3 Exercises Anyone Can Do to Get In Shape
What do I need to do to get in shape? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked that question. If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’ve asked it recently. It’s a common question asked by anyone who has come to the conclusion that where they’re at physically isn’t where they want to be. No matter what your fitness level is, it’s a great question to ask. Everyone should ask themselves this question from time to time. If you’re asking this question you’re probably in a place where you’re out of a fitness routine or maybe never had one before. You may be active, going on a walk or hike with friends, but a regular fitness regimen designed to strengthen muscles and increase heart rate has never been part of your habits. You know that your goal includes moving more, but after getting up off the couch you honestly don’t know what to do next.
So where do you start? When you think fitness you probably picture lean, strong, good looking gurus from Instagram doing insane things with all manner of fitness equipment. They make the simplest movements look easy and the complicated moves look like something out of a Marvel movie. Honestly, watching them is equal parts inspiring and terrifying. It can be intimidating enough to make you go back to Netflix and chill. However, what you don’t realize when you watch those fitness pro’s is that under all those complicated moves are a hand full of basic movements that every person does every single day. They’re called “Primal Movements” and they’re basic mechanics of human movement we do every day without thinking. There are actually seven of them: Push, Pull, Squat, Rotate, Hinge, Gait, and Lunge. All those crazy moves you see from trainers and athletes come down to seven moves you’re already doing. That hanging toes to bar are the same muscles you used to sit up from bed this morning. That 500 pound squat are the same muscles you used to stand up from your chair. And those overhead kettlebell press are the same muscles you used to push open your front door when you got home from work. Yes, it’s that simple. All you need are three simple exercises to get you going.
Push-ups
If you want to strengthen and tone your chest, core, arms, back, and shoulders look no further than my personal favorite exercise: the push-up. I started doing push-ups in middle school when I noticed how my body was changing and I became more self conscious about how I looked. I wanted my upper body to look strong and toned. After all, isn’t that what the girls would like? In high school it was the basis for me to build my bench press in the weight room for varsity sports and today push-ups are the foundation for dozens of exercises in my daily fitness routines. Even on rest days, you can find me doing a couple sets of push-ups.
Push-ups help strengthen the muscles involved in the pushing and pulling primal movements. Like all primal movements it has a variety of options you can use to make it more or less challenging. So lets set it up the standard push-up.
Start with your hands flat on the floor, palms open, shoulder width apart, and arms fully extended. This is your set position, the point where you’ll start and finish every movement. Extend your legs behind you, planting your toes on the ground about shoulder width apart as well. (option: knees on the floor hip width apart.) Engage your core and raise your hips so that your body creates a straight line through your ankles, hips, and shoulders like you were holding a plank. (if using the option: knees, hips, and shoulders in a straight line).
Slowly lower your chest to the floor, allowing the elbows to bend back towards your hips while staying away from your body at about a 45 degree angle. Focus on keeping the core tight and relaxing the shoulders so you don’t crunch your neck.
When your elbows reach a 90 degree bend or you’ve lowered as far as you’re comfortable, press back up extending the arms to return to your set position.
Repeat as many times as possible while still maintaining good form.
Do as many reps as possible (AMRAP). Once you’re no longer able to maintain good form, rest for 60-90 seconds then do another set. Your goal, is three sets.
Push-ups are all about the good plank form. The straight line your body creates in the set position is the most important part of a successful and strong push-up. If your hips are too high you’re likely putting unnecessary pressure in your legs and shoulders. It will cause your body to do more work in the wrong areas and burn out faster. If you need to make it less challenging start by standing leaning into a wall, following the same mechanics. As you get stronger move to using the back of a chair and then working your way down to your hands on the floor.
Squats
Don’t skip leg day bruh! It’s a common joke in the gym that many body builders and strength trainers will skip developing their leg muscles. Most of us don’t worry about strengthening our legs because we can walk, sit, stand, or run without difficulty. I skipped leg day for a long time believing that my time running or biking was doing enough to keep my legs strong. It wasn’t until I began experiencing pain in a variety of areas throughout my feet, legs, and back that I realized how important it is to intentionally work my legs.
