Hey everyone,
Hope you’re doing well. We just got a couple inches of rain overnight, so things are a little wet here right now.
Getting right to it, we all want the most bang for our buck.
It’s no different in the gym.
We should strive to get the most benefit from the fewest amount of exercises and least amount of time (do NOT take this as me advising you not to workout).
It’s efficiency! While becoming efficient at certain movements is desired (such as running in preparation for a marathon), it isn’t desired when it comes to fat loss.
Think about it…the person who develops a routine of exercise (very good thing) but only does the same exercise each and every time will become more efficient and thus burn fewer calories while doing it. It’s keeping you healthy, but not necessarily lean.
The body needs to be challenged and pushed to make changes.
Enter combination exercises.
Maximum muscles used in minimal time.
Rather inefficient, these moves combine multiple movements to hit the whole body in a challenging way.
Today we’ll look at two more “common” combo exercises that literally hits about every muscle in the body.
First is the squat-to-press, a.k.a. thruster. Can be performed with a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, or resistance band. Great for the legs, trunk, shoulders and arms, not to mention the elevated heart rate and profuse sweating if you do enough of them 🙂
Second is perhaps less common, but ties in the hip bridge with an inverted row. Targeting the glutes and back primarily, it’s a great compliment to the thruster. This move also hits muscles often neglected in many strength routines.
Give these a shot and see what you think. A great approach would be one combo for 8-12 reps, rest 30-60 seconds, and then the other combo for 8-12 reps, rest and repeat for 3-6 rounds.
For more of a metabolic challenge and those who enjoy a little pain in the gym, limit your rest periods to as brief as possible while maintaining good form.
If a bit more muscle is desired while staying lean, lengthen the rest periods (up to 2 minutes) and look to add weight to the thruster and reps to the bridge/row.
Don’t take the easy route.
Accept the challenge and grow yourself, each and every day!
SL
Live.Love.Lift.