Burpee

The Burpee is a simple gasser. It's an explosive, full body, bodyweight exercise that will tax your anaerobic cardio fuel system like few other movements. Traditionally used as punishment (like when I was a Marine Corps Officer Candidate), you will find these sparingly in Coach Stevo's metabolic circuit workouts. But that's no excuse not to learn them. Basic rule of thumb, if you can do it with a push up, do it. If you can't do a bodyweight push up, skip it.

Coach Stevo's Top Tip

• It's about speed. How fast can you sprawl, push, and pop?

Bodyrock Example (you're welcome)

Gulbis Glute Twists

This is a weird exercise, but I don't know any others that light up my glutes like "the Gulbis." If you do not have properly firing glutes, you might not feel these at all and insist that I am crazy. Bret Contreras (inventor, but bad at naming stuff) is particularly verbose in his explanation, but if I had to summarize in a single queue, it would be, "squeeze the cheek closest to the band and bring your hips around fast and hard like a golf swing."

Coach Stevo's Top Tips

• Leg closest to the band is further back.
• Pivot at the hips. This is not an oblique exercise.
• Squeeze the glute and hold for a few seconds.
• Drive the hip around and down. Like a golf swing.

Bret Contreras Demonstrates

Lean-Fall-Run

Who has the best booties? Sprinters. Well, sprinters and pole vaulters. The "lean-fall-run" drill is your introduction to sprinting. The two things to remember are driving hard off your initial foot fall (power to the ground is speed) and turning over your feet as quickly as possible while you maintain the lean angle. Go for 5 steps and switch feet each time.

Coach Stevo's Top Tips

• Think, "Lean...Fall... DRIVE! 2,3,4,5, STOP!"
• Maintain your angle for the full 5 steps.

Cheat Curl to Push Press

This is a little butt-kicker that also is the only "curl" that you will find on these pages. And that's because it really isn't a curl. It's a full body, explosive lift that punishes the legs and shoulders more than anything. 

Coach Stevo's Top Tips

• Hinge at the hips; don't bend.
• Keep the core engaged the whole time.
• Once the bells are in the rack, push the butt back and dip the knees.
• Jump and Punch!

Dumbbell Snatch

The dumbbell snatch, and its more prestigious sisters the kettlebell snatch and the Olympic snatch, is a full body, explosive exercise that will train power in your lower body and utterly exhaust you. If you want to jump higher, snatch. If you want to run faster, snatch. If you want to thrust harder, well you get the idea. The key to this movement is that it is not a squat or a press. You are sticking your you butt back and leaping. Your heels will pop off the floor and the weight will fly up.

Coach Stevo's Top Tips

• Push your butt back and barely dip your knees.
• Don't tense up; stay loose.
• Load the hamstrings.
• Jump and drop under the weight as it flys.
• Pack your shoulder.
• Lock your elbow.