Top 10 Exercises of 2020

If you’ve spent one second on my Youtube channel, you’ll notice there are a SHIT TON of exercises on there, with little guidance as to which are best.

Admittedly, some are duds, some work better than others.

But instead of relying on my own judgment to tell you what rocks and doesn’t, who better to ask then the fam?

Exercises are by far the most popular piece of my weekend goodies. So much so that I’ve decided to make a top 10 list of the fam’s favorite exercises.

If you want a deep dive into new moves that I’m using on the regular, then you’ll want to sign up for my newsletter. Just about every Friday, you’ll get free goodies that range from exercises, to cool articles and podcasts, and more. ALL FREE! 

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Without further ado, here are the top 10.

10. Shifted Front Raise

I had a lot of clients who craved the arm farm as much as ya boi does. So I thought to myself: “self, is there a way we can simultaneously get gainzzz and move better?”

Meet your god.

This move is just working your classic accessory bodybuilding stuff, while preserving/driving movement options in the hips.

Indications for this move: 

  • Decreased hip flexion and external rotation
  • Limited shoulder flexion

9. Barbell Tap RDL

The single-leg RDL is frickin’ tough to do well, and most peeps aren’t ready for it.

Yet at the same time, split RDLs are tough to load up and you can top out quickly.

Is there a middle ground?

Why yes folks, the tap RDL is a nice precursor to the single leg RDL. Having that short airborne time abruptly halted by the tap makes all the difference. 

What’s nice about this move is you can load it up quite a bit as well, and if you want to drive rotation in the thorax you can use a mixed grip.

Indications:

  • Reduced hip flexion, straight leg raise, and internal rotation
  • If there are trunk rotation restrictions, mix grip it

8. Mountain Climber Pushup

Coming up with “core-based” exercise variations is a struggle for me. I always end up doing the same poop.

That is, until I thought of a way to torch the abs and combo pushups.

This move is great for that.

Indications:

  • Reduced shoulder internal rotation
  • Reduced hip extension
  • Reduced hip flexion

7. Shifting Alternating Chop

This exercise is my personal favorite of the year, and for good reason. 

It’s an awesome way to introduce the concept of dynamic hip shifting. The chop cause the spine to rotate as a unit in one direction, making it easier to get your shift together.

It’ll also crush your abs, which is nice.

Indications: 

  • Reduced hip flexion and external rotation
  • Limited trunk rotation
  • Limited shoulder external rotation

6. Half-Kneeling Rotational Pulldown

I came up with this because there were only so many pulldown variations you could do before you become bored to tears. I needed something that would just DESTROY the lats of my fam.

So how about this pulldown variation, with a twist.

Ha, get it?!?!?!?!? OKAY FINE!!!

You will get an incredible lat burn, but I also found it quite helpful for improving mobility in my supreme clientele.

Indications:

  • Wide infrasternal angle – to close the angle
  • Limited trunk rotation
  • Limited shoulder external rotation
  • Decreased hip flexion, extension, and internal rotation

5. Low Cable Single-Leg Squat Off Box

This exercise is an absolute beast. Not only will your quads get crushed, but it’ll really challenge your ability to keep the hip shift. I also really like the trunk rotation improvements this move can get you!

Indications

  • Decreased hip extension, flexion, and external rotation
  • Limited trunk rotation

4. Reach, Roll, Lift

This was a classic move that I did all the time, and I hadn’t messed with it in YEARS.

Until one day, someone needed shoulder flexion and it just wouldn’t budge.

I pulled this move out of the deep recesses of my brain, and sure enough, flexion improved.

And that’s really been the time that I’ll mess with this. If you can’t quite get overhead, this move is great!

Indications:

  • Decreased shoulder flexion

3. Oblique Sit Rib Shake Pulldown

Making the lower ribcage dynamic is hella important as you know, but how does one best do that?

Meet the rib shake. This move helps restore dynamics within the ribcage, using a bit of external load to assist. The mixed internal and external rotation at the hip will also help drive lower spinal rotation.

If you do this one well, trust me, your rib shake will bring all the boys to the yard 😉

Indications:

  • Reduced infrasternal angle dynamics
  • Reduced hip external and internal rotation

2. Rotational Preacher Curl

I’ll always have mad love for anything that gets you a pump and helps you move better. The preacher curl is a classic, but did you know it’ll increase your upper body mobility like whoa?!

The nice thing about this variation is you can get a gang of upper thorax expansion. Twisting the trunk one direction and the head another can really isolate things so your upper back is like whoa!

Plus, your biceps will get hyooge, which is never bad.

Indications:

  • Limited shoulder external rotation
  • Limited lower cervical rotation
  • Decreased external rotation-based measures
  • Wimpy biceps

1. Crab on Elbows

The move of the year according to the fam, and one of the most challenging moves that I came up with. 

What inspired this exercise is I needed to drive anterior expansion, but had someone who couldn’t weight-bear through their wrists.

Turns out, this move was WAY harder than your classic crab position, and gets the movement results to prove it!

Indications:

  • Decreased shoulder extension and internal rotation
  • Limited hip flexion and external rotation

Which exercise worked the best for you? Comment below and let the fam know!