Descriptions of specific exercises can be found below. For information on high intensity interval training (HIIT) or where to buy gear, follow these links:
Pull-ups
Reach up and grab pull-up bar, palms facing away from you. Pull body upward until chin is fully over the bar, then lower yourself back down and repeat. If you are unable to do pull-ups unassisted, you can push off the back of a chair with your foot or can use a resistance band looped around the pull up bar to help lift your body up.
Chin-ups
Same as pull-ups, except palms facing toward you.
Bent Row
Feet shoulder width apart, back arched. Bend forward slightly at the waist and bend at the knees to reach down and grab a weighted bar. Without moving anything but your arms, pull the bar up to your upper stomach/bottom of your chest, then slowly lower and repeat. Can be performed with a barbell or dumbbell.
Lat pull-downs
Similar to pull ups, but performed on a cable machine using weights or bands as resistance. Various grips can be used and the bar can be brought down either in front of or behind the head.
Seated row
Similar to bent row, but performed with a cable machine while seated with feet out in front. Pull bar back to stomach and squeeze shoulder blades together.
Push-ups
Start in plank position (prone with palms flat on ground, arms out in front of you with elbows fully extended, body in a straight line and on the balls of the feet). Keeping your core engaged and your body in a straight line, bend your elbows while bringing them in toward your side until your chest touches the ground, then push back up to the starting position.
Bench press
Similar to push ups, but lying supine on a bench and lowering a weighted barbell to your chest, then pushing it back up and away from you. The path of the bar typically travels from a point at the bottom of your chest to a point directly over your shoulders.
Dumbbell press
Similar to bench press, using dumbbells instead of a barbell. Different variations involve changing the orientation of the palm of your hand (i.e. facing inward [neutral], away from you [prone], or toward your head [supine]).
Incline press
Similar to bench press, however the bench that you are lying on is at an incline rather than flat. The bar is brought down to your chest and then brought straight up in the air.
Squats
Barbell squats can be done by placing a barbell across the back of your shoulders with shoulder blades squeezed together and back arched. Feet are slightly wider than shoulder width with toes just slightly pointed out. Squat down until thighs are parallel to the floor (less if you are just starting out or have joint problems) and then return back up to standing position.
Leg press
Similar motion to the squat, performed on a leg press machine. Positioned in the machine, feet again approximately shoulder width apart.
Calf raises
This can be done with weight using a machine or a barbell on your back, or can be done without weight and high repetitions. Placing the ball of your foot on a step/ledge with your heels hanging off, lower down as far as possible and then raise up on your toes as high as possible, then lower back down and repeat.
Lunges
Performed weighted with a barbell on the shoulders or dumbbells held in your hands, step and lunge forward until the shin on your forward leg becomes perpendicular to the floor with the knee and hip flexed 90 degrees, while the knee on your back leg gently touches the floor with your hip extended.
Dead lift
This exercise is done with a weighted barbell, beginning with very low weight when first starting out and focusing on keeping form perfect. Stance and grip may vary, but feet can be slightly wider than shoulder width with knees/hips/and back bent. Grab the barbell with an overhand grip with the barbell under your knees. Engage your core tightly throughout the exercise. Stand up while keeping the barbell close to your legs until fully extended at the hips/knees/and back straight. Lower back down and repeat.
Shoulder (Military) Press
These can be done with dumbbells or with a barbell. One tip to avoid excess strain and risk of injury to your shoulders is to keep your elbows forward during movement. When using dumbbells, start with your hands at about shoulder level, palms facing out away from you. Push up with your shoulders and extend your elbow until your arms are straight above your head. Slowly lower the weight back down and repeat. You can vary your hand position with dumbbells to add some variation to the workout (palms facing each other, facing toward you, with a twist during movement, etc.).
Shoulder flys (side raises)
Grasp dumbbells in each hand, and raise both arms out to the side in a plane approximately 30 degrees in front of a line that could be drawn straight out from the side of your body. Keep your back as straight as possible and avoid swinging the weights up (form is much more important than higher weights). Keep your palms pointed toward the floor at a point where your hands have raised to shoulder level. Elbows can be slightly bent. The motion in this exercise can stop when you get to shoulder height, or you can continue up and touch the weights at the top of the movement over your head. Lower back down and repeat. Raises can also be performed moving your arms forward in a similar manner to side raises. Again, keep good form and do not “swing” the weights. Grip here can vary from palms facing down (pronated) to palms facing in toward each other (neutral).
Shrugs
Holding dumbbells or a barbell with arms straight and near your side. Bring your shoulders up toward your ears, hold for one second, then back down. Repeat.
Upright row
With a barbell or dumbbells, grasp in front of you with palms facing back toward you (pronated). Pull the weight straight up along the front of your body to right under your chin, with elbows fully flexed and higher than your hands and shoulders.
Curls
There are many ways this exercise can be performed. The basic motion is holding a dumbbell or barbell and bringing the elbow from a straight position to a fully flexed position, then lowering the weight and repeating. Grip can vary.
Dips
Done on a dip rack, off of a bench or chair, or even using a countertop. Hands held behind your body supporting your weight. Lower down until elbows bent 90 degrees or more, then extend elbows to raise back up. Can be done on a bench with feet on the floor to make the exercise easier, feet propped up for additional difficulty, and with weight added when advanced.
