My Top Ten Exercises

It seems to me like every month a new list of the best exercises comes out.  Some times this list focuses on a particular body part, or incorporates only one facet of training like body weight exercises.  Usually these lists are set up address a specific demographic group.  It is rare for me to come across a list that utilizes exercises that can address all the aspects of fitness: agility, speed, power, strength, and endurance.  It is even harder to find such a list that provides exercises from different training modalities: body weight conditioning, heavy strength training, plyometrics.  Most such lists target one or two aspects of fitness through just one modality.  This list is different because these ten exercises, alone or in combination with two or three, can be used to train all aspects of fitness, resulting in more complete development of physical fitness and conditioning. 

This is not just about lifting heavier weights or increasing endurance, it is about improving overall fitness and conditioning. As always, consult your doctor before incorporating any of these exercises into a program and be sure to error on the side of caution.  Proper form will create the best results so choose resistances that allow for mastery of form.  This promotes both safety and effectiveness.  Never sacrifice form for heavier weight; doing so is training the ego, not the body.

10.          Push Ups this body weight exercise is typically thought to train primarily the chest, shoulders, and triceps, and it does.  But with proper form the entire group of core muscles: abs, obliques, hip flexors, lower back and glutes will also be engaged, making it an effective total body exercise.  Variations in hand positions, repetition speed, and total repetitions can make this more than just a strength exercise, training agility, upper body speed, power, and endurance.

Push Up Video

9.            Box Jumps this body weight exercise is typically performed as a plyometric, to improve lower body explosive power.  However, changes in starting foot position, midair movement, or completing high numbers of repetitions can change this into an agility or endurance exercise.

Box Jumps Video

8.            BOSU Plank takes the standard plank position and significantly increases the challenge. A standard plank works the chest, triceps, abdominals, hip flexors, glutes, and lower back.  By performing this exercise with a BOSU, these muscles are challenged further by maintaining balance.  It is a great way to provide an extreme challenge to both the strength of the core muscles and the sense of balance.  The ability to maintain proper balance is directly tied to the strength of the core muscles.  This exercise trains both.

BOSU Plank Video

7.            Horizontal Pull Ups when most people think pull ups they think of hanging vertically, which is a great way to train the upper body.  However, by utilizing the Olympic bar in a rack, and changing the position to a horizontal one, the pull up now becomes a direct counter move to any push up or chest press.  Most guys make the mistake putting an emphasis on training the chest more so than the back, creating a rounded shoulder posture.  The chest may be stronger but it appears to be smaller, not larger despite all of the chest work.  Horizontal pull ups directly target the muscles of the upper back that work to keep the shoulders back, opening up the chest, and allowing it to look bigger.  Balancing the strength between the chest and the back is an important key to maintaining proper alignment of the spine, thereby improving posture.

Horizontal Pull Up

6.            Battle Ropes what are battle ropes?  Simply put, probably the best conditioning tool that you are not using.  Like most guys, I find the prospect of running on a treadmill, or using an elliptical to be absolutely mind-numbing and boring.  The little old ladies can keep that kind of boring cardio (no offense to lovely ladies of the geriatric stage of life).  Battle ropes are an incredible to for improving both cardiovascular endurance and explosive power.

Battle Ropes

5.            Pull Ups are one of the best upper body strength exercises, period.  Anyone can sit down at a weight machine and pull a handle down to their chest; it takes far more strength and coordination to pull the body off of the ground and up to a bar.  Typically performed for a low number of repetitions, improving physical strength to perform endless repetitions gives pull ups the potential to vastly improve upper body endurance as well as strength.

4.            Sprints are one of the most effective ways to train the ATP and anaerobic glycolytic energy systems; the systems that perform short-burst high intensity activity. In most sports, the fastest person wins.  If you are looking to improve overall athleticism and sports performance sprinting is a must.  For a person looking to lose weight a short duration-high intensity sprint workout will blast more body fat than any steady-pace endurance activity.  Who sprints? Just the high level athletes and incredibly fit people.

Sprint Video

3.            Squats properly done squats recruit more muscle tissue than just about any other exercise. During a squat every single muscle in legs are working, the abdominals and low back are working to stabilize the core, and the upper back , shoulders, and arms are working to keep the weight balanced in the correct position.  This one exercise engages upwards of 80% of the muscle in the human body.  This translates into incredibly efficient strength training and a lot of calorie burning.  Drop it deep to maximize the benefits: touching the grass at the bottom of the squat will translate into an incredibly mobile and strong body.

2.            Burpees easily the most challenging body weight exercise, burpees combine box jumps, push-ups, and planks into one quick, and explosive motion.  Of all the exercises that utilize just body weight for training, burpees deliver the most bangs for the buck, training both upper and lower body explosiveness as well as hip mobility and flexibility.  The intense nature of this exercise creates a significant elevation in heart rate resulting in cardiovascular and endurance training.

Burpee Video

1.            Deadlifts and squats are often debated between fitness professionals as being the two greatest strength-training exercises.  Usually squats come out ahead in this debate.  However, I rank deadlifts as number one because it is a more technical lift.  The form requires a higher level of mastery and technical skill to lift really heavy weight safely.  Also, with deadlifts, grip strength can be a limiting factor whereas it is not with a squat.  Finally I rank deadlifts as number one because it is way more satisfying to the ego to put a bar on the ground, load it with really heavy weight and pick it up than it is to squat heavy weight.

Deadlift Video