Strength Work You Need to be Doing
I bet you don’t think of yourself as a sports car, do you? Well, you should. Sports cars get tuned daily to ensure proper performance. There is a basic minimum level of maintenance work required for a sports car to perform, just as there is a basic minimum amount of movements we should be doing to prepare ourselves for whatever demands we place.
This concept is nothing new, and we have talked about foundational exercises before, but I think it’s worth a recap. These are the exercises that have a lot of bang for your buck. If you only had 10 minutes a day to devote to your physical health, these would be the movements to consider. There are a handful of movements that should be prioritized in your weekly routine and I want to spend a few minutes talking about three of them for now.
Bridge
The glute bridge is an exercise that targets a lot of muscles at the pelvis and below. It is an excellent option for working on important muscles around the hips and low back. Simpler variations include bilateral (double leg) holds progressing up to single-leg holds. Ideally, a person should be able to work up to multiple single-leg holds for 30 seconds. It’s understandable if you are unable to do that yet, so start with double leg holds and work up to individual legs.
Side Plank
Results from the US Naval Academy show that cadets can hold a full side plank for up to 45 seconds. Considering they are in excellent physical shape, we like to see our clients hold a side plank between 35-45 seconds. This exercise will target muscles along the lateral part of the body and hip. Performing multiple reps at this target time won’t be easy, and we suggest starting with a knees-bent variation to get into this motion. Slowly work your way up in time and to a full side plank.
Wall Sit
The wall sit is an exercise that most often gets the “you’ve got to be kidding me” reaction. Don’t worry, it’s not as aggressive as you think. That being said, the wall sit is taken as an excuse to target the lower body muscle groups. The goal would be to hold this for up to 60 seconds and then add some weight. Ideally, a person would be able to hold these positions without any admirable features.
As mentioned, there are a handful of movements that you should be including in your own routine. We understand not everyone can execute these or their variations, so if you have a question we’re happy to talk you through them. Start with these three motions and we can add at a different rate.
Happy Training!
