Let’s face it: most people who exercise are not professional athletes, we’re everyday people with jobs and family and limited time. So you want to get the most bang for your buck in the workouts you can squeeze into your schedule! Here are the top 3 strength training exercises that I include in almost every one of my clients workouts. Each of these three exercises hit multiple muscles, so there’s no need to spend extra time working solely on one muscle group. Start maximizing your workout with these efficient time-saving strength exercises.
Push Ups
Women hate pushups and tend to avoid them like the plague. Men do them because they are so so good for developing upper body strength and definition. Pushups work your chest, shoulders (anterior delts,) triceps and core. Plus, you can do them anywhere. Start on your knees if necessary, but don’t avoid them! Do 2-3 sets of 10 reps three times per week and you’ll be amazed how quickly you can progress to your toes. *Caution: If you have shoulder problems, pushups may not be appropriate for you.
Rows
Whether you do single-arm, bent-over, seated, low, or high rows, make sure to include rows in your workouts. Use dumbbells, bars, a cable machine, or the TRX. Rows strengthen a lot of muscles in your back including your traps, lats and rear delts as well as your biceps. It’s so important to train your back muscles to counter the rounded shoulders we develop from sitting and working at computers all day long. Again, perform 2-3 sets of 10 reps three times per week and you’ll start improving your spinal health!
Squats
We covered the majority of the upper body with the pushups and rows. Now it’s time to train the lower body with squats. Squats strengthen a plethora of muscles in your lower body including your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves. Because we sit on our glutes so much, it’s good to get them firing in this exercise. Keep your feet shoulder distance apart, toes pointing straight ahead, shins vertical and sit down and back like you’re sitting into a chair. Add weight only when you’ve mastered the body-weight squat. 2-3 sets of 10 reps.
Squats can reveal a lot of muscles imbalances. Have a personal trainer watch you squat and provide recommendations to improve the quality of your movement.
Those are my top 3 strength training exercises. You get a total body workout done in 30 minutes or less. Minimize your rest breaks to 30 seconds or less to keep your heart rate up and save even more time!
