When you search the internet there are a million and one different top 10 exercises all designed for their specific focus, be it strength, size or definition. The majority of the time these exercises are focused on athletes or populations that are already at a good level of fitness. Seldom is the focus on the majority of the population who are just looking to tone up or slim down in steady increments. Due to this fact, the average person is sold on the slogans/ promises that may be true for a very fit individual or athlete but may not work the same way for an individual who is overweight and looking to tone up. This can lead to an exercise regime being “slightly” oversold to the general population e.g. “This workout will give you amazing abs in 10 minutes.”
The issue mainly arises due to the research and testing methods that back up most of these claims. New workouts and exercises are usually tested within the gym. The concept testing (initial testing) is usually performed with the trainers’ “lifting buddies,” which is just code for really fit dudes. This leads to the criteria to take part in the testing process being limited to people with roughly the same level of fitness as the trainer. This means that the results are relating to healthy and fit populations.
So technically the bold statement “This workout will give you amazing abs in 10 minutes,” is accurate but only to a limited amount of the population.
This leads the general or slightly less fit of us to expect the same benefits. We try to achieve the same shape and level of fitness from the workouts that are shown and explained by the “ripped bros” who are the poster boys for “this new fantastic craze that will make you the best shape you have ever been… EVER !!!!!” (slightly paraphrased). However, it always seems like it’s just out of reach.
Let’s face it we all join a gym or start a new fitness craze with the idea in mind of becoming as fit, strong and healthy as the elite athletes we see on the telly or the trainers that are promoting the workout. The usual progression for the gym starts at the gym induction which we only listen and understand about a 10th of. We then maybe pick up a few personal training sessions to help us get started partly because we didn’t listen in the induction and are too afraid to ask how to use something. Some gyms can give out free programmes that we “try” to do ourselves and don’t want to admit we have no clue what the exercise was. None the less we stick to it religiously for a couple of weeks to a month.
Sometimes we see a great change to our body shape (the lucky ones among us) and continue pushing ourselves to the limit until we rival the gods of Olympus themselves. However more often than not we do not see the change we were expecting, we reduce our number of sessions at the gym until we finally stop going altogether.
This lack of motivation is brought on by the false expectations we have created in our heads. We expect to look like our trainer within a couple of months but in reality, the trainer has spent years perfecting their shape and fitness level. Instead, more manageable and realistic goals should be created to help avoid disappointment if you don’t look like an extra from the 300 within the first 3 sessions.
Keeping yourself fit and healthy is not just a sporting philosophy or designed specifically for those among us who are already fit. It should not be viewed as a chore but instead a slight adaption to lifestyle. Training a couple of times a week can have massive health benefits, especially for those of us who spend a lot of the time working at a desk. I am aware that training at the gym can be a daunting task for many of us, especially when you are surrounded by the trainers lifting bros.
Instead, I will aim to share a more realistic approach to training and provide 10 exercises that can help you avoid the feeling of dread at the gym by having the option to perform them in your own home.
Without a further ado, I present to you… the top 10 best home exercises to get you started (in my opinion):
1. Press-Ups
Press-ups are the most common and widely used exercises in the world, their appeal comes from the ability to modify the exercise in a wide variety of ways to either increase or decrease difficulty depending on the individual’s fitness level. An example of this would be an incline press-up (hands higher than feet) will be a lot easier than a decline press up (feet higher than hands). This is because a decline press-up will put more weight on your hands which increases the amount your muscles have to work; a handstand press-up is one of the most extreme versions of this.
In reality, it doesn’t matter too much about where you put your hands, you will still be working roughly the same muscle groups. These will be predominantly triceps (bingo wings), pecs (self-explanatory), deltoids/ trapezius (shoulders) and abdominals (core muscles/tummy for stability).
When performing a basic version of the press up your back should be kept flat, bum kept down and tummy kept tight. Your hands should be slightly wider than shoulder width and the movement should be performed slow and controlled.
2. Table Top Sit Ups
This is a very clever exercise to work you abdominal or tummy specifically. The most common abdominal workout is sit ups with your feet on the ground and knees bent. Most people perform this exercise thinking they are working their abdominals when in reality their hip flexors are doing most of the work. The hip flexors are one of the only muscles in the body that can perform movement at two joints simultaneously (kicking muscle). To completely eliminate the hip flexors from assisting the abdominal muscles we must first lie flat on our back, bend our knees to 90 degrees and then raise our feet until our shins make a table top shape. This means the muscle is working across the hip and the knee. From here we can raise our shoulders off the ground and roll from the chest forwards towards the toes and back down. Once you start don’t let the back touch the ground until you finish. It should also be noted that you are only using your toes as a guide and will most likely never touch them as it is small movements that are being performed. No matter how strong you believe your abs you will most likely feel a burn after 5 repetitions if you are performing the exercise correctly.
