MH
MUSCLE HANDBOOK
TARGET EVERY MUSCLE
Work Your Whole Body With These Moves.
By Nathane L. Jackson, RHN, CSCS
G
etting to the gym is the easy
part. Putting in the work isn’t.
But effort alone won’t be
enough to win in the gym. In
fact, if you don’t know how to
hit all the major muscles in
your body, then you won’t see
any gains. Here are our best picks for
moves that target your whole body.
Trap Bar Deadlift (Hips and
Hamstrings)
There’s no better exercise than the
deadlift. It’s king of the hip hinge, hitting
nearly every muscle on the posterior
chain starting from the prime mov-
ers – hips and hamstrings – to all the
muscles of the lower, mid and upper
back that are used to stabilize.
The trap bar sets the lifter in a
safe, lower back friendly, yet
powerful position.
Anterior Loaded Static Front Lunge
(Quadriceps)
The two main quadriceps dominant
exercises are squats and lunges. You’re
better off getting strong unilaterally
before introducing bilateral squat exer-
cises. The split stance is great for elimi-
nating imbalances between legs and it
mimics everyday life and sport require-
ments better than the squat. Tip: The
shorter the stride you take, the greater
the tension on your quads.
The anterior load not only eliminates
the unnecessary compression, but
demands greater core strength and
stability. Using an anterior load can be
accomplished starting with a dumbbell
or kettlebell in a goblet position. It can
be progressed by using two dumbbells
14 AUGUST 2017 | ironmanmagazine.com
or kettlebells in a rack position
and then to a barbell in a front
rack position.
Dumbbell Single Arm Bent Over
Row With Arc (Latissimus Dorsi
and Rhomboids)
Instead of rowing straight up and
down, row with an arc to match
the direction of the muscle fibers.
In addition to hitting the lats, rows
also strengthen the scapular re-
tractors, namely the rhomboids.
Start with a dumbbell just in front
of your shoulder and focus on
pulling your elbow back and up
towards your hip. Performing rows
this way also helps to ensure your
upper arm doesn’t travel behind
your body causing your shoulder
to roll forward into anterior
humeral glide.
Dumbbell 15-20° Incline
Squeeze Bench Press (Pectoralis)
I may take some heat for choosing this
exercise, but hear me out. The pectoralis
major has two functions, shoulder flex-
ion and horizontal shoulder adduction.
Setting the incline bench to 15 to 20°
flexes the shoulder more than in the
flat bench position, but not so much
that the exercise becomes clavicle head
dominant. Squeezing the dumbbells
together throughout the entirety of the
lift demands horizontal adduction of
the shoulder.
Kettlebell Bottoms Up Overhead
Press (Deltoids)
Everyone has had a shoulder injury at
some point, most likely from lifting be-
yond his or her capability or from over-
use. That’s why I prefer this exercise. The
demand the bottoms up position places
on the smaller intricate muscles of the
rotator cuff makes it a winner. In addi-
tion to hitting the deltoids, the weight
displacement of the kettlebell requires a
stronger grip than a dumbbell or barbell,
which creates irradiation down the arm
and into the shoulder stabilizing the
rotator cuff.
Tripod Forearm Plank (Abdominals)
Once you can hold a plank for 60 sec-
onds give the tripod forearm plank a
try. This version hammers core stability
by forcing you to resist lumbar and hip
extension, as well as rotational pull. Be-
yond the core, this exercise also targets
your shoulder and hip stabilizers, as well
as your pecs and lats.