Scapular pull-up
- Start by just hanging, getting a full stretch in your lats.
- Without bending your elbows, roll your shoulder blades back and down.
- You should feel your lats engage.
Free how-to videos
Exercise library
The short how-to videos I use when I program for my clients. Watch the move, then lift with good form. Most take under 30 seconds.
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Back4 exercises
Neutral-grip lat pulldown (MAG grip)
- Palms face each other. Thumb wrapped or thumbless, your choice.
- Roll your shoulder blades back and down.
- Pull your elbows straight down in front of you, to your sternum.
- Don't let your traps take over.
Single-arm lat pulldown
- Roll your shoulder blade back and down.
- Squeeze into your armpit, making a 90° angle with your elbow.
- Don't pull your elbow too far back, or you'll feel it in the wrong spot.
Barbell Pendlay row
- Hinge forward until your back is flat and nearly parallel to the floor. Brace your core.
- Grab the bar just outside shoulder-width.
- Row it explosively to your lower ribs, elbows back at about 45°, and squeeze your mid-back.
- Lower it all the way to the floor and reset every rep.
Glutes & hamstrings13 exercises
Smith machine hip thrust
- Set the bench right where your bra line is.
- Feet out so your knees make a 90° angle at the top.
- Move your torso as one piece as you come down.
- Punch the hips through.
B-stance hip thrust (Smith machine)
- For the B-stance, one heel is up, for balance.
- Move your torso as one piece around your shoulder blades.
- Punch the hips through.
Trap bar Romanian deadlift (RDL)
- Spread out the base of your feet: big toe, pinky toe, heel.
- Grab the middle of the bar, squat it up, chest tall.
- Brace your core and tip forward onto your mid-foot, pushing your hips back.
- Push the hips through.
Trap bar deadlift
- Spread your feet out and feel your big toe, pinky toe, and heel.
- Grab the middle of the bar. Look straight ahead, chest tall.
- Squat up, come straight down, tap, and go back up.
- Core tight, belly button to spine.
Seated hamstring curl
- Line up your knee with the pivot point of the machine.
- Flex your feet to the sky and curl.
- Slow and controlled: 3, 2, 1.
Hip abduction machine (upper glutes)
- Bring your feet and knees in as close as possible.
- Push your knees out against the pads, then all the way back together.
- You should feel it in your upper glutes. If it travels down to your lower glutes, you're probably leaning too far forward.
Hip adduction machine (inner thighs)
- Hold the handles and squeeze your legs all the way in.
- Get a nice stretch by bringing your legs as far out as you can.
- Great for pelvic stability when you train a lot of glutes, as a warm-up or at the end of a workout.
Band good morning
- Step into a long band, feet hip-width apart.
- Fold forward with your torso.
- Squeeze your glutes to come back up. Breathe.
Side-lying hip raise
- Works your upper glutes.
- Lie on your side with your knees bent to 90° and press into your elbow.
- Come up like a clamshell and punch your hips through.
Barbell Romanian deadlift with a hip band
- Tie a resistance band at hip height and walk out until you feel tension.
- Brace your core and tuck your chin before you lift the bar.
- Let the band pull your hips back, then drive your hips forward against it and squeeze your glutes at the top.
Glute-focused 45-degree hip extension
- Set the pad just below your hip bones so you can fold over it.
- Turn your feet out, soften your knees, and push them out.
- Tuck your chin and round your upper back, and keep it rounded the whole time.
- Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes to come up, tucking your pelvis at the top. Don't arch your low back.
Barbell deadlift
- Lift in flat shoes, or none.
- Shins about half an inch from the bar, feet straight, slightly closer than shoulder-width.
- Push your hips back, grip just outside your shoulders, tuck your chin, brace, and flex your lats.
- Drive straight up, leading with your chest. On the way down, hips back first, then bend your knees.
Barbell good morning
- Unrack the bar onto your upper back, feet hip-width apart.
- Brace your core and tuck your chin to keep your spine neutral.
- Drive your hips back, weight in your heels, and feel the stretch in your glutes and hamstrings.
- Drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to come up.
For these moves in a plan built around you, my online clients get them in their app, with the sets, reps, and weights that fit them, and they can message me anytime for a form check.
Shoulders14 exercises
Band face pull
- Pull the band right to eye height.
- Lead with your elbows and finish by rotating your hands out.
