Burpee

Muscles worked: All the muscles! Inc. the HEART!

Bicep Curl

Muscles worked: Biceps

Calf Raise

Muscles worked: Calves

Chest Press

Muscles worked: Pecs (chest) and triceps

Start lying on your back, with weights over your chest and arms fully extended. Lower the weights down to the sides of your chest controlling the movement by bracing your core and bending through the elbows - think of finishing in an ‘arrow’ position, not a ’T’ position - then push the weights back up over your chest to complete the repetition.

Deadlifts

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes (legs & bum) and back

Start with feet hip width apart and the barbell over your laces. Squat down and grip the bar on the outsides of your legs. Brace your core and engage your back muscles by squeezing your shoulder blades back and down. You want your back to be straight and for every muscle to be tensed before you lift the weight an inch! Take your gaze about a metre ahead of the bar for a neutral neck position and tuck your chin towards your chest. Once your set-up is correct drive out of your heels and push the floor away! Keep the bar as close to your body as possible and make sure your is core tight, your back is flat and your knees are over your ankles as you rise up to a standing position. Then lower the weight slowly under control by tipping through the hips, bending the knees and placing it gently back on the floor. For continuous repetitions you want to gently tap the weight to the floor for just a second before you drive into the next rep.

Depth Sumo Squats

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes (legs & bum)

 Take your feet wide outside of shoulder width with the weight in-between your feet. Use the deadlift technique above to live the weight concentrating on driving your knees out wide and keeping them over your ankles. If your knees are pulling in from the ankles then take your stance a little narrower. If possible stand on two steps/platforms for extra depth - then when you drop down, the weight will go lower than your feet which will recruit more muscle fibres while also improving your mobility.

Front Raises

Muscles worked: Anterior deltoids (shoulders)

Start standing with the weights in your hands. Position your arms in front of your legs so your palms are facing in to the front of your thighs. Stay up tall and brace your abs to keep your body still as you lift the weights out to the front, with straight arms, until they reach shoulder height. Then lower back down under control. Try not to lock out your elbows, but keep your arms as long as possible.

Glute Bridges

Muscles worked: Glutes (bum) and hamstrings (legs)

There are a lot of variations to this! The basic movement is with bodyweight, lying on your back with feet hip width apart and in close to your bum. Push through your heels, bracing your abs and squeezing your bum to drive your hips up to the ceiling, then lower back to the floor under control. The advanced option is to lean against a step/bench - with the edge at shoulder-blade height - and to place a weight across your lap. Use the same technique to push your hips, and the weight, up until your knees, hips and shoulders align, then lower down.

Lateral Raises

Muscles worked: Lateral deltoids (shoulders)

Start standing with dumbbells/weights in your hands. Position your arms to the sides of your body so your palms are facing in to your thighs. Stay up tall and brace your abs to keep your body still as you lift the weights out to the sides with straight arms until they reach shoulder height, then lower back down under control. Try not to lock out your elbow, but keep your arms as long as possible. Make sure those shoulder stay away from your ears please!

Lunges

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes (legs & bum)

Start standing up tall with your core braced. Take a big step forwards (or backwards for reverse lunges) and drop your back knee towards the floor while staying up tall. It’s important to focus on keeping your weight in the front heel. At the bottom of the lunge your front knee should be behind your toes and pushing outwards. Step ups are a good alternative if you struggle with lunge technique!

Pec Flyes

Muscles worked: Pecs (chest)

Start lying on your back with weights over your chest and arms fully extended. Brace your abs and face your palms towards each other. Open your arms wide to lower the weights with straight arms until they are level with your body, then squeeze to bring them back in and up to the start position. Please try not to lock out your elbows and be careful of going too heavy! Shoulders stay relaxed away from ears too!

Pull Ups

Muscles worked: Latissimus dorsi (back) and biceps

Place your hands on the bar outside of your shoulders, brace your core and pull strongly on the bar to lift your body up until the bar comes to your collarbones. This is obviously super difficult! You may need a resistance band or assisted pull-up machine to help. Inverting your hands to face palms inwards will recruit the biceps to help and make the movement easier (a chin up). Or a lat pulldown machine works the same muscles.

