Sean Hyson, CSCS

But with the response to the pandemic meaning that most facilities are shut down, you have to realize that your gym for the time being is where you lay your towelbe it in your garage, backyard, or living room (after youve pushed the couch out of the way, of course).

That concept may take some getting used to, but think of the advantages: No more waiting for equipment, no gym dues, and, maybe best of all, you're the only one who can control the music! To help you make the most of your new digs, weve created a free At Home fitness series, available on our streaming video fitness platform, <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a7cb/20b92a3f880ff56ff91f1aef05d324412efd.pdf?_ga=2.95472796.1083664116.1586542590-1380212431.1585318952" id="90377b12-dfa6-3c60-ab54-cda9e41d0c55"> All Out Studio </a> .

5 Essential Training Tips for Your Home Workouts

We challenged some of the best trainers in the world to create the ultimate living room-friendly workouts, so that you can train your whole body with only your own weight and common household items, such as a towel or chair. The At Home series offers of different workouts and styles each lasting only 15 minutes, so that you can come out of quarantine leaner and stronger than you were before.

To help you get started, we collected the following tips from the At Home trainers to help you maximize your results from wherever youre working out. Who knows? By the time the gyms open again, you may not feel like you need them anymore.

Trust the Workout

Gerren Liles, creator of Workout #3, Total Body HIIT

High-intensity interval training routines dont work if you hold too much in the tank. To get an effective workout in only 15 minutes or so, you have to give each work interval your best effort. When doing a HIIT workout, Go for max reps and rounds, says Liles, and trust that the workout youre doing allows for enough recovery between rounds that you can power through the whole workout in the allotted time. (Hint: Liles workout does.)

If you find that you cant recover enough during your rest periods to keep your work periods intense, the program may be too advanced for you. Option B: rest a little longer at first, and work on shaving seconds off your rest periods over time.

Get Ready Every Day

Bobby Maximus, creator of Workout #5, Bootcamp

Treat every workout like its your job, says Maximus. Dont roll into your home gym or living room in your pajamas and expect to be able to get the most out of yourself. Shower, change into your workout gear, tie your shoes extra tight, and treat the workout like you were going to a gym to do it.

While one of the perks of training at home is the informality and convenience of the whole thing, youll take your workouts more seriously with Maximus' approach. Youd be surprised how much showering and dressing beforehand can help with your mental clarity and focus, says Maximus.

Dan Giordano, DPT, CSCS, creator of Workout #7, Mobility

The mind-muscle connection is a term bodybuilders have long used to describe the ability of a lifter to connect to his muscles mentally. If you can focus your mind on what the muscles youre training are doing, and how they perform, you can better activate them and achieve greater results. (Its not bro science either: a <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a7cb/20b92a3f880ff56ff91f1aef05d324412efd.pdf?_ga=2.95472796.1083664116.1586542590-1380212431.1585318952" id="4f30b7d6-9f87-321c-a839-41be06496928"> 2016 review in Strength and Conditioning Journal showed it works </a> .)

Try to focus on the muscle you are targeting as you contract it, says Giordano. This will enhance the recruitment of the muscle fibers. The better you engage it, the more it will grow. Mental focus is even more important when youre limited to the use of light weights, as you may be training at home.

Dumbbell pressing a pair of 100s will build your pecs no matter what, but if youve only got access to 50s, you need to make them feel like 100 pounds to get a similar training effect. Performing your sets with full attention to how your muscles are lifting the weight can accomplish that. For example, on a dumbbell bench press, imagine how your pecs work to move your arms from your sides to in front of your chest as you lift the weight.

Perfect Your Form

Kara Liotta, creator of Workout #2, Abs

If youre working out along with a video, don't just dive in. Watch the whole workout first, and use the pause button to stop on each exercise thats new to you. This will give you a chance to get a better look at the form the instructor is using, says Liotta. Youll see what proper alignment looks like, and youll have a better and safer workout.

So curb your enthusiasm. Jumping right into a routine youre unfamiliar with forces you to learn as you go, and it will disrupt your workout. By watching the whole routine first, youll know what to expect, and can even practice exercises that are new to you or particularly challenging first, so that when they come up in the workout, youll be ready to hit them hard, in real time, without second-guessing yourself and getting frustrated.

Keep Your Appointments

Sean Garner, creator of Workout #4, Total Body Strength

Yes, technically you might feel like you have all day to work out, but trust us: You're better off if you act like you dont. Just like any pre-quarantine gym session, having a routine will help you stay focused. Plan it out, ask a friend to join in with you, or commit to a live streaming class, says Garner. Schedule your workouts in a calendar so that youre less inclined to say, Ill get to it later.

Ready to get to work? Get the entire At Home series free on the <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="2040ac9d-8773-3825-a6db-a9fa7a548767"> All Out Studio app </a> .

Let's be honest: The past few weeks of quarantine and self-isolation have been tough, especially if you had a dedicated fitness routine. The gym is a fun place to be, after allits a spot that gives you a chance to feed off the energy of others, get a shot of inspiration, and socialize (between sets, of course). We miss it, very much.

5 Essential Training Tips for Your Living Room Workouts

Fortunately, HIIT can include virtually any exercise you like to do, and workouts can be modified to help you get stronger, leaner, and better conditioned at any age. Gerren Liles, creator of the Men's Health High-Power HIIT program on the <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="2040ac9d-8773-3825-a6db-a9fa7a548767"> All Out Studio app </a> , knows this better than anyone. Though he began weight training in high school, he avoided cardio and trained like a bodybuilder. He got big alrightbut not healthy. I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, he says, and I was only in my early thirties.

