This page shows you a video with accompanying description of most of the exercises that you have been given in your program. The ones without the video still have some coaching points on how to perform the exercise.
The videos are in alphabetical order so please navigate down to find the correct exercise.
You may see some of the following terms used in the exercise descriptions, these are what they mean:
Flex – Bend Extend – Straighten
Overhand Grip – Place your hand over the weight (Dumbbell/Barbell/Kettlebell) with your palm on the top of the weight and your thumb tucked underneath the weight.
Underhand Grip – Place your hand under the weight (Dumbbell/Barbell/Kettlebell) with your palm under the weight and your thumb tucked over on top.
Core engaged – Tense your stomach muscles as if someone is about to punch you in the stomach.
Pectorals – Chest Deltoids – Shoulders Quadriceps/Quads – Front of the leg Hamstrings – Backs of the legs
Breathing – Breathe in on the easier part (normally way down) breathe out on the hard part (normally way up)
KB – Kettlebell BB – Barbell DB – Dumbbell
This library continues to be updated so check back another time to see if any news videos have been added.
A
AB Kickouts – Core
– Lie on your back with your legs straight
– Brace the core and bring the knees together towards the chest, then slowly straighten the legs back down
– As you straighten keep the feet close to the floor but avoid touching.
An alternative way of doing this is sitting up with your hands by your side with fingers facing forwards, lean back slightly lift the legs and kick out in front before bringing the knees back towards you.
AB Rollout – Core
Kneel down and place your hands on the ab roller, engage your core and roll out in front with your arms straight as far as you can whilst still able to roll back to the start.
Alt Arm Bench Press – Pectorals
– Adopt the standard DB bench position with your arms outstretched directly above you.
– Make sure you have a good grip of the weight.
– Instead of bringing both arms down together bring one arm down while the other one stays outstretched, once you have brought the arm back do the same with opposite, that counts as one rep.
Arnold Press – Deltoids
– Hold 2 DBs with an underhand grip, stand up straight and bicep curl them until they are in line with the shoulders – this is the start position
– Push up the arms and turn the wrists to face the opposite way as you lift until your arms are straight at the top with your palms now facing away from you
– Come back down the opposite way to return to the start position as you lift try and form an oval shape with the weights rather than lifting straight up.
B
Back Extensions – Lower Back
– Lie on the gym ball with your chest – stomach region in contact with the ball and legs out straight behind
– The better your balance is the closer you can have your legs together
– Place your hands where comfortable and lift the upper body up off the ball so you can feel the stretch in your lower back, don’t stretch it too far and return to the start.
– A dorsal raise is the floor version of this without the ball
Bench Press – Pectorals
– Lie back on the bench with the weight pushed up over the chest with your arms straight
– Bend at the elbows to bring the weight down to the chest, aim to go down to around nipple level, push back up to return to the start position
– Ensure the elbows tuck in by the side of the chest rather than coming out too wide, breathe in on the way down and breathe out on the way up. Can use a barbell or DB for this.
Bent Over Row – Back
BB – Stand with legs about hip width apart, bend down whilst keeping the back straight and pick up a barbell off the floor, you should have a slight bend in the knees, your back should be straight with your head forward, tilt your upper body over around 45 degrees, this is the position you maintain.
– Bend at the elbows to bring the barbell up towards your chest, tuck the elbows close to the side of the body as you bring the weight up rather than letting the elbows come too wide, once the bar has reached the chest return to the start.
DB – You perform this one arm at a time with a bench, you can use a flat bench or one with a slight incline
– Place your left knee on the flat with your right leg straight behind and your left hand flat on the bench, lean over slightly, keep the back straight core engaged and head forward
– Lift the weight off the floor in the right hand and pull up towards the chest, slowly lower back down until the arm is straight and lift again. Keep the movement controlled and don’t jerk the back and shoulder to lift the weight up and down. Always perform the same reps on each side.
Bent Over Circles – Deltoids
– Bend at the hips until you upper body is parallel to the ground, outstretch your arms horizontally and keep them straight
– Make small circles with the arms from the shoulder joint in one direction for the required amount of time/reps and then do the same in the opposite direction. Don’t make the circles too big or allow your body to come up too high.
Bicep Curl – Biceps
– Using a underhand grip lift two DBs up and start with your arms straight and the weights touching the fronts of the legs
– Make sure you are nice and upright and bend at the elbow to bring the weights up to in line with the shoulder, slowly lower back down to straight, avoid swinging the weights and keep it controlled.
Burpees – All Over
– Begin in the press up position but with your legs together, bent and brought inwards
– Jump the legs together outwards and then bring back in, rise up into a jump, place your hands back on the floor so you are in the start position, that is 1 rep.