Romanian Deadlifts (RDL)

Muscles worked: Hamstrings (legs) and glutes (bum)

Also known as a stiff leg deadlift, this should be an easy movement but it’s one that people really struggle to do properly so be careful. Deadlift the bar/weight up until you’re standing and the weight is in front of your thighs. Brace your abs, pull your shoulder blades back and down and soften your knees. Now tip from the hips (keeping knees still - don’t bend them!) and run the bar down your thighs until you feel a pull along the back on your legs. Your finish position will see the bar anywhere between your knees and ankles. Then, keeping your core strong and back flat, push your hips forwards and squeeze your bum to return back to a standing position. At no point do you bend your knees, you only bend at the hips! And please watch that banana back!

Row

Muscles worked: Upper back and biceps

Whether this is a seated, standing, or a bent over row, the main cues remain the same: Start with your arms fully extended, your back flat and your abs strong. Pull the weight in towards your body keeping your elbow tucked in, and squeezing through the shoulder blades. Then extend the arms slowly under control until you reach the start position again. Palms face downwards for a wide row, or inwards for a neutral row. Always keep your shoulders away from your ears!

Shoulder Press

Muscles worked: Shoulders

Either seated or standing, start with the weights at shoulder height. Stay up tall, straight back and strong core, and push the weights upwards toward the ceiling until your arms are fully extended. Then lower back down under control making sure not to lean backwards. Palms face forwards for a wide shoulder press, or inwards for a neutral shoulder press. 

Split Squats

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes (legs and bum)

Start standing in front of a bench/step and place one foot behind you onto the platform. Jump the other foot forwards until you are a fair distance away. With your weight in the front heel, lower your body by bending at the knee until your front thigh is parallel to the floor then drive through the heel and back up to standing. Keep your core strong and chest proud! Your front knee should track over the ankle - if it pushes over your toes you need to jump the foot further away. This incorporates a lot of balance and control but it just takes a little practice!

Squats

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes (legs and bum)

Start standing tall with feel outside of your hips. Brace your core and sit through your hips, pushing your bum back and down as if lowering yourself to a chair. Lower until your hips are level with your knees (or even deeper depending on mobility) and then push through your heels to rise back up to standing. Keep your chest proud and your shoulders back and down. Aim to bend through the hips as well as the knees - actively push your bum backwards and your knees out! If your knees go further forwards than your toes it means you need to focus on pushing your bum further back, sometimes this means limiting depth until your ankle/knee/hip mobility improves.

Straight Arm Pulldown

Muscles worked: Latissimus dorsi (back)

Start standing with the cable position above head height and your arms fully extended. Tip slightly at the hips, soften knees and brace your core - think about keeping your back straight as can be. Now pull the cable down from over your head down to your thighs in an arc, keeping arms straight but elbows soft! Then control the cable back up to the start position slowly and under control. 

Tricep Extension

Muscles worked: triceps

Start standing or seated, holding a weight behind your head. Keep your chest up, brace your core and pull your elbows in towards your ears. Push the weight up from behind your head until arms are fully extended, then lower back down under control. This requires good shoulder mobility so if it feels uncomfortable perhaps do dips instead!

Tricep Dips

Muscles worked: All the muscles!

Sit on a bench/step and put your hands on either side of your hips, wrapping your fingers forwards over the edge of the bench. Ease your bum off the bench keeping your weight in your heels of your hands. Lower your bum towards the floor by bending your elbows, then push through your hands to extend your arms and bring yourself back up to the start position. Focus on your elbows bending back behind you and keeping your chest up. The further you take your feet from the bench the harder the exercise becomes!

Upright Row

Muscles worked: Trapezius and deltoids (neck and shoulders)

Start standing tall with the weight in your hands in front of your thighs. Brace your core and pull the weight up to chest height, taking the elbows wide and keeping your shoulders down away from your ears. Lower the weight under control back to the start position. Keep your weight light on this one - it’s an accessory exercise and doesn’t need a lot of load.

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