5 Reasons Guys Over 40 Should Try HIIT Training

Liles hired a trainer and cleaned up his diet. He fell in love with fitness so much that he became a personal trainer and NASM certified in 2009. He started taking group fitness classes to gain experience and network with other trainers, and thats when he discovered HIIT. Now, at age 43, Liles competes in Spartan races, and says HIIT plays a big role in the training he does to prepare for them. I still take HIIT classes, Liles says, to keep up my explosiveness and endurance. Liles performs two to three days of HIIT per week, and another two to three days of pure strength training.

Liles created exclusive HIIT workouts just for Mens Health on the <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="2040ac9d-8773-3825-a6db-a9fa7a548767"> All Out Studio app </a> . You can even try one of his full workouts from the program . Heres how he convinces guys over 40 not to fear HIIT, and how to make it work in their training.

5 Reasons You Should Do HIIT Even if Youre Over 40

1. HIIT saves time.

Interval training means alternating short bursts of hard work and periods of light work, or rest, says Liles. You dont work as long in a HIIT session as you do with steady-state cardio, but you work much harder. A <a href="https://www.acsm.org/docs/default-source/files-for-resource-library/high-intensity-interval-training.pdf?sfvrsn=b0f72be6_2" id="98f62743-6be3-3a32-ac36-fda66e9eb096"> position statement from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) </a> confirms that, as a result, HIIT workouts tend to burn more calories than aerobic workat least per minute of exercise.

That makes HIIT a great workout choice for busy fathers, those with erratic work schedules, or anyone else who has trouble making it to the gym or committing to a workout that requires upwards of an hours time investment. You can do a solid HIIT routine in 15 minutes, says Liles.

2. HIIT burns fat.

Its one of the most tried and true methods to assist in weight loss, says Liles. HIIT asks a lot more of your muscles than steady-state cardio, so it gets your heart rate higher. Not only do you burn a lot of calories during the session, youll continue to burn them at a greater rate after the workout is overan effect you dont get from jogging on a treadmill.

The ACSM estimates that you can burn up to 15 percent more calories for two hours post-exercise, as your body works to recover from the intensity of the session. That means a 40-plus guy can actually get leaner while hes driving, sleeping, reading, or watching TV (as long as hes not eating a bag of potato chips during the show).

3. HIIT improves both strength and endurance.

As we get older, we tend to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle, says Liles. Its easy to let either your cardio or strength workouts lapse, if not both. But HIIT can give you a mix of both types of training in the same workout. HIIT routines can include classic muscle exercises like pushups and squats, as well as heart-pumping calisthenics like jumps and mountain climbers.

If you can only work out once in the next few days, a HIIT session will give you the most for your money. I tend to do two to three days of HIIT per week, says Liles, and another two to three days of pure strength training.

4. HIIT can be scaled to any fitness level.

Dont worry if you cant do the fancy exercises you see people do for HIIT workouts in CrossFit gyms or online. Liles has an easy formula to help you design your own HIIT routines. You always want to do some sort of squat, hinge, push, and pull movement, he says, since all those movements are present in our daily lives.

You can cover those categories with a simple bodyweight squat, kettlebell swing, pushup, and bodyweight row, for example. If your goal is fat loss, a 1:1 or 2:1 work-to-rest ratio is usually ideal, says Liles. So youd perform an exercise for, say, 30 seconds, and then rest 30 seconds (1:1), or 15 seconds (2:1).

Just use common sense, says Liles. If you cant execute a movement with good form due to fatigue, rest longer before you perform the next interval. For example, you could do jumping jacks for 20 seconds and rest 10 seconds in between. But if youre doing something more complex, like a burpee, you may need to rest one minute to recover.

5. HIIT is fun!

Because interval workouts can encompass so many athletic exercises, and they force you to move at a fast pace, they can make you feel like an athlete againeven if you havent played a sport since you were in school. This can be key for keeping you motivated to train, in your forties and beyond. And the longer you train, the better your results.

HIIT can help you maintain endurance and explosiveness, says Liles, as well as strengthen your cardiovascular system to help you ward off heart disease, manage insulin levels, and, of course, look good well into old age.

Try this HIIT workout from Liles. There are 4 groups of exercises that youll do in circuit fashion. Perform reps of each exercise in a group for the recommended amount of time in the work period, and then rest after the last exercise in the group. Then go on to the next group. When youve finished each group of exercises, rest 2 to 3 minutes, and repeat the entire workout for 2 to 3 total rounds.

Air Squat - 45 seconds

Rest: 2 to 3 minutes, and repeat for 2 to 3 total rounds

If all you know about high-intensity interval training (HIIT) comes from what youve seen on YouTube videos, fitness influencer Instagram accounts, or overpriced boutique gym concepts, you might be under the impression that HIIT is a young mans game. Hill sprints, box jumps, and kettlebell snatches can be great exercises for burning fat in short workouts, but theyre not always appropriate for guys who have a few miles on their joints.

The other is that you leave your ab work to the end of your workout when youre tired, so you never train your core with maximum focus or energy, and probably skip the routine outright more often than youd like to admit.

