Rack up the gains: try these boredom-busting variations on traditional exercises with our one-stop, full-body workout

Muscle & Fitness, July, 2005 by Greg Merritt

Seated Triceps Overhead Extension

Choose a lighter weight than you would for free-weight extensions. While seated beneath the bar, unlock it using an underhand grip with your thumbs 8 inches apart. Bend your elbows and let them move forward, lowering the bar to just behind your head. Extend your arms, allowing your elbows to come back to the start position. Stop just short of lockout at the top. Note: This exercise can stress your wrists, so don't include it in every arm workout.

BICEPS

Like your triceps, you usually work your biceps through a semicircular plane, so training them on a straight plane can be a welcome change.

Drag Curl

Instead of your hands moving forward and up while your elbows stay steady as in a traditional curl, your hands move straight up while your elbows move back and up. Grasp the bar with a shoulder-width, underhand grip, your fingers curled up slightly. As your elbows move back and your hands come up, your fingers are tugged down. Resist the urge to either shrug your shoulders or bring your elbows forward as you near the top. The range of motion is slightly shorter than a barbell curl, and most of the stress occurs during the middle portion of the move. This lift can also be a wrist-wrencher if overused, so include it only occasionally.

ALL-SMITH ROUTINE

BODYPART    EXERCISE                      SETS  REPS

Quadriceps  Squat                         5      6-10
            Frog Squat                    4      8-10
Hamstrings  Romanian Deadlift             4     10-12
Calves      Standing Calf Raise           5     12-15
Chest       Incline-Bench Press           4      6-10
            Flat-Bench Press              4      8-10
Back        Pull-Up                       4      8-12
            Bent-Over Row (Reverse Grip)  4      6-10
Shoulders   Shoulder Press                4      6-10
            Wide-Grip Upright Row         4      8-10
Triceps     Seated Triceps Overhead Ext.  5      8-12
Biceps      Drag Curl                     5      8-12

ABOUT SMITH

The Smith machine was invented by fitness legend Jack La Lanne, who had a crudely fashioned sliding apparatus in his gym in the early 1950s. Muscle Beach bodybuilder Rudy Smith saw the device and hired gym-equipment specialist Paul Martin to perfect it. The new Smith machine took up residence in Vic Tanny's Gym in Los Angeles, where Smith was manager. By the end of the '50s, Smith was an executive in Tanny's gym chain, and his eponymous machines were being manufactured and sold. Today, Rudy Smith is 79 and owns Las Vegas Athletic Clubs, and Smith machines are in gyms everywhere around the globe.