The bodybuilding coach Eugene Teo regularly shares tips on building muscle and strength while avoiding injury. He recently posted on YouTube his opinion of some of the most underrated exercises you should incorporate into your next workout as part of his recent video. It includes activities people don’t prioritize or don’t do, as well as variations of more joint exercises.
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Underhand Grip Bench Press
“Apart from feeling strange at first through the hands and wrists, the real reason we do this is to create a narrower elbow path,” explains Teo. It might be a better position for your chest muscles to have better leverage over your arm; as a result, they can work more effectively.”
Copenhagen Plank
An activation or rehab exercise targets the adductors often overlooked in lower-body workouts but plays a key supporting role in exercises like deadlifts. Teo recommends this plank variation because it can be done static or dynamically.
Rope Pulldown
Teo believes that the rope component here is a game-changer despite being a relatively common exercise. He says you can customize your grip and find more comfortable positions than with a fixed bar, and create this outward force as you pull down, helping coordinate arm and upper back muscles.
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Dead Hang
Teo says this is an easy, accessible way to introduce some loaded stretching to your workouts. You can work with different levels of assistance or progression and add weight. With straps, you can train your grip strength or flexibility, and these are a great way to start and end a workout to get you feeling nice and loose.
Prone Y Raise
It’s extra challenging to do these exercises not just on an incline or standing upright but on a flat surface or as close to balanced as possible. Teo advises using lighter weights when these muscles are fully shortened, as they are notoriously weak and undertrained.