How to Get Ripped Abs Without Doing Ab Workouts

The solution isnt to do more core exercises, or even to make them the focus of your workouts. Rather, you can incorporate more core activation into exercises youre already doing so you build your abs while you build the rest of your body, with nookay, someextra effort. This strategy comes courtesy of Mens Health fitness editor Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., creator of the New Rules of Muscle program (available on <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/255414/?source=_OO_MHL_NewRules&amp;utm_medium=Page_ad&amp;utm_source=print&amp;utm_campaign=_OO_MHL_NewRules" id="152375a2-e04e-397c-ae4c-e05dff77c7a9"> DVD </a> and the <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="c32a6133-1a2c-3ac6-ad58-f9bf1bea5778"> new streaming All Out platform </a> ).

New Rule: Make Every Exercise Also An Ab Exercise

There are so many better, safer, and more fun ways than crunches and situps to train your core. Samuel recommends unilateral trainingsimply working one limb at a time. So if you usually do dumbbell bench presses or squats with both arms or legs moving at the same time, try pressing just one dumbbell and squatting with one foot supported on a bench behind you.

The New Rules workouts use unilateral positions to emphasize the core, says Samuel. So while your main focus is working chest or legs, your abs will be firing hard to help you keep your balance and avoid twisting your body in different directions. Building core work into your other exercises is so challenging, says Samuel, I end up not wanting to train abs directly at the end of my workouts, and I find that I dont need to anyway.

Samuel offers a template for your body part workouts that will allow you to train abs at the same time, so that you dont have to squeeze them in at the end of your sessions, or set aside extra time for them elsewhere in your week. He calls it training with core responsibility, meaning that your core will be highly active and responsible for you keeping form on each lift.

Start with three to four sets of a simple, standard exercise for the main muscle group you want to train, so you can isolate it and work it hard when youre fresh. Then let your remaining exercises be unilateral moves that require more stability from your core. Below is an example of how Samuel trains chest some days.

Dumbbell Bench Press - 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps

Mixed-Style Incline Dumbbell Press

Set an adjustable bench to a 30-degree angle and prepare to do an incline dumbbell press, holding the weights in the lockout position over your chest. Do 2 reps with the right arm first, and then hold the weight at lockout while you do 2 reps with the left arm. Now do 2 reps with both arms at the same time. Thats one cluster. Without putting the weights down, repeat for 3 to 4 clustersthats one set. Do 4 sets like this. Keep your core locked down and your butt on the bench, avoiding any twisting to either side.

Half-Bench Single-Arm Press

Lie on a flat bench but position yourself to the left side of it so that the left half of your torso is not supported by the bench. Youll have to brace your core to steady you and prevent your body from rolling off the bench. Hold a dumbbell in your left hand and perform 8 to 10 reps of presses. Now shift your position to the opposite side, so that the left side of your torso is supported and the right side is not. Repeat the presses on the right arm. Thats one set. Do 4 sets.

For more tips and tricks to explode your muscle gains, pick up the New Rules of Muscle program, available on <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/255414/?source=_OO_MHL_NewRules&amp;utm_medium=Page_ad&amp;utm_source=print&amp;utm_campaign=_OO_MHL_NewRules" id="152375a2-e04e-397c-ae4c-e05dff77c7a9"> DVD </a> or the new <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="ed74fa27-7334-3a57-a10e-16c2999dc155"> All Out Studio </a> streaming platform, alongside other super-effective Men's Health fitness programs.

There are two reasons your abs arent as sharp as youd like them to be. One is that you eat too much (youll never see your abs till you diet the fat off them, period, so start cutting some calories).

The New Lifting Rule That Can Help Anyone Carve Out A Six-Pack

The hits theyve chosen focus on making your core stabilize your spineits primary function. If you can keep your back stiff and straight while you move your arms and legs around, you can be certain that your abs and lower back muscles are kicking in hard. So while it may look like youre working your delts, triceps, or legs, youre really rocking your midsection. Leave the hundred-rep sets of crunches and situps to those who dont know better, and put this playlist on repeat.

Want more workouts like this from Garner and a program to follow for a healthier body? Check out the <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/259292" id="e12ba8ea-f831-3de7-a313-383947fbbba5"> 6-Week Sweat Off </a> , available on the <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="ef10151f-6f31-35e8-a047-6bc8549b406e"> All Out Studio streaming service </a> alongside other stellar workout programs from Men's Health.

Directions: Do this workout twice a week; you can add it to a routine thats already in your program, or do it on its own. Perform the exercises in circuit fashion, completing reps of each move in turn for 30 seconds and resting 30 seconds between exercises. Thats one round. Repeat for 2 total rounds.

Front Rack Carry March

Grasp a dumbbell in each hand and stand with feet hip-width apart. Hold the weights at shoulder level with palms facing each other. Pull your ribs down and tuck your pelvis under slightly so that its parallel to the flooryou should feel your core engage. Pull your shoulders back and down so that you feel your lats turn on.

Slowly begin marching in place for 30 seconds, lifting one leg at a time until your knee is just above your hips. Avoid swaying side to side, and stay tall. Every muscle in your body should stay braced. As you raise one leg, squeeze the glutes on the opposite leg to help maintain your stability.

