Pull-up: Hang on a pull-up bar with straight arms & pull yourself up until your chin passes the bar. Palms are facing AWAY from you. Arms MUST be fully extended at bottom of pull-up, and chin must go over the bar at the top.
Strict pull-up: perform a regular pull-up with no momentum generated from swinging or moving the lower body.
Kipping pull-up: perform a pull-up using a swinging motion generated from your arms, midsection, and lower body.
Chin-up: Hang on a pull-up bar with straight arms & pull yourself up until your chin passes the bar. Palms are facing TOWARD you. Arms MUST be fully extended at bottom of pull-up, and chin must go over the bar at the top.
L-pull-up: while hanging from a pull-up bar, keep both legs straight and lift them up so they are parallel to the ground and your body forms an L. While maintaining the L-shape complete a full-range of motion pull-up (chin above the bar, arms fully extended at the bottom).
Chest to bar pull-up: This is a regular pull-up, except it must be done at a height high enough for your chest to touch the pull-up bar.
Weighted pull-ups: Complete a pull-up, except with extra weight added on in the form of a weight belt + weight, a DB/KB held by feet, or a weighted vest.
Push-up: Start by supporting yourself face-downwards on the floor with your feet and hands, keeping your arms extended, hands shoulder width apart and hands facing forward. The feet should be slightly less than shoulder width apart. As you inhale bend your elbows, bringing your chest and hips to the floor. Keep your body straight and do not allow your back to round or arch. Exhale and push yourself back up to the starting position before repeating again. It is important to keep back flat, to touch hips and chest to the ground, and to fully extend arms at the top of the push-up or it does not count.
Plyo (clapping) push-up: Do a regular push-up, but push-up forcefully enough to explode off the ground and clap your hands under your chest prior to catching yourself again with your hands.
Behind back clap push-up: Do a regular push-up, but push-up forcefully enough to explode off the ground and clap your hands behind your back prior to catching yourself again with your hands.
Uneven basketball push-ups: Complete a push-up with one hand on a basketball, and the other on the ground. Repeat with other hand on basketball.
Handstand support: put your hands down about a foot away from the wall and get a sprinters position (like a sprinter getting ready for the start of a race). take the leg that is straight and further back and kick it up, heel first. Make sure to keep it straight, as this will generate more energy to lift your body up. As your kicking leg goes up and over your head, gently bring the other bent leg up to join the kicking leg as both legs reach the wall. Try to do this so that your feet come to rest on the wall, not slam into it. This will start to teach you the right amount of force you need to kick up into a freestanding handstand without kicking over. Hold this position with active shoulders for as long as comfortable.
Sit-up: Lie down on the floor with your knees bent and down to the sides (like an extended butterfly stretch), arms should be on top of your chest toward their respective sides. Your head should be in a comfortable and neutral position. Leading with your chest towards the ceiling, contract your abdominals and raise your shoulders off the floor. Lift all the way up and forward until your elbows touch the insides of your knees. All efforts should be made to not use the momentum from the sit-up.
Atomic sit-up: Lie down on the floor with your knees bent and arms/hands at your sides. Your head should be in a comfortable and neutral position. Leading with your chest towards the ceiling, contract your abdominals and raise your shoulders off the floor. At the same time, also bring your knees towards your chest.
Knees-to-elbows (KTE): Hanging from a pull-up bar, bring your knees up to touch your elbows.
Feet-to-hands (FTH): Hanging from a pull-up bar, bring your feet up to touch your hands.
L-Sit: while hanging from a pull-up bar, or extended above dip bars (parallel bars) keep both legs straight and lift them up so they are parallel to the ground and your body forms an L.
tuck sit: while hanging from a pull-up bar, or extended above dip bars (parallel bars) lift both legs up while bent, so your knees go to your chest.
Ultimate (bastard) push-up (from Mark Twight @ Gymjones.com): start with feet flat on the ground, relatively close to the butt and slowly reach straight (more or less) toward the ceiling – do not use momentum, this is should be difficult. Keeping the feet flat and close to the butt, continue reaching, and trying to “curl” your torso – the foot position eliminates your hips helping out. If you can not do completely, have someone very lightly hold down your feet (not firmly).
Flutter kicks: Lie down on the floor with both knees slightly bent and your feet on the floor. Put your hands at your sides. Keep abdominal muscles continuously contracted to stabilize your upper body. Your lower back should be in a neutral and comfortable position.
Squats: Start with the feet about shoulder width apart and toes pointing slightly out. Keep your head level with your eyes looking slightly above parallel. (Don’t look down at all) Accentuate the normal straight line of the back (here you should actually over exaggerate the straight line slightly into a slight arch). Keep the midsection very tight, and send your butt backwards and down., with your knees tracking over the line of the foot (don’t let the knees roll inside the foot. Stay on your heels, with as much of the pressure as possible on the heels (Do not lean forward or put the weight on the balls of your feet). Try to prevent your knees from moving forward as much as possible. Keep your torso elongated, and keep in mind your head should be moving straight up and down (use the ear as a reference point…it should not travel forward or backwards, but up and down in a straight line). On the way down, don’t just “fall”, but use your hips and hip flexors to pull you down. As you approach the bottom, be sure not to let the back/spine round or lose the arch. Stop once your hips have sunk below your knee (your thighs should be at least parallel with the ground). Tighten your butt and hamstrings and rise up without leaning forward or shifting your balance, as you are rising…keep the same vertical plane you used coming down, keep the weight on the heels, keeping the midsection tight, the back straight…then stand all the way up at the top of the squat.
(If you are doing an air squat, be sure to lift your arms out and up as you descend, keeping the hands as far away from the butt as possible. If doing a weighted squat, the arms will obviously be on the bar.)
Dips: Start with arms extended above dip bars (or rings), lower yourself slowly until your arms are at ninety degrees (or a bit lower), then back to the top. The more forward you lean, the more chest muscles are activated. It is important to go all the way to 90 degrees, and extend fully at the top. It is not a complete rep without doing this.
Weighted dips: Complete regular dip, except with extra weight added on in the form of a weight belt + weight, a DB/KB held by feet, or a weighted vest.
Back extension: bend the torso forward at the hips, back straight, legs straight.
Good morning: Starting standing up. Lean forward from the hips until your trunk is parallel with the floor. Make sure your whole back/spine, from the lower back to the neck, feels “straight” (keeps its normal, natural curves just like when you are standing upright) the movement is caused almost entirely by the movement in the hips.. Before leaning forward look straight ahead and at the end of the forward lean look at the ground a yard or less in front of your feet. Keep your knees slightly bent.
Burpee: Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you. Kick your feet back to a pushup position. Immediately return your feet to the squat position, then leap up as high as possible from the squat position, clapping your hands above your head, while in the air.
Burpee + pull-up: Complete a burpee, but on the jump (rather than clapping), grab a bar and complete a pull-up.
