degrees. Make sure your arms are close to the center of the bar, so it’s balanced. You can cup one hand over the other, or have your forearms parallel to each other with your hands in fists—whichever is more comfortable. In either case, your arms should look like they’re in the top position of a curl. Your biceps are fully shortened, but they aren’t really working against the resistance of the bar. You’re just using your arms as hooks to hold the bar in place. You shouldn’t feel your shoulders working. If you do, your elbows are probably too high.

Step 3. Take a deep breath into your belly and brace your core. Keeping your torso very tall and straight, squat as deeply as you can without losing the arch in your lower back (in other words, don’t let your pelvis tuck under). Think of the movement as being like a goblet or front squat. Push your knees apart as you descend so that your elbows fit between them.

Step 4. After you’ve descended to your safest squat depth, come back up and stand tall.

If you don’t have a squat rack, you can deadlift the bar off the floor and into your lap, and then hook your arms underneath the bar and stand up to get into position. Note that this approach will require a lot of hip mobility so that you don’t round your lower back, so it’s not appropriate for most people. However, if you’re sure you can do it safely, make sure you use a very light weight at first.

In strongman competition, the Zercher squat and similar exercises (such as Zercher carries, or the Conan’s Wheel) are typically done with an axel rather than a conventional barbell. Axel bars are available in some gyms, and their diameter is much thicker than that of a standard barbell. If you have access to one, the axel bar is a good choice for Zercher exercises, as it not only better mimics how you would do them in strongman but also offers the biceps and elbows some relief. The thickness of an axel spreads the load across your elbows, so it doesn’t bite into them the way a narrower bar does.

What Muscles Does The Zercher Squat Work?

(See 04:20 in the video.)

The Zercher squat works the same muscles that virtually every other squat works, including the quads, glutes, and adductors. Because the weight is loaded in front of you, it’s going to be even more demanding on your abs and obliques—your core muscles—than a back squat would be. Your upper back will also have to work really hard to keep the bar from falling. Yes, your biceps will help out as well just keeping the bar in place, but it’s an exaggeration to say that they really get trained by Zercher squats. If you want to get bigger, stronger arms, you’re better off doing curls!

The Zercher Squat Vs. Front & Back Squats

(See 04:55 in the video.)

The Zercher squat is very similar to a front squat. You’re just holding the bar in a different place, but it will work the same muscles and feel similar. If you have trouble doing Olympic-style front squats because they bother your wrists, the Zercher squat could be a good alternative. The Zercher squat is also easier on your lower back and shoulders than a back squat would be, but because you have to rely on your arms to hold the bar in front of you, you’re not in as strong of a position doing Zercher squats as you would be doing either the front or back squat. You will be limited by your core and back strength, as well as your arms’ ability to hold the weight. Therefore, you won’t be able to train Zercher squats as heavy as those other lifts.

How To Stretch Before Doing Squats

Try out these warmup and mobility moves from Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education, Shane Heins, before attempting a Zercher squat workout.

Alternatives To The Zercher Squat

(See 05:38 in the Zercher Squat video at the top.)

Again, because the Zercher squat is so similar to front squats and goblet squats, try those movements if you want to get the feel of Zercher squats but don’t feel up to actually doing them just yet.

Front Squat

(See 05:53 in the Zercher Squat video.)

Step 1. Grasp the bar with hands shoulder-width apart and point your elbows forward so that you can position the bar over the tips of your fingers (palms face up). As long as you keep your elbows pointing forward, you will be able to balance the bar.

Another way to do it is to cross your arms in front of you, holding the bar on the front of your shoulders (left hand in front of right shoulder, right hand in front of left). To do the classic front squat with the bar on your fingertips, you need a reasonable amount of flexibility through your shoulders and wrists to position the barbell correctly. If you don’t have it, the cross-arm version may be the better option for you at the moment.

Step 2. Lift the bar out of the rack and step back, setting your feet between hip- and shoulder-width apart. Turn your toes out slightly. Pull your ribs down and take a deep breath into your belly and brace your core. Your head, spine, and pelvis should form a long line—your pelvis should also be perpendicular to your spine, and not tilted toward the floor. Focus your eyes on a point straight in front of you.

Step 3. Squat as low as you can while keeping alignment and maintaining your upright torso position. Remember to point your elbows forward, and raise them up if you feel them slipping downward. Ideally, you’ll be able to descend to where the crease of your hips is below the top of your thighs.

Step 4. Extend your hips and knees to return to standing, pushing through the middle of your feet and squeezing your glutes.

Goblet Squat

(See 07:30 in the Zercher Squat video.)

Step 1. Hold a kettlebell in front of your chest by the sides of its handle. Draw your shoulders back and downward (think: “proud chest”), and tuck your elbows in close to the bell—try to get your forearms as vertical as you can. Stand with your feet between hip- and shoulder-width apart, and turn your toes out a bit—up to 30 degrees if you need to.

Step 2. Tuck your tailbone and draw your ribs down so that your pelvis is parallel to the floor. Take a deep breath into your belly, and brace your core.

Step 3. Keeping a long spine from your head to your pelvis, push your hips back and squat down, as if sitting down into a chair. Squat as low as you can while keeping your head, spine, and pelvis aligned. Push your knees apart as you descend. You should feel most of your weight on your heels to mid-foot area. If you feel your lower back beginning to round, stop there, and come back up. Keep your torso as vertical as possible—you shouldn’t have to lean forward or work extra hard to hold the bell upright. Avoid bending or twisting to either side.

Step 4. Drive through your feet as you extend your hips and knees to come up.

How To Fit The Zercher Squat Into Your Workout

(See 09:26 in the video.)

The Zercher squat can be a good alternative to front squats, especially if you want to train more like a strongman or prepare your body for heavy carrying of any kind. It’s also a good substitute for back squats if you’re having lower-back issues. Understand, however, that you won’t be able to train as heavy with the Zercher squat as with other squat variations, and that can be detrimental if you want to build maximum strength or leg muscle. With that said, Zerchers have been around 100 years or more for good reason: they build very functional, real-world strength throughout your whole body.

Do them toward the beginning of your leg or full-body workout when you’re at your freshest. Since the Zercher squat has you squatting so upright, it’s going to let you squat very deep, and that places most of the emphasis on your quads. Be sure to balance it out with other exercises that work the hamstrings and glutes just as hard. Two to three sets of 5–10 reps is good to start, progressing the weight and rep numbers over time.

Try another front-loaded squat that saves the low back and strengthens the quads: the landmine squat.

The post How To Do The Zercher Squat Like A Pro appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Here, we present some of the most common and effective kettlebell deadlift variations.

What Is The Kettlebell Deadlift and What Are The Benefits of Doing Them?

(See 00:31 in the video above.)

“The deadlift itself is a hinge movement,” says Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education. “You fold at the hips to pick objects up from down below.” If that motion looks familiar to you, it should—you probably do it every day, from picking up your gym bag to lifting your little brother/sister, or son/daughter, into the car seat. The point is, few exercises prepare you for the sport of life like the deadlift does.