Hollow Body Rock

Lie on your back on the floor, and bend your hips and knees 90 degrees, so that your shins are parallel to the floor. Press your lower back flat into the floor and brace your core. Extend your legs without letting your lower back lose contact with the floor. Now extend your arms overhead, raising your shoulder blades off the floor. From there, extend your left arm out 90 degrees from your side, palm facing the ceiling.

Begin rocking your body back and forth for 30 seconds, making sure to keep your ribs pulled down and your core braced. In the second round of the circuit, perform the rock with your right arm out to the side.

Tall Kneeling To Overhead

Kneel on the floor with legs hip-width apart (a tall-kneeling position). Grasp a dumbbell in each hand and press the right-hand one overhead. Allow the left-hand weight to hang at your side.

Keeping your shoulders back, ribs down, and core braced, step forward with the right leg and place it on the floor, so you end up in a half-kneeling position (the bottom of a lunge). From there, bring your left leg forward to stand up tall.

Reverse the movement by stepping back with the left leg into the half-kneeling position, then back with the right leg to the tall-kneeling position. Now switch the dumbbell positions. Repeat for 30 seconds, performing each rep slowly and with full control.

Lie on your back on the floor with a dumbbell in your right hand. Hold the weight at arms length over your chest and bend your right knee so that your foot is close to your butt. Extend your left leg out straight and your left arm at about 45 degrees, resting on the floor.

Raise your torso off the floor, twisting to the left so your hand can support you, and extend your left arm. Draw your ribs down, engage your core, and drive your heels into the floor to raise your hips to full extension. Your body should form a straight line. Lower your hips back down and repeat for 30 seconds. In the second round of the circuit, perform the getup with your left arm raised and left leg bent.

Get more guidance and workouts like this one when you check out the <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/259292" id="e12ba8ea-f831-3de7-a313-383947fbbba5"> 6-Week Sweat Off </a> program, available on the <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="ef10151f-6f31-35e8-a047-6bc8549b406e"> All Out Studio streaming service </a> , alongside other stellar workout programs from Men's Health.

Carve Out A Six-Pack With This 8-Minute Ab Cutter

Think of the workout that follows as your favorite artists greatest hits album. The artists, in this case, are <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ebenezersamuel23/" id="482748e5-76f8-3b61-a9b2-a546d2a0b408"> Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. </a> , fitness director for Mens Health, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/seangarner/" id="45cbb9a6-3a63-31ed-a5fe-e61917597617"> Sean Garner </a> , creator of the 6-Week Sweat Off program, while the album is a routine that combines their favorite ab exer...

No, we dont mean that you have to pray for them (as if you hadnt already tried that); rather, doing your curls from a kneeling position forces you to perform them with better, stricter form. Using precise form and creating a better mental connection to the muscles youre working is the surest way to build them up fastits better than lifting heavy.

Try the tall-kneeling curl with a halfway pause, courtesy of Mens Health fitness editor Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., creator of the New Rules of Muscle program (available on <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/247461?source=_ed_&amp;utm_campaign=_ed_&amp;utm_content=a30474601&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=menshealth.com" id="27ee40a1-e2be-3a59-ae29-ab92e459f3ee"> DVD </a> and the <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="c32a6133-1a2c-3ac6-ad58-f9bf1bea5778"> new streaming All Out platform </a> ).

New Rule: Do Curls On Your Knees

<ul><li> Step 1. Grasp a moderate-weight dumbbell in each hand and kneel on the floor with arms at your sides. Tuck your pelvis under slightly so its parallel to the floor and brace your core and glutes. Draw your shoulder blades back and downward (think: proud chest). </li><li> Step 2. Keeping your upper arms at your sides, begin curling the dumbbells up (dont let your elbows drift forward). As you raise the weights, twist your wrists outward so that your palms face the ceiling at the halfway point. Pause there for a second, when your forearms are parallel to the floor, and flex your biceps. </li><li> Step 3. Continue the curl, coming up all the way, and flex again at the top. </li><li> Step 4. Lower the weights to your sides to finish the rep. Perform 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps. </li></ul>

Most people dont make a strong mind-muscle connection when they train, says Samuel. They arent able to concentrate on the muscles theyre working, and that limits the amount of muscle they can activate. By curling from the knees and pausing, you reduce the tendency to sway your back and swing the weights up, as you might do when standing, and you perform a stricter set that really makes you focus on the biceps.

Why not just sit on a bench and a curl? <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a30535041/concentration-curl-biceps-workout/" id="52b1b587-7fc3-3828-a69e-e59d0685221f"> That works too </a> , but Samuel says most of us do enough sitting as it is; the kneeling position makes you practice good posture, and requires more effort from your core. Everything we do in the New Rules workouts starts at the core to offset the weakness that sitting at desks has caused, says Samuel.

You wont be able to go as heavy doing kneeling curls as you would pumping out reps standing (where we all tend to use a little body English), but that doesnt matter, as your muscles will be working harderlifting the weight with their own might, not the assistance of momentum. My goal is for people who try this to think the curl more, says Samuel. To really own the movement at every point in the range of motion.

You dont have to do all your curls on your knees from now on, but doing them down there for a while with pauses will lead to better form on standing curls in the future. Samuel says: How many people do you see who shift their elbows forward when they curlthereby shifting some of the stress to the front delts? Theyll do this in the first half of the movement. So by pausing at parallel, you identify that flaw and correct it.