Squats help strengthen the muscles involved in the squat, hinge, gait, and lunge primal movements. Squats not only use every major muscle in your legs (calves, glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings), if done properly or with some resistance will also strengthen your core by engaging your abs and back. So lets set up your squat position.
Start by planting your feet shoulder or hip width apart and point your toes forward. Don’t be afraid to set a wider stance since this will give you a stronger base of support. Stand straight with your chest up, shoulders relaxed, and eyes forward. This is your set position where you’ll start and finish each rep.
Without moving your feet, rotate your knees to the outside of your body like your screwing your feet into the floor. You’ll feel your gluteus maximus engage and the arches in your feet rise up off the floor. This is what we call “screwing down” and it’s very important in engaging your muscles for proper form.
Slowly lower yourself toward the ground bending at the knees, then hinging at your hips like you’re sitting in a chair. Keep your chest open by sitting up tall through the motion. This will make you feel heavy in your heels like you’re almost rocking backwards. To know if your sitting up enough look down. If you can wiggle your toes or see them in front of your knees then you’re in the right position.
When you’ve lowered as far as you can comfortably, press through the floor with your entire foot, shifting weight onto the balls of your feel and returning to your set position. At the top squeeze your muscles tight before relaxing and repeating.
Do 10 reps focusing on good form. Rest for 60-90 seconds and repeat for 3 rounds.
The basics of the squat may seem simple and a lot of people want to jump right into adding challenges. However, it’s important to focus on building good muscle memory with proper form before you add weights or increase your range of motion. Without good form you’ll put yourself at risk of injury or problems in other exercises because you’ve worked the muscles incorrectly.
Sit-ups
Abs! Yes, we all have them. And while we all would like to look at those chiseled fitness models, your abs are more important than posting selfies by the pool. Your abs play a vital role in protecting your spine. Take a moment to feel where the bottom of your ribs are. Then slowly walk your fingers down your sides until they touch your hip bone. The only thing connecting those two points on your body is your spine, which is pretty fragile compared to your rib cage, hip, or any other part of your bone structure. Having a strong core is extremely important for transferring load from your lower body to your upper body without your body folding over like an accordion.
Sit-ups help strengthen the muscles involved in the hinge and rotate primal movements. Just like the push-up, sit-ups have a variety of options to make them more or less challenging all depending on your comfort and ability. For now lets focus on the basic sit-up.
Start lying face up on the floor with shoulders relaxed and legs out straight. Bend your knees and slide your heels towards your rear end so that you can place your feet flat on the floor. This is your set position.
Reach up and touch your finger tips behind your ears. This will help you stretch our your abs and straighten your spine.
Engage your core and slowly raise your upper body off the floor in one motion. Focus on leading with the chest and shoulders, keeping your spine straight so that you don’t curl off the floor.
Bring your chest as close to your knees as possible. Before lowering down, take a deep breath and again focus on straightening your spine so you can lower your upper body as one unit back to your set position.
Do as many reps as possible (AMRAP). Once you’re no longer able to maintain good form, rest for 60-90 seconds then do another set. Your goal, is three sets.
The key to good sit-ups is focusing on keeping your spine straight. Doing that will take tension out of your neck and spine from trying to curl up and help you engage more muscles along your rectus abdominis (your six pack) and your obliques. Just like push-ups, sit-ups have a big variety of options to make it more or less challenging. If you’re not able do the full sit-up, start with a reverse sit-up where you keep your shoulders on the floor then raise your feet up bringing your knees to your chest.
It’s that simple. Three exercises that strengthen your body in all areas and require nothing more than a little elbow room. When I first started exercising all I had was my bedroom floor and a little motivation to be better than I currently was. I did as many as I could of each exercise every night before going to bed, along with a little stretching. It not only instilled a good habit that’s led to a lifetime of fitness, but having these three basics has been my roots I come back to whenever I need to reset. If you want to get in shape, start simple. There’s no limit to how many or how often you can do of these exercises, but I guarantee that as you do them regularly you’ll see and feel the difference.