That’s not to say it can’t prepare you for actual sports too. The deadlift trains the muscles that extend the hips—the glutes and hamstrings—which are the source of speed and power for virtually all explosive movements (yes, the quads get some work too, extending the knees in concert with the hips). Deadlifting also involves the upper and lower back, as well as the forearm and gripping muscles, so deadlifts of any kind are really full-body exercises.

When you swap out a barbell for a kettlebell, things get even more interesting. Deadlifting with a barbell is hell on your grip, but the challenge increases with a kettlebell, both because the diameter of the handle is thicker and the weight’s center of gravity is lower. That makes the kettlebell much harder to control, upping the strength requirement from both your hands and your core. Another point: the shape and length of a barbell makes it only suitable for lifting right in front of you, with your palms facing your body. A kettlebell, however, can be positioned between your legs, to the outside of one leg, or at varying heights depending on your goals. You can also grip it with your hands at a 45-degree angle or palms facing in, so the kettlebell is a bit more versatile.

Heins argues that the kettlebell is “much more closely related to the types of objects you’ll deadlift, and how you’ll deadlift them, in your day-to-day life.”

How To Do The Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift

(See 01:17 in the video.)

The single-leg kettlebell deadlift works the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back one side at a time, which allows you to train them through a greater range of motion than you could with conventional two-legged deadlifts. We recently posted a thorough article tutorial on the single-leg deadlift and all its glory, so check that out separately.

How To Do The Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

(See 01:49 in the video.)

Prolonged bouts of sitting cause the hamstrings to shorten, reducing their flexibility. The Romanian deadlift helps to stretch them back out again, while also working the glutes through a full range of motion. Doing an RDL with a kettlebell is a good way to prepare your body for more dynamic hip hinge movements like the kettlebell swing, as it strengthens the same muscles and works you through the same range, but without the momentum that puts the lower back at some risk.

Step 1. Set a kettlebell on the floor just in front of you. Place your feet hip-distance apart. Draw your shoulders back and down (think “proud chest”), pull your ribs down, and brace your core. Unlock your knees.

Step 2. Keeping a long spine from your head to your tailbone, drive your hips back as far as you can so your torso folds over. Let the movement come from your hips (do NOT round your lower back). Stop when you run out of range—your shoulders should end up above hip level. Grasp the kettlebell with both hands.

Step 3. Keeping your proud chest position, drive through your heels as you extend your hips and knees to stand up tall. Now you’re in position to BEGIN your reps.

Step 4. Bend your hips back as you did above to lower the weight to just above the floor—don’t let it rest on the ground. You may need to stand on some mats or other elevated surface to do so. The goal should be to keep constant tension on your muscles, and stopping the weight on the floor allows them a momentary rest.

How To Do The Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift

(See 02:43 in the video.)

If your hamstrings are tight, you may have an easier time doing the sumo deadlift than the RDL. The sumo requires less of a hip hinge, but it also lets you work with heavier weights, and it gets the adductors (inner-thigh muscles) in on the action to a greater degree than other deadlifts.

Step 1. Stand with your feet wider than shoulder width, and turn your toes out 45 degrees. Actively drive your knees outward. Assume a proud chest position.

Step 2. Hinge your hips back while keeping a long spine, and grasp the kettlebell with both hands.

Step 3. Drive through your feet to extend your hips to stand tall. Think about pulling through the crown of your head.

How To Do The Kettlebell Suitcase Deadlift

(See 03:42 in the video.)

Lifting a kettlebell on one side of the body alone “starts to tap into that corset of core musculature from the hips to the shoulders,” says Heins, “while also challenging your grip.” Most of life and sport activities load the body asymmetrically, so it pays to train this way.

Step 1. Set the kettlebell to the side of one leg with the handle turned vertical (so you can pick up the bell as if it were a suitcase). Place your feet at hip width, get a proud chest, and draw your ribs down. Brace your core.

Step 2. Hinge your hips first and then bend your knees just enough to reach the kettlebell. Maintain a long spine as you do this. (Think about the logo on your T-shirt—it should be visible to anyone standing in front of you.)

Step 3. Drive your feet through the floor and extend your hips to stand tall. Lift the weight evenly. Because you’re loading your body unevenly, it will be difficult to keep your shoulders square and your torso straight, but avoid any twisting or bending.

Be sure to perform the exercise for an even number of reps on both sides.

How To Do A Double-Kettlebell Deadlift

(See 05:16 in the video.)

Deadlifting two kettlebells at once really forces you to brace your core and coordinate an unstable movement. It’s tough on your grip, and allows you to lift heavier than most other kettlebell deadlift variations, increasing the muscle-building potential.

Step 1. Place two kettlebells on the floor and stand with them between your legs, feet a little wider than your hips. Draw your shoulders back and put a soft bend in your knees.

Step 2. Hinge your hips to reach the kettlebells. Be sure to really push your hips back, bending your knees only as needed to grasp the bells.

Step 3. Drive your feet through the floor and stand tall. As you return the kettlebells to the floor, think about sitting your hips back rather than just bending forward.

Stretching Before Deadlifting

Perform the following mobility routine from Onnit-certified coach Eric Leija (@primal.swoledier) before you take on any of the deadlifts listed here. It will stretch out your hips, glutes, and hamstrings for the work to come, and raise your core temperature for safer training.

How To Modify Your Deadlift For Your Goals

(See 06:42 in the video.)

“It’s easy to fall into the trap of ’I see the movement being done this way and this is the only way I can ever do it,’” says Heins of the deadlifts we outlined above. But he wants to remind you that the beauty of kettlebells is their versatility—you can use them in a variety of ways that help you accomplish exactly what you want with your training at whatever level you find yourself.

For instance, if you want to improve mobility in your hips and hamstrings, Heins says you can perform the double kettlebell deadlift with a single leg. If you want to go really heavy on your double deadlift, do it with a sumo stance. Want to build rock-solid balance and stability? Do the suitcase deadlift single-leg style. And if you find that you don’t have the mobility to perform a deadlift safely, do it from an elevated surface (such as a box or mats) to cut down on the range of motion. “I’d rather see you cut range than get hurt trying to force a range you don’t have yet,” says Heins.

So get creative and play with these variations to find what suits you best. As long as you observe the basic form pointers—flat back, proud chest, moving at the hips instead of the low back—you’ll have an almost infinite number of kettlebell deadlifts to work on.

How To Incorporate These Exercises Into Your Workouts

(See 09:21 in the video.)

Deadlifts generally let you go pretty heavy, so Heins says they work well when serving as the main strength exercise in your workout. After you’ve warmed up and done any plyometric (explosive) or high-skill exercises, such as jumps or cleans, a double-kettlebell deadlift or sumo deadlift is a great movement to strengthen the lower body. Do sets of 3–5 reps if you have access to really heavy kettlebells, while 8–12 reps is fine for moderate ones.

