BY TERRY WEBSTER

What are some of the best ways to optimize your training to maximize your health benefits? Maximum Fitness always receives tons of correspondence asking a variety of training questions. Well, guess what? Maximum Fitness is going to tell you. Here are two tips to help you build a stronger core and gain a huge amount of explosive strength.

BEST ABS EXERCISE:  BICYCLE CRUNCH

WHY?

According to a study conducted at the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University, the bicycle crunch ranked highest of all abs exercises tested in terms of muscle stimulation of a number of core muscle groups. Fortunately, this most excellent of abs exercises can be performed without any equipment other than a cushioned surface. 

TAKE ACTION

To do a bicycle crunch, lie on your back on the floor with your fingers clasped behind your head or your hands cupping your ears. As you bring one knee into your body, attempt to touch it with your opposing elbow. As you extend the bent knee, draw in the other, leaning into it with your opposite elbow. Keep moving, with your legs pumping as if you’re pedaling a bicycle. Aim for three sets of 20 reps on each leg at the end of each workout. 

BEST ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE ENHANCER: THE CLEAN AND JERK

WHY?

This Olympic lift is a favorite of Clay Burwell, owner of NYC’s High Performance Fitness Studio and a personal trainer to high-profile stars like Matt Damon, Steven Van Zandt and Anna Paquin, to name a few.

“The clean and jerk is a crucial movement for almost all athletes,” says Burwell. “From football players to gymnasts, it complements any existing program and builds a huge amount of explosive strength.”

ACTION

To perform the clean and jerk, place a barbell at your feet—preferably an empty one until you master the technique. With your feet shoulder width apart and your back straight, crouch down, bending at your knees, and grab the bar with a grip that’s one foot wider than your shoulders. Begin the lift by straightening your knees—this part is all thigh power. As the bar reaches mid-thigh, pull with your shoulders and traps while further pushing up onto your toes. Once the bar is close to shoulder height, dip down into a squat position to get your shoulders under the bar and your elbows out in front of it—as you’re dipping, roll your wrists so that the bar is in position for an overhead press. 

Rise up into a standing position with the bar across your shoulders. You’ve now “cleaned” the bar. To begin the “jerk,” push the bar straight up while exploding out of the knee bend. You can split your stance, which means pushing one foot behind to stabilize you. Or, if the weight isn’t too heavy, you can maintain your foot stance, which turns it more into a press than a jerk. With either technique, this exercise works every single major muscle group while building strength, power, speed and agility.

We don’t expect most readers to make this movement, but it’s worth knowing its value and its basic mechanics. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that show precisely how this movement is done.

Are you tired of mediocre results? Well, Maximum Fitness has 13 tested strategies for getting the best body performance possible. Get these strategies in the May/June issue—on newsstands April 21, 2009.