8 Innovative Exercises Created By Legendary Bodybuilders

Arnold Press

Inventor: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Back in the day, legendary bodybuilder-turned-movie star-turned-governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger put a new twist (literally) on the dumbbell shoulder press. He claims his version recruits more shoulder muscle, and considering that Arnold won his first Mr. Olympia at age 20, who can argue?

How to do it:

1. Hold two dumbbells at your shoulders, palms facing you.
2. Press and rotate your palms outward in one fluid motion.
3. Reverse the motion on the eccentric.

J.M. Press

Inventor: J.M. Blakely

Powerlifter J.M. Blakely is known for gaining and then cutting 100 pounds before competition—he would go so far as to douse a large pizza in olive oil, in addition to scarfing down 10 to 15 Hershey bars. Don’t do this.

If you’re looking to push past your bench-press plateau, then definitely try his signature move, the J.M. Press—a close-grip bench press, skullcrusher hybrid that has helped many big-time benchers increase their poundage.

It strengthens your triceps by overloading them with more weight than you could normally lift with moves like the skullcrusher.

How to do it:

1. Set up on a bench press with a close grip.
2. Lower the bar and, when you start to feel the tension in your triceps shift to your chest, bring the bar back toward your skull. The bar path should resemble a capital L.
3. Contract the triceps hard and reverse the bar back to the starting position.

Svend Press

Inventor: Svend Karlsen 

Norwegian strongman and winner of World’s Strongest Man in 2001, Svend Karlsen knows a thing or two about lifting heavy objects. Contrary to his normal tonnage, however, his namesake exercise, the Svend Press, is less intense than hoisting an Atlas stone overhead or pulling a double-decker bus. Despite being performed with light weight, this auxiliary move elicits a massive amount of tension on the chest, for bigger, more resilient pecs.

How to do it:

1. Grab two standard 10-pound plates and squeeze them together, hard.
2. Then, push the weights away from your body until your arms are fully locked out.
3. Return to the starting position.

The isometric contraction in the pecs is unique to this move and different from a standard flye or press—the harder you squeeze the plates together, the harder the contraction of the chest, and a bigger contraction leads to greater gains.

Meadows Row

Inventor: John Meadows

John “the Mountain Dog” Meadows is a bodybuilder—famous for his grainy conditioning and muscle-numbing workouts and a coach who has prepped a plethora of musclemen, like IFBB Pros Mark Dugdale and Amit Sapir, for the stage. The reason he’s sought out is he’s an innovator in the gym, using various implements and angles to try and recruit every last muscle fiber he can. And out of that experimentation came the Meadows Row, his namesake exercise that is now known among lifters as a notorious upper-back blaster with a long range of motion that recruits maximum muscle.

How to do it:

1. Prop a bar in a corner or use a landmine attachment.
2. Stand perpendicular to the bar and grip the end with the hand closest to the bar.
3. Then, pull your shoulder blades back and row the bar to your rib cage, holding at the top for a two count.

Gironda Sternum Chinup

Inventor: Vince Gironda

Nicknamed “The Iron Guru,” Vince Gironda trained bodybuilders like the first-ever Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott, and Hollywood stars like Denzel Washington and Cher. Rumor has it that he even threw Clint Eastwood out of his gym after a disagreement! Gironda was ahead of his time in nutrition and training methods, and his spin on the chinup, which increases the range of motion, is still practiced today.

How to do it:

1. Hang from the bar with a normal chinup grip.
2. Start the movement like in a regular chinup and pull yourself up toward the bar.
3. Halfway through the movement, lean back and contract your lats hard to bring your lower chest or sternum to the bar.

Zottman Curl

Inventor: George Zottman

Turn-of-the-century strongman George Zottman was quite a character. He had 15-inch forearms and performed well into his 50s. Also, he set a world record with a seated one-arm clean and press of 175 pounds—a mark that has yet to be broken. But his greatest claim to fame is undoubtedly the Zottman Curl, which he did regularly to build his beastly grip strength. You might want to try it from time to time, too.

How to do it:

1. Curl the dumbbells up to the top, with palms facing up.
2. At the top of the move, turn your palms over and then slowly lower the dumbbells.
3. Reset at the bottom and repeat.

Jefferson Deadlift

Inventor: Charles Jefferson

As rumor has it, strongman Charles Jefferson could break chains linked around his waist, leading him to be hired by Barnum & Bailey Circus. Other feats of strength include a partial deadlift of 1,571.5 pounds, using a special apparatus and the hoisting of a 176-pound anvil by the horn at a svelte 170 pounds himself. He is also credited with creating this unusual deadlift variation, which challenges the core and quads more than the standard deadlift.

How to do it:

1. Straddle the bar with one leg in the front and one leg in the back.
2. Grip the bar however feels comfortable.
3. Drive your feet into the floor, and stand up. The bar should come up right near your crotch at the top position.

This lift will build your antirotational strength, which carries over well into all other compound movements.

Pallof Press

Inventor: John Pallof

Physical therapist John Pallof has rehabbed and trained a variety of top Olympic and professional athletes, like Lee Stempniak of the Carolina Hurricanes and Travis Stevens of USA Judo. His own antirotation core exercise can be applied in a rehab, prehab, or performance setting. The payoff is a stronger, more stable core.

How to do it:

1. Stand perpendicular to a band or cable attachment and grab it.
2. Keep it close to your chest, tense your core, and push it away from you in a straight line. Resist the urge to rotate.