“You can also use deadlifts for circuits for conditioning,” says Heins, or muscular endurance. “The kettlebell lets you notch back the weight you’re working with so you can do the deadlift for higher reps and with shorter rest periods,” something that isn’t so practical when using a barbell and plates. Romanian deadlifts are a good choice in this case, as are double-kettlebell sumo deadlifts done with lighter bells. Heins says that the latter is a good way to focus on opening up range of motion in the hips and adductors.

Yet another use for deadlifts is for simulating more athletic and real-world movements, like lifting uneven loads. You can place suitcase and single-leg deadlifts pretty much anywhere in your workout to train your ability to stabilize your body as well as even out muscle imbalances between sides. “These don’t need to be high repetition or heavy,” says Heins. “Work with a weight that allows you to hold structural integrity and perform reps with the utmost beauty.”

Learn about another deadlift variant that works with kettlebells, dumbbells, or a barbell in our guide to the B-stance RDL.

The post The Best Kettlebell Deadlift Exercises For Your Workout appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Benefits Of Using Kettlebells To Work Out Your Legs

(See 00:44 in the video above)

“Kettlebells are easier to manage than barbells and plates,” says Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education. If you don’t have access to a gym, or you need to train in hotel rooms due to frequent travel, the kettlebell is the more practical option than conventional free weights. Furthermore, you don’t need a wide array of poundages to get a good workout for any body part. One 16-kilo kettlebell can make for a pretty grueling routine.

The shape and design of the kettlebell allows you to move it in ways that can’t be done with other implements. This means you can train your legs while holding the weight aloft, in front of you, while rotating, and otherwise moving in multiple planes in order to get a unique training effect that prepares you for the movements you’ll make in everyday life and sports. The offset load, however, is what made kettlebells famous. “The bell’s center of gravity is set at a distance from its handle,” says Heins, meaning that you’ll have to work much harder to control the weight than you would with a dumbbell. That raises the stakes on every exercise you do, increasing the benefit to your stability and overall body control.

Why And How To Do The Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift

(See 01:27 in the video)

“Just because we have a greater sense of evenness when standing on two legs doesn’t mean both sides are doing their part evenly,” says Heins. Everyone has strength imbalances between sides, and while you’ll probably never smooth them out completely, it’s worth it to at least try to minimize the discrepancy. The single-leg deadlift strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, and adductors in each leg in turn, while improving your balance and body control on one leg. Single-leg training also lets you work through a greater range of motion, and that helps with mobility. All of these things are important for preventing injury, as lopsided strength and mobility between limbs can set you up for accidents. You’ll also find that when each leg works better on its own, the two will come together to produce more force on your bilateral exercises, such as conventional deadlifts and back squats.

Here’s how to perform the single-leg kettlebell deadlift with good form.

Step 1. Hold a kettlebell with both hands at arm‘s length in front of you. Retract and depress your shoulders—think: “proud chest.” Now stand with feet hip-width apart and pick your left foot up off the floor an inch or two (just high enough so it doesn’t scrape the floor when you begin your reps).

Step 2. Soften your right knee so there’s a slight bend, and begin pushing your hips straight back as if to touch a wall behind you. This motion is called a hip hinge, and it’s the same type of movement you’d perform in any deadlift variation.

Step 3. Push your left leg back and straighten it as you hinge at the hips, and try to keep the leg moving in a straight line, as if you were aiming to touch a target that was directly behind you. If you have trouble balancing, you can gently tap your left foot to the floor as you go, but try to keep it elevated. The left leg will serve as a sort of kickstand that supports you while you train the right leg.

Keep a long spine from your head to your tailbone as you bend your hips—don’t let your back round forward. Stop when you feel a good stretch in your right glutes and hamstrings.

Step 4. Extend your hips to come back up to standing tall, touch your foot down to reset, and repeat for reps. Afterward, switch legs and do your reps on the left leg.

Heins says to grip the floor with your foot as much as possible. (If possible, do the exercise in socks or bare feet so you can make better use of your toes). “Your weight should shift to your heel as you hinge,” says Heins. “Push your foot into the floor, and that will create stability up the chain.” Also, avoid twisting your hips and shoulders to either side. Strive to keep both square to the floor at all times.

Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift Alternatives

(See 06:20 in the video)

If you’re fairly new to lifting or don’t have a lot of single-leg work under your belt, your biggest challenge may be keeping your balance. In this case, try what Heins calls the sliding single-leg deadlift, where you’ll rely more on the kickstand leg to provide stability.

Sliding Single-Leg Deadlift

(See 06:40 in the video)

Step 1. Set up as you did for the single-leg deadlift but keep the toes of your left foot on the floor and raise your heel.

Step 2. Now bend your hips back and slide your left foot gently along the floor. Maintain contact with the floor throughout the set so you keep balance.

If even the sliding single-leg deadlift feels like a high-wire act, regress the movement one step further to the staggered-stance deadlift (also called a B-stance deadlift). All you have to do is split your legs and hinge the hips. The staggered stance takes a lot of balance out of the equation but still allows you to emphasize one leg over the other, so you get the benefits of unilateral training.

Staggered-Stance Deadlift

(See 07:05 in the video)

Step 1. Stand with your left foot a bit behind the right one so your left toes are in line with your right heel.

Step 2. Perform your hip hinge as normal, using the left leg only to maintain balance.

Yet another option is to hold the kettlebell at your chest rather than at arm’s length. By keeping the weight closer to your body, you’ll have better control of it and can focus almost exclusively on the deadlift motion itself. “The chest-held single-leg deadlift is a good way to instigate sitting back deeper into your hinge,” says Heins.

Chest-Held Single-Leg Deadlift

(See 08:02 in the video)

Step 1. You know the drill… Do any of the single-leg deadlift movements described above but with the bottom of the kettlebell held tight to your sternum and your chest proud.

Sample Kettlebell Leg Workout

(See 09:30 in the video)

Here’s a workout that incorporates the single-leg deadlift with other movements that build strong, balanced, and muscular legs.

DIRECTIONS

Perform the exercises as a circuit, completing one set of each in sequence without rest in between. Afterward, rest 2 minutes, and repeat the circuit for 3–5 total rounds.

1. Single-Leg Deadlift (Any Variation of the Above)

Reps: 10 (each side)

2. Kneeling Leg Extension

(See 10:23 in the video)

Reps: 5–10

Step 1. Get on your knees and hold a light kettlebell at chest level. Flatten the top of your feet into the floor. (You may want to put a towel or mat under you to protect your knees.)

Step 2. Keeping your hips locked out, SLOWLY bend your knees, allowing yourself to fall backward under control until you feel a big stretch in your quads. Stop before you lose control of the movement, and extend your knees to come back up.

Not only is this a challenging exercise, but it can be hard on your knees and quads if you’re not warmed up, so ease into this slowly after you’ve done a thorough warmup (see the video below!).

3. Single-Rack High-Knee March

(See 10:52 in the video)

Reps: 10 (each side)

Step 1. Hold the kettlebell in your right hand at shoulder level and stand with feet hip-distance apart.

