As you go about your strength training workouts, it’s going to be imperative that you are taking some time to consider the exercises that you’re using. Choose the wrong exercises and you are not going to be seeing the benefits you could be from that workout session, so this can really make or break the progress you see.
Let’s walk you through four of the top movements that should be a must in each workout program – regardless of your goal.
These are so beneficial for everyone that they are not to be overlooked.
Squats
The squat is the king of lower body exercises and is perfect for building strength and power, improving fat loss, and helping you gain functional strength as well.
The squat is a multi-muscle exercise, meaning it’ll work a high number of muscles all at once, leading you to see greater overall results from each workout that you do.
When doing this movement, make sure that you lower yourself all the way down to the ground before lifting back up to reap full benefits.
Plank Hold
Next, don’t overlook the plank hold either. This movement is going to help you gain great strength in the core muscles and help to increase your ability to maintain balance in all the other exercises that you do.
When doing the plank, it’s a must that you keep the back in the flat back position the whole time. If you see it increasing upwards or decreasing, this is a sure-sign that you aren’t maintaining good form and are at risk for back pain.
To advance this movement, try placing the arms or feet up on an exercise ball.
Lunges
The lunge is the next top lower body exercise to be sure that you are doing in your strength program. This one comes with a few variations for options including the walking lunge, the stationary lunge, the split squat (which is performed with one foot up on a bench behind you) as well as the reverse lunge for those who really
want balancing benefits.
The lunge is great because it’ll work your core muscles while also testing your balancing capabilities.
Push-Ups
Finally, the last exercise that you need to make sure you’re doing is the push-up. Push-ups are a total upper body movement so are going to help you gain strength in your chest, your shoulders, your triceps, as well as your biceps, really progressing your upper body capabilities along.
Push-ups also offer so many different variations that there’s no reason to ever get bored with them in your workout. You can do them with the hands in a triangle position, with a wide hand stance, with one hand elevated up on a box, with the hands on an exercise ball, with the feet on an exercise ball, with a clap action to turn it into a plyometric movement, and so on.
There’s no shortage of ways to challenge yourself with this one.
So make sure that you have a look at your current strength training protocol. Are these exercises included in the mix? If not, it’s time to get them in.
