Little Extras: Daily Lifting Exercises

Bigger Stronger Leaner
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This thread is about little things you can do every day to help lifting efficiency, range of motion, fit in more exercise, etc.

Of course the problem is that days are so busy that it is hard to do even one of these things consistently. And no one has the time and patience to do all of them.

I read about a guy who decided that he was going to do ten pushups every time he went to the washroom, arguing he had to wash his hands anyway. While this might be a good way to get an extra hundred pushups in, one presumes that he works from home and so does not deal with dumbfounded stares, snarky comments and grubby flooring.

During COVID, I actually did do ten pull-ups every time I passed through the door where I installed the bar. But it’s been hard to find the motivation to do that since. Even if it would be a good idea.

When I wanted to improve my bench, I did Thibaudeau’s shoulder circuit for ten minutes each morning, using light (10 to 20 pounds) dumbbells to make shoulder circles, YWT shapes, do Cuban presses, etc. and it made my shoulders feel bulletproof on the bench.

During COVID I also did Dan John’s 500 daily kettlebell swings. This works well. But when the gyms are actually open, there are more entertaining alternatives. But few things work better.

Now, I’m trying to increase my mediocre flexibility. I’ve decided to spend more time doing low squats, aiming to go low ten minutes a day, hoping to improve my range of motion.

It would be hard to do all of these at the same time. But these little extras add up and some of them were helpful. Some less so.

Are there any daily little things that you have tried in the past, or do now, to improve lifting at other times? What has worked for you, and why did you do it?

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@oldergoat is the king of the daily challenge. He will wear your ass out if you can hang in there.

BPAs 100/ per day/ every day really helped me.
I have definitely fallen off the wagon but need to get back on it.

I try to do some kind of third world squat everyday. And get off the floor with no hands.

Just this morning I thought about the push ups again… lol thought it was funny this thread popped up.

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Not as often now but in the past I’d go to the gym and load up 115lbs usually (25s and a bar) and do sets of 5-15 for my S/B/D and leave.

I really believed this helped clean up a lot of technical errors of mine. It doesn’t seem like a lot but I do think this did help me. Its just repetition and practice.

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For a few years, I had a daily minimum I would perform

50 chins
50 dips
50 bodyweight reverse hypers
20 standing ab wheels
50 band pull aparts
30 GHRs
25 band pushdowns

The idea was that these were movements that I wanted to include in my training, but they took up time I wanted to spend on harder stuff, so I’d just get them done daily and accumulate the volume over time.

Eventually, it became a bit too toxic: I found myself obsessing over making sure I got my daily work in everyday, and if I was short some reps, I’d be in my garage at night before bed getting them knocked out, as though I were some sort of gremlin and, if I didn’t get it done before midnight, something terrible would happen to me. This is similar to why I don’t count macros or track nutrition.

These days, I make it a point to get in some sets of chins everyday, since I’m prioritizing back growth and prepping for Murph, and I get in a daily walk, but that’s about it.

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I’m doing a 5 minute block everyday of BW squats, pushups, and pullups. I’ve also done this in the past with a 10-minute block. I like this combo of exercises because it requires no equipment beyond the pullup bar and it hits everything. I was in the best shape of my life after a year of doing this the first time around (along with other training of course) and plan on using this as one of my secret ingredients to get back there.

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On one hand, these things are beneficial for a time. But ten minutes a day on extras as about as much time as I want or care to devote to them.

I don’t want to be the guy at the gym who just does burpees and band stretches. I’m mostly there to use the heavy equipment. Problem is you never really do all the stuff that could be done at home.

Just wondering what people have found effective. No expectation you are still doing it, and no judgement, you Zumba loving rapscallion, you.

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