Step 2. Drive your right foot into the floor while you raise your left knee up as high as you can. Lower it, and repeat on the other leg. After 10 reps, switch the kettlebell to your left hand.

4. Modified Sumo Squat To Figure-Four

(See 11:24 in the video)

Reps: 3 (each side)

Step 1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and turn your toes out as far as you can. Hold the kettlebell with both hands in front of your chest.

Step 2. Squat as deeply as you can, pushing your knees out as you descend. Keep your chest facing forward and maintain a long spine from your head to your tailbone—don’t let your pelvis tuck under (stop short of where it does).

Step 3. Extend your hips and knees to stand up tall again and then turn your body to your left, raise your right leg in front of you, and rest it against your left leg in a figure-four position. Depending on your mobility, you can rest the leg above the knee or against your shin—either is fine.

Release the right leg, return to the modified sumo stance, squat, and repeat the figure-four on the other side.

How To Stretch Your Legs Before Working Out

Perform the following mobility routine from Onnit-certified coach Eric Leija (@primal.swoledier) before you take on the workout above. It will stretch out your hips, glutes, and hamstrings for the work to come, and raise your core temperature for safer training.

How Often Should You Train Your legs?

(See 12:28 in the Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift video)

You can perform the workout outlined above three days per week on non-consecutive days. Heins says you could do it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and perform your upper-body work on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Discover more single-leg training options, such as the B-stance hip thrust.

The post A Pro’s Kettlebell Leg Workout With The Single-Leg Deadlift appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Let’s explore how to do the landmine squat for better squat technique, more quad development, and safer, user-friendly squatting in general.

What Is The Landmine Squat And What Are Its Benefits?

(See 00:35 in the video above.)

The landmine squat is done with the barbell in a landmine unit, which is a metal cylinder that swivels on an axis. A landmine allows you to lift the barbell in various arcing motions rather than straight up and down, letting you perform a number of exercises with a less complex squatting technique that can be easier on your joints.

In the landmine squat, the weight is held in front of your body rather than behind it, so landmine squatting resembles the front squat as well as the goblet squat that many people do with a kettlebell. Therefore, it’s sometimes called a landmine goblet squat. One big advantage of the landmine squat over the kettlebell goblet squat is that it’s more stable, and the barbell allows you to load more weight, so landmine squats in general can be done heavier and are usually a better choice for building muscle than the goblet squat.

Like the goblet squat, the landmine squat reinforces good squatting mechanics that keep you safe—for example, sitting your hips back and keeping your chest up as you descend. If you have trouble squatting with a barbell on your back—that is, if it bothers your low back or knees, or you just can’t seem to keep form—the landmine squat can be an awesome replacement exercise. Use it to ingrain good squatting mechanics, and then go back to the barbell back squat or front squat. You’ll probably find that your technique is sharper, and you can squat deeper than before.

How To Do The Landmine Squat?

(See 01:35 in the video.)

The landmine squat is pretty easy to perform, making it a great move for beginners, or other people who don’t have much experience squatting with load. You want the bar right up against your chest, and keep your torso as upright as possible as you squat down.

Step 1. Load a barbell into a landmine. If you don’t have a landmine unit, you can wedge the end of the bar into a corner in your gym. It won’t be quite as stable, but it should still work. Set a box or bench on the floor in front of the bar, right next to where the barbell plates will be loaded. Pick up the end of the bar and rest it on the box and load the plates you’ll use. Now you have a platform to lift the bar off, making it easier to get into position for the start of the exercise.

Step 2. Squat down in front of the bar and wrap your hands around the end of it. Tuck your elbows to your sides. Keeping your back straight and flat, lift the bar off the box and step away from the box if needed so it’s not in the way of your squat. You should end up standing with the bar right at your chest. (Don’t hold the bar any higher; that will make your shoulders work harder than they have to, and you’ll fatigue your upper body before your legs.)

Adjust your stance so your feet are between hip and shoulder width and your toes are turned out a few degrees. Now you’ll have to play around with your position and see what’s comfortable. You can lean forward so your weight is more on the balls of your feet, or you can stand tall—whatever allows you to squat with the deepest range of motion and good form.

Step 3. Draw your ribs down, take a deep breath into your belly, and brace your core. Keeping a long spine from your head to your tailbone, squat as deeply as you can, driving your knees apart so that they line up with your big toes. You should be able to go much lower than you normally could in a back squat without your heels rising off the floor or your lower back rounding.

Step 4. Extend your hips and knees to stand tall again. When you’ve finished your set, rest the weight on the box again.

What Muscles Does The Landmine Squat Work?

(See 03:05 in the video.)

Like the back squat, you can count on the landmine squat to work the following muscles:

• Quadriceps (front thighs)
• Glutes (butt)
• Rectus abdominis, obliques (core)
• Various muscles of the upper back (they act as stabilizers here)
• Deltoids (shoulders, again, working to stabilize)
• Spinal erectors (lower back)

The landmine squat is a perfect choice for people who want to emphasize quad gains. Because the range of motion is so great at the knee joint (greater than a hip-dominant back squat), your quads will work hard throughout each rep. It’s also ideal if you suffer from lower-back pain during back squats. Your torso stays very vertical on a landmine squat, minimizing shear forces on the lumbar. In other words, landmine squatting lets you train legs heavy and hard without undue stress on the spine.

How To Do The Landmine Hack Squat

(See 03:34 in the video.)

The landmine can also be used as a substitute for the hack squat—the squat machine you see in most gyms where the weight is held behind the body and your back rests on a pad. The landmine hack squat may allow you to squat even deeper than the regular landmine squat, making it a great tool for emphasizing the quads. That said, it’s a little more awkward to set up and, for most people, will take some getting used to.

Step 1. Set up the barbell in a landmine as you did for the regular landmine squat. You don’t have to use a box to rest the bar on if you’re using light weights that you’re sure you can control, but if you do, make sure that when you squat, the bar will be clear of the platform. Wrap your hands around the bar and lift it up, turn around, and rest the bar on one shoulder.

Step 2. Play around with your foot position until you feel balanced and stable. Your feet should be between hip and shoulder-width apart and a little in front of you, and you should lean your bodyweight backward into the plate on the bar—that’s right, let the barbell support your weight just like a hack squat machine would. In this case, the bar really should be in a landmine unit. A corner alone may not provide the stability to support your body—so be smart and stay safe!

Step 3. Lower your body into the squat, going as deeply as you can without your pelvis tucking under and your lower back rounding. You should be able to get your knees almost fully flexed.

Step 4. Drive through the balls of your feet to stand back up. On your next set, switch the shoulder that the bar rests on so you don’t develop an imbalance.

How to Stretch Before Exercising

Use the following drills from Onnit-certified coach Eric Leija (@primal.swoledier) to warm up your hips and knees for strong squatting.

Landmine Squat Alternatives

(See 05:15 in the Landmine Squat video at the top.)

If you don’t have a landmine or a barbell, you can perform a goblet squat with either a kettlebell or a dumbbell. Like the landmine squat, the goblet squat is an excellent movement for learning and refining good squat technique, as it automatically forces you to squat with your chest up while driving your knees apart and sitting back into your hips.

