Torch fat and pump up your muscles with these best workout finishers, guaranteed to squeeze maximum gains from every session…

The best workout finishers are simply intense exercises performed at the end of a strength training workout. Weight – if used at all – should be kept light, with the aim of reviving the metabolism and maximising calorie burn.

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You can tailor the best finisher exercises to the workout in question. If, for example, you had just completed an upper-body workout, you could do slam balls and ‘on and offs’ on a medicine ball to push your upper-body muscles to ‘finish’ – as the name implies – your upper-body muscles off and force new adaptations.

Alternatively, you could use a finisher exercises to test an opposing group of muscles, making for more of a full-body workout.

We’ve grouped the best workout finishers together – in supersets, giant sets, or circuits – but you can pick and choose as you please. One option could be to set your timer to 5 minutes and simply complete as many reps as possible of one exercise within that time.

Whatever your approach, you should perform the best workout finishers with intensity: short and sharp is the name of the game. Work up a sweat, then walk out the gym with a pump to be proud of.

These are some of the best workout finishers

FINISHER 1: Superset

Topless man performing one of the best workout finishers, the medicine ball slam against white background Man performing medicine ball slam

1a. Slam Ball

Muscles Worked: Lats, core, traps, delts
Reps: 10
Rest: Straight into 1b

  • Grab a medicine ball and assume a strong stance. 
  • Pick the ball up above your head and slam it onto the floor.
  • Maintain good squat form whenever you grab the ball from the ground.

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Man performing on and off finisher exercise on medicine ball, one of the best workout finishers Man performing medicine ball press-up Man performing on and off exercise on medicine ball, one of the best workout finishers

1b. Alternating Medicine Ball Push-Up

Muscles Worked: Pecs, delts, triceps, core, traps, lats
Reps: 10
Sets: As many rounds as possible (AMRAP) in 5 mins

  • Assume a push-up position with one hand on the ball. 
  • Place both hands on the ball.
  • Keeping one hand on the ball, place the other on the floor, then bring that hand back onto the ball.
  • Continue to alternate.

FINISHER 2: Giant set

Topless man performing scaption exercise with dumbbells, one of the best workout finishers Topless man performing scaption exercise with dumbbells, one of the best workout finishers

2a. Scaption

Muscles Worked: Delts, traps, lats, rhomboids
Reps: 10
Rest: Straight into 2b

  • Keep your palms facing forwards and slightly away from your sides. 
  • Lift them out to the side just above shoulder height, then slowly lower back to the start.

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Topless man performs reverse flye exercise with dumbbells topless man demonstrates how to perform reverse flye with dumbbells, one of the best workout finishers

2b. Reverse Flye

Muscles Worked: Delts, traps, lats, rhomboids
Reps: 10
Rest: Straight into 2c

  • Hinge from the hips, keeping your chest up and shoulders down. 
  • With your arms dangling, a slight bend in your elbows and your palms facing each other, lift your arms up and then slowly lower.

topless man demonstrates how to perform reverse v exercise with dumbbells topless man demonstrates how to perform reverse v exercise with dumbbells, one of the best workout finishers

2c. Reverse V

Muscles Worked: Delts, traps, lats, rhomboids
Reps: 10
Rest: 60 secs
Sets: 2-3

  • Stand tall with your palms facing your sides and your hands slightly away from your body. 
  • Raise your arms to form an upside-down ‘V’ in front of your face.
  • Slowly return your arms to the start position.

FINISHER 3: Superset

topless man demonstrates how to perform forward and back bear crawls exercise topless man demonstrates forward and back bear crawls exercise, one of the best workout finishers

3a. Forward and Back Bear Crawl

Muscles Worked: Delts, lats, traps, triceps, core, glutes, quads, hamstrings
Reps: 1 min
Rest: Straight into 3b

  • Get on all fours.
  • Keeping your hips low and level, move your right hand and left leg together, then your left hand and right leg.
  • Take small steps forward and back. (Growling optional.)

topless man demonstrates how to perform dumbbell thruster exercise topless man demonstrates dumbbell thruster exercise, one of the best workout finishers

3b. Dumbbell Thruster

Muscles Worked: Delts, traps, core, glutes, quads, hamstrings
Reps: 1 min
Rest: 30 secs
Sets: 3

  • Grab a pair of dumbbells, holding them at shoulder height with your palms facing each other. 
  • With your chest up and keeping your feet flat, press your hips back and squat down.
  • Pause briefly before driving yourself up through both heels and pressing the weights into the air.
  • Sink straight back down into the next rep and keep it going.

