How to nail the toughest moves in Centr Unlimited

What are the telltale signs that you’re taking on Centr Unlimited? One, your legs are shaking, and two, you’re facing a curveball with every new move Luke and Alexz throw at you!

With the huge variety of exercises Unlimited, chances are you may struggle with some of the trickier moves. It’s okay to admit it – we’re right there with you! Luke tells us there’s moves in this program even Chris has trouble with, so you know it’s dang tough.

We’ve rounded up the most challenging moves from each level of Unlimited to help you work on your form and keep progressing until you smash every single exercise.

Did we get the tricky moves right? Which exercises have you found toughest? Share your pain, progress, and pleas for help in the Centr community.

The toughest Centr Unlimited: Beginner moves

Centr Unlimited: Beginner is designed for people who rarely exercise or have a low level of cardio fitness, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be tricky moves! To make progress, you need to challenge yourself, so check out these tips to master the toughest moves for beginners.

1. Kneeling tricep dips

Where will I see it? Beginner Burn, Tone and Build phases

Why is it so hard? It’s rare to see this exercise in the wild, so it can be tricky to nail when you first try it. It requires existing upper-body strength, especially in your triceps, to pull it off.

How to nail it: Set up with your hands pointing forward, directly beneath your shoulders. Your back should remain straight throughout, with your head in a neutral position. Your triceps engage as you bend at the elbows to lower your chest to the floor, and the stronger they are, the further you’ll be able to lower yourself. Only lower yourself to a position you’re comfortable with when you’re starting out.

How to modify it: By setting up like Alexz on the heels of your hands, you can perform this exercise with less bending at the elbows. This helps to reduce the amount of weight your triceps need to support, and is a good way to build up strength.

Still struggling? Try this: If kneeling tricep dips are out of reach, try doing regular push-ups on your knees. Push-ups generally target your chest and shoulders, but will also strengthen up your triceps so they can take more load as you progress.

2. Side crawl

Where will I see it? Beginner Burn and Build phases

Why is it so hard? If you’ve got a major muscle group, this functional exercise recruits it – back, legs and core included. You’ll also need good coordination, control and balance to pull it off. Not asking much, is it?

How to nail it: Your hands shouldn’t be wider than your shoulders or too far forward, as the further away from your body they are, the more strain you put on your shoulders. Engage your core and keep your hips up so that your back is straight like a tabletop – this helps maintain a strong link between your upper and lower body as you crawl.

How to modify it: As Luke demonstrates, you can give your muscles a break at each end of the mat by slowly dropping your knees to the floor. Breathe in, take a moment to reset your form, then continue the crawl back in the other direction.

Still struggling? Try this: Stay still! Doing a crawl hold is a great exercise in itself, and will help you build the strength to take on the side crawl for longer periods.

3. Squat jump

Where will I see it? Beginner Burn and Build phases

Why is it so hard? Squat jumps are the first plyometric exercise you will encounter in Unlimited,and they require you to generate plenty of power with your legs. (That’s on top of being able to execute a basic squat with good form!) Explosive movements like this can quickly use up a lot of energy, so it will challenge your cardio fitness, too.

How to nail it: You’ll start by dropping into a regular squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. This is the point you need to generate enough power to jump up. Squeeze your glutes and think about pushing the floor away with the balls of your feet to rise up quickly. Land softly to protect your knee and ankle joints from injury.

Modify it: If you find it difficult to generate explosive force, or the jump is hard on your knees, stick with regular squats. Follow Luke’s form by aiming to really spring back up to a standing position, and keep working on it until you feel comfortable enough to add the jump.

Still struggling? Try this: To transition from regular squats into jump squats, try the squat to calf raise which will have you performing the same motion without the impact. Instead of rising out of the squat into a jump, lift your heels and rise up onto the balls of your feet, stretching through your calf muscles. This will further strengthen your ankles and calves to get you jump-ready.

The toughest Centr Unlimited: Intermediate moves

Take these tips on board and you’ll be flying over every hurdle and challenge your trainers throw down in Centr Unlimited: Intermediate.

1. Navy seal burpee

Where will I see it? Intermediate Burn and Tone phases

Why is it so hard? This combo melds three classic bodyweight moves – burpees, push-ups and mountain climbers – into one powerful beast. It will test your upper-body strength, cardio capacity and your mind-body connection. But the toughest aspect is stringing all the elements together in the right order.

How to nail it: Take it slow at first to lock down the movement pattern. A little internal running sheet may help – “push-up, mountain climber, push-up, mountain climber, push-up into burpee” – until muscle memory kicks in. Remember the basics on each element, too: keep your elbows tucked in and your back straight on the push-ups, land with soft knees on the burpees. Once you find your rhythm, you’ll be able to pick up the pace to get the most out of the move.

Modify it: You can regress, or reduce the difficulty, of this exercise by varying degrees. Firstly, you can do push-ups on your knees. To scale it back again, you can follow Alexz’s demonstration here and remove the push-ups as well as the burpee jump – you’ll perform the mountain climbers, then step up to stand tall. If you rise up onto the balls of your feet when you stand, you’ll also achieve strength gains for your calves and ankles.

