Trapezius
The trapezius is a muscle that starts at the base of your neck, goes across your shoulders and extends to the middle of your back. The trapezius (traps muscle) helps you move your head, neck, arms, shoulders and torso. It also stabilizes your spine and helps with posture.
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Reverse Fly
Dumbell
Strength Standards (1RM)
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Beginner - 2 kg
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Novice - 8 kg
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Intermediate - 18 kg
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Advanced - 31 kg
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Elite - 48 kg
Based on an 80kg Male Lifter, for more strength standards we recommend you visit strengthlevel.com
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Sit down on a bench with your feet flat on the floor. Keep your knees at a 90-degree angle. Hinge forward at the hips and hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing away from you. Have the dumbbells resting in the space between your legs and the bench. Your stomach should be on your thighs, and your arms should be fully extended to your sides. This is your starting position.
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Exhale and engage your core. In one motion, perform a reverse fly while lifting your torso away from your thighs and sitting upright.
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As you raise the dumbbells out to your sides, rotate your wrists so they’re now facing the ceiling, ending at shoulder height. You may bend your elbows slightly if you need to. Your upper body should be in a “T” position.
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When you’re seated tall with your palms at shoulder height, rotate your wrists downward to the floor and back up to the ceiling one time. This forces you to hold this position for an extra count. You’ll strengthen your forearms and contract your shoulder blades down and back.
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Inhale, slowly reverse the steps, and lower the dumbbells back down to your starting position with your torso on your thighs.
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Repeat
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You can use a number of different hand attachments and we recommend cycling through different grips in order to avoid injury.
Shrugs
Dumbbell
Strength Standards (1RM)
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Beginner - 15 kg
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Novice - 28 kg
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Intermediate - 46 kg
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Advanced - 69 kg
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Elite - 95 kg
Based on an 80kg Male Lifter, for more strength standards we recommend you visit strengthlevel.com
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Grab a pair of dumbbells and bend at your hips and knees. Let the weights hang at arm’s length just below your knees, your palms facing your sides. Don’t round your lower back.
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Simultaneously thrust your hips forward, shrug your shoulders forcefully, and jump as high as you can. Land as softly as possible, and reset.
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Repeat
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You can also use a barbell for this exercise although we prefer to use dumbbells as it tends to be more comfortable.
Lat Pull Down
Machine
Strength Standards (1RM)
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Beginner - 38 kg
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Novice - 57 kg
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Intermediate - 81 kg
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Advanced - 110 kg
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Elite - 141 kg
Based on an 80kg Male Lifter, for more strength standards we recommend you visit strengthlevel.com
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Sit in a lat pulldown station and grab the bar above with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width.
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Tighten your core and keep your torso upright.
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Pull the bar down toward your chest, bending at your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades.
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Slowly return the bar to the top of the station.
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You can use a number of different hand attachments and we recommend cycling through different grips in order to avoid injury.
Bent Over Row
Barbell
Strength Standards (1RM)
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Beginner - 40 kg
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Novice - 60 kg
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Intermediate - 85 kg
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Advanced - 114 kg
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Elite - 146 kg
Based on an 80kg Male Lifter, for more strength standards we recommend you visit strengthlevel.com
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Prepare your barbell and sit it on the floor in front of you. Always remember less weight is better when learning a new movement, especially one involving sensitive areas like the back.
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Position your feet shoulder-width apart and hinge at your hips, bending your knees and keeping a neutral back.
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Grab your weight from the floor with the standard overhand grip, remembering to engage your core. However, unlike the deadlift, your reps will not start and end at the floor, but rather at the end of the arm extension.
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Begin the movement by squeezing your shoulder blades together and bringing the weight to your chest. It should mimic the movement needed to row a boat, hence the name. Be sure to keep a neutral spine and avoid rounded shoulders by keeping your chest out. Maintain proper neck positioning by keeping your gaze forward.
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Lower the weight back down to the full extension of your arms. Always maintain a slow and controlled approach.
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When doing rows, focus on really squeezing your rhomboids at the end of the row.
Face Pulls
Cable
Strength Standards (1RM)
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Beginner - 12 kg
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Novice - 26 kg
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Intermediate - 47 kg
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Advanced - 73 kg
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Elite - 103 kg
Based on an 80kg Male Lifter, for more strength standards we recommend you visit strengthlevel.com
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Set up a cable machine with a double-rope attachment fixed to the high pulley.
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Grasp the handle in an overhand grip (palms facing the floor) and hold it with your arms fully extended out in front of you.
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Pull the handles towards you, keeping your upper arms parallel to the floor, so that the handles go either side of your face.
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Then return to the starting position, keeping the tension in the cable. Keep your movements slow and controlled throughout the exercise.
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Don’t overdo the weight with this exercise – doing so will mean your lower back gets involved, reducing the focus on the shoulders and upper back – and make sure you don’t move your head forwards to meet the handle while pulling.
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There are a number of variations for this exercise including alternative attachment (instead of ropes.)
Pull-Ups
Pull-Up Bar
Strength Standards
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Beginner - <1
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Novice - 4
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Intermediate - 13
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Advanced - 24
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Elite - 36
Based on an 80kg Male Lifter, for more strength standards we recommend you visit strengthlevel.com
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Hang from a pull-up bar with an overhand (pull-up) or underhand (chin-up) grip, hands about shoulder-width apart. Keeping your core tight, bend at the elbows and shoulders and pull your chest to the bar.
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Pause, then lower with control.
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You should make sure to change the had positions regularly when incorporating Pull-ups or Chin-ups into a exercise programme over an extended amount of time to prevent injury.
Deadlift
Barbell
Strength Standards (1RM)
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Beginner - 77 kg
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Novice - 111 kg
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Intermediate - 152 kg
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Advanced - 199 kg
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Elite - 250 kg
Based on an 80kg Male Lifter, for more strength standards we recommend you visit strengthlevel.com
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To get into position, push your hips back as you reach down for the bar. Allows the knees to bend naturally. If you are tall, have long legs, or limited hip flexion abilities, you may want to elevate the bar with a small box under each weight plate.
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Once you have made contact with the bar, secure your grip and engage your abdominals.
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Drive through the floor.
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As you push through the floor with your quads, drive your hips forward as you reach the top.
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Return safely back to the starting position by hinging at the hip and controlling the bar as it returns back to the ground.
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The conventional deadlift — the king of all deadlift variations — It challenges the muscles around the hip, knee, and ankle. It also taxes the muscles surrounding your wrist, elbow, and shoulder to hold the barbell, but those joints do not contribute directly to the range of motion. As it has a primary focus on hip extension, it can be used while training back, legs,
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To target your 'traps' more then perform a barbell shrug and hold at the top of the deadlift.
Snatch
Dumbbell
Strength Standards (1RM)
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Beginner - 12 kg
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Novice - 22 kg
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Intermediate - 36 kg
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Advanced - 54 kg
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Elite - 74 kg
Based on an 80kg Male Lifter, for more strength standards we recommend you visit strengthlevel.com
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Start with the dumbbell on the ground in front of you between your legs with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart.
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Bend at the knees and hinge at the hips and grab the weight an overhand grip.
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Sit back on your heels, then explode upwards to stand, driving the weight up close to your body.
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Pull the dumbbell up as if you're zipping a coat, then pull slightly back and land under the weight overhead.
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Lower the dumbbell to your shoulder, then down to the ground.
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This exercise is a great all rounder and is highly underrated.