FINISHER 4: Circuit

topless man demonstrates diamond push-up exercise, one of the best workout finisherstopless man demonstrates how to do diamond push-up exercise

4a. Diamond Push-up

Muscles Worked: Pecs, triceps, core, forearms
Reps: 10
Rest: Straight into 4b

  • Assume a push-up position.
  • Move your hands close together so that your index fingers and thumbs form a diamond shape under your upper chest.
  • Lower with control, then press back up.

topless man demonstrates how to do hammer curl exercise, one of the best workout finishers topless man demonstrates how to do hammer curl exercise with dumbbells, one of the best workout finishers

4b. Hammer Curl

Muscles Worked: Biceps, forearms
Reps: 10
Rest: Straight into 4c

  • Hold a pair of dumbbells by your sides.
  • With your palms facing you, curl the weights up and down, keeping control throughout – don’t swing!

topless man demonstrates how to do push up exercise topless man demonstrates push up exercise, one of the best workout finishers

4c. Push-up

Muscles Worked: Pecs, triceps, biceps, core, forearms
Reps: 10
Rest: Straight into 4d

  • Assume a push-up position, keeping your hands at shoulder-width. 
  • Press down and back up, keeping your elbows tucked in.

topless man demonstrates rotational curl exercise, one of the best workout finishers topless man demonstrates how to do hammer curl exercise with dumbbells, one of the best workout finishers topless man demonstrates how to do rotational curl exercise, one of the best workout finishers

4d. Rotational Curl

Muscles Worked: Biceps, forearms
Reps: 10
Rest: Straight into 4e

  • Grab a pair of dumbbells and curl the weights up with a supine (palms up) grip. 
  • Turn the dumbbells over at the top of the curl to a pronate (palms down) grip on the way down. Lower with control.

man demonstrates how to do wide push up exerciseman demonstrates how to do push up exercise with wide arms, one of the best workout finishers 4e. Wide Push-Up

Muscles Worked: Pecs, triceps, biceps, core, lats, forearms
Reps: 10
Rest: Straight into 4f

  • Assume a push-up position with your hands placed outside your shoulders. 
  • Keep your head up and back straight, and lower with control.
  • Press back up and repeat.

FINISHER 5: 21s

man demonstrated how to do 21s exercise man demonstrates 21s exericse, one of the best workout finishers

Muscles Worked: Biceps, forearms
Reps: 21
Rest: 60 secs
Sets: 2-3

  • Grab a pair of dumbbells.
  • Adopt a strong stance and do the following: 7 ‘bottom-half’ reps (from hanging, bring each dumbbell to 90 degrees), 7 ‘top-half’ reps (from 90 degrees, curl each dumbbell all the way up), 7 complete reps.

FINISHER 6: ‘Bastards’

topless man demonstrates stage one of the bastards exercise topless man demonstrates stage three of the bastards exercise topless man demonstrates stage five of the bastards exercise topless man demonstrates stage six of the bastards exercise, one of the best workout finishers

Muscles Worked: Full body
Reps: 5 mins
Sets: 1 will be plenty…

  • From standing, reach your hands to the floor and hop your feet back into a push-up position.
  • Connect your chest to the floor, pull your hands back and keep your knees from touching the ground.
  • Press back up to the top of the push-up and hop your feet up between your hands.
  • Raise your fingers to your temple and jump into the air.
  • Land through soft knees and immediately go into the next rep.

FINISHER 7: Kettlebell Swing

man demonstrates kettlebell swing exercise, one of the best workout finishers man demonstrates how to do kettlebell swing exercise

Muscles Worked: Full body
Reps: AMRAP 5 mins
Sets: 1

  • Grab a kettlebell with both hands and assume a wide stance, with your toes pointing out. 
  • With a slight bend in your knees, hinge the hips back and then snap the kettlebell up into the air.
  • Let gravity do the work on the way down and hinge into the next rep.

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FINISHER 8: Core superset

man demonstrates leg lift exercise, one of the best workout finishers topless man demonstrates how to do leg lift exercise on floor

8a. Leg Lift

Muscles Worked: Abs, obliques, quads
Reps: 50
Rest: Straight into 9c

  • Lie flat on your back, with straight legs hovering about six inches off the floor. 
  • Lift your legs all the way up to 90 degrees, then lower with control to the start position.

topless man demonstrates alternating ankle touches on floor, one of the best workout finishers man demonstrates how to do alternating ankle touches on floor

8b. Alternating Ankle Touch

Muscles Worked: Abs, obliques
Reps: 50
Rest: Straight into 9d

  • Hold the crunch position and tap each ankle alternately. 
  • Tapping both ankles equals one rep.

 

Words: Luke Grainger
Photography: Eddie Macdonald
Model: Paul Knops (W Model Management)