The new year has just begun, and many of us have renewed our resolution to achieve our fitness goals this time around. However, repeating the same exercises can often become boring and result in losing interest and ultimately going off track.
The dead hang is one of the exercises that Raj Ganpath suggests we incorporate in our daily workouts. (Pexel)
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To help us out and enhance our workout routine in general, Raj Ganpath, a Chennai-based fitness coach with 18 years of experience and founder of The Quad, took to Instagram on December 31, 2025, and shared five less-popular exercises that we can try in 2026.
1. Crawl
“Basically, get down on all fours and cover a distance,” explained Raj, stating that making the move a part of the regular plan helps to build total body strength, stability, and mobility.
There are different forms of crawl that we can try, such as:
- Baby crawl (simplest form)
- Inline crawl
- Bear crawl
- Lizard crawl
- Spiderman crawl
2. Stair climbs
While there are stairs all around us, Raj complained that we hardly ever use them. Climbing stairs can be performed as a standalone exercise or simply as an activity in our daily lives.
“But one way or the other, make sure that stair climbs are a regular because they build strength, endurance and a lot of resilience,” noted the fitness coach.
3. Farmer carries
Simple to perform, farmer carries requires picking up two things that are heavy, hold them at our side and walking. “These can be kettlebells, dumbbells, suitcases, anything you can find. Just make sure they are heavy enough for you to feel challenged at about 30 to 50 metres,” explained Raj. The exercise builds grip strength and real-world core strength.
4. Dead hang
A dead hang is simply hanging with our arms extended and letting our body dangle as dead weight.
“The hang is to the pull-up what the plank is to the push-up. So if you are someone who wants to build total body strength and you want to be able to do pull-ups, you should most definitely practice the hang,” shared Raj, adding that the goal is to work our way up to being able to hang for 60 seconds.
5. Tib raises
Also known as tibialis anterior raises, the exercise is very similar to calf raises, but instead of strengthening the calf muscles, it strengthens the tibialis anterior muscle, which is located in front of our legs at the shins.
“The point of this is to balance out the load that we put on our calves, which, as a result, makes the knees bulletproof,” highlighted Raj.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.