10 Combo Exercises That Aren’t Stupid

Combination exercises have a bad reputation among serious lifters, but not all of them suck. The good ones hit more muscles, make you train at a higher heart rate, and force you to expend more calories. Why Most Combos Don’t Work Think of the lunge with a bicep curl: a popular combination exercise featured in every mommy-blogger routine. Sure, it’ll help burn some calories, but since when should the weight you use for bicep curls be the same as it is for a lunge? Common combination exercises attempt to kill two birds with one stone. But in reality, all they do is kill one bird and partially wound another. Effective combo exercises do a better job at matching exercises so that each one is more evenly stimulated by the same weight. They also add variety and help you build some athleticism while keeping your heart rate up. Hit your muscles efficiently and burn more body fat with these smart combination exercises: 1 – Deficit Reverse Lunge + Single-Leg RDL If your single-leg strength and stability need some work, then combining reverse lunges with a single-leg RDL would be a great way to start. Adding a deficit to the reverse lunge upgrades the difficulty, but you can always start without one. You can also go the other route and use the deficit for the deadlift component too, if you have the range of motion. The horizontal nature of this exercise can help you develop athletic speed and help you prevent hamstring injuries. If you’re just after aesthetics though, this has you covered too. Develop that glute and upper hamstring area (some call it the “glute-ham tie in”) and get a great butt pump with this killer exercise. 2 – Landmine Lawnmower This one has many names, but we’ll call it a “lawnmower” since it loosely resembles starting up an old lawnmower… albeit one that needs some forceful encouragement to get it going. The combo is highly transferable to athletic movements too, teaching an efficient lower to upper body power transfer. You’ll recognize the hip snap on the back leg in many power-based sports. To nail this lift, think of it kind of like a sumo deadlift mixed with a high-pull that goes into a rotational press. You’ll burn a ton of calories while satisfying your inner athlete. 3 – Split Squat + Iso Split Squat Row Both reverse lunges and split squats work similar muscles, but the joint loading mechanics differ. During reverse lunges, the hamstring of the lead leg also contributes to a “braking” effect. In general, split squats are a regression of reverse lunges, since you have a better opportunity to reinforce hip, knee, and ankle mechanics in a more controllable position. Combining a split squat with a cable or band row increases the quad loading on the lead leg since the force is pulling you forward. The row is also a good opportunity to hit your back without adding too much complexity. You can add the row in at the top of the movement or, for more difficulty, add it while holding the bottom position. You’ll get a lot out of these if your job requires you to sit all day. While the split squat will help open your tight hips, the row will combat hunched-over shoulders. Try these to combat your gorilla posture while smoking your quads. 4 – Reaching Rear-Foot Elevated Split Squat + Row Split squats can be progressed into rear-foot elevated split squats (RFESS), emphasizing greater load on the lead leg. Kind of like in the previous exercise, you simply add a horizontal row. But on this one, you reach forward and add more load through the hips, which is somewhat of a deadlift-squat hybrid. The reach forward will also load your lats more in their lengthened position. So as you hit the bottom and reach, you’ll be emphasizing hip engagement and a stretch of the lats. As you come up, you’ll be targeting mid-back and quads. The height of the cable can change the feel of the exercise too, so feel free to play with it. This exercise is the definition of “bang for your buck.” It’s got a moderate-high complexity, but with a high return. If you’re looking to hit it all, then grab a cable or band and give them a go. 5 – Rear-Foot Elevated Split Squat + Foot-Elevated RDL Staying with the RFESS theme, here’s another way to use them to hit your entire lower body. This one is starting to make its rounds in corrective exercise circles as a more complex rehab progression. As a combination exercise to hit your quads and hamstrings, it’ll really light up some weaknesses. 6 – Box Step-Off + Deficit Reverse Lunge Box step-offs are a good way to load a squat pattern while moving in the frontal plane. There are many options too. You can use a landmine, dumbbells, kettlebells, or a goblet position. And, of course, you can use them to build big legs. Combining box step-offs with another deficit exercise – a reverse lunge – will hammer your lower body even harder. Granted, in our “killing two birds” analogy you’re really just killing the same bird twice here. But if you’re looking to add
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