Step 1. Hold a kettlebell in front of your chest by the sides of its handle. Draw your shoulders back and downward (think: “proud chest”), and tuck your elbows in close to the bell—try to get your forearms as vertical as you can. Stand with your feet between hip- and shoulder-width apart, and turn your toes out a bit—up to 30 degrees if you need to.

Step 2. Tuck your tailbone and draw your ribs down so that your pelvis is parallel to the floor. Take a deep breath into your belly, and brace your core. Actively twist your feet into the floor, but don’t let them move. Think of your legs as screwdrivers, or that you’re standing on grass and trying to twist it up beneath you. You should feel the arches in your feet rise and your glutes tighten, creating tension in the lower body.

Step 3. Keeping a long spine from your head to your pelvis, push your hips back and squat down, as if sitting down into a chair. Squat as low as you can while keeping your head, spine, and pelvis aligned. Push your knees apart as you descend. You should feel most of your weight on your heels to mid-foot area. If you feel your lower back beginning to round, stop there, and come back up. Keep your torso as vertical as possible—you shouldn’t have to lean forward or work extra hard to hold the bell upright. Avoid bending or twisting to either side.

Step 4. Drive through your feet as you extend your hips and knees to come up.

Learn more about squatting variations for different goals with our guide to Front Squats Vs. Back Squats: Everything You Need To Know For Building Muscle.

The post How To Do The Landmine Squat: Hack Squats, Goblet Squats, and More appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Well, not quite. Your average gymnast or wrestler does the majority of their training with bodyweight; ditto for the guys in your local park who do pullups and pushups by the hundreds. And have you ever seen a speed-cyclist’s legs? These athletes may not load up on squats, deadlifts, and leg presses, but no one’s questioning their strength and muscle mass. The fact is, done correctly, bodyweight training can be quite challenging, even humbling, and give you more than enough stimulus to grow muscle and gain power.

The following is a guide to getting bigger, stronger legs by lifting your bodyweight—and nothing else.

Can You Build Leg Muscles and Strength Without Weights?

The science is pretty clear now that the main driver of muscle growth is mechanical tension—the tension your muscle fibers experience when you take a set of an exercise to failure, or close to failure, and your rep speed slows down involuntarily. In other words, it doesn’t matter whether you’re lifting weights or using your own bodyweight for resistance, or whether you’re doing high reps or low reps. As long as you train hard enough that your muscles start to fatigue and your reps slow down near the end of your set, they’re going to experience enough tension to deliver a stimulus that allows you to gain muscle and strength.

Notice that the operative term is “tension,” not load. Lifting weights is a pretty easy way to measure, control, and progress the amount of tension you apply—for example, you know how much you’re lifting when you grab 40-pound dumbbells, and you know that when you can use the 45s, you’ve gotten stronger. But the weight of your body can create mechanical tension too. You just have to be a little more creative in how you use it. The exercises we recommend here will hit your legs in a number of ways you’re probably not at all used to, making your body feel as heavy as a loaded barbell.

When you do bodyweight exercises, you often have the opportunity to use a greater range of motion than when you lift weights, because there is no barbell or dumbbells to accommodate. This is beneficial if you’re limited in your mobility, as performing lengthened-range exercises will improve your ability to get into those deeper positions. Improved mobility, in turn, promotes joint health and athleticism.

The Most Effective Bodyweight Leg Exercises

You don’t need any weights to do the exercises that follow. Some basic equipment such as a bench, exercise mat, furniture sliders, and an elastic resistance band will help you perform them in some cases, so it’s good to have access to a home gym or garage that provides some options, but you don’t need barbells, dumbbells, or machines. 

Slider Leg Curl

Target: hamstrings

(See 01:35 in the video above.)

The slider leg curl works the hamstrings’ two functions at the same time. That is, extending the hips and flexing the knees, similar to a glute-ham raise (an excellent bodyweight hamstring exercise we’ve already written about, but one that requires a special bench that isn’t available in most gyms). All you need is a pair of furniture sliders, or, if you’re training on a smooth, waxed floor, some towels or even paper plates can work too.

Step 1. Lie on your back on the floor, and place the sliders under your heels. Position your feet right behind your butt with your knees bent. Tuck your pelvis under, take a deep breath into your belly, and brace your core. Drive your heels into the floor to raise your hips to full extension.

Step 2. From there, slowly extend your legs until you feel you’re about to lose tension in your hamstrings, and then slide your heels back toward you as if doing a normal leg curl. Keep your hips extended the whole time, but be careful not to hyperextend your lower back.

Aim for 2 sets of 6–12 reps. If that feels easy, you can hook some elastic exercise bands around your heels for extra resistance.

Bodyweight Leg Extension (aka Reverse Nordic)

Target: quadriceps

(See 02:27 in the video.)

Almost all quad exercises involve hip flexion too. That means you fold at the hip when you do them, as in a squat, lunge, and even a leg extension. The bodyweight leg extension is unique in that the hips remain extended the whole time. This forces the quads into a deep stretch when you bend your knees, making them work from a lengthened position. This is an unusual range to train the quads, and makes for a nice complement to more conventional quad exercises.

Step 1. Attach an elastic exercise band to a sturdy object at about the height your head would be if you were kneeling on the floor. (The band isn’t a must have, but it will help you get more range of motion on the exercise.) Place a mat or towel on the floor and kneel on it with your shoelaces down and knees about shoulder-width apart. Grasp the free end of the band, and hold it with your arms extended in front of you. Scoot back until there’s light tension on the band.

Step 2. Extend your hips so you’re standing tall, and tuck your pelvis under slightly so it’s perpendicular to your spine. Squeeze your glutes and brace your core.

Step 3. Slowly allow your body to drift backward (your butt moves toward your heels), keeping your hips extended and driving your feet into the ground so that your quads control the descent. You’ll feel a strong stretch in your thighs.

Step 4. When you feel you can no longer control the movement backward, use your quads to extend your knees and come back to the starting position. Use the band to help you pull yourself back.

Try for 2 sets of 5–10 reps, but you may only be able to manage a few reps with these at first. Do them with control and progress gradually. As you get stronger, you can eventually ditch the band and use your bodyweight alone, unassisted.

Copenhagen Plank

Target: Adductors

(See 04:09 in the video.)

The main way people train the adductor muscles directly is with the seated adductor machine, but the Copenhagen plank allows the body to remain in a straight line, stacking the shoulders and hips over the knees just as they appear when you’re standing and moving. Since it’s also a variation of the side plank, you’ll get some core work from it too.

Step 1. Lie on one side, and place your top leg on a box or bench. The knee of the top leg should be bent enough so that your entire shin can apply pressure to the surface of the box. The bottom leg can be straight or slightly bent. Plant your bottom elbow and forearm on the floor, and brace your core.

Step 2. Drive your top shin down into the box to raise your body off the floor, and try to close the space between your two legs, sandwiching the platform you’re working on. Your body should form a nearly straight line in the top position.

