Health & Wellness: While the fitness saying “As long as you’re doing something…” is great at the beginning of a wellness journey, but will not push you beyond your first plateau. The next step in advancing the process is to create a consistent workout plan that targets key areas of the body and progressively increases the load and repetitions. To achieve this type of balance, the five golden exercises should be included featuring push, pull, hip hinge, squat and plank.
An example of each exercise type:
Push = Chest Press, Pull = Tricep Extensions, Hip Hinge = Deadlifts or Lunges, Squat = Standard/Sumo/Staggered, & Plank = Push-up/Mountain Climber/Floor Taps
The inclusion of these exercise staples is the the foundation of a workout program that will consistently provide benefits for each area of the body.
My personal training sessions are more often inclusive of my staples than not. In a standard session, I visit the Smith machine to perform bench press, incline bench press, decline bench press, and chest pull for my upper body. I then use the same machine to do standard squats, sumo squats, and close-stance squats. Additionally, I use the leg press to perform double and single-leg presses, followed by the tricep machine and curl machine. Of course, its a must that I visit the abdominal machines such as the free standing leg lift, the kneeling abdominal twist, and the push-pull abdominal machine.
In general, my goal is to maintain my foundational strength while progressing from a high number of reps with lightweight to lower rep counts with heavier weights. The greatest benefit for me is the feeling of full body exertion and using every hinge of the body while breaking a sweat!
In the month of May (beginning on May 6th specifically), I will be sharing a few free workout circuits to utilize the push, pull, and hip hinge staples that we have discussed. At the end of 4 weeks, you will have collected and a foundational guide to creating your own personal program to begin or continue your journey.
In addition, my company, Total Camo Fitness, will be kicking off our summer fitness program which offers virtual bootcamps hosted by myself and other trainers in my network. I encourage everyone to check it out and the best thing is, even though we’ll be using Zoom, you don’t have to be on camera. Expect to sweat, laugh and have some fun!
If you are interested in following along with my journey or contacting my company, I can be found on social media platforms:
Website – Total Camo Fitness
Facebook – Total Camo Fitness
YouTube – Total Camo Fitness
I really appreciated this article! Definitely have hit that plateau myself so always looking for tips and variations.
You are welcome
The plateau point is such a bummer, variety is absolutely necessary to keep working when the scale and measuring tape aren’t moving. Something I like to do is get monthly measurements and benchmarks, then track progress.
Getting ideas and adjusting to individual needs. Thanks!
Such a simple and effective approach!
I really love a good workout article. I have been on my weight loss journey for a year and have hit a plateau but am still losing inches, so any ideas are great!
I’m glad you enjoyed the read. I will be sharing a weekly workout circuit each Friday during the month of May. We’ll share an upper, lower, cardio/core, and full body circuit each week to create a nice 4-day guide for any level #fitfam. Check out more tips at http://www.totalcamofitness.com
Most of my clients are beginners, so I keep it gentle to start them out. But you are right, to improve, you need to push a little harder. It can also be very satisfying to see yourself do something you didn’t think possible. That’s a great feeling.
Hi Patricia, I have quite a few clients with limitations in knee bending, hip bending, and compromised core so in the beginning, a lot of our work is developing range of motion and strengthening complimentary muscles. Its extremely fulfilling when they have their moment of achievement just like you said!