Functional Training

Overhead Waiter Carry

Walking with a load locked out overhead builds shoulder stability and trunk control under an unstable position.

Suitcase Carry

Carrying a heavy load in one hand forces the trunk to resist side bending across the whole walk.

Hanging Leg Raise

A straight-leg version of the hanging raise that greatly increases the lever and the demand on the trunk.

Hanging Knee Raise

Raising the knees while hanging trains the hip flexors and lower abdominals as well as the grip.

Ab Wheel Rollout

A demanding anti-extension exercise where the trunk resists spinal extension through a long lever.

Hollow Body Hold

A gymnastics-derived isometric hold that trains full anterior trunk tension with the limbs long.

Bird Dog

A quadruped drill where opposite arm and leg extend while the spine and pelvis stay still.

Dead Bug

A supine anti-extension drill where the limbs move while the lower back stays pressed into the floor.

Side Plank

A lateral isometric hold that trains the obliques and hip abductors to resist side bending.

Front Plank

An isometric anti-extension hold that teaches the trunk to resist the pull of gravity on the spine.

Eccentric Step-Down

Lowering slowly from a box on one leg trains knee control and quadriceps strength in the exact pattern used to decelerate.

Bear Crawl

Crawl on hands and feet with the knees just off the floor — a contralateral pattern that ties the shoulders, trunk and hips together.

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Hinge on one leg while the other extends behind you — a hamstring and balance exercise that exposes and fixes side-to-side differences.

Half-Kneeling Pallof Press

Press a cable or band straight out from the chest while resisting the pull that tries to rotate you — pure anti-rotation trunk training.

Turkish Get-Up

Move from lying to standing and back while holding a weight overhead — a slow, deliberate test of shoulder stability and full-body coordination.

Farmer’s Carry

Walk a set distance holding heavy weights at your sides — the simplest way to build grip, trunk stiffness and loaded gait.

Bear Crawl

Bear Crawl

Crawl on hands and feet with the knees just off the floor — a contralateral pattern that ties the shoulders, trunk and hips together.

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Hinge on one leg while the other extends behind you — a hamstring and balance exercise that exposes and fixes side-to-side differences.

Half-Kneeling Pallof Press

Press a cable or band straight out from the chest while resisting the pull that tries to rotate you — pure anti-rotation trunk training.

Turkish Get-Up

Move from lying to standing and back while holding a weight overhead — a slow, deliberate test of shoulder stability and full-body coordination.

Farmer’s Carry

Walk a set distance holding heavy weights at your sides — the simplest way to build grip, trunk stiffness and loaded gait.

Heavy Sled March

Maximise horizontal force production and teach a sustained, projected body position.

Reverse Sled Drag

Load the quadriceps and patellar tendon with almost no eccentric component, which allows high-volume knee-extensor work without generating soreness.