For more tips and tricks to explode your muscle gains, pick up the New Rules of Muscle <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/247461?source=_ed_&amp;utm_campaign=_ed_&amp;utm_content=a30474601&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=menshealth.com" id="112a301e-f0fb-37d3-a134-a61c76c6d95b"> on DVD </a> or on the <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="310be197-961d-313e-a6f4-cccabd27f556"> All Out streaming service </a> .

This New Lifting Rule Adds Inches to Your Biceps

If you want bigger biceps, all you have to do is get down on your knees.

This New Lifting Rule Will Help to Add Inches to Your Biceps

But the Turkish getup makes the movement even more difficult by forcing you to kickstart that process from the lowest position possible, on your back. From a supine position, you hold a weight aloft, and then proceed to come up to a standing position as efficiently as possible while keeping the weight above your head the entire time.

True to its name, the getup is believed to have been popularized by wrestlers and soldiers in Turkey centuries ago, and was valued for building stability and strength throughout the body. The long range of motion involves virtually every muscle, and balancing the weight overhead places big demands on the shoulder and core in particular. In fact, <a href="https://www.bodyworkmovementtherapies.com/article/S1360-8592(18)30062-7/fulltext" id="cb23aa96-c728-3e89-a373-aae49025d197"> a 2019 study </a> found that the Turkish getup might be especially beneficial for athletes whose sport requires higher levels of shoulder stability and rotational strength, such as volleyball and hockey players, as well as shot putters.

The Turkish getup is usually performed with a kettlebell, but <a href="https://www.instagram.com/seangarner/" id="45cbb9a6-3a63-31ed-a5fe-e61917597617"> Sean Garner </a> , creator of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/6-Week-Sweat-Off-Sean-Garner/dp/1950099393/" id="992488e2-e7cc-32f9-a815-c63c78952c00"> Mens Health 6-Week Sweat Off </a> fitness program, suggests you start with your body weight alone until youve mastered the form.

Even without using extra weight, youll still build core strength and the ability to control your body in multiple planes of movement, which is sure to benefit you in any sports you play, and help to prevent injury in and out of the gym. Here, Garner breaks the Turkish getup down into the following steps with a little help from Men's Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S.

Lie on your back on the floor. Extend your right arm straight over your chest, making a fist with your hand. Bend your right knee to place your foot flat on the floor. Extend your left arm 45 degrees from your side, palm facing down.

Press your fist toward the ceiling as you drive your left elbow down into the flooras if you were performing a dumbbell rowing exercise. Use this twisting action to raise your torso off the floor and place most of your weight on your left elbow. Keep your eyes focused on your right fist the whole time. Repeat Step 2 once or twice more to make sure you own the position. When youre confident youre doing it right, go on to Step 3.

Press your left hand into the floor to extend your elbow. Repeat Step 3 once or twice more.

Press your right heel into the floor to raise your hips up to full extensionkeep your core braced to avoid over-arching your lower back. Repeat Step 4 once or twice more.

Raise your left foot off the floor and swing it back, lowering your knee to the floor so its in line with the left hand. Keep looking at your right fist overhead. Your arms should form a straight line from hand to hand. Repeat Step 5 once or twice more.

Rotate your left leg like a windshield wiper so it points straight behind you and you end up in a staggered, split stance (as in the bottom of a lunge). Straighten up your torso so its vertical. Lean forward while keeping your abs braced to make your left foot light. Extend your right leg and move your left leg forward to stand up tallfinishing with your right arm overhead as if you were holding a torch.

Press your right arm upward to create tension in your shoulder, and step the left leg back as in a reverse lunge, lowering your left knee to the floor. Keeping your core braced, shift your hips to the right as you reach down and plant your left hand on the floor. Continue to look at your right fist overhead.

Kick your left foot through the space between your arm and your hips, planting your heel on the floor. Your hips should be extended and your eyes still fixed on your right fist.

Lower your hips to the floor and bend your left elbow. Lower your torso to the floor until your right shoulder rests.

All of the above equals one rep. Perform 3 to 5 reps, and then switch sides and repeat.

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Want more workouts like this from Garner and a program to follow for a healthier body? Check out the 6-Week Sweat Off, available on the <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="ef10151f-6f31-35e8-a047-6bc8549b406e"> All Out Studio streaming service </a> alongside other stellar workout programs from Men's Health.

Build Total Body Strength With the Turkish Getup

Lifting a weight from the ground over your head is about the most challenging strength exercise you can do, which is why variations of it appear in Olympic weightlifting competition (the snatch and clean and jerk).

But Mens Health fitness director <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ebenezersamuel23/" id="482748e5-76f8-3b61-a9b2-a546d2a0b408"> Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. </a> , is not one of those false muscle prophets. Samuel's techniques are tried and true from his years of training and knowledge of muscle science and biomechanics. He created of the New Rules of Muscle program (available on <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/247461" id="a1f6654d-0e1d-36cf-adbc-6c9a7c12a519"> DVD </a> and the <a href="https://go.onelink.me/TAq2/mharticle" id="c32a6133-1a2c-3ac6-ad58-f9bf1bea5778"> new streaming All Out platform </a> ) to share his knowledge with you, so you can stop listening to those guys at the gym.

Here are five rules for lifting that you need to start breaking if you want to see gains.

1. You Have To Go Heavy

Its true that the more weight you lift, the more muscle you have the potential to recruitbut going super heavy on your exercises can also make you cheat form, and that deprives your muscles of growth stimulus while also raising your risk for injury. According Samuel, you should perform most of your exercises with lighter weights, and focus on making them feel heavier by doing them more strictly.