To completely eliminate the hip flexors from assisting the abdominal muscles we must first lie flat on our back, bend our knees to 90 degrees and then raise our feet until our shins make a table top shape. This means the muscle is working across the hip and the knee.
From here we can raise our shoulders off the ground and roll from the chest forwards towards the toes and back down. Once you start don’t let the back touch the ground until you finish. It should also be noted that you are only using your toes as a guide and will most likely never touch them as it is small movements that are being performed. No matter how strong you believe your abs you will most likely feel a burn after 5 repetitions if you are performing the exercise correctly.
3. Squats
Squats are one of the most commonly used leg exercises and you can do normal ones or the explosive style. We are not doing anything fancy here, feet are slightly wider than shoulder width apart, hands can be clasped in front of the body. From here you will bend your knees slow and controlled aiming to keep knees over your toes, feet flat on the ground and hips as close to the ground as possible. Then you can return to the starting position at the same speed or explosively (fast). I can’t stress enough that one good rep is worth ten poor ones.
From here you'll bend your knees slowly and controlled aiming to keep knees over your toes, feet flat on the ground and hips as close to the ground as possible. Then you can return to the starting position at the same speed or explosively (fast). I can’t stress enough that one good rep is worth ten poor ones.
4. Dips
Dips are another upper body workout you can do with a couch and is excellent for working those bingo wings. It will also focus mainly on your shoulders and lats (muscle on your side more towards the back of the body. A couch is the easiest place in the house to perform this exercise. You put both hands on the edge of the couch either side of your hips and keep legs straight in front of you with feet on the floor. Make sure your hips are not going to hit the edge of the couch slowly bend your arms which will lower your hips. Don’t let your hips touch the floor, then return to the starting position. Make the movement slow and controlled.
5. Seal Raise
This is another basic but very useful exercise you can do with bent or straight arms. For this one, all you have to do is lie flat on your tummy and raise your full body like a seal. You can either have your hands under your chin or straight out in front of you, squeeze you bum and keep your legs straight. Make use to raise your legs and chest simultaneously. This exercise is excellent for working your back muscles.
6. Front Lunge (can do explosive change)
This is another common leg exercise however unlike quads it focuses glutes (bum), hamstrings (back of legs) and quadriceps (front of legs). It is performed with one leg forwards and the other leg backwards, you bend your knees to 90 degrees with the back knee going straight to the ground (make sure not to let the knee bash off the ground). From here you can either return to the starting position slow and controlled and change legs or perform an explosive change.7. Plank Elbows to Straight Arms
Plank is an exercise that is designed to work on isometric core strength (fancy term for working on tummy muscle without joint movement). To begin you get into the same position as a press-up either with bent arms or straight arms. Then you hold the position for as long as you can. It can be made harder by going from bent arms to straight arms and this adds in a triceps workout.Don’t let your hips drop and keep back straight. If you are going from bent arms to straight try not to thump down onto your elbows. Make sure to keep tummy muscles tight.8. Side Plank Left and Right
Side plank is used to work your muscles down the side of your body and across the hip, the arm that’s supporting the body will work the shoulder muscles on that side. To perform the exercise, lie on your side and support yourself with a bent arm with the forearm on the ground, from here push the hip up to the roof as high as it can and place both legs on top of each other, once in the position hold it as long as possible. Make sure your elbow is directly under your shoulder. Once you have done one side swap over to the other side.9. Calf Raise Left and Right
Calf raises are one of the most widely used lower leg exercises in the world, they are usually performed with both legs at the same time to work on the calf muscles. Instead of using both legs we are going to perform the exercise on individual legs so that the dominant leg doesn’t compensate like it would do when using both legs simultaneously. Using a bottom stair drop the heal off the step as far as it can go and slowly point the toes to raise the heel as high as possible. Make sure to perform the exercise slow and steady to avoid bouncing.
10.Your Own Choice
Everyone no matter what level of fitness has an exercise they love to do, be it walking outdoors, running, swimming, star jumps or something random. This final exercise is where you get to put your thinking caps on and do what you like to do. You may just need that initial bit of confidence to begin creating your own workouts that you can eventually take to the gym environment and train with your head held high next to the trainers/lifting bros.
I hope you found this small guide helpful and were able to relate to at least part of it. If nothing else it will give you an idea of how to train different parts of the body and begin to work on the body shape you are aiming for. If you have any comments or questions simply let us know on our Facebook page.