C
Cable Fly – Pectorals
– Using a cable machine with two single hand attachments either side, position the height of the handles about chest height
– Facing away from the machine grip both handles take a step forward with one leg to balance you and while keeping the arms straight move the arms out in front of you, slowly let the arms go back sideways to the start position to complete the rep.
Calf Raise – Calf
– Place toes on edge of step/raised platform/calf raise machine. Lift up right onto the toes to work the calves and lower back slowly.
Chest Fly – Pectorals
– Lie on a bench with two DBs pressed above you, have the palms facing inwards, slowly while keeping the arms fairly straight with a slight bend in the elbow bring the arms directly out to the side
– Once the elbows are around in line with the chest push the weights back towards the middle. If your arms are bending too much on the way down use a lighter weight to improve your form.
Chest Press Machine – Pectorals
– Sit on the chair, position the handles around mid-high chest height, hold the handles and push out until arms are straight, don’t lock out the elbows and return to start position.
Chin Up – Back & Biceps
– Stand below a pull up bar, place your hands on it with an underhand grip about shoulder width apart
– Bend at the elbow to bring your chin over the bar, slowly lower down until the arms are straight and move into the next rep.
– Can bend knees behind to make it more comfortable, avoid swinging.
– If you can’t do this yet you could try assisted chin ups if you have a resistance band that you can tie to the bar and hook under the knee to help you up or you can try jumping chin ups which involve standing on something to bring your closer to the bar and jumping up to help bring your chin over the bar.
Concentration Curl – Biceps
– Sit on a bench with a DB in either arm, open your legs and let your arm rest on the inside of your leg with your palm facing out
– The elbow should be touching the inside of the thigh, bend the elbow towards you to bring the DB up, make sure the elbow stays in contact with the inside of the leg for support
– Once the DB has been brought up close to the shoulder slowly lower down. Always do the same on both arms.
D
DB Overhead Press – Triceps
– Hold 1 DB directly overhead with both hands, bend the elbows to bring the DB behind the head slowly, straighten up the arms back to the start position.
DB Pull Over – Pectorals
– Lie on a flat bench with one DB held directly above you in two hands, while keeping the arms straight slowly lower the weight behind the head until your arms are in line with the ears, slowly return back to the start position.
Deadlift – Lower back & Hamstrings
– Stand behind a Barbell place your toes just underneath the bar, take a grip of the bar, a little wider than hip width apart, bend the knees, look forward and ensure the back is straight and your core muscle are engaged
– Lift up the weight and keep the bar very close to the body, once you pass the knees with the bar push your hips through at the top of the movement you should be tall and with your shoulders brought back slightly.
– A barbell is the best thing to do this with but you can use DBS or a KB to practice technique and get you used to deadlifting. Key focus should be on keeping the back straight and avoid rounding it at all costs.
Diamond/Close Grip Press Ups – Pectorals & Triceps
– Adopt the normal press up position
– For close grip press ups just bring the hands closer together.
– For diamond press ups brings the hands close together so the thumbs are touching at the bottom and the inside fingers of each hand are touching at the top in a diamond shape.
E
F
Flutter Kicks – Core
– Lie flat on your back with legs straight.
– Lift the legs around 6 inches off the floor, keep the legs straight while you move the legs up alternatively around 3-4 inches each time.
– Keep your legs off the floor and avoid kicking them up too high.
Front Raise – Deltoids
– Stand up straight and using an overhand grip, hold two DBs in front of the body
– Keep one arm straight as you lift the weight up in front of you to about shoulder height, return down and do the same on the opposite arm to complete one rep.
– Avoid excessive swinging or arching the back. Can do a two handed front raise by moving two arms at the same time or using a barbell.
G
Gym Ball Sit Ups – Core
– Sit on a gym ball with your legs a little wider than shoulder width apart (the better your balance the closer you can put your legs together)
– Roll forward slightly on the ball so you are sitting towards the front of the ball rather than directly on top
– Tense your abs and slowly move your upper body backwards until your back is on the ball, bring yourself back up and that is 1 rep, do not come all the way back up after each rep, keep the movement smaller so the abs are constantly engaged.
H
Hammer Curl – Biceps
– Stand up straight with your arms hanging straight by your side with a DB in each, have the palms facing inwards, bend at the elbow to bring the weights up to in line with the shoulder, slowly lower back down to straight by your side, avoid swinging the weights and keep it controlled.
High Knees – Cardio
I
Incline Decline Press Ups – Pectorals
– Follow all of the same steps for the standard press up but for an incline press up place your hands on a raised platform e.g. step/bench and for a decline press up place your feet on the step/bench.
Internal & External Rotations – Rotator Cuff Muscles
– Using a single handle cable attachment with the cable height slightly higher than the elbow
– Stand up straight with legs apart
– Hold the handle with the closest hand and straighten your arm close to fully, bend the elbow and bring the weight into your body until it reaches the opposite side of the chest, this is Internal Rotation.
– For External Rotation stand in the same position but this time with your hand furthest away from the handle hold it and bring it back across the front of the body. Always do the same on both sides.
J
K
KB High Pull – Back & Deltoids
– Stand with your legs a little wider than hip width apart with a kb positioned between your legs, bend the legs while keeping the upper body straight to pick up the kb with an overhand grip with one arm
– Drive the legs up and the arms while keeping the kb close to the body until the elbow is close to head height and return down the same way, complete required reps on one side and repeat on the other.
KB Military Press – Deltoids
– Hold a KB in one arm shoulder height with the elbow bent at 90 degrees
– Lift the weight up into a shoulder press and bring the arm close to the side of the head as you lift, return to the start to complete the rep. Once reps are completed repeat with opposite arm.
KB Swing – All Over
– Open your legs a little wider than hip width apart, hold a kb in 2 hands with an overhand grip and let it hang between the legs
– While keeping your back straight, head forward and core muscles engaged push the hips backwards and the kb behind the legs then propel the hips forward and lift the arms to drive the kb up, while keeping the arms straight, the kb should reach head height
– At the top of the swing stop pushing and let the kb swing backwards to the bottom of the swing behind the legs before pushing the hips through again to go into the next rep.
– For a high swing push extra hard with the hips and drive the kb directly above the head so it stops at the top of the swing vertically in line with the body.
– For a one hand swing do the exact same steps as before but just hold the kb in one hand.
– For an alternate hand swing at the top of the one handed swing switch over to the other hand and change at the top of each swing.
L
Lat Pull Down – Latissimus Dorsi
– Take a wide grip of the handles of the lat machine, place your legs underneath the pads lean back slightly and bring the bar down towards your chest
– Slowly let the bar come up until the arms are straight and then go into the next rep. You don’t need to bring the bar down much lower than your chest, avoid swinging and moving the back excessively to bring the weight down.
Lateral Raise – Deltoids
– Stand upright with a weight in each hand by your side with knuckles facing outwards
– Lift from the side until the weights are in line with your shoulders, slowly return to the bottom
– Try to avoid arching the back, if you can’t keep your arms relatively straight then use a lighter weight.
Leg Curl – Hamstrings
– Sit on the chair with your legs on top of the pad, pick the appropriate weight and flex (bend) the knee to bring the pad closer towards you, go as far as you can before slowly straightening the leg to return to the start position.
Leg Extension – Quads
– Sit on the chair with your legs slightly apart tucked under the pad, pick the appropriate weight and extend (straighten) the leg until close to straight, slowly lower back down to the start.
Leg Press – Quads & Hamstrings
– This description is for a standard leg press machine. Sit into position, bend your legs and place your feet close to in line with the knees on the pushing platform, the closer you are to your feet the more work you are going to do, the further you are away the less the movement is so sacrifice a heavier weight for a fuller movement .
– Once in position with your legs about hip width apart push the legs down and straighten them, avoid locking out the knees and slowly lower back to the start, don’t put the weight down each movement stop just short and go into the next rep.
Leg Raises – Core
– Lie flat on a mat with legs outstretched, slowly lift the legs up while keeping the legs straight to in line with hips and lower down slowly to just above the floor, that is one rep.
– A different variation would a leg raise hold where you just lift the legs around 6 inches off the floor and hold it there for a set time.
Lunge – Quads, Hamstrings & Glutes
– Stand upright with legs together, take a step forwards with the right leg and bend that knee down until there is a 90 degree angle (ensure knee doesn’t come over the toes)
– At the same time your back leg should bend down close to the floor, push back off the front leg to bring the right leg in line with left, repeat on the opposite side for 1 rep.
– Make sure that toes and knees are pointed forward and don’t move to the side, keep your back straight and upper body upright throughout. You can do this with a BB on the back, KB in two hands or a DB in each hand by the side to increase the difficulty.
Lying French Press – Triceps
– Lie on a flat bench with a DB in each hand, push the DBs straight above you, change your grip so your palms are facing inwards
– Bend the elbows to bring the weights down to either side of the head, straighten back the arms to return to the start position.
M
Mountain Climber – Core
– In a press up position step one forward and keep one behind, the foot that is forward jumps out backwards while the foot which was kept outstretched comes in, keep this up in a fast motion with both legs moving at the same time in opposite directions.
