Bulletproof Your Body: The Ultimate Prehab Workout 🏋️‍♂️🔥

Full Breakdown of Exercises, Muscles Worked, Benefits & Antagonist Pairings

This guide provides a timestamped breakdown of all 7 prehab exercises, explaining their muscle activation (%), real-life functional benefits, alternatives, and antagonist pairings to maximize efficiency in your training.

1️⃣ Calf Raises (Single/Double-Leg) 📍00:01:03

Muscles Worked

• Gastrocnemius (Upper Calf) 🦵🔥 – 60%

• Soleus (Lower Calf) ⚙️ – 30%

• Tibialis Anterior (Shin) 🦶 – 10%

Real-Life Benefits

✅ Improves ankle stability & mobility, crucial for running, jumping, and sudden direction changes.

✅ Helps prevent shin splints and Achilles tendon issues.

✅ Boosts explosive power for sports (basketball, soccer, sprinting).

Alternatives

1️⃣ Tibialis Raises – Stand against a wall and raise toes upward, strengthening the shin muscles.

2️⃣ Seated Calf Raises – Focuses more on the soleus (essential for endurance activities).

Best Antagonist Pairing (Minimal Equipment)

🔥 Tibialis Anterior Raises [Use a resistance band or weighted dorsiflexion] – Strengthens the shin muscles to balance ankle function.

🔥 Hamstring Curls (Swiss Ball) 🏐 – Balances out calf activation and reinforces knee stability.

2️⃣ Copenhagen Plank (Adductors) 💪 📍00:03:08

Muscles Worked

• Adductors (Inner Thigh) 🦿 – 70%

• Obliques (Core) 🏋️ – 20%

• Hip Flexors (Psoas) 🦶 – 10%

Real-Life Benefits

✅ Enhances groin strength, critical for soccer, hockey, martial arts & sprinting.

✅ Reduces hip and knee injury risk by stabilizing lateral movement.

✅ Supports stronger squats, lunges, and athletic cuts.

Alternatives

1️⃣ Sumo Deadlifts – Builds adductor strength while targeting the glutes.

2️⃣ Side-Lying Hip Adduction – Isolates adductors without upper body involvement.

Best Antagonist Pairing (Minimal Equipment)

🔥 Lateral Band Walks – Strengthens hip abductors (opposite of adductors) to improve knee and hip stability.

🔥 Glute Bridges – Balances the force exerted by inner thighs with posterior chain activation.

3️⃣ Banded Lateral Walks (Abductors) 🏃‍♂️ 📍00:05:44

Muscles Worked

• Gluteus Medius (Side Glutes) 🍑 – 70%

• Hip Stabilizers 🏋️ – 20%

• Quads 🔥 – 10%

Real-Life Benefits

✅ Enhances knee stability & ACL injury prevention.

✅ Critical for runners, sprinters, & powerlifters.

✅ Improves hip & lower back endurance, reducing pain.

Alternatives

1️⃣ Clamshells – A lying version of lateral walks for focused hip activation.

2️⃣ Cable Hip Abductions – Uses resistance for controlled abduction motion.

Best Antagonist Pairing (Minimal Equipment)

🔥 Copenhagen Plank – Works the inner thigh (opposite of abductors) to create full hip stability.

🔥 Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts – Strengthens hamstrings while maintaining lateral control.

4️⃣ Banded Hip Flexor Marches 🚶‍♂️ 📍00:07:50

Muscles Worked

• Hip Flexors (Psoas) 🦵 – 60%

• Quadriceps 🔥 – 30%

• Core (Stabilizers) 🏋️‍♂️ – 10%

Real-Life Benefits

✅ Essential for high knee running speed & balance.

✅ Strengthens core-to-lower body coordination.

✅ Reduces risk of hip flexor strains, common in sprinters.

Alternatives

1️⃣ Hanging Knee Raises – Adds core engagement with similar flexor activation.

2️⃣ Seated Knee Drives with Band – A low-impact version for beginners.

Best Antagonist Pairing (Minimal Equipment)

🔥 Glute Bridges 🍑 – Balances flexor work by strengthening hip extensors.

🔥 Nordic Hamstring Curls – Helps avoid flexor dominance by engaging posterior chain.

5️⃣ Lower Back Extensions (Superman) 🦸‍♂️ 📍00:09:22

Muscles Worked

• Erector Spinae (Lower Back) 🔥 – 60%

• Glutes 🍑 – 25%

• Hamstrings 🦿 – 15%

Real-Life Benefits

✅ Improves posture & lower back strength for lifting, running, and sitting ergonomics.

✅ Reduces lower back pain by reinforcing spinal stability.

✅ Prepares the back for deadlifts & squats.

Alternatives

1️⃣ Bird Dogs 🦜 – Builds core-lower back connection.

2️⃣ Reverse Hypers – More dynamic hamstring-lower back activation.

Best Antagonist Pairing (Minimal Equipment)

🔥 Plank Holds – Strengthens anterior core (abs) for spinal stability.

🔥 Hanging Leg Raises – Engages core flexors to balance spinal extension vs. flexion.

6️⃣ Rotator Cuff Band External Rotation 📍00:11:28

Muscles Worked

• Rotator Cuff (Infraspinatus & Teres Minor) 💪 – 70%

• Posterior Delts 🎯 – 20%

• Scapular Stabilizers 🔥 – 10%

Real-Life Benefits

✅ Improves shoulder mobility & stability.

✅ Critical for overhead lifting, throwing, & injury prevention.

✅ Enhances posture & upper body durability.

Alternatives

1️⃣ Face Pulls – Engages the same muscles in a compound motion.

2️⃣ Dumbbell External Rotations – A free-weight alternative.

Best Antagonist Pairing (Minimal Equipment)

🔥 Banded Chest Flys – Strengthens pecs for balanced push-pull function.

🔥 Banded Tricep Extensions – Ensures elbow & shoulder stability.

7️⃣ Step Downs (Knees Over Toes) 🦵 📍00:13:32

Muscles Worked

• Quadriceps 🔥 – 70%

• Glutes 🍑 – 20%

• Knee Stabilizers – 10%

Real-Life Benefits

✅ Reduces knee pain & enhances stability.

✅ Critical for jumping, running, lunging movements.

✅ Protects knees from injury while improving mobility.

Alternatives

1️⃣ Poliquin Step-Downs – A more controlled variation.

2️⃣ Reverse Step-Ups – Loads the knee in a different movement pattern.

Best Antagonist Pairing (Minimal Equipment)

🔥 Hamstring Curls (Swiss Ball) 🏐

🔥 Glute Bridges 🍑

✅ Total Exercises Analyzed: 7/7

🏁 Mission Complete! 🚀