​Explosive Compound Exercises for Bonfire Night

Go into bonfire night this year with a bang thanks to our explosive exercise routine for your whole body. We’ll take you through the workout, from getting warmed up to really feeling the heat from our explosive exercises over bonfire night.

These exercises are good both for an upper and lower body workout! This is going to be based around a series of compound exercises and some fewer compound exercises that will still set off fireworks in your muscles.

To warm-up for this workout, we will start with a simplistic series of dynamic stretches and light cardio. This is always the safest way to warm up. To start the stretching, perform any series of stretches that you are already familiar and comfortable with if you are used to a dynamic warm-up. If not, try some knee raises, lunges with twists and even a few push-ups if you are able.

Perform these for around 30 seconds each before 5 minutes of a cardio exercise of your choice. Then, you should be good to go and able to perform safely and properly without any added risk!

Want to move fast? Jump to the right section below.

• Squat to Shoulder Press
• Hammer Curl To Tricep Extension
• Deadlift to Row
• Stability Push-Ups
• Don’t Forget to Rest!

Squat to Shoulder Press

So, once we actually jump into the workout, we start with a full-body compound exercise – the mighty squat-to-shoulder press. This is an incredible exercise that engages almost every muscle from your calf to your delts, so make sure you get it right to prevent any injury relating to your form.

The mechanic of the exercise is reasonably simple but does need some serious attention to make sure you’re on the ball with what you’re doing.

The idea is generally as you would have expected, with you starting the exercise off with a barbell or dumbbell if this is easier or more convenient. Then, you perform a standard squat repetition. However, when you come back upwards, perform a missionary shoulder press to really hit both your upper and your lower body.

Hammer Curl To Tricep Extension

Everyone loves a good compound arm exercise too. There aren’t too many of them, so we thought we’d throw this in here too. The hammer curl to tricep extensions will really hit both your biceps and your triceps, and even your forearm, to really make sure you’re getting the most out of the workout. This way, you can be sure that you’re going to see and feel the benefits.

The idea is to go from a hammer curl, holding the dumbbell with a side grip rather than the classic underhand of a bicep curl. Then, raise it up to perform the contraction, and then lift your arm above your head and perform an over-the-head tricep extension. After, return to your starting position. The strength of your biceps and your triceps may make it slightly difficult to find the right weight to use for this exercise, but you should really feel the benefit of the movement once you do.

Make sure you keep your contractions as full and as tight as possible throughout the exercise, too, as it may become very easy to lose your form as time goes on! The explosive nature of the compound exercises is the reason they’re here, after all.

Deadlift to Row

Making sure we hit every different muscle group throughout this workout is difficult, so we’ll have to throw in this killer of an exercise. This will really test the strength of your back and your posterior chain in general, so make sure you’re up to scratch with your technique, as always.

Your back is NOT an area you want to sustain an injury, and this is one of the easiest exercises to find yourself with one once you have finished. The deadlift is the more dangerous of the two, however, with the right weight and a good technique, it is still safe.

Pick up your barbell from the floor whilst keeping your back almost perfectly straight and the only angle changing at the very top of your glutes/bottom of your back. Once you are successfully upright with the bar, bent forward slightly and lower your arms whilst holding the bar, and pull them back in using your back.

A challenge, we know, but it’s worth the results. Exercises like these are often worth researching before you undertake them, so don’t hesitate to talk to a trainer or professional to seek advice and tips on proper form. As with all exercises, your safety has to be paramount.

Stability Push-Ups

We won’t put you through too much more, but you can’t miss out your chest! We’ll keep this one old school and throw in some classic push-up ideas. These will still be pretty taxing, but you’ll really see the benefit in the long run if you manage to complete the workout successfully, especially if you manage to keep doing it in line with your standard exercise routine.

The ideal push-up for this workout is a push-up with the use of a stability ball to recruit stabilisation muscles such as your arms, your shoulders and your core. If this isn’t possible due to a lack of facilities, it’s also useful to just add multiple sets of different push-up variations in order to ensure that the exercises are still hitting different muscles with the same mechanic. This way, you get the best results possible for the same workload.

That’s the last of our bonfire night exercises! Go you!

Don’t Forget to Rest!

Once you’ve done these, you’re done. Congratulations! Chances are, your muscles are burning more from the exercises than the bonfires you’re going to be watching on bonfire night, but it will be worth the effort in the long run and definitely remind you to cool down when you’re finished.

It’s also a fun way to incorporate some fitness into your activities, like having competitions with friends or even just adding a bit of variation into your same old routine. Whatever your reason, variation is always good for workout results, and our bonfire night exercises give you just that.

Before beginning any exercise or nutrition program, consult your physician, doctor or other professional. This is especially important for individuals over the age of 35 or persons with pre-existing health problems. Exercise.co.uk assumes no responsibility for personal injury or property damage sustained using our advice.

If you experience dizziness, nausea, chest pain, or any other abnormal symptoms, stop the workout at once and consult a physician or doctor immediately.