The gym can be a confusing place. Acres of shiny machinery, weights of all shapes and sizes, people doing advanced Olympic lifts in one corner and wobble-board cable curls in another. You figure that unless you know what you?re doing, you?re better off sticking to time-tested, multi joint exercises and steering away from the trendiest equipment. And you?re right.

Still, now and then, you see someone doing a fun-looking exercise and think, ?Maybe I should try that, too.?

Well, when should you?

People have limited time to train. That often means any exercise you add to your programme probably replaces something else. So you have to be careful not to just latch onto the latest thing and toss out important movements. There?s always going to be a hierarchy of exercises.

Topping that hierarchy are the multi joint, multi-muscle-group exercises many regular exercisers know by heart: push-ups, lunges, squats, presses, rows and plank variations, to name a few. But are there other equally effective exercises you could substitute in from time to time to challenge your body in new ways?

The answer is a resounding yes! There are plenty of often-overlooked but highly effective exercises worth a place in your rotation, and following are a few of the best options.

There are options here for your lower body and your upper body so no matter what?s on the docket for today, you?ll have a testing ground for some alternatives. Work these exercises into your routine and the trainers at your gym just might start hitting you up for advice.

Bulgarian Dead Lift (For the Lower Body)

How to do it:

• Stand with your back about 1m feet from a bench or an aerobic step no taller than knee height.
• Extend your left leg behind you and place your foot on the step.
• Bend your knees slightly, square your hips and shoulders, and balance your weight between your feet.
• Keeping your back neutral throughout the movement, bend forward at the hips and extend your hands toward the floor, stopping the movement when you start to lose the natural arch in your lower back.
• Return to the starting position by pushing through the heel of your front foot.
• Perform eight to 15 repetitions, switch legs, and repeat for a total of two or three sets. Make it harder by holding dumbbells.

Single-leg exercises are popular among coaches because they are easier on the lower back than barbell squats and dead lifts. But many single-leg movements ? like lunges and step-ups ? primarily work the quadriceps (the muscles on the front of the thigh), while minimally stressing the glutes and hamstrings. If you?re looking for a single-leg exercise for the glutes and hamstrings, your only real option is the single-leg Romanian dead lift, which for many people challenges balance more than strength. As a result, the target muscles never really get a good workout. Bulgarian dead lifts solve this problem: The forward hip-hinge maximally fires up your glutes and hamstrings, and with your back foot stabilized on the bench behind you, you?ll be able to use a substantial weight without losing your balance.

Substitute for: Other variations of the dead lift

Angled Shoulder Press (For the Upper Body)

How to do it:

• Attach one end of a barbell bar into a ground-based rotational device (often called a landmine).
• Facing the bar, lift the opposite end of the bar to shoulder height and assume a neutral grip on the bar with your right hand near the end of the bar. Your right forearm should be perpendicular to the bar, feet shoulder-width apart.
• Bend your knees slightly, tighten your core, and press the bar up and forward until your elbow is locked.
• Lower the bar to shoulder height and perform six to 12 repetitions.
• Switch arms and repeat for a total of two or three sets. Make the movement harder by loading the raised end of the bar

Why it?s worthwhile:

Many people find traditional overhead presses uncomfortable because they can wreak havoc on inflexible shoulder joints. The angled press allows the shoulder to follow its natural arc, making it a very comfortable exercise, even for people who have shoulder problems. As with the overhead press, the focus of the exercise is your ?pushing? muscles ? the shoulders, chest and triceps ? but pressing with just one hand presents an additional challenge: Since the weight is off-center, your core has to work extra hard to keep you upright.

Substitute for: Incline bench press, overhead press

Equipment Option: A landmine can be a tough piece of equipment to locate, so just wrap the end of the barbell in a towel and wedge the end into a corner instead.