#204 6 Most Underrated Exercises

These exercises might not seem too difficult, but they definitely work! I also love them because in my experience, they’re great for getting lean and toned without the bulk. I think these are the most underrated exercises.

1. Supermans or lying back raises

This is an awesome exercise for strengthening your upper and lower back muscles. It also uses your hamstrings and abs. And the best thing is, you don’t need any equipment so you can do it at home.

2. Single leg deadlifts

You can also do this exercise with no equipment (or a dumbbell), so it’s a good one to incorporate into your at home workouts. I like them because regular deadlifts are very difficult technically (most PT’s don’t even do them right) so this is a good alternative. And by now you guys probably realize that I prefer these type of body weight exercises rather than heavy exercises such as deadlifts.

3. Swimming

When I was triathlon training, I didn’t lift any weights and all I did was run, cycle and swim. I was swimming twice per week for about 30 minutes each and my arms were super toned, which actually surprised me. It’s a seriously good full body workout, increases your cardio fitness really quickly and tones up your arms without adding bulk.

4. Planks

Planks are an awesome exercise because they use all muscles in your core, but also uses your upper body too. There are lots of variations, but my favourite is the side plank with a rotation.

5. Walking

Walking is so underrated. It usually feels pretty easy so most people assume it’s not doing anything. But in fact, when you exercise at a low intensity, your body actually burns fat. Read this blog post for more detail. I have personally had really great results using walking to lean out my legs. My clients have also had the same results!

6. Push ups

Push ups are the same as planks. They use your upper body of course, but also use all of the muscles in your core. If you can’t do a push up on your toes, then I recommend doing them with your hands elevated on a bench rather than doing them on your knees, so that you still use your core muscles.

I incorporate all of these exercises (besides swimming) into my skinny legs program. These are awesome exercises for toning up without adding bulk and that is the key to my program. To find out more about it, click here.