Still struggling? Try this: Keep doing push-ups, mountain climbers and burpees on a regular basis. Nailing each exercise individually will help you string them together with ease.

2. Sprawl

Where will I see it? Intermediate Burn phase

Why is it so hard? The sprawl requires a back extension (curving from your lower back) that may be difficult if you have experienced a back injury.

How to nail it: When you jump your legs back, make sure your feet hit the floor before you drop your hips down and extend your back. This ensures your back has enough support, and that you don’t slam your hips onto the floor. Don’t rush through the move if you’re new to it.

Modify it: Rather than jumping back, simply step your legs backward into the high plank position, then slowly drop your hips toward the floor. Only lower your hips down to a position that is comfortable – as you can see in the demonstration, Alexz only drops her hips until her knees touch the floor.

Still struggling? Try this: The key to pulling off the sprawl is ensuring your back is mobile enough. You can work on this by doing dynamic back stretches prior to working out, and using a foam roller to help release any tension. A complementary exercise that can help you get a feel for the flexibility required in your torso is the yoga pose ‘cobra’. To do this, lie on the floor with your legs extended and your hands beside your lowest ribs, then push your shoulders and chest away from the floor. Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears and tilt your head up to gaze at the ceiling.

3. V-squat pulse

Where will I see it? Intermediate Tone and Build phases

Why is it so hard? Even if you’re regularly training your lower body, the adductor muscles of your inner thighs might not get a lot of love. V-squat pulses require you to open up your hips and switch those adductors into high gear – which is great for toning, but can be a big test!

How to nail it: Your heels should be touching, with your feet fanning out at a 45-degree angle. If maintaining good form is a struggle, you can try reducing the angle by bringing your big toes closer together. Find a steady pace for your pulses and stick to it.

Modify it: You can remove the pulse and make this a V-squat hold to work the same muscles. But if it is the V-shape you’re struggling with, follow Luke’s lead by doing a regular squat pulse to get your legs burning.

Still struggling? Try this: Standing clams use a similar V-squat position to activate your adductors, but instead of pulsing up and down, you bring your knees together then spread them apart.

The toughest Centr Unlimited: Advanced moves

The toughest of the tough, these exercises aren’t for the faint of heart (or legs…). Use these tips to make the most of your unlimited possibilities.

1. Tuck jumps

Where will I see it? Advanced Burn, Tone and Build phases

Why is it so hard? Tuck jumps may be easy (and fun) when you’re leaping into a pool, but when Luke and Alexz bust them out in Unlimited you’re going to need to draw on all your explosive energy reserves. If you haven’t done plyometric workouts in the past, you may be surprised at how quickly your legs get fatigued.

How to nail it: Don’t attempt to jump, jump, jump in succession. Take cues from Luke and allow for a couple of little hops between each tuck jump. This gives you a chance to reset and build momentum. When you jump, only raise your knees to a level that allows you to land softly back on the mat – reducing the impact on your knees.

Modify it: To work on conditioning your lower body for explosive movements, make squat jumps a part of your training routine. To remove the impact from the exercise, emulate Alexz here by performing a fast-paced squat to calf raise. The quick pace will build your cardio capacity, which you’ll also need to nail tuck jumps.

2. Alternating explosive single-leg glute raises

Where will I see it? Advanced Burn, Tone and Build phases

Why is it so hard? Just take a look – there’s a LOT going on in this exercise. At first glance it may seem like Luke is just flailing around, but look closer and you’ll see he’s launching off one leg at a time. You really need to utilize the power in your calves and glutes on each side to control this movement. If you have a strength imbalance, it’s going to show up pretty quickly!

How to nail it: Whatever you do, don’t rush it. To generate the power to throw up your legs, you need to simultaneously thrust your hips upward (squeezing your glutes for maximum thrust) and push off from the ball of your foot.

Modify it: Remove the explosive element by performing a single-leg glute bridge that ends in a calf raise as Alexz is demonstrating.

Still struggling? Try this: Build up the strength in your glutes (on both sides) by doing single-leg glute bridges. You can also build endurance by holding the bridge, which keeps the muscles under tension.

3. Bodyweight skull crushers

Appears in: Advanced Burn and Build phases

Why is it so hard? This is the biggest challenge your triceps will encounter during Unlimited. Because your hands and forearms are placed on the mat in front of your shoulders, it’s up to your triceps to do all the hard work of lifting your upper body from the floor.

How to nail it: The setup for this exercise is similar to a forearm plank, but you then need to move your elbows further forward on the mat, so they’re no longer directly under your shoulders. To begin the movement, squeeze your triceps and push through your palms to raise your torso. Your core should be engaged, and your back and neck straight throughout.

Modify it: Bring your hands in closer (just a little in front of your shoulders) to perform kneeling tricep dips, as Alexz is demonstrating. This will still work your triceps at a lower intensity.

Still struggling? Try this: As you progress through Unlimited, you’ll encounter other moves that will help you build tricep strength in order to work up to bodyweight skull crushers. Work on nailing moves like kneeling tricep dips with pulses and tricep push-ups and you’ll be well on your way.

Which Centr Unlimited exercise has been your biggest challenge so far? Head to the community now to share which moves have you shaking and quaking.