I hope everyone is looking forward to the Easter break. Alltone Fitness Studio will be closed over the easter break and will re open on Tues 29th March. BNG Boot Camp and group fitness will not be running over Easter and will recommence indoors at Watsonia Primary School, 240 Nell Street, Watsonia on Tues 5th April. Happy Easter!
This week I will be sharing with you my top 5 exercises and explaining the benefits and why you should be performing them in your exercise programs. Most of you that know me well, won't be surprised to find out that all 5 exercises are full body movements.
What are full body exercises I hear you ask? Well let me explain. Compound exercises (full body movements) also known as multi jointed exercises, burn more fat, use multiple muscle groups and build the most strength and muscle. Examples of compound exercises are push ups, squats, chin ups, medicine ball slams and burpees just to name a few. Some compound exercises can be difficult to learn while some may be more effective than others. In this blog I will explain why my top 5 full body exercises will give you maximum results in the shortest amount of time.
5 Burpees ( Insert evil laugh here )
Used by fitness boot camp instructors and personal trainers world wide, burpees are one of those full body exercises most people love to hate. This high intensity exercise will give you a entire full body workout in just minutes. A high level of focus and intensity is required to be able to push through a set of 15-20 repetitions. Here's how to perform a burpee.
From a standing position,
squat down, put your hands on the ground, kick your legs out behind you, do a
push-up (optional), then kick the legs back up into a squat position, stand and
jump as you swing your arms overhead. If you’re an advanced exerciser or want
to add even more “oomph” to this exercise, you can wear a weighted vest as you do
your burpees. Good luck!
4 Medicine Ball Slams
Not only is this exercise fantastic at building upper body, core and leg strength, it is also fantastic for stress relief. Best of all though, it is quite easy to perform.
To do a medicine ball slam,
you simply get a medicine ball (those big heavy balls you can often find in the
corner of the gym), raise it overhead, then swing your arms down as you release
the ball and slam it into the ground as hard as possible. Keep your spine in a neutral
position thorough the entire move, abs are tight and slight bend in your knees
as you slam the ball into the ground.
3. Push Ups
Push-ups are one of the oldest and most basic of exercises
for a simple reason. They work! The exercise positions all the muscles in our
upper body and builds optimal strength in the forearms, shoulders and chest. Performed
correctly, you will also target your core and glute muscles.
To do a pushup get into a high plank position. Screw your hands firmly into the ground directly under shoulders. Keep you abs and glutes tight throughout the movement.
Lower your body by bending your elbows back on a 45 degree angle and keep your forearms
vertical. Keep your back flat and eyes focused about three feet in front of you
to keep a neutral neck—until your chest grazes the floor. Push back up
2. Barbell Squats
It is one of the most primitive movements known to man and without doubt one of the best exercises for lower body muscular and strength development. Barbell squats will increase your core strength. This is because through the entire movement your core muscles need to work hard to keep your body upright and support your lower back.
Begin with the barbell supported on top of
the traps. The chest should be up and the head facing forward. Adopt a hip to
shoulder width stance with the feet turned out as needed. Keep your abs and
glutes tight. Descend by flexing at the
knees and hips while pushing your hamstrings back. Keep the knees tracking in line with your
feet and avoid them tracking too far forward over the toes. The goal is to
keep the torso as upright as possible. Continue all the way down, keeping the
weight on the front of the heel. At the moment the upper legs contact the lower
legs reverse the motion, driving the weight upward.
1. Deadlift to Overhead Press
The
premise of the deadlift-to-overhead press is fairly straightforward: you pick
a heavy object off the ground and lift it overhead. The object can be a
dumbbell, barbell, kettlebell, medicine ball or sandbag. However, the following
people who display poor mobility/stability, are inexperienced or have lingering
injuries should seek advice on properly performing this exercise before attempting
it.
When youpick the object off the ground, which is called a deadlift, you’ll need to have
good form: looking forward with your knees bent, butt out, and back straight.
You then stand by extending your hip forward, as you stand or after you are in
a standing position, hoist the weight overhead – using your hip and leg muscles
to assist your upper body with driving the weight up.
