Exercise is essential for our health. So why is it that the moment someone recommends it, we hem and haw and never try it out? Probably because most people make their workout routine overly complicated with cardio exercises and aerobics. On top of that, they also include different types of equipment to work individual muscles.

Well, here’s the reason why your mind and body doesn’t allow you to go through with your workout plan!

Now, if you are still here and reading this, it means that come high or hell water, you want to get your body into shape. We applaud your dedication and to make sure that you stick to your exercise routine, we have come up with five exercises that follow the KISS method.

Meaning – Keep It Simple Silly

The key to maintaining your workout routine is to choose simple exercises that you can do easily. The following are some of those exercises:

Exercise #1

Planks

A plank involves balancing your lower and upper body using the tips of your toes and elbows. This exercise targets your trunk muscles and spine. It helps create stability around the spine muscles. In the plank position, your core muscles become stronger, which can make your stomach flatter.

The rule of doing planks is that you need to keep your shoulders and hips balanced. Start with maintaining your position for 20 seconds and then slowly increase the time.

How to do a plank: With the plank you will move your elbows under your shoulders, hands will extend out in front of your shoulders, forearms will be placed on the ground flat and lastly you will keep your hips flat like a table.

Exercise #2

Squats

Squats are known as the “king” of workout routines. This exercise targets you lower body and core. It revs up your metabolism and significantly increases your strength and lean muscle mass. As a result, your body will burn more fats and calories.

The most effective squat is the barbell squat. This is because when you load the body with weight it works the entire body because you will have to stabilize the heavy weight. The downside of the barbell squat is that you will need equipment. Also a spotter is recommended when doing the barbell squat.

It’s important to assume the right position in squats or you might end up with an injury from doing the squat wrong. While learning the squat it’s important to start without using weight because the chance of getting injured doing squats with only body weight are quite low.

How to do a squat: Many “experts” will tell you to do a squat with your feet pointed straight ahead but this is not true. When doing a squat your head should be in a neutral position looking down at the ground, your toes should be pointed out 45 degrees, your feet should be a little wider than the hips and your knees should shove out toward the toes during the movement.

How to make the squat harder: Ways to make the squat harder include: adding weight, doing a one leg squat, jumping and doing the squat on a unstable environment. When you’re thinking of ideas on how to make the squat harder make sure that your what you’re doing what fits your fitness goals. If you’re skate or surf doing a squat in a unbalanced environment makes sense, if you’re a football player adding weight makes sense.

Exercise #3

Pushups

Pushups are the star of a workout routine. Where squats target your lower body, pushups target your triceps and chest. Out of all the exercises, pushups are harder to do because you are taking almost the entire weight of your body on your hands.

An exercise that is even better than a push up is the bench press. This is because you can keep increasing the weight week over week which is harder to do with the push up. The bench press and the push up work the same muscles but you can’t build a ton of strength with the push up. The downside of the bench press is that you need equipment do do the exercise. The bench press also requires a spotter.

If you find the traditional pushups difficult to perform, then you can try incline pushups or bench press pushups. In the former pushups type, half of the weight is lifted off and you can focus solely on the upper body. In the latter pushups type, you can confine your upper body to a bench, which will give you better control over the lifts.

Ways to make a push up more challenging: You can make a push up more challenging by adding weight, lifting a leg, doing one arm push ups, doing push ups on rings or a ball and adding a pop or jump to your push up.

Check out our blog on how many push ups should I be able to do.

Exercise #4

Lunges

The lunge is a great addition to any workout program. The only exercise that is better is the barbell deadlift or squat. The only problem with doing heavy barbell lifts is that it requires a coach to teach you how to do them properly.

The lunge works the glutes, hamstrings and quads. This part of the body helps to control mobility, which is responsible for generating power and strength. They target the legs, glutes, and hips. Since this exercise engages the hip muscles, you will burn more calories due to the all-round functional movement of your body.

Ways to make the lunge more challenging: Adding weight to the lunge, doing a jumping lunge or doing a side lunge.

Exercise #5

Overhead Dumbbell Press

The most effective way to exercise your shoulders is through this exercise. Think of it as lift ups that you do daily in your life. Except here, you are adding a little more weight. This exercise engages your shoulders, hips, and trunk muscles. For this exercise, all you need are dumbbells or a barbell. Pick a weight that you can do for 5-8 reps depending on your fitness goals. The barbell squat is a better option for results but will require a little more technical skill than the dumbbell press. You can also do a press with a kettle bell or weighted ball if you don’t have dumbbells or a barbell.

How to do a shoulder press: When doing a shoulder press your feet will be a little over hip width apart, your body will be straight and core engaged before starting, right before the rep the glutes will be engaged and as you press up the glutes will be relaxed .

And this completes our workout routine. Wasn’t it easy? If you still think that you need extra motivation for these exercises then why not hire a personal trainer. Visit On the Go Fitness Pro and get in touch with their team of fitness professionals for customized exercise plans. They also offer in-home personal training sessions. To know more about their services, call on 702-756-4444.