Aim for 2 sets of 10–12 reps each leg, moving with a slow, controlled tempo. If performing reps is too difficult, simply get into the top position and hold it for a 15 to 30-second isometric. That’s one set.

Touchdown Squat

Target: glutes and quads

(See 05:33 in the video.)

A true one-legged, full-depth, single-leg squat (known as a pistol squat) is very challenging and is not doable for most people without a lot of practice.  Here’s a way you can work up to a pistol, doing a similar movement that challenges balance, stability, and ankle mobility while also working the quads and glutes hard.

Step 1. Set a box or some mats on the floor so that, when you stand on them, you’ll be a few inches above the floor. You can build this height up over time. Stand on the surface with one leg and raise your other leg out to the side a bit so it’s out of the way.

Step 2. Hinge your hips back so your torso bends forward and lower your body until the heel on your free leg gently taps the floor. Try to keep your working knee in line with your hip. Extend your hips and knee to come back up to standing.

Go for 2 sets of 5–10 reps.

Lateral Leg Raise

Target: abductors

(See 06:23 in the video.)

This exercise is more of a mobility move than heavy duty strength training, but it will burn like fire and strengthen the outer hip muscles and glutes. Lateral leg raises work your lower body in the frontal plane—i.e., moving side to side—which is a neglected movement pattern and very important for athletes. You can use it as part of your warmup on a leg day, or do it as a finisher.

Step 1. Hold on to a sturdy object for balance and stand with your feet hip-width apart.

Step 2. Raise one leg out to your side as high as you can without bending the knee or twisting your hips. Hold the top for a second, and then control the descent.

Perform 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps.

As you get more comfortable with the movement, progress to performing straight-legged hip circles, raising your leg in front of you, then out to the side, and finally behind you.

How to Stretch and Prepare For a Bodyweight Leg Workout

Stretching and mobility work are paramount for getting the most out of your athletic potential and avoiding injury. Done before your lower-body workout, the following three drills can warm and limber up your hips, hamstrings, knees, and quads.

Squat and Reach

(See 00:28 in the video above.)

Step 1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and turn your toes out about 20 degrees. Keep your head, spine, and pelvis in a long straight line as you squat down and wedge your elbows between your knees, using your arms to gently pry your knees apart even more. As you push the knees out, try to extend your torso to get as tall and upright as possible.

Step 2. Plant your hands down on the floor inside your knees, and twist your torso to the right, reaching one hand straight overhead. Turn your head as well so you’re watching your hand. It’s OK if your heel comes off the floor as you twist, but try to keep it down. Return your hand to the floor, and repeat on the opposite side.

Step 3. Stand back up from the bottom of your squat position, keeping your heels on the floor. That’s one rep. Perform 2 sets of 3–5 reps. 

High-Knee Walk

(See 01:31 in the video.)

Step 1. Stand tall, and take a step forward, raising one knee to your chest as high as you can. As the knee rises, grab hold of your shin with both hands and pull it into your chest for a deep glute and inner-thigh stretch. Avoid slouching or bending forward as you do. Try to keep the support leg straight as well.

Step 2. Release the leg, plant your foot, and repeat on the opposite leg.

It’s OK to come up onto the ball of your foot with each step. Do 2 sets of 8–10 strides. 

Spiderman Walk

(See 02:43 in the video.)

Step 1. Stand tall, and take a big lunge step forward. Place your hands on the floor to the inside of your lead leg, and lower your trailing knee to the floor. 

Step 2. Tuck your pelvis under slightly, and push your hips forward until you feel a deep stretch—it’s OK to let your knee move in front of your toes.

Step 3. Twist your torso away from your lead leg and raise your arm overhead. Turn your head and follow it with your eyes. Be sure to raise the arm above you, not behind, so you create a straight vertical line between your planted arm and your raised arm.

Step 4. Return your hand to the floor, and then step forward with the rear leg to stand tall again. Repeat the lunge and twist on that leg.

Perform 2 sets of 5–6 strides on each side.

Sample Bodyweight Leg Workout Plan

Here’s a balanced leg routine that makes the most of the exercises listed above.

DIRECTIONS

Perform the exercises in sequence, completing all sets for one move before going on to the next. Remember to take each set close to failure. You should only stop at the point where you don’t think you could do another rep with good form.

(See 07:07 in the Best Bodyweight Leg Exercises video at the top.)

1. Sliding Leg Curl

Sets: 2  Reps: 6–12

2. Touchdown Squat

Sets: 2  Reps: 5–10

3. Copenhagen Plank

Sets: 2  Reps: 6–12 (or hold for 15–30 sec.)

4. Bodyweight Leg Extension

Sets: 2  Reps: 5–10

5. Lateral Leg Raise

Sets: 2  Reps: 8–12

Try another great bodyweight routine with our Ultimate Calisthenics Workout.

The post The Best Bodyweight Leg Exercises & Workouts for Strength appeared first on Onnit Academy.

“What are you guys training today?” he asked.

“Well, we were going to hit legs, but we can’t get a squat rack and we don’t have machines. Oh well, see you next week!”

“Not so fast,” said Leija. “I can take you through a leg workout using only some kettlebells and your bodyweight. It’ll turn those twigs into tree trunks in no time.”

What could we say? Leija’s quads were blocking the door. And if you’ve seen them, you know why we refer to him as Onnit’s resident redwood.

Defeated but inspired, we downed some Alpha BRAIN^® Pre-Workout, gritted our teeth, and followed Leija into the weight room.

See the routine he showed us below to build your quads, hams, and glutes.

Can I Get Big Legs With Kettlebells?

Heavy barbell squatting, leg press machines, and leg extensions may get all the publicity for producing thick, muscular legs, but they’re certainly not the only tools that can do it. If you train with modest equipment at home, a gym that only offers the basics, or a facility that is so crowded after 5 p.m. that you can’t get your hands on anything but a few kettlebells, kettlebell and bodyweight training is your answer.

Leija’s workout starts with the kettlebell swing, but not for sets to infinity as you often see done. The swing is a great exercise for endurance, but it can also build power and strength in the glutes and hamstrings when performed for low reps. After five heavy sets here, your hips and knees will be plenty juicy for the rear-foot elevated split squats that follow.

Ask a cross-section of trainers which leg exercise they dread most and we bet these split squats come up near the top of the list more often than not, and for good reason. One leg has to support your whole body—your rear foot is really just there to help you keep balance—and you’ll work through a greater range of motion than you do with back squats. Like the swings, most people do split squats light (if they do them at all), but don’t be afraid to go heavy here. Sets with as much weight as you can handle for five reps will light up your quads, glutes, and adductors—the inner-thigh muscles most people neglect.

From there, you’ll train straight power with the squat jump. Focus on jumping as high as you can and controlling the landing. These burn like normal squats, so you know they’re activating plenty of muscle, but the goal here is explosiveness. Being able to recruit muscle fibers quickly and produce fast contractions translates to stronger lifts with heavier weight, not to mention greater running, jumping, and sports performance in general.