Dont cheat yourself on a rep, says Samuel. People are always letting their elbows come forward and up to their chests on curls and skull crushers just to lift more weight. All this does is take tension off the muscles youre trying to train.

2. Pump The Weight

Yeah, we know its called pumping iron, but thats a misnomer. You get more out of your muscles when you lift weights at a slower, steadier cadence, rather than bouncing your reps out of the bottom position or blasting through sticking points with momentum.

We all need to slow down our reps to get the most out of them, says Samuel, who recommends you count to three (in your head) when youre lowering your reps. You can also experiment with pausing your reps for a moment at the midpoint, which really helps to lock in your form and make the muscles work. For example, as you raise the dumbbell on a curl, stop when your elbow is bent 90 degrees and hold the contraction.

Slower, more controlled sets increase the muscles time under tension, the duration they spend contracting, which is a proven stimulus for growth. While it will require you to use a lighter weight than you could performing your reps pump-style, load isnt the ultimate factor in getting big (ahem, see rule #1).

3. Monday Is Chest Day

For an unofficial rule, it sure seems to be well enforced. Go into any gym on a Monday and youll see guys loading up on bench presses (presumably because theyre fresh from the weekend and want to attack their favorite muscle group with full energy). But Samuel says chest work shouldnt be your top priority, even if getting beefier pecs is your ultimate goal.

In the New Rules of Muscle program, we train back before anything else, says Samuel, because back is weak for most guys, since they sit at desks all day. Doing twice the amount of rowing and reverse flies that you do pressing will help to improve your posture and ward off shoulder injuries. Try putting your back day first in your training week to prioritize it, or at least alternate sets of every chest move you do with a row, face pull, or band pull apart, so that you can keep the opposing muscle groups in balance with each other.

Over time, youll find that stronger back muscles help to draw your shoulders back, spreading your pecs. This makes your chest muscles look bigger all by itself.

4. You Have To Press Overhead

No doubt about it, pressing a heavy barbell straight overhead is one of the manliest things you can dounless it wrecks your shoulders and back. And most guys find that, over time, it does. We have very few exercises in the New Rules program that have you lifting your arm above shoulder level, says Samuel, because most men have muscle imbalances that lead to shoulder injuries, and overhead work will make it worse.

Another problem for many men is that they cant even press the bar in a straight path anywaytheir upper backs are too stiff from sitting round-shouldered in front of computers and looking at their phones. As a result, they have to arch the low back excessively to press the weight up, and that can lead to back pain.

Samuel says that overhead pressing is overrated for delt development anyway: The front of your shoulders gets plenty of stimulus when you do bench and incline presses. Lateral raises will take care of the side delts, and the rear delts get a lot of work from rows, reverse flies, and pulldown variations. Therefore, theres no dedicated shoulder day in the New Rules program, but your delts will grow just fine without itand even more importantly, they wont ache afterward.

5. You Have To Train Abs Every Day

This one is actually partly true. You dont have to work abs every day of your life with old-school moves like crunches and situpsbut you should make your core a priority, and you can save time and effort by training it in conjunction with your other exercises.

Everything we do in New Rules starts at our core to offset the weakness that results from all the sitting we do these days, says Samuel. We have one day where we really kill the core directly, but in every other workout, Im challenging viewers to use their core in stealth waysstabilizing the body on exercises where you work one side at a time, be it presses, lunges, or even curls.

Unilateral moves, and any others where you have to fight to maintain balance, give you plenty of ab work while you train the bigger muscles, maximizing your time in the gym. Sometimes the core involvement will be so subtle, you wont even think of the exercise as working your abs (such as in a single-arm, single-leg row, or a one-arm cable fly done kneeling on the floor)that is, until youre sore the next day.

For more tips and tricks to explode your muscle gains, pick up The New Rules of Muscle.

There's always some genius at the gym, ready to fill you in on the latest muscle-building strategy. They're the jacked up sage of the weight room, more than ready and willing to spread their gospel far and wide. Sarcasm aside, you know probably you shouldnt take advice from these liftersabout anythingeven if theyre bigger and stronger than you are. And yet chances are youve come to believe that what theyve told you about building muscle is the irrefutable truth.

5 Lifting Rules You Should Break If You Want To Get Big

Blow Up Your Arms With Just One Kettlebell

Thats the basic idea behind kettlebell flows, a sequence of exercises that connect seamlessly to challenge your strength, coordination, and endurance.

The following flow, designed by Eric Leija (a.k.a. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/primal.swoledier/" id="32ab1f1d-0b91-3cf3-a539-e661a494158c"> Primal Swoledier </a> ), creator of the <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/255260" id="6d62685c-41a3-3398-af4c-a4dc545f5355"> Mens Health Kettlehell program </a> , works your whole body, but with special attention to your arms. Youll start with a concentration curl to isolate your biceps, and then clean the weight up to shoulder level where youll finish with an overhead press. Your legs, glutes, core, and back all contribute to the clean, and the press works your shoulders and triceps.

This kind of workout makes arm training more functional, says Leija. So youre not just pumping up your bis and tris, but using them to perform exercises that train you to be explosive and powerful in real-world situations, and in sports.

