Iron Man USA — August 2017

14 AUGUST 201 7 | ironmanmagazine.com

etting to the gym is the easy

part. Putting in the work isn’t.

But effort alone won’t be

enough to win in the gym. In

fact, if you don’t know how to

hit all the major muscles in

your body, then you won’t see

any gains. Here are our best picks for

moves that target your whole body.

Trap Bar Deadlift (Hips and

Hamstrings)

There’s no better exercise than the

deadlift. It’s king of the hip hinge, hitting

nearly every muscle on the posterior

chain starting from the prime mov-

ers – hips and hamstrings – to all the

muscles of the lower, mid and upper

back that are used to stabilize.

The trap bar sets the lifter in a

safe, lower back friendly, yet

powerful position.

Anterior Loaded Static Front Lunge

(Quadriceps)

The two main quadriceps dominant

exercises are squats and lunges. You’re

better off getting strong unilaterally

before introducing bilateral squat exer-

cises. The split stance is great for elimi-

nating imbalances between legs and it

mimics everyday life and sport require-

ments better than the squat. Tip: The

shorter the stride you take, the greater

the tension on your quads.

The anterior load not only eliminates

the unnecessary compression, but

demands greater core strength and

stability. Using an anterior load can be

accomplished starting with a dumbbell

or kettlebell in a goblet position. It can

be progressed by using two dumbbells

or kettlebells in a rack position

and then to a barbell in a front

rack position.

Dumbbell Single Arm Bent Over

Row With Arc (Latissimus Dorsi

and Rhomboids)

Instead of rowing straight up and

down, row with an arc to match

the direction of the muscle fibers.

In addition to hitting the lats, rows

also strengthen the scapular re-

tractors, namely the rhomboids.

Start with a dumbbell just in front

of your shoulder and focus on

pulling your elbow back and up

towards your hip. Performing rows

this way also helps to ensure your

upper arm doesn’t travel behind

your body causing your shoulder

to roll forward into anterior

humeral glide.

Dumbbell 15-20° Incline

Squeeze Bench Press (Pectoralis)

I may take some heat for choosing this

exercise, but hear me out. The pectoralis

major has two functions, shoulder flex-

ion and horizontal shoulder adduction.

Setting the incline bench to 15 to 20°

flexes the shoulder more than in the

flat bench position, but not so much

that the exercise becomes clavicle head

dominant. Squeezing the dumbbells

together throughout the entirety of the

lift demands horizontal adduction of

the shoulder.

Kettlebell Bottoms Up Overhead

Press (Deltoids)

Everyone has had a shoulder injury at

some point, most likely from lifting be-

yond his or her capability or from over-

use. That’s why I prefer this exercise. The

demand the bottoms up position places

on the smaller intricate muscles of the

rotator cuff makes it a winner. In addi-

tion to hitting the deltoids, the weight

displacement of the kettlebell requires a

stronger grip than a dumbbell or barbell,

which creates irradiation down the arm

and into the shoulder stabilizing the

rotator cuff.

Tripod Forearm Plank (Abdominals)

Once you can hold a plank for 60 sec-

onds give the tripod forearm plank a

try. This version hammers core stability

by forcing you to resist lumbar and hip

extension, as well as rotational pull. Be-

yond the core, this exercise also targets

your shoulder and hip stabilizers, as well

as your pecs and lats.

MH MUSCLE HANDBOOK

By Nathane L. Jackson, RHN, CSCS

G

TARGET EVERY MUSCLE

Work Your Whole Body With These Moves.