Next up are goblet squats, which teach the squat pattern like nothing else. Holding the kettlebell in front of your chest acts as a counterbalance, allowing you to stay vertical as you descend without fear of losing balance. You’ll most likely be able to sink into a deep squat, getting more out of your quads and glutes, while reinforcing good mechanics. The next time you back squat or front squat with a barbell, you’ll have better control of the movement.

Finally, Leija chops your legs down with some walking lunges. You’ll burn out whatever is left in the muscles by performing 100 total reps—and doing whatever it takes to get them. Aim for five sets of 20 reps, 10 sets of 10, sets of 50, 30, and 20, or whatever other configuration you’re capable of, resting as needed in between, but get 100 total.

Only then have you earned the right to a smoothie and sauna.

For a six-week program of kettlebell-only workouts you can do at home, see our Onnit 6 Kettlebell course.

Kettlebell Tree Trunk Workout Directions

Perform the exercises in the order shown. Do not perform any other leg routine for at least three full days before and after this workout. For the best results, repeat the workout for four to six weeks, adding weight and reps to the exercises wherever possible.

1. Jump Rope

Reps: Jump for 3 minutes

(See 00:08 in the video above.)

This is your warm up. Jump 3 minutes at an easy pace. You can mix up the type of jump you do (for instance, jump with one leg at a time, alternate legs, or swing the rope backward), or just do two-legged jumps as shown.

2. Kettlebell Swing

Sets: 5  Reps: 10

(See 00:20 in the video.)

See our full tutorial on how to perform the kettlebell swing here.

Take a few warmup sets to work up to the heaviest kettlebell you can handle for 10 reps, safely. Make sure to keep your lower back flat and extend your hips to drive the kettlebell up (don’t lift with your shoulders).

3. Rear-Foot Elevated Split Squat

Sets: 4  Reps: 5 (each leg)

(See 00:45 in the video.)

Step 1: Hold a kettlebell in each hand and stand lunge length in front of a bench, step, or box that’s about 12 inches high.

Step 2: Step your left foot back and rest the top of your left foot on the bench so that your knee is bent 90 degrees. Your right foot should point straight forward.

Step 3: Hinge your hips back a bit so you feel like you’re leaning forward, but keep your spine straight and tall. Slowly bend your right leg until your left knee is just above the floor. Your front leg should be bent about 90 degrees.

You may want to spend some time in the bottom position before you start your set to figure out your best distance from the bench. You should feel like your front foot is forward enough that your heel won’t come off the floor, but not so far that you feel your hamstrings getting stretched in the bottom position.

When you’ve found a good stance, come up to a standing position. Then begin your set. Rest as needed between legs.

4. Squat Jump w/ Reset

Sets: 4  Reps: 3

(See 01:07 in the video.)

Step 1. Stand with feet between hip and shoulder width. Reach your arms straight overhead and get up on the balls of your feet.

Step 2. Drop your heels to the floor as you swing your arms back behind you to gather power.

Step 3. Swing your arms forward and overhead as you jump as high as possible. Land with soft knees and take a moment to reset yourself. Then begin the next rep.

5. Goblet Squat

Sets: 3  Reps: 10–15

(See 01:20 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold a kettlebell in front of your chest by the sides of its handle, or by the bottom of the bell itself. Draw your shoulders back and downward (think: “proud chest”), and tuck your elbows in close to the bell—try to get your forearms as vertical as you can. Stand with your feet between hip and shoulder width, and turn your toes out a bit—up to 30 degrees if you need to.

Step 2. Tuck your tailbone and draw your ribs down so that your pelvis is parallel to the floor. Take a deep breath into your belly, and brace your core. Actively twist your feet into the floor, but don’t let them move. Think of your legs as screwdrivers, or that you’re standing on grass and trying to twist it up beneath you. You should feel the arches in your feet rise and your glutes tighten, creating tension in the lower body.

Step 3. Keeping a long spine from your head to your pelvis, push your hips back and squat down, as if sitting down into a chair. Squat as low as you can while keeping your head, spine, and pelvis aligned. Push your knees apart as you descend. You should feel most of your weight on your heels to mid-foot area. If you feel your lower back beginning to round, stop there, and come back up. Keep your torso as vertical as possible—you shouldn’t have to lean forward or work extra hard to hold the bell upright. Avoid bending or twisting to either side.

Step 4. Drive through your feet as you extend your hips and knees to come up.

6. Suitcase Walking Lunge

Reps: 100 total

(See 01:40 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold a kettlebell in each hand and take a long step forward. As your foot lands, bend your knee and lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor.

Step 2. Step forward with your rear leg and lunge on that side. Each rep should have you walking forward, and each lunge counts as one rep. Do as many sets as needed to complete 100 total reps (50 each leg).

For another great lower-body routine, see our Pro’s Guide to Dumbbell Leg Exercises and Workouts.

The post Kettlebell Tree Trunk Leg Workout appeared first on Onnit Academy.

If you want to build a stable, strong, and explosive body, the same advice applies, although perhaps a little more literally. The HydroCore Bag harnesses the power of water for a variety of training effects that you can’t get from conventional gym tools.

What Is The HydroCore Bag?

The HydroCore Bag is a training implement invented by Maurizio Tangari, a trainer to MMA fighters, military personnel, and celebrities. It was inspired by a similar tool, the Bulgarian Bag®, which is an evolution of a traditional training method used by old-time Eastern European wrestlers—carrying small farm animals across the back of the shoulders to develop functional strength, stability, and endurance.

Thankfully, in the wake of advancing technology—and animal cruelty laws—there’s no need to tote squirming livestock anymore. The HydroCore bag is here. A plastic bladder in the shape of a yoke—the harness that attaches to oxen and other animals—the HydroCore bag is loaded with water (while the Bulgarian Bag used sand®). When you lift it to perform any number of exercises (some of which are shown below), the water sloshes around in the bag. This creates an effect known as water dynamics. Controlling the movement of the water in the bag, rather than it controlling you, trains various athletic qualities.

What Are The Benefits of HydroCore Bag Training?

The HydroCore Bag is a formidable addition to anyone’s training arsenal, especially if you’re an athlete or martial artist. Here’s a rundown of what the bag can do.

Builds Rock-Solid Stability

As the water moves around inside the bag, it’s going to threaten any position you put your body in. To maintain control of the bag, your body alignment, and your exercise form, you’ll have to be hyper-aware of all three, and brace all your movements hard. As a result, you’ll develop tremendous stability and balance. “The bag forces core engagement without having to think about it,” says Tangari. “If I’m training you, I don’t have to constantly remind you to keep your core tight.” If it isn’t, you’ll feel yourself losing control during the set, which leads us to point number two.

Improves Exercise Technique

Performing exercises properly is the only way to progress on them indefinitely and stay injury-free. The HydroCore Bag all but ensures you use good technique on any movement you perform, because if you don’t, you’ll recognize it pretty fast. Performing dynamic moves like the pendulum are virtually impossible to do if your form is off, so you’ll be able to identify your mistakes and correct them immediately. In the pendulum, for instance, in which you swing the bag laterally, you’ll learn to move with the momentum of the water. If your timing isn’t right, the bag will be much harder to control. When you’ve got it down, the movement will flow, and you’ll know your form is good.