Concentration Curl To Clean To Shoulder Press

Step 1. Place a light kettlebell on the floor and stand behind it with feet shoulder-width apart. Twist your feet into the ground so that theyre turned a few degrees outward, and you feel your glutes tighten upkeep this tight feeling in your hips throughout the exercise. Maintaining a long spine from your head to your pelvis, bend your hips back (and then your knees as needed) until you can grasp the kettlebell handle (underhand) with your right hand.

Step 2. Brace the back of your arm against your thigh and curl the kettlebell up to your chest, squeezing your biceps at the top. Lower the weight under control until it rests on the floor again.

Step 3. Squeeze your glutes and push through your heels as you extend your hips explosively. Use the momentum to pull the kettlebell up and back toward your side. When you feel it rise to chest level, drive your elbow forward and under the weight so that you catch it at shoulder level. Allow the kettlebell to spin around your wrist so that it doesnt flop over and smack your forearm.

Step 4. Now, with the kettlebell at shoulder height, press it overhead to lockout in a half-circle motion. Lower the weight to your shoulder again, and then back to the floor. Repeat on the opposite side. Thats one rep.

Perform 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps on each side, resting 60 seconds between sets. Do this flow at the end of a workout as a finisher, or as a full-body workout of its own that you can do whenever you want to train but are short on time.

Imagine if you could pick up just one tool to train your whole bodyand you'd never even need to think about ever pausing or putting the weight down. Your workout would be done in minutes and you wouldnt need any special equipment. In fact, you could do it at home, or at your aunts house, with the old kettlebell shes been using as a doorstop in the guest room.

This Kettlebell Flow Will Blow Up Your Biceps

Eric Leija (a.k.a. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/primal.swoledier/" id="32ab1f1d-0b91-3cf3-a539-e661a494158c"> Primal Swoledier </a> ), creator of the <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/255260" id="6d62685c-41a3-3398-af4c-a4dc545f5355"> Mens Health Kettlehell program </a> , suggests hanging on to a kettlebell while you flow from a jump squat to a <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a28701803/kettlebell-halo-exercise/" id="aa40b06f-29ef-38a3-adb2-5bc1e23419c3"> shoulder halo </a> . The jump squat builds power and explosiveness in the legs, says Leija, while the halo increases strength and mobility in the shoulders. Combining the two exercises trains nearly the entire body, burning lots of calories, but takes only a few seconds to perform, and it will tire you out fast.

Leija also likes it as a means of teaching good squat technique. Most people tend to bend forward too much when they squat, letting their chests collapse toward the floor, he says. This increases the risk of injury to the lower back. Doing a jump squat with a kettlebell in front of your body forces you to keep your torso upright, and that trains you to squat correctly, safely, and deeply.

Jump Squat To Halo

<ul><li> Step 1. Place a kettlebell on the floor and stand behind it with feet shoulder-width apart. Twist your feet into the ground so that theyre turned a few degrees outward, and you feel your glutes tighten up. Maintaining a tall, long spine from your head to your pelvis, squat down, driving your knees outward as you descend (they should stay in line with your first two toes) until you can grasp the kettlebell handle. </li><li> Step 2. Holding the kettlebell handle overhand with both hands, draw your shoulders back and downward (think proud chest). Now jump up as high as you can. Land with soft knees, and then stand up, cleaning the dumbbell as you rise (flip it over in your hands so that the bottom is up). </li><li> Step 3. Raise the weight over and behind your right shoulder. Keep your elbows as close together as you canyour left forearm should brush over the top of your head as you raise the kettlebell. Continue moving the weight around the back of your head until its in front of you again (a halo). Keep your core braced to prevent any bending or twisting while you do the halo. Lower the weight to the floor, and re-set for the next jump squat. After you jump, perform the halo in the opposite direction. </li></ul>

Use the jump squat to halo as a finisher, performing it at the end of your regular workout to burn out your legs and shoulders. Perform reps for 30 seconds and then rest 30 seconds. Repeat for 6 to 8 rounds.

If you've ever rolled out a mat in a yoga class, you know what a flow is. You stack exercises together that flow into one another, like downward-facing dog into upward-facing dog. You can apply the same logic to kettlebell workouts by combining strength exercises that train the whole body efficiently and quickly.

This Explosive Kettlebell Flow Torches Fat

Eric Leija (a.k.a. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/primal.swoledier/" id="32ab1f1d-0b91-3cf3-a539-e661a494158c"> Primal Swoledier </a> ), creator of the <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/255260" id="6d62685c-41a3-3398-af4c-a4dc545f5355"> Mens Health Kettlehell program </a> , offers the following flow routine to train every muscle youve got, and with special attention to your arms. Youll do all the classic lifts you need to be functionally strong, says Leija, like squats, pushups, and lunges, but with a little bi and tri work added inbecause everyone wants to move well and look good too.

The entire workout should take about 17 minutes.

Perform each exercise in sequence. Do reps of each for 30 seconds, completing an equal number of reps on each side (where necessary), and then rest at the end of the flow for 60 seconds. Thats 1 round. Perform 5 rounds.

