Good Afternoon!
Today we are going to talk about the 10 best exercises you can do for your body. And guess what? They are the old classics, no gimmicks, no complicated contortions, just basics!
Why are these exercises so great you ask? Because most of them are called 'compound movements' meaning that they work more than one muscle at a time giving you the best bang for your time. They are also considered very effective for each of the body parts used and they take minimal equipment and space (if any)! So give these exercises a try and mix them in to your own routine to pump up your results!
Best Chest Exercise: The Push-Up
The push-up wins hands down. While the bench press is a great alternative, most of us don't lift as much weight in the bench press as we do in the push-up. In one study, researchers found that
66.4 per cent of total body weight is lifted in a full push-up. So if you weigh, say, 65kg, that means you’ll be lifting 43kg, which is probably more than you would normally attempt in a bench press. Also, you will get added challenge for the core stabilisers in the face-down position of a push-up
Best alternative exercise: dumbbell chest press
Best Glute Exercise: The Squat
You have so many choices when it comes to exercises that work the
glutes (i.e. your buttocks) – but according to research by the American Council on Exercise, the squat always wins. The research recorded that the most muscle activity in the gluteus maximus –
the main muscle of the glutes – occurred during squats, but only when testers went to 90 degrees or lower. This is because the deeper a squat is, the more muscle fibers it fires in the gluteus maximus. However,
when you’re doing squats you should only go as low as you can comfortably.
Best alternative exercise: The ACE study also found remarkably high muscle activation in the glutes in an aerobics class favourite, the quadruped. This is the exercise where you
start on all fours and then raise one leg, keeping the knee bent, so that the lower leg points directly up at the ceiling.
Best Ab Exercise: The Bicycle
Those nice folk at ACE got together with San Diego State University to put ab exercises under the spotlight. Their combined study compared an array of popular tummy-trimming moves – including crunches, reverse crunches and the plank – and the results were surprising, given that many exercise classes devote the entire ab section to crunch-type moves. The results showed that the most muscle activity in the obliques and rectus abodminis – i.e. the six-pack and the muscles of the waist – occurred during the bicycle maneuver, in which a person extends each leg alternately and twists the opposite shoulder towards the knee as the leg comes back in.
Best alternative exercise: Plank
Best Exercise for the Back: The Lateral Pull-Down
Research in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that a ‘wide overhand grip’ lateral pull-down was the best exercise to do to get a
stronger, shapelier back. And if you’re wondering about the ‘behind the head’ or ‘to the chest’ quandary, bear in mind that the fibers of the lats (muscles in the back) run obliquely – not straight down – so bringing the bar to the chest follows the line of pull more directly. While pulling behind the head puts you at a very high risk of shoulder and neck injury and the exercise become ineffective (so don't do it please).
Best alternative exercise: ‘Single arm bent over’ row with dumbbell.
Best Exercise for Hamstrings: Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl
To improve this set of muscles you should try a swiss ball curl – which will hone in on your hamstrings in addition to challenging your core stabilizers. To do this,
put your feet on a Swiss ball, dig your heels in, lift your body off the floor, and form a straight line from your shoulders to your feet. Then roll the ball towards your buttocks by bending your knees. Pause, then roll out again, and repeat this action until you reach fatigue.
Best alternative exercise: deadlift with straight legs
Best Exercise for Upper Arms: The Triceps Kickback
When it comes to upper arms, most people think immediately about the biceps (the ‘Popeye’ muscle!), which runs along the front of the arm. But actually, the triceps is a much bigger muscle, and working it will make the overall appearance of the arm firmer, tighter and bigger. To do this exercise, stand side-on to a support with the closest knee and hand on the support. Take a dumbbell in the other hand and bring your bent elbow up to your side. This is the start position. Now straighten the arm, taking the dumbbell up behind you, but keeping the upper arm ‘glued’ to your side. Use the heaviest weight you can, while maintaining good technique, as research found that the
medial head of the triceps did most of the work – rather than the whole muscle – when only light weights were used.
Best alternative exercise: Tricep Dips from a bench. If you decide to do these, get some advice on good technique beforehand.
Best Thigh Exercise: The Lunge (or Squat as shown earlier)
The exercise that comes out best for thighs in most studies is the squat – and your thighs will be doing more work if you don’t squat very deep. However, to add some
variety to your program, and to work each thigh independently (to prevent imbalances), lunges come a close second. Take your lunges to the front, rather than the rear, for maximum thigh involvement.
Best exercise alternative: The step-up.
Best for Waist: The Side Plank
You often see people in the gym doing side bends with a dumbbell to tone up the waist area. But this exercise will actually shorten the obliques – effectively contributing towards you losing your waist! To tighten the muscles and reduce your risk of back pain, try the side bridge instead. Lie on your side with knees and hips stacked – the top leg directly over the bottom one – and your weight resting on the lower elbow.
Bend the bottom leg to a right angle at the knee while keeping the hips on top of one another. Then lift your body up so that your weight is supported by the lower part of the bottom leg and the elbow only. Consciously draw the side of your waist that is closest to the floor up towards the centre of your body.
Don’t let your bottom stick out, and keep your abdominals contracted.
Best alternative exercise: Sideways sit-ups using a Swiss ball.
Best Exercise for Hips: The Clam Shell
The best strengthening exercise for your hip is the little know 'clam shell' and this is an especially important exercise with runners and people with knee pain. By strengthening the hips you provide more stability for the knee joint which will help improve your run and help with any knee pain you have been experiencing. To do this lie on your side like picture A rolling your hips froward slightly. Then slowly lift the top knee off of the bottom one and push it up as high as it will go without rotating your hips backwards. You should feel a burning right in the hip - this means your doing it right!
Best alternative exercise: Side-lying leg raises.
Best Shoulder Exercise: The Lateral Shoulder Raise
The shoulder muscle (the deltoids) consists of three heads: medial, anterior and posterior. But the area that you need to target specifically for appearance (shapely shoulders) is the
medial head. To do this, try the lateral shoulder raise.
Stand with a dumbbell in each hand and lean forward from the hips slightly. Press your arms out to the side with your elbows slightly bent, leading with the little fingers, and stop at 90 degrees. Note that although you are directly engaging the medial head, the anterior and posterior heads will also contribute to this move.
Best alternative exercise: Military press.
Doing what’s best for your body
By doing the best exercises for each part of your body, as described here, you will be more likely to improve your major muscle groups. However, you should remember that variety is key when it comes to resistance training – so make sure you always do a variety of exercises for each part of your body, and
exercise a number of different parts of your body rather than focus on one particular part all the time.
I hope this article (some of it is by realbuzz.com) has been helpful and informative. Try them out in your next workout and let me know what you think!
Stay healthy!
Andrea :)