Better technique on bag exercises will also translate to better technique in other lifts you do, as your body awareness and stability improve.

“For any bag training you do,” says Tangari, “start by trying to prevent the water from sloshing.” Keeping the bag “quiet” will force you to move more deliberately and intentionally, maximizing stability. As you get more accustomed to how bag training feels, you can purposely shake the bag as you perform your lifts to create more perturbation that activates even more stabilizer muscles.

Boosts Strength and Explosiveness

The HydroCore Bag can be used for a wide range of movements, but it lends itself best to dynamic, explosive exercises like clean, snatch, and swing variations. The advantage to performing these kinds of moves with the bag versus a barbell is the offset load provided by the water and the bag’s shape. Rather than accelerate and absorb the force of a perfectly balanced implement (like a barbell), you have to accommodate the constant shifting of the water in the bag. This makes training a little more real-world and applicable to sports like football, MMA, and wrestling, where you have to overcome the opposing forces of a live, resisting adversary.

The bag is also durable enough that you can throw it—perfect for wrestlers or other grapplers who need to suplex an opponent from time to time. Training to produce force quickly without having to decelerate it at the end of the range of motion (as you do with a barbell clean, snatch, jerk, etc.) allows you to maximize power development. In other words, when you throw the bag, you don’t have to slow it down like you do when training barbell lifts. Toss it as hard as you can and let it go. You wouldn’t slow down when expressing power on the field or the mat, so why limit your potential by training that way?

“The HydroCore bag will move faster around your body than any other implement,” says Tangari, including sandbags, kettlebells, or a steel mace. So the challenge it presents your muscles in starting and overcoming inertia is unique.

In addition to power, most athletes need greater grip strength and holding onto the bag while it’s moving and shaking provides a serious test. The Bulgarian Bag® was a pioneering tool for grip development, but we think the HydroCore is even better. Ball stoppers on the ends of the handles prevent slippage and increase safety, making the HydroCore easier to handle for people who are new to dynamic bag training. For variability in grip, there are also handles around the center of the bag on the front. You can hold the bag in several different positions and orientations to customize the intensity of your workout.

Light-Weight and Easy To Transport

The HydroCore bag makes for a highly portable, all-in-one gym, so it’s perfect for people who travel frequently and can’t find time or places to train on the road. When empty, it’s virtually weightless, and easily folds into a suitcase. To fill it, you need only a bathtub faucet, garden hose, swimming pool, or ocean/lake/stream. “Ten pounds of water is enough for most people to start,” says Tangari, which only fills the bag about one-quarter full. “More than that sacrifices the instability factor,” and makes it more like lifting a heavy sandbag. (However, if you choose to, and your strength allows it, the bag can be filled to provide 30 pounds of resistance.)

Because the bag provides such a good workout with minimal loading, a man and woman can use the same weight and both can get in a great session; beginners can work out alongside advanced trainees. Tangari often takes his clients to the beach, fills up the bag in the ocean, and trains a group right there on the sand.

It’s Fun!

Training with the HydroCore doesn’t feel like lifting weights or doing cardio. It feels like you’re playing with a toy. You can work your muscles and your heart without thinking about it too hard. Focus on controlling and/or moving with the water, and workouts will seem like a game.

Sample HydroCore Bag Workouts

The following workouts will give you a taste of what HydroCore Bag training is like. Start with one of the beginner routines if you’ve never worked out with the HydroCore Bag, a Bulgarian Bag®, or a sandbag before. If you’re more experienced with bag training, skip ahead to the advanced bag workout. Fill the bag ¼ full for the beginner routine, and ½ full for the advanced.

Beginner Bag Workout, Option A

Perform each exercise in sequence. For each move, perform reps for 20 seconds and then rest 10 seconds. That’s one round. Repeat for 3–5 rounds.

1. Lunge With Twist

Step 1. Hold the front of the bag in front of your chest with your hands up through the rubber handles. Try to keep the bag parallel to the floor throughout the exercise.

Step 2. Take a big step forward and lower your body into a lunge—your rear knee should end up just above the floor and the thigh of the lunging leg should be parallel to the floor.

Step 3. As soon as your foot touches down, smoothly twist your body in the direction of your front leg. Stabilize the bag, and keep your torso upright. Step back to the starting position. Repeat on the opposite leg.

2. Pushup On Bag

Step 1. Place the bag on the floor with the horn ends pointing toward you. Get into pushup position with your hands on the bag and brace your body.

Step 2. Keeping your head, spine, and pelvis in a straight line, lower your body until your chest touches the bag, and then press back up.

3. Bent-over Row

Step 1. Hold the bag by the sides with arms extended, and bend your hips back while keeping your head, spine, and pelvis in a straight line. Your torso should end up nearly parallel to the floor.

Step 2. Row the bag to your belly explosively, drawing your shoulder blades down and together as you pull. The row will cause the water to slosh around inside the bag—stabilize it, and keep your balance.

Beginner Bag Workout, Option B

Perform each exercise in sequence. For each move, perform reps for 20 seconds and then rest 10 seconds. That’s one round. Repeat for 3–5 rounds.

1. Bag Squat To Press

Step 1. Hold the bag in front of your chest and stand with feet between hip and shoulder-width apart.

Step 2. Sit back and squat down as deeply as you can while keeping your head, spine, and pelvis in a straight line. Squeeze your glutes as you come back up to standing.

Step 3. Press the bag overhead to lockout while keeping your ribs down and core engaged.

2. Suitcase Row

Step 1. Stand on a box or bench to create some distance between you and the floor. Hold the bag by one of the rubber handles and bend your hips back as described in the bent-over row above.

Step 2. Row the bag to your side explosively, controlling the sloshing of the water. Don’t let your torso twist or bend to either side. Perform reps for 10 seconds and then switch sides and repeat.

Advanced Bag Workout

Perform each exercise in sequence. For each move, perform reps for 45 seconds and then rest 10 seconds. That’s one round. Repeat for 3–5 rounds. If you get fatigued, slow your pace, but don’t end the set before time is up.

1. Halo

Step 1. Hold the bag by its sides and make circles over and around your head. Alternate directions. Keep your ribs drawn down and your core engaged, and avoid bending or twisting your torso.

2. Pendulum Swing

Step 1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold the bag by the rope handles. Pivot on your right foot as you swing the bag laterally to your left. Duck your torso under slightly as you twist so that the bag wraps around your upper back.

Step 2. Reverse the direction and swing the bag to the other side.

3. One-Arm Overhead Press

Step 1. Hold the bag in one hand at shoulder level with the horns pointing downward.

Step 2. Keeping your ribs down and core braced, press the bag overhead. Perform reps for 20 seconds on one side, and then switch sides and repeat.

For a six-week HydroCore training program, see Onnit 6 HydroCore.

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