Variety is the spice of life, and now and then you just have to shake things up a bit. While sticking to a routine does have its benefits, and you should never abandon one until you’ve given it sufficient time to work, giving old exercises a breath of fresh air every once in a while isn’t going to hurt you either. Intelligence in the weight room and ingenuity amongst lifters has given light to new twists on already proven exercises. Whether it was sheer boredom that created these new approaches or revisiting biomechanical and muscle stimulating ideologies, stepping out of your comfort zone and giving these new ideas a try may just give you a new outlook on your workouts.
I’ve chosen my favorite exercise variation for each muscle group that I think you should try or at the very least give some thought to.
Incline bench press in power rack with bands: The incline bench press has been a staple in my repertoire of exercises for hitting the pecs for a long time. Thousands of reps have been performed with this exercise, and after a while, I got bored with doing it. That was until I started using resistance bands to add variable resistance to the reps. What you do is loop a strong resistance band to the top of the power rack and the other end to the bar. Perform the rep as you would normally do, but the difference will be as you descend and ascend through the rep. The band will stretch and relax thus pulling on the bar and gradually releasing its tension.
45 degree seated bench lateral raises (one arm at a time): I used to focus too much on going as heavy as I could on this exercise and eventually realized I wasn’t getting the gains I should be getting. I backed off on the weight and looked for a way to engage the side delt immediately and focus on targeting that specific muscle. Sitting sideways on the bench and leaning the opposite shoulder into the back rest, let the arm you are hitting first hang down behind your back. Stay in that leaned position and raise the dumbbell up to about ear level then back down. Switch sides then repeat.
Chest supported barbell rows: I know there is a chest supported row machine out there but my gym doesn’t have one, and with lower back problems on my mind all the time, I decided to stick with barbell rows but do them face down on an incline bench using a heavy cambered barbell. This way I’m still using free weights, my lower back is safe, and I can really focus on targeting the lats, and the cambered bar allows for a great squeeze at the top without hitting the bench. Use an over hand grip to really pile on the weight for maximum growth.
Unilateral shrugs: For hitting the traps I like using heavy dumbbells as it gives me more freedom to follow my natural range of motion. I also like the idea of training traps unilaterally. So what I do is do regular dumbbell shrugs for one set of six reps, then the next set for the left trap for six, the right for another six then finish up with another set of six reps again shrugging in the regular fashion.
Thick bar barbell curls: Again another exercise that has been a staple in my routines for a long time, I decided to switch to curling with a thick bar. A lot of research out there details how more muscle activation takes place when a stronger grip is needed so I figured I’d give it a try. There’s nothing fancy to this exercise other than it’s harder to hold onto the bar, especially when you’re going Max-OT with a lot of weight.
Pull-over press: Skull crushers and close grip bench presses were two exercises I was able to get extremely good at and use a lot of weight with. My elbows started to get a little sore, and I felt I wasn’t getting a good stretch in the belly of the triceps, so I went old school and found an exercise that I had done a long time ago and honestly forgot about. The pull over press allows for a great stretch at the bottom of the rep and a great contraction at the top. You can still use some good weight here, but I find this exercise really gets the blood in the triceps.
Box squats: Specifically for targeting the quadriceps, you can load up the barbell with a ton of weight and focus all your attention on working the quads. The box eliminates the hamstrings and glutes at the bottom of the rep, and you are relying almost solely on your quads to stand you back up. The other reason I like this is that you can also really focus on the negative of the rep, sit and give yourself a chance to regroup then explode back up. The starting and stopping also activates more muscle tissue.
High foot leg presses: If you’ve gotten tired of constantly looking for new ways to train your hamstrings other than all the curling options you have, try the high foot position leg press. Putting your feet high on the foot pad already puts your hamstrings in a stretched position thus creating initial activation. Then simply perform a standard leg press. You’ll feel it in your hams and glutes, and you can use a lot of weight to help pack on new growth.
Donkey calf raises (using chains): If you have access to chains in your gym, this is a nice variation to calf raises. In the old days, people used to just jump on their training partner’s back, but that seems a little taboo these days. So draping chains over your lower back is the next best thing in my mind. Be sure to support yourself, keep your upper body and lower body at a 90-degree angle and go hard.
My hope here is that I’ve given you a couple of new variations to try out and pack on new growth.