Tricep extensions
This exercise can be done in many different ways. Tricep kickbacks are done with a dumbbell. Upper arm is brought into extension (behind your shoulder) and bend slightly at the waist until the upper arm is parallel to the floor. Extend at the elbow until the arm is straight, then slowly lower weight back down moving only at the elbow, keeping the shoulder still throughout movement. Cable machines can also be used to perform tricep extensions with variable hand/wrist positioning.
Tricep presses
Similar to bench press but with very close grip to focus more of the movement on working the triceps rather than the chest.
Nosebreakers
This exercise can be performed with dumbbells, barbell, or often with a curl bar. In the starting position you are lying on your back with weight held straight up in front of you with elbows fully extended. Keeping your shoulders still, slowly bend at the elbows until the weight is right at your forehead, then extend your elbows back straight for one rep. Repeat.
Crunches
This is an abdominal workout that gets a pretty bad reputation these days. It can still be a valuable exercise, however, especially when done in a modified manner from standard crunches. Crunches can be done on an exercise ball which adds range of motion and a level of difficulty, especially when hips and knees are flexed (you can help balance yourself with feet up against a wall or on a bench). Machines/pully’s can be used as well to add weight to crunches.
Leg lifts
Lying flat (supine) with legs extended, starting position is feet about 6 inches off the floor. Flex at the hips keeping your legs straight until your feet are straight up. At the top of the movement you can thrust your pelvis and feet further straight up into the air for added difficulty. Lower back down slowly and repeat. For variations this exercise can be performed with both legs simultaneously, with one leg at a time, off the end of a bench, etc.
Bicycles
Again lying flat, hands are brought behind the head and hips and knees are flexed to 90 degrees. One leg is flexed further bringing the knee toward your head while an abdominal crunch is performed twisting the head and shoulders and the opposite elbow is brought up to touch the knee. Switch from side to side repeatedly.
Seated knee tucks
Seated at the edge of a bench, extend legs out in front of you, leaning back until your body makes a straight line. Next, tuck your knees up to your chest, then extend your legs back out. Repeat.
Hanging knee raise
These can be thought of as a reverse sit up. Hanging from a bar, pull your knees up toward your chest as far as you can go, ideally coming up above your chest with your knees to your head as you gain strength.
Kettlebell swings
With your feet shoulder width apart, hold the kettlebell between your legs. Keeping your back straight and your arms straight through the entire movement, squat down 45 degrees, allowing weight to swing
slightly backward between your legs, then swing the weight up to shoulder level while extending your hips and knees straight, then lower back down. Concentrate on forcefully and explosively pushing your knees back and your pelvis forward during each rep. Start with little (10-20 lbs.) or no weight to get your form down at first. Once you have mastered the movement, move up to using 30-50 lbs. or more, and aim for 60 reps.
Snatch
This is a lift that should not be performed from this or any description alone, and should be learned under the instruction of a qualified and knowledgeable person who can teach it and critique your form as you are starting out. Use very light weight in the beginning concentrating on form. Utilizing a dumbbell, barbell, or kettlebell, bend at the knees, hips, and waist while grasping the weight in front of you and close to your body. Grip is palms facing toward you. Pull the weight up off the floor in a similar manner to a deadlift. The big difference here is that the bar is kept slightly away from your body as opposed to a deadlift and brought more straight up into the air, and the movement does not stop when you have fully extended the knees and hips. As you fully extend your lower body, begin to shrug your shoulders and propel the weight up and above your head. Your movement should be explosive to the point where your feet leave the ground briefly during this step and you will land in a squat position with the bar overhead and your elbows locked straight. Lower the weight back down and repeat. Videos and pictures can be seen by using the link below.
https://www.stack.com/a/snatch-exercise
Power clean
This exercise begins similarly to the snatch. Grasp the barbell in front of you and close to your body with knees and hips bent, back straight and bent slightly at the waist. Again, engaging the core from the moments before beginning the lift and throughout. Explode up straightening at the knees, hips, and waist. Shrug your shoulders as you did with the snatch but this time you will bend your elbows to continue the bars upward motion, keeping the weight close to your body. Explode up to bring your feet off the floor, again landing in a squat position. Bring your elbows in and under the bar until they are fully flexed with your upper arms even height to your shoulders, and the bar will come to rest across the front of your shoulders. At this point, perform a front squat to stand up and complete the lift. Lower the weight back down and repeat. Further description can be found at:
https://www.verywellfit.com/how-to-power-clean-4589787
Turkish get up
This is a complex kettlebell movement that provides a total body workout. It begins lying flat on the floor holding a kettlebell (or dumbbell, we’ll use the right hand first). Extend your arm straight out in front of you. Legs are at a 45 degree angle from your midline, with the right leg flexed at the hip and knee. The left arm is brought out 45 degrees from the body. Roll up onto the elbow, then hand of your left arm keeping your right arm straight and moving the weight vertically. Supporting your body on your left hand and feet, lift your hips straight up off the ground. Bring your left leg under your body into a kneeling position and raise your left hand off the floor. Stand up from the kneeling position keeping your right arm straight up over your head. Reverse the movement to get back down. This exercise is tough to understand through a written description only, so please check out the links below as well. Tips and pitfalls regarding proper form can also be found there.
https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-turkish-get-up.html
https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/g19525851/how-to-do-a-turkish-getup/