The truth is that sometimes you just won't have the equipment, space, or strength to do some exercises in Turbulence Training.

Fortunately, there's GREAT news about that, which I realized last week while writing up a new exercise column for Men's Health magazine.

And the GREAT news is this:

Almost every single TT exercise can be substituted by an equally amazing exercise from my repertoire.

So let's go through a huge list of exercise substitutions. This will be perfect for you to print out and keep with your TT program or in your workout area.

Exercise Substitutions

1) To replace Squats, you can do:

• 1-leg hip extensions
• Step-ups
• Deep Step-ups
• Split squats
• Reverse lunges
• Forward lunges
• Bulgarian split squats (with back foot elevated on a bench)
• Reaching lunges
• 1-leg deadlifts
• 1-leg squats (use bands or straps for assistance if necessary)
• 1-leg squats standing on a bench

By the way, if you are using dumbbells for squats or lunges and you find that the weights are too heavy to hold, you can switch to a barbell if you have access to it.

The only reason you don't see barbell exercises in the TT programs are because most TT readers exercise at home with dumbbells.

2) To replace Deadlifts:

The only "direct replacement" is dumbbell squats.

Otherwise, just replace deadlifts with a superset pairing of any lower body exercise paired with a row.

For example:

• Barbell lunge supersetted with a DB row
• Stability Ball Leg Curl supersetted with Inverted Row

3) If you have sore knees and need to replace lunges:

First, see a doctor and have them diagnose the problem. Second, see a therapist and have them treat the issue. Third, see a trainer and have them assess where you need to work on flexibility and how you can include some "knee-friendly" exercises in your workout program.

These exercises include:

• Lying Hip Extensions (also known as Lying Hip Bridges)
• 1-leg Hip Extensions
• Lying Hip Extensions with your feet on the ball
• Stability Ball Leg Curls

4) To replace Bench Presses or Dumbbell Chest Presses (of any kind), you can do one of these:

• Pushups
• Close-grip pushups
• Decline pushup
• Elevated pushups
• Off-set pushups
• Pushups with your feet on the ball
• Pushups with your hands on the ball
• Pushups with your feet on the ball and hands on the bench
• Suspended strap pushups
• Spiderman pushups
• Spiderman climb pushups
• Pike pushups
• Dips
• Decline close-grip spiderman pushups

By the way, if you have dumbbells but no bench, you can replace flat dumbbell bench presses by lying on the floor. And you can replace incline dumbbell presses with standing 1-arm dumbbell shoulder presses.

5) To replace any kind of row, here are alternatives:

• Dumbbell rows
• Dumbbell rows with elbows out
• Dumbbell chest supported rows
• Barbell rows
• Inverted rows
• Underhand grip rows
• Seated cable rows
• Renegade Rows (with flat dumbbells or kettlebells)
• Dumbbell rear deltoid raises
• Rows with TRX or blast straps
• Chin-ups (these are done with an underhand grip)
• Eccentric chin-ups
• Sternum chin-ups
• V-grip chin-ups
• Pull-ups (these are done with an overhand grip)
• Eccentric pull-ups
• Sternum pull-ups

And in place of pull-ups or chin-ups, you can do:

• Dumbbell rows
• Dumbbell pullovers
• Underhand grip pulldowns (kneeling) - replaces chin-ups
• Overhand grip pulldowns (kneeling) - replace pull-ups
• Assisted chinups/pull-ups using machine

However, if you have absolutely no equipment (i.e. no dumbbells, no barbell, no cables, no straps, and no bar) then unfortunately there is no way to train your upper back. The best you can do is to add a lot of prisoner squats, prisoner lunges, stick-ups, and WYT's to your bodyweight program.

6) To replace dips, you can do:

• Any version of close-grip pushups
• Dumbbell floor presses
• Dumbbell close-grip presses
• Close-grip bench press

7) To replace dumbbell split squats, you can do:

• 1-leg lying hip extensions
• Bulgarian split squats (use higher reps or the 1 & 1/4 rep method)
• Split squats with your front foot elevated 4-6 inches
• 1-leg deadlifts
• 1-leg squats (holding straps or cables for assistance)
• 1-leg squats standing on the bench
• Step-ups
• Deep step-ups
• Reaching lunges

(NOTE: For many exercises, including pushing and pulling too, you can play around with the 1&1/2 rep style - lowering to the bottom position, coming halfway back up, and then lowering again, and then coming all the way back up.)

©2010 Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

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