5) Overhead Squat
The overhead squat is not an exercise you should be skipping. It integrates functional strength, flexibility, and core and shoulder stability. With so much going on, the overhead squat elicits a hormonal response that builds muscle and burns fat.
Grasp a relatively light olympic barbell in a power rack with a very wide, overhand grip (aka snatch grip), with your feet shoulder-width apart, your back flat, and your chest out. Push-press the bar overhead so you’re in standing position, arms fully extended, shoulder blades squeezed together. The bar should be slightly behind your head, not directly over or in front of it. Maintaining this bar position, slowly squat down as if sitting on a stool, keeping your chest out, until your thighs reach parallel with the floor. Press through your heels to stand back up to the start position.
6) Biceps Ladder
On top of the crazy pump you’ll get, the ladder has a host of other benefits. The biceps ladder is a great mass builder. First, it allows you to go heavier than you could with standard curls (using your own body weight). Second, you’re focusing on the negative of each rep, which will further stimulate growth. and finally, the ladder aspect of the lift functions like a dropset, increasing your total number of reps to maximize blood flow to the biceps. One trip up the ladder and your biceps will be screaming.
Set a bar in a power rack just above arm’s length from the floor. Grab the bar with a shoulder-width, underhand grip with your body hanging underneath it just above the floor, in a straight line from head to toe. Starting with your arms fully extended, curl yourself up as high as possible, bringing your forehead to the bar. Do as many reps as you can, then raise the bar one setting and repeat. Keep raising the bar until you can’t perform any more reps.
