hi ciaran,

actually, bench presses are a very good compound exercise. its one of the main compound lifts. youve also got squats and deadlifts. though take it from me, i used to do quite a bit of body building, muscle mass just gets in the way if you want to dance. For me, i prefer now to do isometric exercises, and generally any kind of exercises that use the body weight for resistance. these are good for building strenght and muscle density without a lot of bulk.

so think, pushups, chin ups, the plank, sit ups, leg raises, dips and if you like torture, 1 handed pressups. also pilates and yoga type exercises. just be sure to do them with strict form to exhaustion, rather than aiming for a big number. remember, anyone can do 20 push ups wrong, but very few people can 20 do strict form nose to the floor on your knuckles pushups.

stretching is vital, especially the legs, you dont want to get tight legs, this can result in lower back pain, or worse... a torn hammy.

I dunno knuckle pushups arent for me anymore - body conditioning the knuckles is for bare fist boxers, and I'm never going back to that scene again ( walking around holding the round number up is ok for a while, but the clothes are just waaay too revealing )

If you want to try something a little different why not try Yogalates?  The mix of the two dynamic stretching diciplines?   Louise Soloman had some great vids on it - 90 minutes of a cute girl from OZ going 'downward facing dog......gooooooood' .  Heaven    Also nothing I know of develops lower back flexiblity like the d.dog+cobra poses.    Sigh, I really have to get more excercise in these days

/H.

sounds like you get pleanty of exercise watching that DVD hugh

true, though its good for conditioning the knuckles, its mainly because it keeps the wrists aligned.

Why Tom, whatever do you mean?      

I dunno, I still have the scars on my knuckles from the makawara practice and knuckle pressups.  It might have seemed like a good idea at the time use a wooden floor with my knuckles to toughen them, but I'm older and wiser now     Couldnt you use a push up bar and get the same effect?

sure you could, if you have a push up bar

id say go for carpet and you are safe enough

Hi Ciraran,

General lifts souldn't require too much strength.
You ll need core strength (and flexibility sometimes) but the power to lift comes from the energy between the two people, their momentum, direction, their position.

If you are interested in lifts and tricks, I would recommand that you check out swing, tango or learn from someone who teaches acrobatics for Salsa. I can recommand Marion & Enrique from Galway or Camille Yamantuono.

Looking forward to seeing all your new tricks at our next Moate! ;-)

Easy for you to say van, i have to go to my chiropractor after i lift you