- Don't shrug your shoulders.
Standing dumbbell overhead press
- Set the dumbbells just below your shoulders. Your elbows can be anywhere from 45 to 90 degrees, depending on your range of motion.
- Feet shoulder-width apart with a soft bend in your knees.
- Breathe in, engage your core, and press up, driving your biceps together.
- Control the way down to just below your shoulders.
Dumbbell lateral raise
- Hinge at your hips, arms slightly in front of you, palms down.
- Keep a slight bend in your elbows.
- Think pinkies up if it's hard to keep your palms down.
Seated dumbbell overhead press
- Kick the dumbbells up and stack them over your wrists.
- Elbows forward, then press up. Think biceps to ears.
- Inhale down, exhale up.
Cable upright row (EZ bar)
- Brace your core and lead with the elbows.
- Think of a lateral raise with bent elbows.
- Come up to shoulder height, keeping tension on your delts the whole time.
Prone Y and T raise
- Lie face down, forehead on the mat, and keep your head down.
- Lift your arms into a Y with thumbs up, squeezing.
- Then into a T, squeezing your mid-back together.
Scapular push-up on elbows (mini band)
- Put a band around your wrists and pull out for a little tension.
- Come into a push-up position on your elbows.
- Without moving anything else, drop your chest down, then press it back up.
Seated dumbbell lateral raise
- Sitting takes the momentum out of it.
- Lean forward slightly, arms out in front of you.
- Keep a slight bend in your elbows.
Prone A raise
- Lie face down, forehead on the mat.
- Raise your arms behind you in an A shape.
- Squeeze your mid-back as you come up.
Seated dumbbell overhead press: full walkthrough
- Your elbows might go to 90 degrees or closer to 45, depending on your shoulder mobility.
- Kick the dumbbells up one at a time.
- Brace your core, lean into the back pad, and press up, driving your biceps together.
- Control the way down to 90 degrees and keep your wrists straight.
Bent-over rear delt row (EZ bar)
- Grip as wide as you can, on an EZ bar or a straight bar.
- Bend over with a tight core.
- Row up with your elbows wide and high, and squeeze.
Barbell overhead press
- Unrack with your elbows under the bar and wrists stacked over your elbows.
- Shoulder-width stance, feet slightly out. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes.
- Press straight up to lockout, moving your face out of the way.
- Come back down to your collarbone.
High-incline overhead press
- Set the bench at a 60 to 75 degree angle. Good if your shoulder mobility is limited.
- Kick the dumbbells up, elbows in front of you.
- Press up and think biceps to ears.
- Works mostly your front delts, plus a little upper chest.
Bent-over dumbbell rear delt fly
- Hinge at your hips, back flat.
- Bring your arms back in a V and squeeze.
- Keep your shoulders back and down, and your traps out of it.
Arms8 exercises
Seated dumbbell biceps curl
- Press your low back into the pad, elbows behind you.
- Curl up, pinkies in.
- The back pad takes the momentum out of it.
Dumbbell hammer curl
- Brace your core and curl both at the same time up to 90°.
- Feel the peak of your biceps there.
- You can come all the way up to your shoulders, but you get most of the benefit at 90°.
Alternating dumbbell hammer curl
- Alternate arms, curling across your body toward the opposite shoulder.
- Squeeze your biceps and keep your core tight.
Rope triceps pushdown
- Set the cable up high and pull the rope down to 90°.
- Roll your shoulders back and down, with a slight lean forward.
- Keep your elbows still as you push down, so it stays in your triceps, not your traps.
Dumbbell hammer curl: alternating or together
- Brace your core and curl to 90° at the elbow.
- Do both at the same time or alternate.
- If you alternate, you'll be a little stronger.
Standing dumbbell biceps curl
- Ribs down, core tight.
- Curl with your pinkies in and elbows forward.
10/10/10 biceps triset
- A burnout for your biceps, on a rope.
- 10 drag curls, elbows together.
- 10 hammer curls, elbows in front of you.
- 10 curls with elbows wide, a short range of motion.
Overhead triceps extension
- Set the cable at about shoulder height, bring it overhead, and step forward.
- Get your elbows close together.
- Keep your elbows still as you extend. Big stretch, then extend.
Core & breathing5 exercises
Supine pelvic tilt
- Arch your back up, then press your back down.
