Health and exercise have been associated with so many perks, whether that be increased mental well being or slowing the progression of fragility that father time sets upon us. These factors play a significant role in sending so many souls to purchase a gym membership. In fact, statistics show that over $21 billion US dollars was spent by American citizens across a twelve month period beginning in late 2015. This is an astounding amount of money being spent by everyday citizens looking to improve their wellbeing. Whilst this figure may prove astonishing, this is not the shocking statistic from the wealth of data. Statisticbrain suggest that over 2/3 of people never use their membership. 67% of people are paying an average rate of $58 a month for something they never use!
So why could this be? A number of factors may lead individuals to cut short their training, but one of the key reasons in our increasingly chaotic civilization is time. None of us seem to have much of it. Especially when the average person is working 8+ hours, has kids to feed and partners that require attention. This does not even include time spent with friends, work colleagues and enjoying a hobby or two. So what can be done about it?
Having trained for a number of years at gyms and studied to obtain a Bachelor degree in Sports Science, this question is something that fills my cranium for longer than most. I've considered what the four most useful exercises are. Recognising that many people spend their time doing the wrong things, or the least bang for your buck type movements, lets consider how we can all best spend our time in the gym. This is not a fancy gym program, just something I wish I knew when first starting out.
Deadlift
These are the single most effective exercise for activating a full array of muscles and ligaments from your neck all the way down to your feet. Trying to do this exercise correctly will take years and years. However, the beauty is in the simplicity. All you need to do is keep your back straight, bend those knees and pick the weight up off the floor. Once you get good at it, you may manage to lift 50 kilograms off the floor, or perhaps even 100. The significant positive of deadlifting is the simultaneous involvement of muscles based through your neck, core, back, arms, quads, glute max and calves. No other exercise can claim to work so many muscle groups at one point in time. This is such an effective training tool that if I'm rushed for time, I'll happily spend my entire session working this one movement. Focus your time here and you can let the results speak for themselves.
Front Squat
The next exercise is the world renowned squat. The squat exercise is damn excellent from my perspective due to two key reasons, 1) both major and minor muscles are activated and 2) it requires postural stability and activation of the core. The front squat, unlike the traditional squat, is held to the front of your body, resting on the top of the chest. The reason for this positioning is that it promotes thoracic extension. This promotion allows your body to strengthen with a strong posture, rather than a potentially more curved spine that may occur more prominently during a basic squat (weight placed behind body). This is one of the hardest exercises to master, but the benefits are countless. Just remember that this exercise is as much for the core as it is for the quads if performed correctly. As always, performing these motions is always about the form.
Pull Up
Another elementary exercise that will provide significant strength improvement. Pull ups or chin ups basically involve grabbing onto a bar and pulling yourself to the top. This motion can be modified through changes in speed, weight and hand grips. The most important thing is to pull your body to the top of the bar whilst keeping your back straight. In addition, strength can be gained simply by focussing your attention to decreasing the amount of swinging that will occur naturally to your body as you both lift and descend from the bar. These are so simple to understand and yet so difficult to perform. Notice a trend! Chin ups specifically hit your biceps, shoulders and trapezius (large back muscles). For those interested in developing a strong and wide back, this is the exercise for you.
Dips
This is an extremely important exercise to master for anyone who plans to have a strong upper body. Specifically this exercise works the shoulders, chest and triceps. The main positive of the motion is its ability to be adapted. You can perform a set of dips with body weight, a chain of weight, fast motion, slow motion, intermittent speeds. This adaptability sends your body into overdrive as it constantly has to adapt to a new stimuli. In addition, dips are basic to perform and yet difficult to master. Sending your body skyward and dipping back down is as elementary a skill as your brain could contemplate. An additional tip is hinted at in the picture above. Using rings can add yet another level of difficulty. Having trained with rings in the past, these tools hit a lot of minor muscles that are not ordinarily used. I'm a firm believer in a full body workout and the rings certainly provide that. Check to see if your local gym has them, but they can be cheaply purchased for house use as well.
Thanks once again for your continued support. I hope that these exercises and info can help you regiment your workouts more effectively. You really can exhaust the body in thirty minutes with the correct exercises and intensity. As always, I'll see you tomorrow with the 11th edition of this writing challenge and I would love to hear what your workout regime is!