1. Squat Curl To Standing Halo

<ul><li> Step 1. Place a kettlebell on the floor and stand behind it with feet shoulder-width apart. Twist your feet into the ground so that theyre turned a few degrees outward, and you feel your glutes tighten upkeep this tight feeling in your hips throughout the exercise. Maintaining a long spine from your head to your pelvis, squat as low as you can, driving your knees outward as you descend (they should stay in line with your first two toes). </li><li> Step 2. Grasp the kettlebell handle overhand with thumbs facing each other. Maintain your squat position as you curl the weight up until the bottom end is in front of your face. Drive through your heels to stand up tall. </li><li> Step 3. Starting with the weight in front of your chest, raise it over and behind your right shoulder. Keep your elbows as close together as you canyour left forearm should brush over the top of your head as you raise the kettlebell. Continue moving the weight around the back of your head until its in front of you again (a halo). Keep your core braced to prevent any bending or twisting while you do the halo. Reverse the direction and make a circle around your head the other way, stopping when the weight is directly behind your head. </li><li> Step 4. Extend your elbows to lock the weight out overhead, as in a normal triceps extension. Now lower it back in front of your chest (bottom up) and begin your next squat. Extend your arms at the bottom and then curl the weight up to begin the next rep. When you perform the halo this time, start on the opposite side from the last rep. </li></ul>

2. Tall Kneeling Curl To Overhead Extension

<ul><li> Step 1. At the bottom of your last squat, kneel on the floor and extend your hips so your body is in a straight line from your head to your knees. Curl the kettlebell up to your face again, and then reach it over and behind your head, bending your elbows. </li><li> Step 2. Extend your elbows to lock the weight out overhead, and then lower it in front of your chest again. Then extend your arms to lower it just above the floor. </li></ul>

3. Close-Grip Pushup To Squat Curl

<ul><li> Step 1. At the bottom of your last curl, place the kettlebell on the floor in front of you and place both hands on the bottom of it. Get into pushup position with your body in a straight line. </li><li> Step 2. Lower your body until your chest is about an inch above your hands, and then press your body back up. </li><li> Step 3. Jump your feet forward, landing in a shoulder-width stance. Grasp the kettlebell by the handle and curl it up while keeping a long spine (dont round your lower back). Lower it back down, and jump back into pushup position again. </li></ul>

4. Bicep Curl To Press

<ul><li> Step 1. After your last curl, stand up with feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your hips back and grasp the kettlebell in your right hand. Brace your right arm against your knee and curl the weight to your chest while keeping a long spine. </li><li> Step 2. Stand up straight, holding the weight at the top of the curl so that it comes to shoulder level when youre upright. </li><li> Step 3. Press the weight overhead in a half-circle motion. Lower it back to your shoulder, bend your hips back, extend your arm, and return the weight to the floor. Repeat the rep on the other side. </li></ul>

5. Split Stance Arm Series

<ul><li> Step 1. With the kettlebell back on the floor, get into the bottom of a squat and grasp the weight with both hands. Curl the weight up and then step backward into a lunge. Your front thigh should be parallel to the floor and your rear knee should rest on the floor. As you step, raise the kettlebell overhead and behind you. Avoid arching your back as you raise your arms up. </li><li> Step 2. Extend your elbows to the lock the weight out overhead, and then step forward again and lower into a squat with the kettlebell extended in front of you. Repeat the rep on the other side. </li></ul>

A flow is a series of exercises that connect together seamlessly. The last position of Exercise A becomes the starting point for Exercise B, such as when you do a clean and then a press. Flowing with kettlebells is a great way to train the whole body in minutes while really challenging your endurance and torching calories.

Pump Up Your Arms in Less Than 20 Minutes With This Kettlebell Flow

Eh, youd rather do more bench presses and curls. But if you have a kettlebell, you can instantly expand your repertoire of ab exercises, and make the workouts that forge a six-pack as fun and different as they are challenging and effective.

Eric Leija (a.k.a. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/primal.swoledier/" id="980ad475-f375-3df2-a8c7-5a62271a8cdb"> Primal Swoldier </a> ), creator of the <a href="https://order.hearstproducts.com/subscribe/hstproducts/255260" id="6d62685c-41a3-3398-af4c-a4dc545f5355"> Mens Health Kettlehell program </a> , offers you the following six kettlebell moves. Add one at a time to your existing workouts, and cycle through them (give each move at least four weeks, trained at least once per week, to yield results). You can do them in between sets of other exercises, says Leija, at the end of your workoutor, if your abs are a major weakness, do them first in the session.

Perform 3 to 5 sets of 15 to 20 reps for each exercise (except where otherwise noted). All of these lifts train your posterior chain in addition to your abs, says Leija. (The posterior chain refers to the muscles on the back side of your bodyprimarily the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.) Strengthening the posterior will help prevent lower-back pain, which can be aggravated by conventional ab exercises.

1. Bridge To Situp

<ul><li> Step 1. Hold a kettlebell in front of your chest and lie back on the floor. Bend your knees and plant your feet flat. </li><li> Step 2. Perform a situp, and then roll your torso back to the floor. Brace your core, and drive through your heels raise your hips into the airbe careful not to hyperextend your lower back at the top. Lower your hips back down. Thats one rep. </li></ul>

2. Two-Step Getup

<ul><li> Step 1. Lie on the floor holding a kettlebell in your right hand. Extend your left leg straight in front of you and place your right foot on the floor close to your butt. </li><li> Step 2. Press the weight overhead and raise your torso off the floor, using your left hand to support you. Roll yourself back down to the floor. Complete 5 reps on that side, and then switch sides and repeat. </li></ul>

3. Russian Twist to Quick Twist

Sean Hyson, CSCS

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