Project Train Exercise Library
Hey legends, check out the exercise library below for whenever you need technical guidance on any particular exercise. We’ll be adding more exercises over time. If you need us to cover any particular exercise not in the library or require anything specific on the exercises in the library, please let us know!
Legend:
DB = Dumbbell
KB = Kettlebell
BW = Bodyweight
RB = Resistance band
The BW Forward Lunge is a lower-body exercise that primarily targets the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. It also improves balance, foot stability, and athletic coordination.
Coaching Cues- Start by standing tall with feet shoulder-width apart and your core engaged.
- Step forward with one leg, keeping your knee aligned with your ankle and lowering your back knee toward the floor.
- Push through the heel of your front foot to return to standing.
- Maintain an upright torso and engaged core throughout.
- Alternate legs with each rep for the desired number of reps or time.
Video instructions:
The Squat is a fundamental exercise that aims to strengthen the lower body, targeting the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings. By mimicking the natural motion of sitting down and standing up, it enhances strength and mobility for everyday activities. Moreover, this exercise is a stepping stone for more advanced movements such as the Barbell Squat.
The bodyweight squat is a great starting point if adding weight is too difficult. If weight is not an issue, the Goblet squat is a fantastic alternative and is the recommended variation. As the placement of the weight is in front of the body, the Goblet Squat encourages proper alignment and helps prevent leaning forward or rounding the back.
Coaching Cues- Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointing outwards, and extend your arms in front of you.
- Shift your weight slightly towards your heels, and grip the floor with your feet by pressing down through your big toe, little toe, and heel.
- Engage your core by pulling your belly towards your spine.
- Take a deep breath into your belly, expanding your diaphragm and ribcage.
- Bend your knees and hips and lower your body towards the ground - think of sitting down.
- Continue lowering your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground or as low as you can comfortably go.
- Push through your feet and exhale to raise yourself back up to the starting position.
For the Goblet variation: everything stays the same as the bodyweight version, except you’ll be holding a dumbbell or kettlebell. Hold the weight with both hands, using a grip that feels comfortable for you. Bring the weight up to your chest and keep your elbows close to your body.
Video instructions:
A DB Bench Press is a strength training exercise that targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles. It is performed by lying on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand. The DB Bench Press is a popular alternative to the Barbell Bench Press, as it’s more beginner-friendly and can help to improve overall balance and stability, as well as allow for a greater range of motion and better isolation of the chest muscles.
Coaching Cues- Lie flat on a bench with your feet firmly planted on the floor and your back pressed against the bench. Hold a dumbbell in each hand up in the air, palms facing forward.
- Engage your shoulder blades by pulling them down and back towards the spine.
- Take a deep breath and slowly lower the dumbbells towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your sides and your wrists straight. Stop when the dumbbells are at chest level or slightly below.
- Pause briefly, then exhale as you push the dumbbells back up to the starting position, making sure to keep your shoulder blades pressed down and together throughout the movement.
Video instructions:
The DB Bent-Over Back Row is an exercise that targets the muscles in the upper and middle back, as well as the arms. This movement strengthens the muscles of the back and improves posture, while also helping to increase overall upper body strength.
Coaching Cues- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and a dumbbell in each hand.
- Hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
- Imagine that you are reaching your butt towards the wall behind you.
- Pull the weights up towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Slowly lower the weights back down to starting position, and repeat for the desired number of reps. Remember to keep your back straight and your core engaged throughout the movement.
Video instructions:
A DB Romanian Deadlift (RDL) is a strength training exercise that targets the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back muscles. It is a movement pattern that mimics the motion of picking up an object from the ground. This exercise helps to strengthen the posterior chain, improve posture, and prevent lower back pain.
Coaching Cues- Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart, with a dumbbell in each hand, and engage your core by pulling your belly button in towards your spine.
- Bring your elbows to your pelvis in order to engage your lats and open your chest. If this is done right, the dumbbells should be close to your thighs at all times.
- Keeping your spine straight, hinge at the hips by pushing your glutes back and slightly bending your knees, while keeping your chest lifted.
- Imagine that you are reaching your butt towards the wall behind you.
- Avoid rounding your back or letting your shoulders collapse.
- As you hinge forward, feel the stretch in your hamstrings, and engage your glutes to pull yourself back up to a standing position.
Video instructions:
The DB Single-arm Shoulder Press is a great exercise for improving shoulder strength, stability, and mobility, and can be incorporated into upper body workout routines for individuals of all fitness levels. Because this is a unilateral (one-sided) exercise, it also helps fix muscular and mobility imbalances.
Coaching Cues- Begin by standing with your back straight, core engaged, and feet shoulder-width apart.
- Hold a dumbbell in one hand at shoulder height, with your palm facing forward and your elbow tucked in close to your body. Extend your other hand straight to the side.
- Exhale and push the dumbbell upward, extending your arm fully overhead while maintaining a straight wrist and keeping your shoulder blades down and back.
- Inhale and lower the dumbbell back down to shoulder height with control, keeping your core engaged and your shoulder stabilised throughout the movement.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch to the other arm.
Video instructions:
Pull-ups are a type of bodyweight exercise that primarily targets the muscles in the upper back, shoulders, and arms. They are performed by hanging from a horizontal bar with an overhand grip and pulling your body up until your chin clears the bar, and then lowering yourself back down to the starting position. These can be performed with or without assistance. For assistance, you can use either the Assisted Pull-up Machine or Resistance Bands. If you are using assistance, practice and get stronger until you can perform BW pull-ups.
Coaching Cues- Start by grabbing the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Your palms should be facing away from you.
- Engage your shoulder blades by pulling them down and back, and then engage your core muscles by bracing your abs.
- Begin to pull your body up towards the bar, leading with your chest and keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Continue to pull yourself up until your chin clears the bar, then lower yourself back down with control to the starting position, keeping your core and shoulder blades engaged throughout the movement.
- For Assisted Machine Pull-ups, adjust the weight as needed (the higher the weight, the easier the pull-up), and then kneel on the padded platform directly beneath the handles, before performing the exercise as explained above.
- For RB Pull-ups, secure the resistance band (the thicker the band, the easier the Pull-up) by looping it over the bar and pulling the ends through the loop to create a knot. Step onto the resistance band and perform the exercise as explained above.
Video instructions:
A push-up is a bodyweight exercise that builds strength in your chest, shoulders, and triceps. It is typically performed in a prone position with your hands placed shoulder-width apart and your feet together, but you can perform a variation that's suitable for you. Variations include (from easiest to hardest): Wall push-ups, incline push-ups (lower the incline, the more difficult the push-up), modified, standard push-ups, and decline push-ups.
Coaching Cues- Start in a position that's suitable for you (wall, incline, modified, standard, decline) with your hands placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your feet together.
- Engage your core muscles by squeezing your glutes and tightening your abs to maintain a straight line from your head to your heels.
- Lower your body towards the ground by bending your elbows and keeping them close to your sides, ensuring that your chest touches the floor.
- Push yourself back up to the starting position by extending your arms and pushing your body away from the surface, while maintaining a straight line from your head to your heels.
Video instructions:
