Leading an active lifestyle is one of the best things that you can do for your body since it has several benefits. Being physically active helps you manage your weight, strengthens your muscles, and improves your ability to do everyday activities that require physical strength. However, gaining the motivation to train is the most challenging part. Sometimes, you just don’t feel like getting up in the morning and performing your training routine. If that ever happens, one of the best ways to stay motivated is by spicing up your workout using some sort of creative method. One common method that a lot of people use is performing a series of exercises that all start with the same letter. With that being said, what are the best exercises that start with N?
Here is a list of the best exercises that start with the letter N:
- Narrow Push-Ups
- Narrow Squat
- Narrow Grip Pull-Ups
- Narrow Pull-Downs
- Narrow Bench-Press
- Narrow Dumbbell Row
In this article, we’ll talk about how you can perform these exercises, as well as their benefits.
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How to Perform These Exercises That Start With N
Although these exercises don’t follow a particular routine when it comes to targeting muscles, you can still do them as a way to break off the typical workouts that you usually perform and to have a little bit of fun. Here’s how you can perform these exercises.
Narrow Push-Ups
- Get into a plank position while making sure that your wrists are directly under your shoulders
- Point your fingertips forwards and position your back and neck neutrally to engage the core safely
- Place your hands about two inches apart and place your elbows close to your ribs
- Start lowering yourself slowly by bending your elbows
- Slowly lift yourself back up
- Repeat until failure or until you reach your rep goal
Muscles worked:
- Chest
- Triceps
- Delts
- Core
Narrow Squat
- Start by putting your feet close together and your hands close to your body
- Lower your body back as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees to an angle that’s close to 90°.
- Hold for two to three seconds
- Slowly return to your original standing position by pushing up using your lower body muscles
- Make sure to keep your chest up, back flat, and look ahead.
Muscles worked:
- Glutes
- Quads
- Hamstrings
Narrow Grip Pull-Ups
- Start by grabbing onto a pull-up bar with both of your hands using a narrow/close grip (just inside shoulder width)
- Hang with your arms fully extended and your legs straight
- Contract your back muscles and pull your chest up until it gets close to the bar
- Keep your core tight and your body in a straight line when pulling
- Slowly lower your body back to its starting position and be careful not to hit the bar with your face
- Repeat until failure or until your rep goal
How to do a Narrow Grip Pull-Up
Muscles worked:
- Back
- Biceps
- Triceps
- Chest
Narrow Pull-Downs
- Start by grabbing the bar using both of your hands in a narrow/close grip
- Your arms should be fully extended
- Contract your back muscles and pull down the bar until it touches your chest
- Keep your core tight and your back in a straight line while pulling down
- Slowly let the bar go back to its starting position but keep your muscles engaged even during the negative movement
- Repeat until failure or until rep goal
How to do a Narrow Grip Pulldown
Muscles worked:
- Back
- Biceps
- Triceps
- Chest
Narrow Bench-Press
- Start by putting the barbell at a rack level that feels comfortable for you
- Load the bar with an appropriate weight (start with something light during your first try until you get the hang of the movement)
- Lie flat on the ground and grab the barbell using a narrow grip (shoulder width)
- Lift the bar and hold it straight above you
- Inhale and slowly bring the bar down toward your chest while keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Exhale and push the bar up (make sure to lock your arms at the top of the motion)
- Repeat until failure or until rep goal
How to do Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press
Muscles worked:
- Chest
- Triceps
- Shoulders
Narrow Dumbbell Row
- Grab a dumbbell on each hand while facing your palms toward your torso
- Bend your knees slightly and bring your torso forward
- Make sure to keep your back straight while you bend over
- Lift the dumbbells to your side and breathe out while keeping your elbows close to your body
- At the top of the motion, squeeze your back muscles and hold this position for 1 to 2 seconds
- Slowly lower the dumbbells back to their starting position
Muscles worked:
- Back
- Triceps
Conclusion:
As you can see, there are several exercises to choose from that start with the letter N. If you want to change things up a little bit and have a fun unique little workout, you can always try the alphabet method where you train following a series of exercises that start with the same letter.