- It massages out your lower back and tailbone.
- Kind of like a cat-cow, but on the floor.
Plank with alternating shoulder taps
- Come up into a high plank.
- Tap the opposite shoulder, crossing your body.
- Limit the side-to-side motion in your hips.
90/90 heel tap
- Press your low back into the floor and bring your knees up to 90°.
- Find where your lower abs turn on without your low back lifting.
- Inhale as you drop a heel down, exhale as you bring it up.
Butt walks (for the QL)
- Sit tall, then lift and walk forward on your butt, then backward.
- Helps with hip shifting or uneven hips.
360 diaphragmatic breathing
- Hold your waist at the smallest part.
- Breathe in and press out into your sides.
- Exhale and draw your belly button to your spine, pressing your low back into the floor.
Foam rolling5 exercises
Foam roll: shins (tibialis)
- Start at your ankle and roll up to just below your knee.
- Put your whole body weight on that leg, rolling the outside of your shin.
- It'll be a little uncomfortable.
Foam roll: upper back (T-spine)
- Hands behind your head, wider or narrower.
- Open up your upper back, the area between your shoulder blades.
- Lift your hips for more pressure, or keep them down for less.
Foam roller thoracic extension
- For tight upper backs from sitting at a computer all day.
- Set the foam roller just below your shoulder blades, about bra line.
- Reach up and over the roller, keeping your hips anchored down.
- Hang out there for a second, then come back up.
Foam roll: calves
- Start at your ankle and work your way up to just before the back of your knee.
- Rock side to side: big toe, pinky toe.
- If a spot feels sticky, stay on it.
Foam roller angels
- Lie lengthwise on the foam roller, with it along your spine.
- Palms up, and keep the backs of your hands on the floor the whole time.
- Make snow angels, only as far as you can. Feel the stretch through your chest, shoulders, and back.
Mobility & warm-ups7 exercises
Forward and backward lunges (warm-up)
- A dynamic warm-up: lunge forward, then back, on the same side.
Adductor rocks
- Get your foot flat: big toe and pinky toe down.
- Rock back, trying to sit and tap on your back foot.
Banded hip distraction
- Put the band as high as you can on your inner thigh.
- Take that leg out into a pigeon and use your back knee to push the ankle forward.
- Fold over it and let the band pull your hips out to the side.
Scorpion stretch (chest and shoulders)
- Arms out in a T. Roll onto one shoulder and tent the other hand, feet stacked.
- Bring your top knee up to the ceiling, then place it behind you.
- Lift your arm and look up over it.
- Feel the stretch through your back, chest, and the shoulder on the ground. Then switch sides.
Adductor rock back and through
- Put the side of your foot down.
- Rock back to open up your adductor.
- Come through to open up your hip flexor.
Alternating scorpion
- Arms out in a T.
- Bring one leg over at a time, looking to each side.
- I like doing this before leg day to open up my low back.
Foam roller open book (thoracic spine)
- Lie on your side with your top knee bent to 90° on a foam roller.
- Start with your arms together, then open up and look over.
- You should feel the stretch in your upper back.
Quads6 exercises
Narrow-stance hack squat
- Take a narrow stance.
- Stack your ribs over your hips and brace your core into the pad.
- Sink straight down and let your knees come forward.
- Don't let your heels pop up. If they do, move your feet higher or put a wedge under your heels.
Hack squat
- Hip-width stance, feet slightly turned out.
- Brace your core and press your low back into the pad.
- Come all the way down with full control. No bouncing at the bottom.
Smith machine split squat
- Rest the bar on your upper back, right under your neck, not on it.
- Come straight down.
- Press through your heel and big toe as you stand up. All the weight is on your working leg.
Walking lunge with a mini barbell (quad or glute focus)
- Stand more upright to focus on your quads.
- Hinge forward as you come down and stand up to focus on your glutes.
- For glutes, take longer, wider steps.
Front-foot-elevated Smith machine split squat
- For a more glute-focused split squat, hinge forward at your hips.
- Elevate your front heel with a plate or a wedge.
- You'll get a little more stretch on that glute.
Quad-focused leg press
- Set your feet lower and a little narrower on the platform.
- Press your low back into the pad and keep it there.
- Lower with control and let your knees travel forward over your toes.
- Press through your whole foot. Don't lock out your knees at the top.
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