Plank

The plank is the most basic of core exercise and one that almost everyone ignores. The plank trains the core by doing what the core is supposed to do: hold you upright. Everyone should be able to do this for a minute, but if you can do a straight plank for more than 2 minutes, you should start making them harder. Watch the other videos for some ideas on ways to step this exercise up a notch.

Coach Stevo's Top Tips

• Butt down!
• Squeeze your butt cheeks together.
• Pack your shoulders.
• Did I mention keeping your butt down?

Plank

Long Plank

Weighted Plank

One-Leg Plank

Dumbbell Bench Press

The Bench is most men's favorite lift, but I personally hate it. The form is tricky and barbells can kill you. Therefore, I recommend the Dumbbell alternative. Safer because you can always drop the weights; more difficult because you have stabilize them in 3 dimensions with your shoulders.

Coach Stevo's Top Tips

• Start with the weight on your knees and roll back into the bottom position.
• Pull your shoulder blades together the entire time.
• Don't lower the weight, pull it down.

Deadlift

The deadlift is perhaps the most misunderstood movement in the trainer's arsenal. Most fear it, some avoid it, and nearly everyone does it wrong. But it is the quintessential "hinge" movement and there are few exercises that build more raw strength not mention build all the muscles that make you hotter (The woman in the picture is over 50 years old). It's also one of the basic human movements that you will need until the day you die (anytime you pick up something off the floor you are deadlifting). I have videos here of PhDs doing it with dumbbells, models doing it with kettlebells, and a 14 year old girl doing it with an old-school barbell. And in case you want to nerd out, there's Bret Contreras breaking the move down for a full 7 minutes.

Coach Stevo's Top Tips

• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pack your shoulder before you touch the bar.
• Push your butt way back and load the hamstrings.
• Lock your core.
• Hinge at the hips.
• Lift with your hamstrings and glutes, stabilize with your upper back.
• As soon as the weight crests your knees, drive your hips forward HARD.

Dumbbells (PhD)

Kettlebells (Model)

Barbell (14 year-old girl)

Complete Form Breakdown

Front Squat

The Front Squat is the introduction that I like to give most people to barbell squatting once the goblet squat has been mastered. It's important to remember that barbells are a little less forgiving and lot louder when you drop them. Start with the handsfree version shown below and do those for a few weeks. If you have the wrist flexibility, work up to the pictured form. If your arms start to droop, lower the weight. If your wrists hurt, lower the weight. If your form suffers at all, drop the weight. The video at the bottom is a very good tutorial about what "good" and "bad" front squatting looks like.

Coach Stevo's Top Tips

• The bar rests on your shoulders, not on your wrists.
• Your fingertips touch the bar, not your palms.
• Focus on keeping your torso as upright as possible.
• How far down? All the way down.

Hands Free

Good Form Breakdown

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!