8 Unique Exercises for a Total-Body Workout

8 Unique Exercises for a Total-Body Workout

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Dial up your strength with a loaded mix of never-before-seen moves. This routine makes use of a tire, sledgehammer, kettlebell, and top-loaded barbell to hit your shoulders, bis, tris, core, legs, and more. IFBB figure pro Jelena Abbou takes it to the limit to sculpt beautiful definition all over.

"Working out is a practice that never ends—I'm always fine-tuning my diet and exercise program," says Abbou.

Works: Arms, Shoulders, Back, Core

• Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width.
• Hold hammer in your right (power) hand, placing it closest to the striking-iron end and your left (support) hand closest to the handle end.
• Hoist hammer 45° over right shoulder (A).
• With all your power, swing the hammer down to strike the tire while sliding your hands together to the handle end and centering your body (B).
• Hoist the hammer back over your right shoulder without pausing after striking.
• Perform two sets of 25 strikes over each shoulder, reversing hand placement for opposite swing.

Tip: You can also stagger your stance so that if you strike right, your right leg is back, rotating your hip on the downward strike.

Works: Shoulders, Thighs

• Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-distance apart, holding bar at chest level.
• Squat down, keeping bodyweight over heels and bar at chest height (A). Lower your body until your elbows almost touch your thighs.
• Explode up off your heels, extending your arms upward and forward (B).
• Perform three sets (20, 16, 12 reps), decreasing reps while increasing weight each set.

Tip: For added muscle engagement, rise to balls of feet, flexing calves at top.

Works: Core, Back

• Place your left foot forward and the ball of your right foot approximately 30" behind your left. Hold the bar with your left hand, keeping your hand just outside your left knee.
• Moving only at your elbow, row the barbell up to hip height, then return to start.
• Perform two sets of 15 reps each arm.

Works: Shoulders, Core

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a single kettlebell in front of your thighs, with both palms facing your body.
• Thrust your hips forward and swing the kettlebell overhead.
• At the top of the movement, rotate your torso to the right while the kettlebell is still overhead.
• Return your torso to the center while simultaneously letting kettlebell descend back to start position. Keep chest up.
• Do not pause at bottom. Swing the kettlebell back up and rotate to opposite side. That’s one rep.
• Perform two sets of 10 reps.

Works: Shoulders, Core; Builds Explosive Upper-Body Strength

• Stand with feet wider than hip-width, gripping the thick part of a barbell and resting it on your left thigh.
• Keeping arms straight, rotate bar 180° across your body, pivoting on ball of left foot until the bar rests on your right thigh (A).
• With all your power, “rip” the bar back across your body toward left thigh, pivoting on the ball of your right foot (B).
• Perform two sets of 30 reps (15 per side).

Tip: Keep the movement continuous, with knees soft and arms as straight as possible.

Works: Shoulders, Chest, Core

• Place hands on tire in a pushup position, wrists in line with elbows, feet shoulder-width on floor, and back flat.
• Lower into a pushup and then explosively push off tire.
• Land with soft elbows and immediately descend into the next pushup. Perform two sets of 20 reps.

Works: Core

• Lie with your lower back over the curvature of an AbMat. Place your hands behind your ears with your elbows out. Place your feet 6" apart on floor, bending knees 90°.
• Slowly raise your torso until it’s just short of perpendicular to the floor.
• Slowly lower back to the AbMat, keeping torso parallel to the floor, head lifted, and core constantly engaged.
• Perform three sets of 25 slow reps.

Works: Shoulders, Back, Legs

• Stand with feet wider than hip-width and lower into a deep squat.
• Slip your hands under the tire with your palms facing upward and your hands shoulder-distance apart. Raise the tire about 4" (A).
• Using your legs and arms, pulse your knees and push tire up until tire is at 45°, then quickly reverse your hands to an overhand grip.
• Driving through your heels and pressing your shoulders forward, push the tire over onto its reverse side (B).
• Shuffle up to the flipped tire, assume a wide stance, palms facing up underneath tire, and repeat movement.
• Perform two sets of 15 flips in a line. If space is limited, move to the other side of the tire and flip it back to the start position.

Tip: Use the power in your lower body to lift the tire off the floor.

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