Strength training exercises can prove to be an elixir that your body requires no matter what. It will not only maintain good health but also tone your body, thereby intensifying your mental as well as physical fitness. Other than this, it will make you more confident, energetic, and would keep you far away from chronic health diseases, stress, depression, etc. Also, it has numerous under the hood benefits that would help you lead a good lifestyle.
It is quite obvious that a person putting in so much effort to keep his body fit would also follow a good diet plan, thereby, sustaining healthy eating habits. Apart from this, it would automatically force you to maintain a good posture and will make you look and feel younger.
But different exercises have an impact on different muscle groups in our body. You want to gain muscle, burn calories, or increase endurance or strength, it all takes different exercises to work. It takes a full-body workout session to cover all the muscles. For that, you don’t have to continuously work out for hours, it’s just that you have to be efficient. Perform exercises that help you cover all the muscles.
So, what are you waiting for?
Get yourself nice apparel from one of the good gym apparel brands available on the market and start working out.
So, the following are the top 5 exercises to improve your overall health:
Table of Contents
1. Push-ups
The push-up comes under resistance exercises in which the individual’s own body weight acts as a load. This individual exercise targets every single muscle in our body be it biceps, triceps, deltoids, and chiefly chest muscles resulting in increased endurance and all-toned muscles. If done correctly, it serves as an entire upper body workout.
Benefits:
- Enhances cardiovascular system
- Increases functional strength
- Provides muscle stretching
- Protects from shoulder injuries
- Improves posture
Instructions:
Step 1: Lie down in a face-down position. Keep your feet close to each other. Place your hands aligned to the width of the shoulder with your arms in a fully extended position. Your body should be inclined to some angle.
Step 2: Keep your torso straight with hips and back in a straight line. Start folding your arms, allowing your body to slightly lower down. Let your chest be a few inches above the floor. Make sure to keep your torso stable and don’t rest your body on the ground.
Step 3: Stay in this position for almost a second and then return to the actual position. Make sure that your elbows are not stretched apart and are close to the body during the procedure.
Fix a number of sets and repetitions in that particular set. Follow the instructions and complete your sets.
You can also do one-arm push-ups by folding and resting your arm at the back and balancing on the left three limbs. Also, you can put on weighted vests in order to increase resistance while performing push-ups.
2. Goblet Squats
The goblet squat is considered as one of the best lower body exercises for strength, size, and power. It is quite similar to regular squats. It mainly helps develop glutes and quads along with the other muscles in the lower body. It is done with the help of a dumbbell or kettlebell in order to set a proper position.
Benefits:
- It teaches the proper form for performing squats
- Best squats for beginners
- Great exercise for warmup
- Improves posture
- Improves body balancing
- It helps gain lower body muscles.
Instructions:
Step 1: Equip yourself with a lightweight kettlebell or a dumbbell.
Step 2: Hold the kettlebell by its horns or a dumbbell from underneath the top of the weight. Get your feet apart such that the distance is the same as the width of your shoulder. Hold the kettlebell against your body such that it touches your chest.
Step 3: Keeping your back straight and head aligned, bend your knees till your hamstrings touch your calves. Let the elbows touch your knees.
Step 4: Don’t lift your heels. It must rest flat on the ground. Maintaining that position, take a load over heels and stand up to the initial position. Repeat the same for 10-20 times.
3. Lunges
A lunge refers to a position where one leg is set ahead of the other with the knee bent and foot flat on the ground while the other leg positioned behind.
Lunges help develop strength in the lower body focusing on your glutes, quads, hips, core, and the hamstrings. It is easier to perform and serves as a complete lower body exercise.
Lunges are of two types:
Stationary lunges: Performed while standing at the same place
Walking lunges: Performed while in a motion similar to walking
Walking lunges are more effective than stationary lunges due to the proper involvement of leg and thigh muscles.
Benefits:
- Improves balance
- Boosts body functionality
- Enhances hip flexibility
- Tones lower body muscles
- Helps recover your spine
- Provides great posture
Instructions:
Step 1: Stand with your feet as apart as that of the width of your hip.
Step 2: Take a big forward step such that your heel touches the ground first and gradually start bending your knees, shifting your weight over the heel. Your knee must be exactly in line with your ankle. Make sure that the other knee does not touch the ground.
Step 3: Using your heel, push back in order to get back up as the initial position. Repeat the same with the other side.
4. Deadlift
Deadlift comes under weightlifting which involves lifting up and putting it back down. It is best for muscle growth and strength. Deadlift mainly focuses on the lower back, hamstrings, quads, and glutes. It helps increase muscle mass and also increases grip strength. It is very crucial to set a proper posture while performing it else it may lead to severe injury. People with back problems must avoid it or use a supporter while performing.
Benefits:
- Strong lower back
- Strong quads, hamstrings, glutes
- Increases muscle mass
- Increases grip
- Toned posture
- Burns fat
Instructions:
Step 1: Stand with your feet with a distance as that of both your shoulders. Squat down and strongly hold the barbell. Bend forward keeping your torso straight. The hands must be placed with both thumbs facing each other at a distance shoulder-width apart.
Step 2: Slowly raise the barbell up to the hip level, keeping your chest up and shoulders pushed back. Hold the position for a moment.
Step 3: Keep the barbell back and return to the initial position. Make sure that your posture still remains the same before going for another rep. Repeat the same as per the recommended reps.
5. Abdominal Crunches
Crunches are considered as the best among ab workouts. Most people consider it to be the same as sit-ups, but there is a slight difference in them. In sit-ups, you raise your entire back off the floor, whereas in crunches, you just lift your upper back, which reduces injury risks involved. They target your abdominal muscles which in result strengthens your muscles and develops abs.
Benefits:
- Strengthens abdominal muscles
- Maintains good posture
- Improves endurance
- Burns calories
Instructions:
Step 1: Lie down on your back. Fold your knees and keep your hands behind your neck or in a cross position across your chest.
Keeping hands behind the neck decreases the chances of your neck to be pulled.
Step 2: Pulling your belly button towards the spine, exhale, and lift your body off the mat such that only the upper back is in the air. Hold for a moment.
Step 3: Inhale as you slowly get back to the initial position letting your abdominal muscles relax gradually. Repeat for 15-30 reps.
Crunches must be performed correctly, keeping in mind the following things:
- Keep your neck properly aligned, provided with the support of your hands. It may cause strains in the neck.
- Do not crunch to high. It makes the exercise less effective.
- Do not completely let your back and shoulders relax.
All the exercises must be carefully performed by following all the instructions and maintaining proper body postures, otherwise, it may lead to serious injuries.
