It’s been a minute…since I talked about workouts.
I guess now it’s as great time as ever to drop some reminders.
First of all, don’t get distracted from what’s truly important.
I can tell from my experience that people love distractions
They look for the next fat-burning workout, another group club-exercise class, or the next power ab session.. forgetting to focus on fundamentals and what can truly help to strengthen and tone the body.
All those things are still great and I understand that you might seek variety and fun (which is so important too!).
However… focusing on the little things is like focusing only on salt and sauce when you make a full meal and don’t take into consideration its main ingredients.
Want a strong toned body?
Make sure that you focus on complex compound movements and exercises addressing all main muscle groups.
Things like squats, lunges, back rows, chest press, shoulder press, etc.
Why?
Compound exercises are exercises that work multiple muscle groups at the same time. For example, a squat is a compound exercise that works the quadriceps, glutes, and calves.
You can also do compound exercises that combine two exercises into one move to target even more muscles (for example, a lunge with a bicep curl).
Compound exercises differ from isolation exercises. Those work a single muscle group at a time. A traditional bicep curl is an isolation exercise meant to strengthen only the biceps, for example.
The biggest benefit of compound exercises may be that they are an efficient use of your time. If you only have limited time to exercise, you’ll work more muscles and build more strength by focusing on compound exercises.
Other benefits include:
- burning more calories
- improving intramuscular coordination
- elevating heart rate
- improving flexibility
- improving strength
- gaining more muscle mass
Just take a look at how many muscle groups are addressed in these compound exercises:
- Squat: Quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves and core.
- Bench press: Pecs, shoulders and triceps.
- Deadlift: Hamstrings, glutes, quads, lats, traps and core.
- Pull up: Lats, biceps, triceps, traps, rear delts and core.
- Lunge: Quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves and core.
You can also notice that most of these compound exercises address core as well even though it’s not a core exercise as such.
This one was a game changer for me.. the best core results I started seeing were only when I finished doing all those never-ending crunches and sit-ups..and started focusing on resistance training instead.
Those crunches are still great, don’t get me wrong..but there are better choices if you want a flat stomach or toned abdominal muscles.
Once you are done with those and all muscle groups are addressed equally, then you can top it up with any extras you like..such as legs bums tums class, ab workouts, Zumba, etc.
Think about complex compound exercises as your roof, floor, and walls of the house and all those other things as furniture and decor of your house .
We can all agree that without a floor or roof… those flowers, fancy cutlery, and paintings won’t be that useful right?
P.S. You don’t have to go to the gym to have a great workout!
If you are ready to get a personalized training plan as well as focus on your overall well-being, send us a message HERE.
